DAY 202

I'm posting a little earlier today than usual. Rick's watching football on the big screen tv. There's not much going on on the weekends. He will stand in the standing frame today and tomorrow, and then next weekend the therapists will have other assignments, but nothing that lasts for more than an hour. We got to talk to the kids on the video phone today. It was really funny. Rick could see the kids on the screen, and he would raise his hand up and wave at them. There was also a meeting today of the South Plains Brain Injury Association. They meet the 2nd Saturday of every month at TLC. Today they had a very interesting video about the brain and how it can be retrained. We only watched part of it, but it covered the training of the Navy Seals and how they have to retrain their brains not to panic in certain situations. I also met a lady whose husband was injured in 1991 and says her husband is still making progress after all these years...that is so encouraging. That brings me to a story I wanted to share about one of the patients at TLC. He was shot in the head 33 years ago when he was 20. Back then they knew nothing about brain injury. He recieved physical therapy for about a year, but after that he was pretty much on his own. He had to learn to live with a brain injury, plus live with the fact that the guy who shot him only recieved 10 years probation because "he didn't mean to shoot him in the head, he only meant to shoot his cowboy hat off his head". Can you imagine? Long story short, he met Dr. Wolcott who suggested a baclofen pump and more therapy. He had his pump put in in September and said that he could tell before he left the hospital that it was working. He had always walked really stiff, fell every day and had a lot of numbness in his left leg. After the pump he has feeling back, he's a lot looser, and doesn't hardly ever fall. The therapists are working with him, and 33 years later he is making progress...Praise The Lord! He has been a huge inspiration to me, and he often makes Rick smile...I like that even better!

Then your light will break forth like the dawn & your healing will quickly appear; then your rightousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:8

Hope y'all have a great weekend.

Love,
Crystal

DAY 200 & 201

We had a great week @ TLC. This morning we got the baclofen pump refilled and it was a really simple process. After sterlizing the area, the nurse put the template over the pump to line up the "soft spot". The medicine that was left in the pump was discarded because it's not good to mix the old meds with the new meds. Then 40 cc of baclofen was put in, the pump recalibrated and that was that. I bet we were done in 10 minutes, but we missed most of morning therapy. On Friday afternoons half of the patients go on an outing and the other half stay in and have an "inning". Today we had an "inning" and the patients split into groups and had a "bake off". So, that means we spent 2 hours in the kitchen making oreo truffles. Next Friday we will get to go on an outing. We ended the day with a community meeting. The patients and therapists meet and get to brag on accomplishments of the week. Then they ask questions like, "if you could live anywhere where would it be?" When I asked Rick this question he said, "with you". I'm not sure if he thinks sucking up will get him out of all of this work, but he's sure giving it a good try! Sy and Kristi Olson came by to see us today. Rick smiled when he saw Kristi's baby bump. He showered and fell asleep at 7:30...he's tired, but it's a good tired.


The kids aren't getting to come this weekend. They are spending some time tonight with their babysitter, Katy. She took them to her house to mess around then out for supper and fun. Katy keeps my kids and my neices every afternoon and all the kids absolutely love her.

Well, guess I'll stick around here for a little while and then back to L&L's Bed and Breakfast and Supper and Entertainment...can't just call it L&L's Bed and Breakfast 'cuz they always have supper and entertainment, too!

I have a lot of stories about people here at TLC of inspiration, hope and God's work...and I'll be sharing those with y'all as we go. So many good things.

God Bless You All,
Crystal

DAY 199

Rick is smoked...he's been asleep since 7:00. He was a little out of sorts this morning when I got here. I was here at 8:00 and he was already in ST. He wasn't really participating very good so I talked to him for a minute and figured out that he was confused about what was going on. I gave him a pep talk and he finished the session pretty good. I've decided to get here a little earlier in the mornings to make sure he's okay before he starts therapy. He had a total of 6 hours of therapy today...2 hours were in group sessions that worked on memory and problem solving. I can't wait to hear what the therapists say after the evaluations are over. I just think he's done so well...couldn't be prouder of him. In PT Laura tested his balance. He stood on one side of the parallel bars and she let go of him and told him to stand. For some reason he started swaying from side to side...on purpose, almost like he wanted to see if he could do it. Then she had him march in place...he kept his balance really well. Then she told him to completely let go, but he wouldn't. She said, "is that too scary right now?" and he said "yes". Then he stood in the standing frame for 40 minutes...that is the longest he's ever stood and he handled it really well. OT was more evals and he worked some math problems...simple ones like the first grade level and he got about 75% of them right. Then more stretching and testing his range of motion in his arms. He goes for his first baclofen pump refill on Friday at 10 am.

Please say an extra prayer for my family tonight. My grandma Mildred had a stroke early this morning. She is stable and is in Wichita now. This is her 2nd stroke plus she fell a few years ago and had to have brain surgery. Please pray for comfort and strength for her children (9) grandchildren (19) and great grandchildren (9).

God's delays are not God's denials.

Love,
Crystal

DAY 198

Our first full day at TLC went really well. More evals in all therapies and I thought Rick did very good. He had 3 hours of therapy this morning and was really tired at lunch, but didn't get a break until 2:00. Then he had two more group therapy sessions this afternoon and was done. They served supper @ 5:00 and he ate well. Phillip and Lance came by to visit and Rick is now in the shower. I think he will sleep really good tonight...I hope to get out of here a little bit earlier and get a little more sleep than I have been...it's starting to catch up with me.

I'll post the address as soon as I know it exactly. It is at 4000 22nd Place, Building 66, 3rd floor, but I don't have the mailing address yet.

Good night!

Love,
Crystal

MOVING DAY

The move to TLC went off without a hitch. Rick did get a little nauseated, but never threw up. He had a good day with evaluations going on from PT, OT, & ST. He ate lunch with his ST while I filled out paperwork. When I went in to check on him, he was really mad. I asked what was wrong and the ST said, "Elijah took his plate, and he wasn't finished yet." So, I tell Rick it's okay, and he'll get another burger and I thought he was going to be okay, but then Elijah walked in. Rick's brake on his wheelchair wasn't on, and he started propelling himself towards Elijah. He was pointing his finger and hollering at him...I couldn't make out what he was saying except for 2 words...and they weren't nice! I had to put his brake on his chair so he would quit getting after him and then had to calm him down. I guess he was hungry 'cuz it took 10 minutes to divert his attention! And what a small world it is...Rick's OT is a boy from Vernon named Daniel Dean...he's around the same age as Lane Kieschnick. Rick did very well in all his evals...esp considering he was nauseas and po'd! They assign levels to each patient concerning level of supervision by the TA's (therapy assistance). Rick is a level 3 which means the TA has to be within arms reach of him both day and night. That means a TA will be sitting in Rick's room overnight...that was such a huge relief to me. TLC will take 2 weeks to eval him and then let me know how long they believe he will need to be there. Also, they require a list of visitors...if your not on the list, you can't get in. I almost started laughing when she said I had to write down the names of everyone who might visit...I told her that was impossible. So, since I will be there most of the time, they will call me for approval, but if you know your going to visit, let me know and I'll make sure your name is on the list.

I'm staying with Lyssa Elliott and Laura Bratton now. They live about 15 minutes from TLC. Lyssa called me months ago and offered they're home when we came to Lubbock. Just another of example of God sending you the people you need when you need them.

My first impression of TLC is way better than Pate was, and I hope that it continues to be that way...there's no office to push him into and leave him!

Keep praying...it's working!

Love,
Crystal

DAY 196

Had to say goodbye to the kids today...it was hard. My mom picked them up and they made it back to Seymour a little while ago. They still had some Christmas presents to open so at least they had something to look forward to. They are also looking forward to our move to TLC because TLC has a video phone that the kids can take home with them so when we call they can see us and we can see them...pretty neat perk!

Rick continues to show inititation today and it continues to amaze me. He initates conversation, he inititates trying to get out of his chair (had to start putting the seatbelt on him), intiates getting out of bed. I've waited 6 months for Rick to start a conversation with me and now he does...and often..I can't always make out what he's saying, but at least he's trying to say it. We had a visit from an old friend of Ricks, Larry Williams. It's been awhile since Rick has seen Larry, but when he walked in he said, "do you know who I am?" and Rick said "Larry Williams".

Rick's in the shower and about to go to bed...think I'll head that way myself.

God Bless,
Crystal

HELLO 2010

Rick started the new year off right. He has done amazing today. In speech Jeannie tried to find words for Rick to say that were related to his work. One of the words was "hock". And she asked him what was a hock...and he gets this little grin on his face and says, "shit". I died laughing, and Jeannie said, "really, am I missing something...I thought it was part of a horse!" Oh Rick! Then in PT he was standing in the parallel bars kicking a ball. He didn't kick the ball very hard one time, so he started walking after it to kick it again...just all on his own. Chel'C was behind him and it caught her off guard for a second, but she said, "hey, whatever you want to do, I'm game". He walked some more in the parallel bars and then we got the EVA walker and he walked around the gym. The steps with his right foot were outstanding...heel to toe perfect, and Chel'C didn't have to help as much on the left. He had group therapy this afternoon, and then we had a visit from Sammie and Stoney and the boys. Rick was so happy to see them. He just smiled and smiled and tried to visit with them. The best part about all of this is the initiation that Rick is showing. I have come to hate the word "initiate" because every therapist says, "he doesn't show initiation" and now, finally they can write in their notes, "shows initiation". Another huge hurdle for us to get over...praise the Lord!

Time to get Rick ready for bed. The kids have to head back to Seymour tomorrow and that is not going to be a good thing. Even with all the fussing and fighting I really enjoy having them around and they always motivate Rick.

Good night.

Love,
Crystal