Ry’s Blog

My sister, Rayne, is now an assistant attorney general for the state of Illinois.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:09:12 PM:

Well, it was nice to see Trudi awake, this morning, when I arrived to her room. Our greeting has become a tradition. I tell her how wonderful she looks, today, and that I love her, and she smiles. It’s that smile that fills my heart with joy, and that’s all I need to make it through another day with her, giving thanks for God’s miracles.

We held hands and listened to more music, and swayed with the music. She said she ate her breakfast and it was good. She is still having difficulty with her head, she wants to scratch it and rub it, and I am quick on the draw to stop her from hurting herself. The nurses and therapists have to watch her hand, too, so that’s why she is restrained, unless someone is with her, constantly on guard, to prevent her from harming her brain. It’s difficult seeing her restrained, but for her safety, I accept it. This is temporary, but brain damage can be permanent.

Lunch arrives and so does a different speech therapist. At first, you get the head therapist, then assistants start seeing the patient. This speech therapist was observing Trudi’s vision and eye/hand coordination while eating lunch. About half way through her lunch, the therapist asks her to draw a clock. Trudi drew the circle, but then put all of the numbers outside the circle. Some eyesight problems, but we could read the numbers, so she knows her numbers. Next, the therapist drew a horizontal line across the middle of the paper and asked Trudi to draw a vertical line. Trudi had difficulty with this one, but drew the line on the right side of the paper, making it a success. Small as these successes are, they are huge steps toward her recovery. She finished lunch and we relaxed and spent time together.

About 2pm, occupational therapy came in to get her out of bed and into the wheelchair to sit for a couple of hours. He brought a seat pad to help Trudi tolerate sitting for 3 or 4 hours. We listened to more music and held hands, sitting next to each other with my left arm around her shoulders and my right hand in hers. These are wonderful moments.

Two hours later, the OT returns to take Trudi to the “play room”. It’s the exercise room with lots of different machines and toys for rehabilitation. There is a device that has bars and straps on it that allows a patient to stand without being held by someone. He positioned Trudi upright, standing on her feet. There is a platform for her arms to rest on, in front of her, so she can support some weight with her arms. The straps fit under her rear end and around her back to keep her from falling backwards, and support in front to help steady her. After standing for about 15 minutes, she was exhausted and in pain. We prepare her to return to her room, getting her back in the wheelchair.

Trudi is a trooper, for sure. She almost cried with pain, but didn’t want to sit down. My sweetie is so courageous, I’m filled with overwhelming joy. What a moment to witness, her standing on both feet. And by the way, I’m getting photos of her milestones, such as this one. We returned to her room and he got her back into bed. She was worn out.

Supper was waiting when we returned to her room. She settled down and got comfortable and was ready to eat. She ate all of her supper and was ready to rest. It’s painful to see her in pain, but knowing tht this is the road to recovery, I am encouraging her and applauding her for her bravery and determination. The effort Trudi is demonstrating, is astronomical. I’m in company of a champion, and she happens to be my wife. She makes me so very proud of her, and an honor to be her husband.

I kissed her goodnight and I told her that I love her, and would be back in the morning. I’m getting ready to call and check on her with her nurse, so I can get some rest. Each time I return home, for the night, I know she is in God’s hands and will be protected and safe for the night.

I had to start sending my updates earlier, I’m getting to bed too late and staring to feel the strain. I have so much to process, I’ve been up later than usual going over each day. There is so much to keep up with besides Trudi remarkable recovery, I have to have time, in the evening for introspection and retrospection of the day. My goodness, it’s amazing to me that I’m able to keep up with everything that is happening, and much of it is happening at the same time, or back to back, all day long.

Weekends are a welcomed rest from the PT and OT. But I continue working with her during those down times. We are looking forward to entering TIRR and then getting her home. Her recovery and rehabilitation will be an ongoing effort, even after getting home and into the future,with home health and rehab. Whatever it takes to walk on the beach, together.

Good night everyone, and …

May God Bless You All,

Bob

Monday, June 16, 2008 10:31:04 PM:

Trudi and I had a very nice morning and after telling her that she looks wonderful, today, and how much I love her, we held hands. I exercised her leg and arm, rubbed her feet, and worked with eye/hand coordination. When lunch came, she ate all of it. She is having a slight problem swallowing, at times, and coughs when it goes down the wrong pipe.

After lunch, we listened to 60’s music. I brought my cd player and some cd’s of some of our favorite music from the 60’s. As we held hands, she would sway back and forth like dancing. So we danced together. We are having some very important and intimate moments with each other, as we form a new future together. Glory to God.

I’m going to keep this one short. Trudi had a great day. The PT said she is doing wonderful. He had her flex her leg when he did range of motion exercises with her leg and arm. I told his she would move them if you ask her. He had her leg, with knee up, and asked her to push it down. She was struggling with it, because her right leg would move. That’s called crossover, were the message to move left is transfered to the right. It’s a phenomenon with the nervous system with brain damage on one side. She did it, and he was totally surprised at the amount of force she used. He did the same with her left arm, and she flexed it and moved it when he asked her. I knew this and wanted him to know it so he could document this in her file.

The rehabilitation doctor came in and felt some movement, too. He is still contending she is a good candidate for TIRR, and I’m praying she is, too. It’s the best in the world and that’s were the pro’s go for rehab when injured playing their sport or whatever. Trudi deserves the very best and it’s right in Houston. Praise God.

During the PT session, he stood her up and let her stand. She can put all of her weight on her right leg, and then he leans her to the left so she will put weight on her left leg. She id this four times this afternoon. After the PT session, we talked and make a phone call to her daughter and grandson. After talking to her grandson, Taylor, she started thinking he was in the next room. I told her that he was not at the hospital, he is home in Seattle. She insisted he was there, and I couldn’t convince her otherwise. I got very concerned about this and will discuss it with her doctor, tomorrow.

Supper arrived and I fed it to her. She ate all of her dinner. She is eating just fine, with a little trouble swallowing, at times, but doing great. I feel so much joy for her, and satisfaction with myself for being there for her, it feels right. And God continues to show us miracles with Trudi. Have a goodnight and may…

God Bless You All.

Bob

Saturday, June 14, 2008 11:10:27 PM:

Today, as I arrived, I stop at Trudi’s doorway to see if she noticed me. I stand there and she is looking toward the door. When she saw me, her face became so happy, it joys my heart to see. I walk up to her, bend over to get closer, and tell her that she looks wonderful today, and that I love her. I have to say, that’s the way I will start everyday from now and forever.

My heart is split in two. One side seems so very heavy and the other is happy and joyous. Bringing them together will take some time, and I’m favoring the happy and joyous part of my heart, it’s the future. When trusting in God, today is filled with love and joy, even in the midst of a storm.

My salvation, during this crisis, has been through Christ, my Savior, from Whom Trudi and I get strength to weather this storm. It has been rough, very rough, at times, but today was calm sailing. Trudi had a day off from therapy.

An old friend of hers called, and I put the phone up to Trudi’s ear so she could chat. By the time they were finished talking, my arm was about to fall off. It had to be, at least 15 minutes on the phone. It wasn’t long after that call, Trudi went to sleep for two hours, then lunch arrives.

Trudi ate much more today, than she did yesterday. For lunch, she had chopped roast beef with potatoes and gravy, chopped green beans, ground vegetable soup, and blueberry yogurt with apple sauce and apple juice. She ate most of it. There weren’t a dozen bites left. For supper, she had chopped chicken breast with potatoes and gravy, yellow squash, chopped, vanilla pudding with whipped cream, tomato soup, and apple juice and mile. She ate most of it, with very few bites left over.

She almost ate two whole meals, today. I’m so proud of her. We spent the afternoon talking and looking at each other. I continue to exercise her leg and arm, and am doing some eye/hand coordination sessions during the weekend. I can continue working with her in order to keep the flow of recover moving forward without skipping a beat, so to say.

The middle of the afternoon, my brother and sister in law, Harvey and Mary, came to visit Trudi. Trudi was very happy to see them. She tells them that she is so happy to see them and how she loves them. Mary and Trudi are close, almost like sisters. It was a great visit. It’s good for Trudi to see familiar faces, or more important, familiar voices, then the faces start to connect with the voice. They stayed for supper and watched how much Trudi ate for supper. It was a super supper for her.

All in all, this was a great day, full of rest and love. She deserves a couple of days off. This last week was full of milestones for Trudi. Oh, Lord, thank you for healing Trudi.

I’m looking for another peaceful day with my wife, tomorrow. Thank you all for your support and encouragement, and all of the prayers, they are heard and felt. Good night, and may…

God Bless You All.

Bob

Friday, June 13, 2008 11:23:44 PM:

I arrived and Trudi was sleeping. She slept for a couple of hours before waking to see me standing over her with a smile on my face, and I tell her that she looks wonderful, today, and how much I love her. Shortly after waking, speech therapy came into her room. She was wondering if Trudi had lunch, yet. Trudi told her not yet. So the therapist ordered her a lunch tray. It was going to take about half and hour, so I went to lunch so I could be there for Trudi’s lunch.

Shortly after getting back from lunch, her tray arrives. The speech therapist put the O2 meter on her finger to monitor her blood oxygen level and heart rate, in case Trudi got short of air while eating lunch. All prepared, Trudi took her first bite of real food. She had chopped fish, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots, and soup with ice tea. She ate and drank about 10 percent of her meal. It was great to see her eating, again. She liked it, too.

She has to have her feeding tube turned off an hour before eating and turned back on an hour after eating a meal. She is to have her speaking valve on her trach and sit upright at 90 degrees an hour after eating. They are making certain all of her food goes all the way down to her stomach and doesn’t cause her to aspirate. She did great with no problems.

Half an hour after eating, her comes physical therapy and occupational therapy. Oops, scheduling conflict. Occupational therapy won out and she got into a wheel chair about 2:30pm. She wheeled herself around the block in the hallway and ended up in the physical/occupational therapy workroom for some eye/hand coordination exercises. I always sit to her left, and the therapists start with the left side and works toward the right. Need to keep her aware that she has a left side of her body. She ignores it because to her, it doesn’t exist.

By this time, Trudi has been in the wheelchair for two 1/2 hours. We go back to her room and visit for a while. I put my arm around her and hold her close to me, laying my head on her shoulder. We just sit there and feel each other’s love. And before she can get back into bed, supper has arrived. I get to feed her this time.

For supper she had chopped turkey breast, dressing and gravy, chopped green beans, soup, frozen yogurt, milk, ice tea, and biscuit. She ate about 10 to 15 percent of it and had enough. She was getting tired and wanted back in bed. Well, the therapist didn’t get back to put her into bed until 7pm. Once in bed, she conked out, so I told her good night and that I love her and will be back in the morning.

She spent 4 1/2 hours in the wheel chair and was upright for that long. It was exhausting for her, but building her strength. She sat on the edge of the bed all by herself for a minute or so, balancing herself with her body and right arm. I’m so proud of her, it shows.

Another great day with Trudi, and she continues to recover very quickly. I can’t say enough how your prayers are making the difference, please continue praying for her. All praise and glory to God.

God Bless You All.

Bob

Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:10:03 PM:

This was anther believable day. Trudi was moved, again, this morning. She was upgraded to medically stable. My gosh, the woman is totally remarkable. I see it more and more, each day, God’s miracles at work. With your prayer and love, she is healing and recovering at a record pace. She told me that Jesus saved her, and I cried, totally lost it with joy, and she rubbed my face, and smiled. I have tears as I write these words. I’m filled with such happiness and love, it over flows from deep within. We were souls, together, one with God, at that moment.

Well, after that, I’m ready to write. I had to let you know how I’m feeling about Trudi and the revelations being revealed to us. Our morning started with speech therapy, for more swallowing tests. She ate a graham cracker and drank some blue water, and passed the test. Nothing blue when she suctioned Trudi’s wind pipe. Tomorrow, she starts on real food, granted, it will be like pudding, but will be easy to swallow. And she will drink from a cup or with a spoon, at first. Trudi is ready to have food pass her lips. It’s been over a month since she’s had solid food. As she would say, “My gosh”.

She had the talking valve on and was talking all day. She talks about everything, even talks about making a list of things to do when she gets home. She says she’s ready to leave. She asks me to take her home, and I have to say she’s not ready, there’s no bone on your head. She isn’t quite sure about the seriousness of how vulnerable her brain is, at this time. I mean, no bone on the right skull, just the scalp over the brain. I’d say that’s pretty delicate.

After lunch, OT came in to put her into a wheel chair for a trip out of her room. I am going, wow, way to go, and thought is was great thing to do with her. She sits on the side of the bed for a few minutes before getting up. As she is put into the wheel chair, he gets her to put some weight on her right leg, then her left. She put some weight on her right leg and he helped her pivot, to sit in the chair. After getting situated in the wheel chair, he pushes her out of the room and into the hallway.

I’m walking beside them as we go down the hallway. He asked her to wheel herself and steer with her feet. She wheels her self with her right hand, but goes to the left, and it’s quite getting the steering part down, yet. It is so much more than laying in a bed for a month. He stood a tall mirror in the hallway, in front of her so she could wheel to herself. With assistance, she was seeing herself in the mirror. This was the first time she has seen herself in over a month, too. She liked the helmet.

After the mirror, we went into the occupational therapy room and he put the mirror right in front of her so she could touch it. There where multicolored blocks with Velcro on them, stuck to the frame of the mirror. He asked her to take a certain colored block and put it in my hand. I was sitting to her left. Focusing on her left side helps her realize that she has a left side. With right brain damage, the left doesn’t exist. She was able to discriminate colors, but had difficulty locating the object with her hand, she was off, to the left, by about three inches, and had to go right, in order to grasp the block. Making her put it in my hand, had her shift focus from right to left. I would have my hand a little higher or lower in order for her to have to find it. Practice makes perfect, as my old band director would say.

After that activity, she went back to her room and sit with me for another 40 minutes. This is my time with her. I can sit next to her, put my arm around her, and tell her I love her, and hold her close to me. After about 40 minutes, the therapist came back to put her into bed. It was a different therapist than the first one. His name was Shawn, same as my son’s name. Maybe that will help Trudi remember his name. He got her to her feet and asked her to put weight on her right leg. She did, and then, as I kept her left leg straight, asked her to put weight on her left leg. He leaned her to the left so she would have to put weight on her left leg, and she did, just the slightest, but she did it. He sat her on the edge of the bed. He asked her if she would like to stand, one more time, and she said yes.

She stood and had most of her weight on her right leg. The therapist looked at me and almost held up his hands, as she took most of her own weight. She is such a brave a courageous woman. The therapist asked her to pivot so she could get back into bed. He nudged her right foot and she did it, she was able to pivot, and that’s a huge step. I’m looking forward to what she will do tomorrow. Praise God, to Whom goes all the Glory.

I just have to get through the night. I call the nurse to make certain Trudi is okay and that I’ve expressed my concerns about her head, to all of them. I put two more signs up on the walls in her room, Mo Bone Flap on Her Right Head. Can’t miss them.

What a day! I am blessed, and…

May God Bless You All.

Bob

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:40:54 PM:

I walked into her room this morning, at 10am, and she was asleep. I sat down and watched her sleep, just in awe of her beauty. She has one of the sweetest souls I’ve ever met. I’m beginning to believe that love is unlimited and eternal. At times I seem to be connected in a way I’ve never been connected to a person, a deep, beautiful, peaceful feeling when just holding her hand and looking into her eyes.

She wakes up when the Speech Therapist came into her room to test Trudi’s swallowing capability. They had changed her trach tube, the evening before, to a 6 mm tube, from the 8 mm tube. This will allow her to get more air around the trach and swallow, without food or water getting into her lungs. They are closeby if that happends and can suction out the liquid at that momen. The coughing bothers me, but Trudi feels better after it.

First, Trudi ate some ice and was successful. Next she took several spoon fulls of blue colored water. Then Trudi actually drank water through a straw. She drank about 4 ounces of blue water. The blue water will indicate if she aspirated when swallowing. Getting water or food in her windpipe wouldn’t work, so the smaller trach will facilitate swallowing more easily.

The test for any leakage from swallowing is done with simple suctioning of her wind pipe. The did that and there was no blue color in her wind pipe, and she passed that test. Tomorrow morning may be soft food, like pudding or mashed potatoes.

What a morning! And each time, during and after her swallowing test, I cheered her on, and congratulated her for showing them how to recover from a massive stroke. Most of the staff aren’t aware the level of Faith at work with Trudi, and if they inquire about her doing so well, I just tell them it’s the power prayer, and may people are praying for her. That’s always nice to say, as a witness to His love for us. WOW

That was a milestone for Trudi, being able to swallow, and will be eating regular food in no time.

The next milestone for Trudi was being moved out of ICU and into IMU. That takes her off the critical list and has her as guarded, closely. She wants to reach up and scratch her head, the part with no bone, and it freaks me out every time she reaches toward her head. Yikes!

I release the restraint occasionally to let her rub her nose and eyes, I know an itchy nose can become paramount. Especially if you can’t rub it. Itching seems to be quite an issue with Trudi, and I get it, she’s been in bed for 4 weeks, today.

I can hardly believe it, a month, today, since her heart surgery and stroke. She has made amazing progress and continues to recover more each day. I’m so happy at times, I don’t want it to go away, but I’m having more moments of joy, now that she is out of ICU. It was a celebration, meaning she is improving and moving to the next step of recovery.

That means more Physical, Occupational, and Speech therapies. She sat in a chair for two hours, today. It was 2 hours of talking about people, things, and ideas, and so much, that I could hardly keep her in today. This was right after lunch. Her mind has to be jumbled and reorganizing itself, and thought and images are flashing across it, rewiring and taking control of the situation. She can hold a conversation and throw something in, our of left field, to make you stop and think.

She got back into bed after sitting in the chair, and caught her breath. Being on the smaller trach tube makes her work harder to breath which in turn is strengthening her lungs and breathing ability. Her nurse tonight, had her last night in ICE, so she is familiar with Trudi. That’s good to know. I sleep better once I’ve spoken with her nurse. I may call two or three times, or just once, depending on how I’m feeling at the time.

As we went down the hallway to her new room, she got to see different people and scenery for a short trip. They just roll the whole bed, it’s like a parade. Hilarious image… I like that she is directly across the hall from the nursing station. You can see them from Trudi’s room. I like that, too.

What a day this was, and keeping up with her is a challenge by itself. She is showing me the meaning of life, to love each other.

May God Bless You All.

Bob Holcombe

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:15:52 PM:

Trudi was sleeping, again, this morning, and the nurse tells me that she was up most of the night. She slept until after lunch. She needed her rest, she has physical therapy in the afternoon.

Since she can talk, now, she demonstrates great willingness to have the effort to go through the physical therapy. She sits for two hours and gets back to bed for the night. Today, speech therapy came in for a second visit.

Speech therapy wasn’t planning on this early visit, but Trudi is progressing at such a fast rate, they had to get a different form to fill out. They were waiting for Trudi to be downsized on her trach tube to 6 mm from 8 mm, allowing her to swallow better, possible start eating and drinking within two weeks. Trudi is way ahead of their game, and causing them to keep up with her. Praise God for healing Trudi.

The speech therapist had questions to ask Trudi, and Trudi answered most of them. Some of them involving memory, caused her to think for deeply, and I could see her searching for answers. Some of them involved simple problem solving, and Trudi answered 4/5 of them. She did great, and I always congratulate her for doing such a fine job.

I am totally thrilled with the way Trudi is recovering from her stroke. Her heart surgery seems an after thought, but happened 4 weeks ago, too, along with the stoke, later that evening. When she sees creatures like wombats, roaches on my glasses, and snakes on the ceiling, I distract her to images of us swimming in our pool, walking on the beach, and her and I making plans for our new future, together. These thoughts and images are much more pleasing to her than the things she thinks she is seeing.

I exercise her left leg and arm and am simply joyous each time she resists my movements. She stood up today, with assistance, she put her weight on her legs, mostly the right one, and I could see her trying to put weight on her left leg. She is awesome!

She doesn’t have much balance, that will have to be worked on, as well as her ability to reach out and grab objects. Lots of things to do, and Trudi is on the path to recovery. Glory to God and praise all of you, my angels, for your prayers. We continue to need them and pray for others with tragedy in their lives, too.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow to see what miracles will happen with Trudi.

Good night everyone, and …

May God Bless You All,

Bob Holcombe

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