Friday, January 19

Friday Update…is it only Friday??

First of all, Lon looks 150% better than Wednesday!

Because of the "episode" yesterday...the dizzy, nausea, etc, the Dr. said that Lon is not stabilized and will be in the Hospital through the weekend. He is showing considerable progress. There is a dead spot in the cerebellum where the stroke happened...about 1 inch by 1/4 inch. The tissue around that area should heal but there will not be a full recovery. This has affected his fine motor skills... he is not slobbering. Landon still drools quite heavily...enough for the both of them! hehe
His eyes are still quite jumpy today and his right side is weaker than his left. Physical therapy will help to "reteach" his brain how to compensate for the weakness. He was taken off IV today but hooked up to a heart monitor instead. Dr. Townsley has not told us the results of the heart ultrasound as he will be back on Monday. There will be no surgery and will be treated with medication.

So Lon decides he wants to shave this morning and take a shower. As he is trying to get all set up, I helped him open the new package of blades for his shaver, all the while thinking that he has a sharp object in his hands and he can have another episode at any minute, there is a lot of neck to slice and Landon is in the room!! This is the first time he had been up since yesterday. He did fine shaving. I was kind of a wreck for a few minutes though. I thought that at least in the shower, there would be walls to break his fall and there was only a bar of soap with no sharp edges! Crazy thoughts, I know.

At this point, we do not know the extent of the damage. If you were to come and see him, you wouldn't know anything was wrong. He has a little bit of trouble tracking with you right now, but is in good spirits. He knows that typing will be a challenge, don't know about the piano, guitar, painting etc. Teasing him abit, he has an entire closet full of assistive technology and he can be his own poster child for his job! He has already said that he will probably be using the big keyboard and possibly some software that will type as he dictates for emails and reports.

Landon is doing better. He had a good hour between 330 and 430 today. The hardest part is keeping him on soft foods till his gum heals. He wanted french fries and a hamburger! I already dug rice and a graham cracker out of the space. It was suggested that I go get a water pick...that means I have to go shopping...not something that I like to do...Lon does most of the shopping in our family. We played cars on the floor and a Thomas the Tank Engine game that Stacy brought over along with some snacks. Love them! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Stacy! This evening he started running a slight fever and a runny nose. I am hoping that some good sleep will help to ward that off!

Tonight was the first time that Landon sat on Lon's bed. He has stayed away until now. Progress...

As we were coming home, Landon asked where he would be tomorrow and I said with me and we would be with Daddy. "Why does he have to be there EVERY day?" "Because he is sick and they need to take care of him." "He is not sick." "Well Son, Daddy is sick in his head." With eyes rolled back, he then said, "Daddy is not sick. He is just being silly!"

Another funny comment came from Landon as Lon was being hooked up to the heart monitor. With his gown down to his stomach, Landon whispers to me that Daddy has a fat tummy and he eats too much. Lon didn't appreciate that so much as I was trying to reign in the laughter after the nurse left. Kids...they speak the truth.

Me...I am taking things one hour at a time...and trying to not think about when the next episode will come...how comfortable I will be when it is just Lon and Landon in the truck...when will life be back to normal...what will normal look like...etc etc. I have to keep those thoughts at bay and not allow the fear of the unknown creep in and "freak me out".

I have not responded to each email and voice mail yet. I will get to them. Thank you for all the phone calls, emails and most of all, the prayers.

Heading to bed,
Ronda