Day 18 - September 10, 2015

Today I (Brandi - Jeff's oldest daughter) had the opportunity to spend the entire day with my dad, so since I had first hand experience, I am going to try on my own to tell you about today's events.  I am not a writer like Julee, but I will do my best.

I arrived just after 9:00AM and found a very sleepy Jeff.  He told me he had been up most of the night thinking and pondering on things.  He said his mind was very clear and he felt great and wished he had some dictation software to use so that he could type up what he wanted to say to contribute to this blog.  And thus, my first assignment was given to me and I gladly sat down with his phone and tablet to find an app that would allow him to talk into the microphone as it would then type for him.

Not only had Jeff not gotten much sleep, but he had a fever this morning which totally wiped him out.  He was very disappointed and frustrated with the way he felt today because he so badly wanted to get right to work and give rehab 100% of his efforts.

Even though he was sleepy and as he put it "wiped out" the therapy still continued.....

First the speech therapist came in to assess his swallowing capabilities, assess speaking capability, cognitive ability, etc.  The speech therapist told Jeff that his attitude, determination & personality were remarkable.  Jeff told her about his accident and told her that because he is still here on this earth he remembers what is important.  He stated that even though he has always been a pretty positive person, his attitude now has been better than it ever has been before.  Jeff continued to talk about how he is very thankful for ALL the people that he has met and that he desires to show appreciation and thanks and to treat everyone as Christ would.  He then said, "if you treat people the way you want to be treated and love everyone the way Christ does it's a great experience!"

The speech therapist then had to ask Jeff those annoying cognitive questions that he hates.  Some of the things she asked him were, "Is a hammer good for cutting wood? Is one pound of flour heavier than two pounds?" and just like in Denver he was asked "Who's our President?" and can you guess his reply?  Yes, it hadn't changed as he blurted out "Asshole --- Obama" and the speech therapist started laughing and said, "I've had worse replies to that question." The last question asked was, "Who discovered America?" and Jeff answered, "Well that's debatable --- Columbus"

Next came in the Occupational Therapist who's name is Josh.  Josh came in to discuss what his role was in therapy.  They discussed Jeff's house and what modifications needed to be made for him.  Jeff proceeded to tell Josh all that he and his brother's and dad were planning to do to make the house ready for him when he came home.  Josh laughed and said, "I can tell your an auto body guy - just wanting to cut that out, modify that, change the color to hot pink..."  He then told Jeff, "Jeff you are emotionally three months ahead of yourself, that is AWESOME!!" Jeff told Josh that he wants to do everything possible to get his hands to squeeze.  Josh said they could work on that, but his goal was for my dad to be able to learn all he needed to learn to be independent with his current capacities. Josh's job is to teach my dad how to get in and out of bed, how to brush his teeth, how to hold a spoon to eat, etc.  Josh then had to leave but said he would be back later in the afternoon.

Next came in Cami, the Physical Therapist who would do Jeff's initial evaluation.  Cami and Josh put shorts on Jeff and lifted him out of bed into a wheelchair.

As soon as Jeff was settled in his wheelchair Josh said, "lets get you out of this gown" and asked Annette if she had a shirt for Jeff to wear.  Annette handed Josh a shirt and he immediately gave it to Jeff and said, "put it on".  Jeff was a little stunned and then answered, "you want me to do it?"  Josh said, "yes, lets see what you can do".  Jeff then immediately took the "challenge" and found the arm holes in his shirt and shoved his arms through.  My mom and I believe he probably could have gotten it most of the way on himself if it wasn't for the big neck brace that had to be maneuvered around.  All in all, with a little help, Jeff did a great job putting on his own shirt.

Jeff was wheeled down to the therapy room for some physical therapy with Cami.  They have to watch his blood pressure really close to make sure it doesn't get to low because they don't want him passing out.

Jeff was still extremely tired and he still had the fever so it didn't help the situation, but he conjured up enough energy to give me a smile for his "first day in therapy picture".

While in a wheelchair they still need to lean him back or reposition him every 15 minutes to keep his blood pressure under control and allow blood to flow more easily throughout his body.  He was so exhausted that he couldn't hardly stay awake to listen to Cami and he kept falling asleep.  This made him so frustrated, but Cami reassured him it was fine because they repeat things over and over again.

Jeff went back to his room and was told that he could stay sitting in the wheelchair for 45 minutes, but that he needed to be repositioned every 15 minutes.  For some reason or another the nurses weren't able to come do this so my mom and I tried our best.  Jeff ate lasagna for lunch and the fact that my mom could cut it with a spoon told me that the noodles were too mushy and that my dad wasn't going to like it.  Sure, thing after the first bite he commented that the flavor was good but the texture was horrible because the noodles were mushy.

I then headed down to the cafeteria around 2:00pm to find my mom and I something to eat for lunch.  I ended up buying us a cheeseburger and tater tots (it was Tater Tot Thursday).  When I returned, Josh, the OT was working with Jeff on picking up a spoon and positioning it so that he could eat with it.  He was doing really well, but it was all my mom and I could do to hold ourselves back.  We wanted to help him do it, but realize that it is in his best interest if we don't. 

Josh then asked what I had brought for lunch and told me to bring over a few of the tater tots.  He sat them in front of my dad on his lap and told him, "eat them".  For the first time in 18 days Jeff fed himself.  My mom and I were so elated to see him do this that we made him wait to eat the last tater tot until I got out my phone and recorded the event on video.

After eating the "marginal" tater tots Jeff asked for a drink and Annette reached over to give him a sip from his cup and Josh said, "wait a minute, why are you doing that?!"  Jeff replied, "because I don't want to spill it all over myself".  Josh then put the cup on Jeff's lap, helped him stabilize it and showed him how he could hold it himself.  Because Jeff doesn't have any movement in his fingers he has to try to use his fist and wrist to open his fingers and position them where he needs them.  To me it looks very difficult, but my dad does it without a single complaint and I am so proud of him!!

Then it was time for Physical Therapy again, but this time with Alex.  Alex will be with my dad for 7 days strait.  He works 7 days on then 7 days off and today was day 1 of a 7 day stretch, so my dad will get to see a lot of him this week.  Alex showed Annette how to put on Jeff's tennis shoes and then they put him in a wheelchair again and took him down to the "workout room".

Jeff was still exhausted and feverish, but he was able to stay awake and not fall asleep which he was grateful for.  Alex got him out of the wheelchair and positioned him on a table that helps him get in a standing position. For today, because of blood pressure issues, the table was left at a 35% angle.  Alex helped Jeff work the muscles in his arms and shoulders and even though Jeff felt terrible he gave it his all and did exactly what Alex asked him to do.

After his workout, a very exhausted Jeff was wheeled back to his room by Annette.

He slept as best he could while waiting for his cousin Camille Ewell Salehi to come and give him a hair cut.  We are all so very grateful that Camille volunteered to come cut our dad's hair.  He has been complaining about it ever since he was in Denver and he is very happy to finally have it cut.  Our dad has always cut his own hair with a Flowbee so having Camille cut it for him was a real treat - Thanks Camille!!  (For those of you who don't know, a Flowbee is a haircutting system that hooks up to a shop vac.  Basically my dad could cut his hair and watch TV or work on the computer at the same time.)

When I left the hospital this evening, they still hadn't shared with us the results of the blood work and urinalysis which was disappointing because we were hoping to figure out what is causing Jeff to have a fever and not feel well.  Hopefully tomorrow we will find out.

Jeff had cousins come visit him this afternoon and tonight and we are grateful to them for coming and showing their love and support for our dad!  We found out today from the therapists that everyday will be as busy as today if not more busy than today. Because our dad is going to be so busy during the day working with the therapists and learning all that he needs to learn we ask that if you would like to visit that you please call Annette to make sure it's okay that you come and to also plan on coming after 4:00pm.

Finally, I would just like to say that my mom is awesome!!  The way she cares for my dad is remarkable and I am so grateful that the Lord is strengthening her and providing her with what she needs, both physically & emotionally, to help my dad.

Then there is my dad, I am so very thankful I am his daughter and that he realizes that our family still needs him.  I am grateful that he feels that he still has a purpose here on this earth.  He is so positive and patient and I love sitting and listening to him talk with the Nurses and Therapists and share with them his views on life as he now sees it and then asks them questions so he can get to know them better.  I too want to learn how to treat people and love people like Christ would and I know that I can learn this through watching my dad and following his example.

I just want everyone who is reading this to know that if you are going through a trial in your life please go to God for help, support and strength.  I can't imagine going through this type of family trial without the Lord at our side.  Having his spirit with us gives us so much strength and hope for the future that it is incredible.  I know that through this trial my dad will experience JOY like he has never experienced before and he will be an example to others through his words and actions.  The light of Christ will shine through him allowing him to share his testimony with many, many, many people.  I am also grateful for the peace that the Lord has given me to know that no matter what my dad is capable of in the future, he will be happy, find joy and be content with whatever situation he is in.

Please continue to pray for our dad, our mom & our family. Your prayers help strengthen all of us and we are so grateful for them!