Archive for June 10th, 2008
My Cousin Vinny: Understated study of Southern jurisprudence
So says Col. Ken Allard (U.S. Army Ret.):
I can now blow the whistle. Whether criminal or civil, local state or even federal, Alabama jurisprudence and law enforcement are ineffectual instruments, producing justice only as accidental outcomes.
The novels of Faulkner and Grisham, as well as movies like “My Cousin Vinny,” have captured the essence of the southern courthouse culture. “Vinny” is actually something of an understatement, an unhappy fact I learned only after living in Alabama from 2004-2006.
Restless Night
Monday, June 9, 2008 10:21:30 PM:
I arrived at the hospital, this morning, and Trudi was asleep. So I thought this would be a good time to finish the book I’m reading. After 3 1/2 hours of reading, I finished it and was lunchtime. Trudi was still sleeping when I went to lunch.
While sitting and reading, I checked with the nurse about Trudi’s numbers and condition the night before. Trudi’s numbers were great, and was awake almost all night, restless, seeing snakes, and calling the night nurse, who’s name happened to be Bob. He’s been her night nurse for the last two nights, and is a bit confusing for Trudi, since I’m Bob. Sweet Trudi is so confused and can’t remember what’s going on from day to day. This is all temporary as God is in control and healing her. Hallelujah!
I continue working with her left arm and leg, each day. Today she seemed a little tired, and that’s probably due to her being awake most of the night. I hold her arm and simulate reaching for an object and bring it to face, as in eating or looking closely at something. I tell her to push against me and flex her muscles, and she does. I raise her arm as if she is wanting to ask a question in class and bring it down, all the time asking her to resist my movements, and she does. It’s not much, but a centimeter is like a mile. With her leg, I bend her knee and while pushing her foot back, tell her she is on a stairway and stepping up the next step, and to push against me, and she does. We repeat these movements about a dozen times, each time we exercise.
She’s awesome at giving all her effort to recover. After exercising, I take a short break, go to the restroom and sit and drink a soda. Maybe 7 minutes. I return and PT is there to sit her in the chair. They do it right and Trudi suffers very little stress when being transfered back and forth. They slide a thin plastic board halfway under her and the other half of the board on the chair. They grab the sheet under her and slide her over, very smoothly. Then they seat belt her in and tilt the chair into a seated position. They put pillows under her paralyzed arm and one on her right side to steady here and there she sits with her helmet on and a smile on her face. She sat for two hours.
She is constantly on different subjects. She wants the nurse to come and help her pee, or she asks me to wheel her down the hallway to the bathroom. We remind her that she can go anytime she needs to go, there is a catheter in her bladder. I have to remind her that the friends she thinks are at the hospital aren’t there and are at home in whatever state they live in, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and so on. Gentle reminders that she is in the hospital because of heart surgery and stoke to her right brain. She is having difficulty remaining in the present, but will get past this with time. God is healing her, and we are witness to His healing of Trudi. All the glory goes to God.
She tells me she is ready for bed. She still had about 20 minutes to go before PT returned to get her back in bed. They do the reverse to get her in bed from the chair. Much better than lifting her like the OT did. I’m thanking God she could speak when she did and told me that man hurt her. I stopped that and PT is using proper techniques and equipment to move my wife.
After she returned to bed, it was about 5:30. I told her to rest and catch her breath and to nap if she felt like it. She didn’t nap, she wanted to hold hands and kiss me. So we did. The rehab doctor, trained with TIRR, specializes in brain injury, and is most excellent. She should get a smaller trach tube, which will get her on the road to eating solid food, again. I also told him to check her movement in her left arm and leg, and he felt her move. He predicts that she could be at TIRR in as little as two weeks if she continues to improve as rapidly as she is.
She is doing so very well. The rehab doctor said it’s possible that she could be transfered to the TIRR Hospital. The Institute of Rehabilitation and Research Hospital. They specialize in brain injury patients and are probably the best in the nation if not the world. Trudi is getting the best, and we can thank the Lord for that, too. He’s in control of Trudi’s recover and she will walk out of there when she comes home. Praise the Lord.
After the rehab doctor left, a nurse came in to get some blood for a blood culture. The lung doctor ordered the culture and I will have to ask about that in the morning. Is this a precaution against infection, or is he suspicious of infection, or just being thorough and just checking? Her white cell count was okay, but will check it in the morning to see if it is coming up or not. That is usually the first sign of infection, elevated while blood cell count. Pray that there is no infection and she continues to improve each day.
Hope there aren’t too many typos, I’m tired and going to bed and won’t proof read, tonight. Trudi had another wonderful day and I told her how wonderful she looked, today, at least 20 times. I repeat how beautiful she is throughout the day, and that I love her, more than I can count. She is my princess and I love her all the way to her soul.
Good night, everyone, and if you have any questions, please email me. I’m happy to answer any questions you may want to ask. If you’d like to send a card, send it to the house and I will take them to her.
Thank you for your support, encouragement, love and kindness, and most of all, thank you for your prayers.
May God Bless You All.
Bob
