This afternoon Michael walked twice around the hospital floor, 600 feet! What a big change from last Friday when it was a big deal just to walk 15 feet with 2 people to help him stand!
Cognitively, he is still whooping my behind. We played Scrabble and it was no contest. He has resumed solving crossword puzzles, in pen.
He is not up to his usual genius self and his stamina isn't what is used to be, however, he is doing amazingly for someone who has gone through the traumas he has endured.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
It is so good to hear your voice!
Michael continues to make progress. He can walk 120 feet with a walker. He practices standing up and sitting. He works with OT to strengthen this arms and ST works on his cognitive skills.
He phoned a few people and each person was so pleasingly surprised to hear from him. You could actually hear the smiles in their voices.
He studied Mishna with his brothers this afternoon and is an active participant!
The disappointing news we received today was that his feeding tube can't come out until it has been in for 6 weeks. Originally we were told it could come out after 30 days.
He phoned a few people and each person was so pleasingly surprised to hear from him. You could actually hear the smiles in their voices.
He studied Mishna with his brothers this afternoon and is an active participant!
The disappointing news we received today was that his feeding tube can't come out until it has been in for 6 weeks. Originally we were told it could come out after 30 days.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Drive to live
Michael's amazing recovery is a testament to his tenacity, perseverance, strength of will and drive to live.
He walked 80 feet this morning and went up and down the set of practice stairs twice. Upon returning to his room he did leg exercises. When OT came he brushed his hair, brushed his teeth and washed up.
This afternoon he was tired from this mornings activities but he was still able to walk 80 feet down the hall. He then propelled his wheelchair the rest of the way back to his room.
The Spalding staff met today to discuss Michael's progress and to determine a game plan and future rehab. They think he will need to spend about two more weeks at Spalding.
They discussed the possibility of his attending daily rehab once he is discharged from this facility. They are concerned about Michael's work schedule and his potential stress level. He is currently having difficulty concentrating for more than a few minutes. His ability to multitask and his memory are not up to his usual genius. The speech therapist (ST) is working with him to regain the abilities that are currently diminished. ST mentioned that Michael's cognition and problem solving skills are phenomenal.
He walked 80 feet this morning and went up and down the set of practice stairs twice. Upon returning to his room he did leg exercises. When OT came he brushed his hair, brushed his teeth and washed up.
This afternoon he was tired from this mornings activities but he was still able to walk 80 feet down the hall. He then propelled his wheelchair the rest of the way back to his room.
The Spalding staff met today to discuss Michael's progress and to determine a game plan and future rehab. They think he will need to spend about two more weeks at Spalding.
They discussed the possibility of his attending daily rehab once he is discharged from this facility. They are concerned about Michael's work schedule and his potential stress level. He is currently having difficulty concentrating for more than a few minutes. His ability to multitask and his memory are not up to his usual genius. The speech therapist (ST) is working with him to regain the abilities that are currently diminished. ST mentioned that Michael's cognition and problem solving skills are phenomenal.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Positive Impact Upon a Loved One
Michael had a truly remarkable day today. He walked 20 feet down the hall using a walker this morning. He had difficulty breathing so his O2 was put up to 10 liters. He is on 3 liters in his room. His heart rate went up very high so he had to rest. This afternoon he was able to walk 60 feet and climb 3 stairs and only needed his O2 raised to 6 liters! Between walks he did arm exercises in bed.
His is now able to sit up for hours at a time. He can eat, brush his hair, shave, use a computer, text, and study Mishna with his brothers without help.
OT and PT were amazed today at the progress he has made since Friday when he arrived at Spalding. He even outshone himself this afternoon. He was able to walk farther and his recovery time decreased. (the amount of time it took his heart rate and O2 to rebound). He seems to be progressing in leaps and bounds!
His appetite is improving and he has been trying to eat loads of protein in order to rebuild his depleted muscle stores.
OT always remarks on how much stronger his left arm is than his right arm. The therapists always ask if he is left handed. He responds that he is right handed. What a difference the passive range of motion exercises I did with his left arm and both legs has made in his recovery! I am so glad that I found the article on using passive range of motion on intubated patients on paralytics. I am glad that Doctor Michael Schwartz (the Pulmonologist) agreed to order PT to show me how to correctly do passive range of motion exercises on Michael. The article said that patients who recieved passive range of motion exercises recovered mobilty faster than those who recieved no therapy. Dr. Schwartz said it was important for a family member to do the therapy becuse it changed the feeling of helplessness to one of making a positve impact on their loved one.
His is now able to sit up for hours at a time. He can eat, brush his hair, shave, use a computer, text, and study Mishna with his brothers without help.
OT and PT were amazed today at the progress he has made since Friday when he arrived at Spalding. He even outshone himself this afternoon. He was able to walk farther and his recovery time decreased. (the amount of time it took his heart rate and O2 to rebound). He seems to be progressing in leaps and bounds!
His appetite is improving and he has been trying to eat loads of protein in order to rebuild his depleted muscle stores.
OT always remarks on how much stronger his left arm is than his right arm. The therapists always ask if he is left handed. He responds that he is right handed. What a difference the passive range of motion exercises I did with his left arm and both legs has made in his recovery! I am so glad that I found the article on using passive range of motion on intubated patients on paralytics. I am glad that Doctor Michael Schwartz (the Pulmonologist) agreed to order PT to show me how to correctly do passive range of motion exercises on Michael. The article said that patients who recieved passive range of motion exercises recovered mobilty faster than those who recieved no therapy. Dr. Schwartz said it was important for a family member to do the therapy becuse it changed the feeling of helplessness to one of making a positve impact on their loved one.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Heal the World
People have asked, "what can I do for Michael?"
There is a saying, if you save one life, it is as if you have saved the world. Michael is a big believer in donating time, energy and financially to charitable organizations in hopes of making this world a better place.
If you would like to make the world a better place there are organizations which can use your donations.
If people in Colorado want to donate blood in honor of Michael, they can either contact Belles Bonfils http://www.bonfils.org/
(When you donate blood ask for a card to fill out recording your donation and mail it to Michael.)
or Presbyterian Saint Lukes Medical Center Blood Bank http://www.pslmc.com/blood_donor/index.htm
Outside of Colorado, you can donate blood at your local blood bank.
I would encourage people to make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society http://www.leukemia.org/hm_lls
Michael and I won't be able to have a team at this year's Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Light the Night event in Denver this Fall because it is on the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot, but we hope to have a team in 2011 and we still support the LLS.
Michael was unable to eat food by mouth until recently. You can donate non-perishable items to your local food bank in honor of Michael. In Denver you can make financial donations to Tomcahi Shabbat C/O EDOS 198 South Holly Denver CO 80246. Make your tax deductible check out to Tomchai Shabbat and in the memo section write, "in honor of Michael Schwartz".
Alone, one person can't heal the whole world, but together we can make the world a better place. Let's try.
There is a saying, if you save one life, it is as if you have saved the world. Michael is a big believer in donating time, energy and financially to charitable organizations in hopes of making this world a better place.
If you would like to make the world a better place there are organizations which can use your donations.
If people in Colorado want to donate blood in honor of Michael, they can either contact Belles Bonfils http://www.bonfils.org/
(When you donate blood ask for a card to fill out recording your donation and mail it to Michael.)
or Presbyterian Saint Lukes Medical Center Blood Bank http://www.pslmc.com/blood_donor/index.htm
Outside of Colorado, you can donate blood at your local blood bank.
I would encourage people to make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society http://www.leukemia.org/hm_lls
Michael and I won't be able to have a team at this year's Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Light the Night event in Denver this Fall because it is on the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot, but we hope to have a team in 2011 and we still support the LLS.
Michael was unable to eat food by mouth until recently. You can donate non-perishable items to your local food bank in honor of Michael. In Denver you can make financial donations to Tomcahi Shabbat C/O EDOS 198 South Holly Denver CO 80246. Make your tax deductible check out to Tomchai Shabbat and in the memo section write, "in honor of Michael Schwartz".
Alone, one person can't heal the whole world, but together we can make the world a better place. Let's try.
Progressing
Michael had his Fentanyl patch discontinued today. He seems to be tolerating the lack of narcotics. He is alert. He is eating small quantities of food. He read the paper, a copy of Time Magazine and studied Mishna with his brothers. His blood sugar is pretty good with just a small amount of insulin to help him along. He sat up in a chair this morning. He is progressing well. He was weighed today, his weight was 167 pounds, down from 200 pounds on March 23. He would like to get back to 190 pounds. Most of the weight he lost was lean body mass, due to the high caloric needs of being on high levels of oxygen. Too bad our bodies don't lose fat when we are sick.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Spalding @ PSL
On Friday the nurse at Select Specialty Hospital told me that the hospital was to have 4 new admits who were on ventilators and that Michael's room was needed. He would have to be changed to a room down the hall with a roommate. I know that Select does not have therapists on the weekends, so I asked if his transfer to Spalding could be moved up to Friday. The doctors said he was ready to move, they just do not like to move patients on the weekends because of the difficulty with follow through. They were able to move Michael upstairs to Spalding. It is on the 6th floor of the B building at PSL, just one floor up from Select. He can have visitors, but they must not interfere with his rehab schedule.
The Physician's Assistant looked at Michael and his chart and gave orders for the weekend. PT and OT came in and checked him over. They asked what his goal was for the day. He said that he would like to walk to the bathroom. They turned up his O2 from 3 liters to 6 liters, they gave him a walker appropriate for his size and guided his short walk. Success! They turned his O2 down when they were done.
It seems like not all the discharge orders made it to Spalding. The wound specialist at Select wrote discharge orders for the care of Michael's Trach hole. These orders were not transferred to Spalding. I tried to work with the Spalding staff to make sure Michael's wounds were attended to, that was a difficult task as it was Shabbat and I didn't arrive until 9PM. All the doctors who could have helped were gone due to the late hour. There were doctors on call but, the nurse did not think that Michael's wound care was an emergency and did not wish to contact the physician on call.
Michael said the PA comes in at 6 AM, so I wrote a note on the board in Michael's room with the questions I have concerning Michael's care.
I showed him the string that turns on and off the light in his room. It takes a great deal of strength to manipulate this string. He said that he wouldn't have be able to turn the light on/off last week. I told him that he wouldn't have been able do it 2 days ago. He was able to turn the light on and off tonight.
The Physician's Assistant looked at Michael and his chart and gave orders for the weekend. PT and OT came in and checked him over. They asked what his goal was for the day. He said that he would like to walk to the bathroom. They turned up his O2 from 3 liters to 6 liters, they gave him a walker appropriate for his size and guided his short walk. Success! They turned his O2 down when they were done.
It seems like not all the discharge orders made it to Spalding. The wound specialist at Select wrote discharge orders for the care of Michael's Trach hole. These orders were not transferred to Spalding. I tried to work with the Spalding staff to make sure Michael's wounds were attended to, that was a difficult task as it was Shabbat and I didn't arrive until 9PM. All the doctors who could have helped were gone due to the late hour. There were doctors on call but, the nurse did not think that Michael's wound care was an emergency and did not wish to contact the physician on call.
Michael said the PA comes in at 6 AM, so I wrote a note on the board in Michael's room with the questions I have concerning Michael's care.
I showed him the string that turns on and off the light in his room. It takes a great deal of strength to manipulate this string. He said that he wouldn't have be able to turn the light on/off last week. I told him that he wouldn't have been able do it 2 days ago. He was able to turn the light on and off tonight.