Craig Progressing in Rehab - 9-13-08

Family & Friends: Craig is progressing well with the therapy with each day bringing new triumphs. His shoulder, right hand, and right leg all have significant movement. The right foot and right arm are still lagging behind a bit. However, he is now using the special shoe with the leg brace on it, and he walked, with assistance, 26 feet yesterday! With assistance, he can also now wheel himself into the bathroom and brush his teeth at the sink and use the regular toilet instead of the bedside commode. Probably most importantly, Craig is now thrilled to be able to read. He seems to be a bit slower at it than before, but he is now steadily making his way through a novel that we had started reading to him. The therapist estimates that Craig will be in therapy for approximately 3 more weeks. On the challenging side, 6 weeks after the last chemo session, and without me supporting his blood counts with nutrition and supplements, his counts are quite low. I'm working with the dietician at the rehab center closely, and Dave Farnsworth is bringing in lunches with higher nutritional content, so we hope that will help. However, Craig is experiencing some shortness of breath and a lot of fatigue from low red cell/hemoglobin, etc. counts. The doctor there is monitoring the situation closely to see if a blood transfusion to boost up the counts will be wise this weekend or next week. One of the unfortunate side effects of the fatigue from low blood counts combined with intense therapy, and likely linked with occasional stress from worrying about what is happening outside of the hospital, is that Craig is experiencing occasional "episodes". I call them that, because no one is completely sure yet what is happening. His speech slurs, sometimes the right side of his face droops, he gets light headed/disoriented, and his vision blurs. It has happened three times and lasts just a few minutes. I've been working with the doctors this week to understand what is happening. It seems likely that these are seizures, although they look like mini-strokes when he has them (the nurses assure me that they are not), and may simply be signs of fatique. His seizure specialist thinks that what Craig's seizures look like may have changed since tissue that affects seizures was removed along with the tumor. Part of what is difficult for me is that all three episodes have happened when I've been there. Craig was doing well enough this past week that he wanted me to be sharing how I was doing and what was happening with finances, etc. and not just putting on a happy face when visiting. But, I think we now need to revisit this - because I think that's just adding stress when he has enough already to manage! He says he gets stressed when he doesn't know what is happening though... So, who knows?! The episodes also seem to happen when he has multiple visitors and/or is trying to eat at the same time as visitors are present, but it's not consistent. Or they happen when he is just plain exhausted (sometimes he wants to sit in the wheelchair with visitors instead of laying down and pushes himself too hard]. For months seizures have been an issue when Craig gets too tired/stressed, so the pattern does seem familiar. So...we'll see what works out. My father, stepmother, daughter Jennifer, and son-in-law Frank have been working hard with me on getting our home in good order and maintenance caught up, finances understood and money budgeted, car in good shape, etc. The brakes on the car started acting up this week, so son-in-law Hooman will fix them today. He, Michelle, and Karida arrive today for the weekend. The rest of the family visitors leave tomorrow (Sunday). So, we are all tired, but things are falling into place. The staff at Craig's company have been great on helping me understand Craig's benefits and doing what is needed to ensure they keep supporting him. We appreciate their caring. Love, Susanne Recent Photos: Grandson: www.claricomm.com/Aidan_Aug_Sept_2008.pdf Craig Hospital: www.claricomm.com/Craig_Hospital_August_Sept_2008.pdf Family Gatherings: www.claricomm.com/Family_Gatherings_September_2008.pdf