Day 14 (Rehab 7) Yes, No, Maybe So?

Dearest Family and Friends,
Lorp! Bob’s dozing on the patio between therapy sessions so I’m trying to steal a few catch up minutes. So what’s new with the Bob? Every day sees improvements, albeit small, but the good news is that Bob’s rehab team thinks he’s an interesting and exciting patient because he is so motivated. I think the THERAPISTS are miracle workers!
1) Today, Bob stood UP (assisted by PTs, of course) and stepped off on his left foot
2) He is getting pretty good at transfers to/from the wheelchair
3) Today, he told me which songs he wanted to sing. (When I asked, he started singing Edelweiss and then Michael Row the Boat Ashore)
4) Over the weekend, we worked very hard learning to say “Yes” and “No”. So today, during his psych eval, he answered questions “Yes”, “No”, “Y-E-S spells Yes”, Yes AND No”, “Yes OR No” and my all time favorite, “Yes, No, Maybe So”. I was anxiously thinking, OMG, his answers are so far off the charts that they're going to kick us out of Rehab, but the neuropsych told me the team was really excited at Bob's progress, especially because he was non-responsive/non-communicative only a week ago and they had deep concerns and now he’s trying to talk, talk, talk and that’s a good thing. He told Bob he knew that he was brilliant and that this must be so frustrating. But the moral of the story is this, the next time someone asks you a question that you don't feel like answering, simply answer with a thoughtful, "Yes", then wait a few seconds and add a thoughtful, "or No". And then wait. Oh yes, and it doesn't matter what type of question it is: Multiple choice? Yes or no. Fill in the blank? Yes or No. Matching? Yes or No. (Linda B, Carrie F, Justin M, Kristen M, what d'you think?)
5) Get this, his neuropsych knows Barry and Leslie (he bought Lindsay and Jaymes house). That bit of information opened up a connection and he wanted to know all about the Bob. (Barry and Leslie, it’s true, it’s true, relationships matter!”
6) He is getting better at answering multiple choice questions such as, “if you’re finished with dinner, push the tray away” or “raise your hand when you want me to changing TV stations”
7) He’s pretty good at recalling closed sets. For example, the therapist will say “up and . . . “ and he’ll say “down”, “Black and" "…white” and so on. Pretty cool
8) When I tucked him in tonight, he told me “I love you” AND he stroked my cheek.
9) Bob’s mastered three jigsaw puzzles. He started with 9 pieces and he quickly mastered the 12 piece puzzle from Laurie and Bryan. (Thanks B & L). Tomorrow we go to 24 pieces.
10) Tonight I said to him “Bob, you’ve always been a man of few words. . . “ and he said very slowly, “And now, I” and then he got stuck on “lorp”. That blew me away because I was actually thinking, “And now you’re a man of very few words.” I felt like the old Bob was talking to me. It was the weirdest thing to hear him add to my thoughts. And I’m not making this up – just ask his roommate, D., (who is not a stroke patient).
11) He learned how to pull on his pants and shirt (which is incredibly difficult when only one side of your body does the work)
12) Tonight during movie night at rehab, Bob hooked his elbow with mine, just like he always did. (Oh-the movie was BOLT.)

There is much to be said about the power in family and friends. I can’t thank you enough for ALL of you for your prayers, messages/emails, positive thoughts, calls, cards, flowers, and gifts (And Rick C for shaving the Bob and reading to him). I am so grateful for your acts of kindness and for carrying our spirits through this time. I really do look forward to hearing from you and want you to know that although I haven’t responded personally to each one of you, my heartfelt thank you goes to each of you. All of my energy has been focused on Bob and not much else. Those of you who know my family know how close we are and I’m so grateful for them – crazy nuts and all. The “Witches of East Highland” (my sisters) are there every day to make me laugh (with their nutty ideas). They’ve transformed Bob’s room with butterflies, a word wall, memory bulletin board (complete with matching borders), puzzles, cards, whiteboards, flashcards, AND they didn’t stop there. They added a shade umbrella to the patio and they planted the garden with colorful flowers for Bob. My personal life is managed by Josh, my twin’s son, who just defended his dissertation @ NYU, (yes, another doctor in the family). He and my parents make and deliver my meals to the hospital so that I can eat with Bob. My brothers-in-laws have been saints. Robin comes up on from San Diego on the weekends and reads the LA Times to Bob and plays his guitar for him and the other patients. Jeff visits daily and he’s renovating our house so that Bob has universal access. Tomorrow his construction team starts tearing out the downstairs bathroom, building in a roll in shower, widening doors doors, adding ramps, and support bars through out. Bill (M.D.) flies in tomorrow and will stay the next two weeks so that he can meet personally with Bob’s doctors to come up with the best home recovery plan. And don't worry, I'll be tapping on all of you who have time to help out when The Bob comes home. So you see, it really does take a village to raise a man.

Anyway, I've learned that you can never tell someone you love them enough. So hug your loved ones and tell them you love them.

Much Lorp to all,

Sharon