A Follow up on Homelife for Katy

We've been home almost two weeks and we're so thankful to be here. Katy is doing very well. She has rehab in Stanley three times a week. We've been working with UWEC to set her up for online courses this Fall and she will be taking an writing class and a wellness class. 

She never had to have any surgery though they are going to keep an eye on her arm that is numb and if it doesn't get better in a few months, they will do an ultrasound to look and see if the nerve was just stretched or was severed and will decide if they should do something about it. There is still the double vision but they set up her Domo glasses with tape half covering the one side and it helps! She said it's getting better.

She does a lot of logic puzzles and crosswords, etc. and loves doing her speech therapy homework as well. We expect continued success and restoration of her frontal lobe functions as we go along this Fall. In October she will have another neuropsych test to see how she is improving and to get an idea if she might be ready to live on campus for the Spring semester. I am confident her improvements will continue.

In November she will have another MRI to see how her shearing has healed and to make sure all is going well. We have not experienced any seizures and hope never to have that happen. 

Her memory is coming back little by little. Sometimes she'll think of something but is not sure if it's from a real memory or from what people told her.

We are so grateful to everybody for their positive thoughts and prayers, for the cards and letters, Facebook posts and visits. We are thankful for the staff in Marshfield at the hospital and at the Ronald McDonald House and to all the people who donate or collect pop tabs for them. Thank you so much to my mom for helping with the kids and my house and plants and to Rita N for keeping my lawn from growing into a jungle while we were gone. 

We thank God every day for Katy's positive attitude. She never has a bad day, has not felt down on herself, depressed or angry. She appreciates all her friends and her family and has grown spiritually and emotionally so much.

Tuesday is the Big Day!!!

We had our meeting with the team this morning and found out we are getting out of here on Tuesday. It is so exciting to know that we will again get to be in our own home after over two months in the hospital.

Her Neurologist came by and showed Katy the MRI and CTs that she had when she first got here and the follow up CTs so she can see the extent of the injuries. She showed her the injury to her corpus collosum which is deep inside the brain and connects the two sides as well as controls her motor skills. She also showed her the inside of the injury to her right side and explained more about the injury to the frontal lobe which is the processor to what is stored in the brain. She explained how, as amazing as it is to have all the memory stored without a great loss, it must be processed and that is where we still need to heal, along with the motor skills. She also explained that the nerve in her right arm was most likely destroyed and not just damaged and so she will probably have to work around it and learned how to use her muscles while not feeling the use of it. She writes just fine, it's just when she tries to throw something, she can't judge the throw so it doesn't go far.

She also is going to have to add stimulation from the outside slowly. The way they explained it was that the brain normally knows how to organize your focus on what you are doing as well as giving little focus to what is around you. With the damage, every stimuli that is around is getting equal attention and it confuses her processing. We have to heal that area with continuing rest at home as well as keeping her surroundings more quiet and not going anywhere that a lot of stuff is going on. They said to try introducing a trip to the store when we only need a couple of things or going out to eat at a quiet place at first and build up slowly. Sunday we get to go to Taco Bell and the zoo in Marshfield to try another outing. When she gets away from the area she's been used to since she's been here, it gets exhausting for her in a short time.

We will be meeting with UWEC shortly to discuss what we can do this semester online and hopefully return to campus for the second semester. I have to say, with the different campuses that we worked with, UWEC has been the most helpful and accessible of any of them.

Katy has started a blog to put things in her own words.  She's been starting a new blog each day so we're going to get those together so she has one blog page with different posts. I'll continue to keep mine updated with her medical progress and include her own words from her blog. Here is hers from today:

Oh my gosh, I am way too excited. Apparently I am being discharged Tuesday afternoon!! That is the fourteenth and only five days away! I can't wait to be home again! I miss everyone so much!! Especially my family, all my friends, and my wonderful boyfriend Ben! It is so nice that everyone's come to visit, and a special thank you to Ben and Paige for being here so much, we well as Austin and his mom who come once a week. I know Ben does too, and Paige was here for a few days in the beginning - which I am so thankful for. I don't remember it because of my mini case of amnesia.

I also want to thank my mom for all the support. She has been here so much for me. She actually saw the doctors shaking their heads when they saw my MRI or CT and she still stayed so positive for me. She said she wanted to cry but she knew I was too strong-willed NOT to recover.

It's probably going to be a while before I can leave the house. I'm going to try to see if I can work at Subway again, hopefully by easing into being with a lot of people at once. My Wal-Mart trip made me pretty exhausted, but that trip even makes Mom pretty tired.

Also, I am talking to Austin's mom about Austin. He is pretty upset because I found out something and now he thinks I'm upset with him. I just want to state on here that is NOT true. If you think about it, if I hadn't gotten in that car or drove myself, then I wouldn't have been in that accident, meaning that I wouldn't have said that [quite embarrassing] thing to Austin and been so upset with him because I thought he was telling everyone. I mean, technically you have to blame me too because I could have drove I'm sure - I'm not even scared of driving at night like I used to. I probably should have worn my seat belt (I usually do) too. But living in the past doesn't help anything at all. I just don't want him to feel bad, I mean, it was my fault too.

It's so weird not taking naps anymore. I used to be a late sleeper, but now I go to sleep at like 9, wake up around 7:30, and not need naps throughout the day. I wish nap times were at the right time then - like 4ish in the afternoon. Otherwise I don't get good sleep during my therapies.

Another Great Day to Remember

It was a big day for Katy. Her Speech Therapist brought in a folder with a planner and divided tabs. I've never seen her so excited to get anything ever!

Later she had Phys Therapy and they decided it is time she's able to get up and walk without help and without her safety belt. She'll be able to walk on the peds floor whenever she likes and she can go in the bathroom without waiting for help. She was very excited about the freedom.

Tonight we walked over to where I stay and had McDonald's for dinner.

We still hope to be out of here in the next two weeks. Tomorrow she has neuropsych testing to see what she'll be able to do for her continued education this Fall.

Twice today she had a spinning sensation upon lying flat on her back. Otherwise she is feeling really great.

Two...More...Weeks!

We had our weekly meeting with Katy in the room this time. We had a list of questions but every single one of them was addressed before we had to ask. What a great team! Of course Katy's most immediate question was when she can go home. We are shooting for two more weeks. What a blessing that will be! She might even spend her birthday at home on the 17th!!!!

Yesterday when I came in, Katy had a bad burn on her leg from a hot pad that had been heated too long. It was somebody new who hadn't taken care of her yet and it concerned me that she did not feel how much heat there was for a while. 

Katy is doing so well and shows so much appreciation for her healing. We've grown closer and have had some wonderful talks. She knows how many thousands of prayers were made for her, how great the medical staff is and how many people were so positive. Most important of all is her baseline personality, which is pure determination and will. Sure, it gave her minor problems in her life but look what we have now!!! We have Katy here to brighten our days and watch mature and grow into the incredible woman she is destined to be!

She will have her neuro-psych consulting and testing early next week but we already know that she will be home for a while. She will be able to have company but will need to be at home while her vestibular system continues to heal and she regains her decision-making and judgment abilities to full extent. She's got double vision but they said that will heal as well. She alternates an eye patch between eyes when she reads. The doctors said she can't drive or go to concerts for six months while she continues to heal. She will have 3-4 days per week of therapy but we will be able to go to Stanley for that, thankfully.

We will most likely decide to take an online course or two that she will feel confident handling then return to college in the next two semesters.

She will be happy to have visitors at the house. I will be looking for a daybed to put in the living room so she doesn't have to go upstairs in case anybody sees one for sale, it would be most helpful if you'd pass the word along to me. I don't want to spend a whole lot since I'm not working but if there is something reasonable, that would be great. 

Katy's looking forward to seeing people, helping me with cooking and baking and just being comfortable at home! 

We continue to be grateful to everybody for their thoughts and prayers as she continues to heal.