6/24/04
Dear Family & Friends,
This week we have been amazed by Gerry's progress! His stamina improved greatly as he walked 100ft. around the nurses station 3 days in a row without his blood pressure dropping as it previously did. In addition, yesterday he stood in the standing frame for 15 minutes, also with no blood pressure problems. The past couple of days, he did not even need the 'abdominal binder' to keep his BP stable. Yesterday, Lea, his speech therapist also did a swallow test to see if he was ready to begin eating. He did very well in that all of the juices and applesauce they tested him with went into his stomach, and none into his lungs or trach. His swallowing is delayed a few seconds, which they will continue working on with him. He was unable to chew food as of yet, but Lea will be working with him daily now by spending half of her therapy time working on his swallowing, and the other half she will continue to work on his speech, memory and understanding. She said that we could bring him smooth textured puddings or ice creams if we wish and have the nurses put it in the kitchen to be used for her therapy sessions with him.
Lori has been talking to Gerry's doctor, who is very encouraged by his progress also. His doctor and therapists feel that in another month or so Gerry may be strong enough to move to an acute rehab. So, we are continuing to investigate facilities and pray for direction in moving him to the right one with cooperation from the insurance company. The neuro doctor, who sees Gerry weekly, also noted great encouragement by Gerry's progress.
Gerry is talking, sometimes clearly with simple statements or words, and other times he's trying to converse and talk in length, but his voice is quiet and it is difficult to understand his words. This can be frustrating for him, so for those friends who are close by and come to visit, just listen closely as best you can, encourage Gerry to speak louder if he is able, and ask him to repeat if necessary. In the end, if you can't understand him, just let him know and reassure him. A week or so ago, he wasn't even trying to talk in length. This may be an area in which he'll need more therapy to learn to talk and communicate again. But the important thing is that we can see that he has the understanding as we talk and joke with him about recent and past events. The rest can be worked through with therapy. Visitors, remember to introduce yourselves when visiting because with some brain injury patients, these simple reminders are very helpful.
As of last night, Gerry did develop a low-grade fever and increased heart rate. The heart rate has stabilized, and they are doing lab work and cultures to determine if Gerry has an infection. He has been started on antibiotics also. His therapies are on hold until he is better. He was having some irritation and/or pain in his jaw last night when he was talking with us which may or may not be related. They are also watching how he does with his trach this week in the hopes that they can move to the next step, which is putting a red cap on it. We know he is in good care, and the staff is watching him closely in all areas. We pray that he will soon be better, and that this may be just a slight bump in the road, and not a setback. Thank you all for your continued prayers!
The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely. Psalm 145:18
God Bless!
Gina
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Sunday, June 20, 2004
From Lori....June 17 ...Marinucci No. 43
From Lori:
I have been tardy in updating my faithful prayer warriors. Forgive me. Be assured that your prayers are appreciated.
Gerard is awake and more alert for a longer periods each day. There are documented stages that a traumatic brain injury (tbi) patient goes through. Please pray that Gerry skips the agitation stage, as some do. Recently, we have observed slight grumpiness or what appears as depression, but nothing serious so far. Don't let this alarm you during visits, it is very normal at this
stage.
He has walked with assistance, rather sloppily, 60+ feet. They will work on his form over time. He does well with active movement. When they have him in a static standing position, after 5-10 minutes his blood pressure drops drastically. However, his recovery time following such an incident lessens each time and doesn't wipe him out like it did initially.
The x-ray of his shoulder came back negative. He is guarding his right shoulder and most likely it is because of continued pain from the severe soft tissue injury following the dislocation. This is to be expected. He tends to hold his hands with fingers straight. Those visiting, please encourage him to flex his fingers and straighten his arms along his side. Therapy has been wrapping his hands and putting him in braces for several hours each day.
He has been following commands about 80% of the time. He doesn't verbally recognize us by name yet. He independently reaches out his hand to shake and says "hi" to his doctors when they come in the room. He responds "I'm doing well" or "pretty good" to the question "how are you doing?" He counted to 10 without prompts. Short and long term memory appear to be coming. He has been singing simple songs with prompts. He told Leah today that she didn't sing well and then began laughing. His humor continues to pop out.
They have begun the swallow tests with the hope of eating soon. The pulmanologist is very cautious regarding removal of the trachea but this should not preventing him from eating when the time comes.
We are ambivalent regarding timing to the next facility for rehab. We continue to receive conflicting opinions. Some desire that he stay put and slowly get stronger thereby not impeding his progress with a move. They argue he will be stronger and further along thereby able to benefit more from the next stage of therapy. Some believe there is a "window of opportunity" and
timing is important. This is a real concern and a big decision requiring prayer. We continue to research facilities looking to San Diego next.
Pray that a referral will come through for a dentist to visit the hospital. Gerry appears to have a cavity in his front tooth. Also the braces need to be removed prior to eating.
Pray for his therapists Roslyn, Mitch and Leah. They are wonderful and very patient. I have appreciated their attempts to keep the family posted of his daily progress.
Love, Lori
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and unbraided not; and it shall be given to him." Job 28:12
I have been tardy in updating my faithful prayer warriors. Forgive me. Be assured that your prayers are appreciated.
Gerard is awake and more alert for a longer periods each day. There are documented stages that a traumatic brain injury (tbi) patient goes through. Please pray that Gerry skips the agitation stage, as some do. Recently, we have observed slight grumpiness or what appears as depression, but nothing serious so far. Don't let this alarm you during visits, it is very normal at this
stage.
He has walked with assistance, rather sloppily, 60+ feet. They will work on his form over time. He does well with active movement. When they have him in a static standing position, after 5-10 minutes his blood pressure drops drastically. However, his recovery time following such an incident lessens each time and doesn't wipe him out like it did initially.
The x-ray of his shoulder came back negative. He is guarding his right shoulder and most likely it is because of continued pain from the severe soft tissue injury following the dislocation. This is to be expected. He tends to hold his hands with fingers straight. Those visiting, please encourage him to flex his fingers and straighten his arms along his side. Therapy has been wrapping his hands and putting him in braces for several hours each day.
He has been following commands about 80% of the time. He doesn't verbally recognize us by name yet. He independently reaches out his hand to shake and says "hi" to his doctors when they come in the room. He responds "I'm doing well" or "pretty good" to the question "how are you doing?" He counted to 10 without prompts. Short and long term memory appear to be coming. He has been singing simple songs with prompts. He told Leah today that she didn't sing well and then began laughing. His humor continues to pop out.
They have begun the swallow tests with the hope of eating soon. The pulmanologist is very cautious regarding removal of the trachea but this should not preventing him from eating when the time comes.
We are ambivalent regarding timing to the next facility for rehab. We continue to receive conflicting opinions. Some desire that he stay put and slowly get stronger thereby not impeding his progress with a move. They argue he will be stronger and further along thereby able to benefit more from the next stage of therapy. Some believe there is a "window of opportunity" and
timing is important. This is a real concern and a big decision requiring prayer. We continue to research facilities looking to San Diego next.
Pray that a referral will come through for a dentist to visit the hospital. Gerry appears to have a cavity in his front tooth. Also the braces need to be removed prior to eating.
Pray for his therapists Roslyn, Mitch and Leah. They are wonderful and very patient. I have appreciated their attempts to keep the family posted of his daily progress.
Love, Lori
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and unbraided not; and it shall be given to him." Job 28:12
Friday, June 11, 2004
Marinucci No. 42 6/11/04: Gerry takes his first steps!
Marinucci No. 42 6/11/04
From Gina:
Dear Friends & Family,
I’m passing on an update from Lori below, and adding some additional details that have happened since her writing.
Gerry has taken his first steps with a walker! With his therapists assisting him under the arms, the first day he walked about 5 feet, and the next day I was there to see him take 5 steps. The staff is so excited by his progress, that they all gather around to cheer him on.
His speech therapist continues to report improvement, and this week said that when she cued Gerry with the days of the week ‘Monday’ and ‘Tuesday’, he continued on with the remaining days! When she touches parts of his body and asks him where she is touching, he responds appropriately with ‘leg’, ‘knee’, etc. When she showed him a large family picture with Gerry, Lori and Anessa and pointed to each one, asking who they were, he appropriately said ‘me’, ‘my wife’, and ‘my daughter’. When she asked him the names of each one, he could not respond. But when she then pointed to each and said “Is this Lori?” “Anessa”, etc., he said yes to each. The therapist said it is especially important when coming to visit Gerry that you tell him your name, like “Hi Gerry, it’s me, Gina”, and tell him again a couple or few times during the visit and when you leave. We are not concerned as to whether it is a memory problem or whether he just needs to retrain his brain in this area. He is doing so well putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and this is an area in which our cues will help him greatly.
Lori has also reported some wonderful visits with friends in which Gerry hummed along while they sang hymns! Family friends continue to bring laughter with each visit, joking about ‘breaking Gerry out’ of the hospital, and Gerry chuckled and said “Get me out of here”. Of course, we all typically joke around with Gerry about food and what types he would like, and he said “chicken”.
Lori brought home videos to show Gerry, and he was especially touched with tears when viewing the video of Polina & Tatiana’s baptism. Lori mentions below that Dad was in the hospital. I’d like to update and say he is now out of the hospital as of Tuesday, and doing much better. We are keeping a close eye on him, and thank you for your concern and prayers.
We are so inspired and awed by Gerry’s daily fighting through this great challenge. Each step and each word takes tremendous effort, and we ask your continued prayers for the strength for his therapy and for God’s continued healing and restoration. Also prayers for x-rays that are to be done on his right hand, wrist and arm, and for the results and the therapy they are doing to help keep the range of motion.
Thank you also for your continued prayers for Lori and the girls. We are so grateful to all of you who are helping them in so many ways through this time, it has been an incredible testimony to all of us!
God Bless!
Gina
From Lori:
From: Jonathan Hoos
To: Marinucci -Lori’s email list
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 7:54 PM
Subject: Marinucci No. 42
Gerard continues to progress on a daily basis. He is more alert every day and is following both simple and more complicated commands. He is receiving
3 hours of therapy a day; speech, physical and occupational. Of course he is responding to music... singing out “merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily” to Row-row-row Your Boat. He can tolerate standing and lifting his feet. They had him on all fours with an exercise ball under his stomach and he said “this is crazy.” He is able to assist in bed to chair transfers with only minor assistance and sits up in a chair, adjusting himself with head up for over
an hour. He gets very tired following therapy and sleeps heavily. We are thrilled by the daily notes the therapists leave for us. He now shakes your hand or says “time for bed” when he has had enough. He more frequently responds to
questions by nodding or shaking his head.
We are told soon they will install the red button on his trachea forcing him to breath through his nose and mouth. They suspect he will tolerate this
well. Soon thereafter, they will begin swallow tests and then dye his food to ensure none goes into his lungs. When this is accomplished, they will close
the trachea. Tonight, I asked him if it hurt to talk, and he nodded “yes.”
They explain that talking will be more natural when the trachea is removed.
Please pray for his left hand, wrist and arm which appear to be tightening up. We see some resistance to moving his left arm and hand as well. We
need those guitar picking fingers to stay nimble!
A few nights ago, the doctor reminded me to speak slow and clear. But I believe Gerry hears everything and responds with facial expressions, laughs
or smirks to my regular chatter, teasing and bantering back and forth with family and friends. The doctor observed his reaction tonight and said “keep doing what your are doing, all this stimulation seems to be what he needs.” A continued thanks to all the visitors! By the way they have moved him to room 108, just next door.
In addition to visiting Gerry, Gina, Edie and I visited two rehab hospitals today. St. Jude’s in Fullerton and Casa Colina in Pomona. They both
appeared to be fine facilities, about equal distance in different directions from home (Fullerton will probably be more traffic, however). It was exciting to see and hear about potential therapy plans. Continue to pray for guidance, timing and insurance cooperation. More research is necessary about potential rehab facilities in San Diego. We don’t know exactly when the transfer will take place but are instructed it is imminent.
Finally, Gerard’s father Frank is in the hospital in Murrieta. His Cumadin mediation he takes for his heart condition was seriously elevated. They
have given him transfusions and are observing him closely. It is a lot for Gina and Edie now to have two patients! Pray for them as well.
“Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me; Thou art my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.” Ps 40:17
Lori
From Gina:
Dear Friends & Family,
I’m passing on an update from Lori below, and adding some additional details that have happened since her writing.
Gerry has taken his first steps with a walker! With his therapists assisting him under the arms, the first day he walked about 5 feet, and the next day I was there to see him take 5 steps. The staff is so excited by his progress, that they all gather around to cheer him on.
His speech therapist continues to report improvement, and this week said that when she cued Gerry with the days of the week ‘Monday’ and ‘Tuesday’, he continued on with the remaining days! When she touches parts of his body and asks him where she is touching, he responds appropriately with ‘leg’, ‘knee’, etc. When she showed him a large family picture with Gerry, Lori and Anessa and pointed to each one, asking who they were, he appropriately said ‘me’, ‘my wife’, and ‘my daughter’. When she asked him the names of each one, he could not respond. But when she then pointed to each and said “Is this Lori?” “Anessa”, etc., he said yes to each. The therapist said it is especially important when coming to visit Gerry that you tell him your name, like “Hi Gerry, it’s me, Gina”, and tell him again a couple or few times during the visit and when you leave. We are not concerned as to whether it is a memory problem or whether he just needs to retrain his brain in this area. He is doing so well putting the pieces of the puzzle together, and this is an area in which our cues will help him greatly.
Lori has also reported some wonderful visits with friends in which Gerry hummed along while they sang hymns! Family friends continue to bring laughter with each visit, joking about ‘breaking Gerry out’ of the hospital, and Gerry chuckled and said “Get me out of here”. Of course, we all typically joke around with Gerry about food and what types he would like, and he said “chicken”.
Lori brought home videos to show Gerry, and he was especially touched with tears when viewing the video of Polina & Tatiana’s baptism. Lori mentions below that Dad was in the hospital. I’d like to update and say he is now out of the hospital as of Tuesday, and doing much better. We are keeping a close eye on him, and thank you for your concern and prayers.
We are so inspired and awed by Gerry’s daily fighting through this great challenge. Each step and each word takes tremendous effort, and we ask your continued prayers for the strength for his therapy and for God’s continued healing and restoration. Also prayers for x-rays that are to be done on his right hand, wrist and arm, and for the results and the therapy they are doing to help keep the range of motion.
Thank you also for your continued prayers for Lori and the girls. We are so grateful to all of you who are helping them in so many ways through this time, it has been an incredible testimony to all of us!
God Bless!
Gina
From Lori:
From: Jonathan Hoos
To: Marinucci -Lori’s email list
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 7:54 PM
Subject: Marinucci No. 42
Gerard continues to progress on a daily basis. He is more alert every day and is following both simple and more complicated commands. He is receiving
3 hours of therapy a day; speech, physical and occupational. Of course he is responding to music... singing out “merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily” to Row-row-row Your Boat. He can tolerate standing and lifting his feet. They had him on all fours with an exercise ball under his stomach and he said “this is crazy.” He is able to assist in bed to chair transfers with only minor assistance and sits up in a chair, adjusting himself with head up for over
an hour. He gets very tired following therapy and sleeps heavily. We are thrilled by the daily notes the therapists leave for us. He now shakes your hand or says “time for bed” when he has had enough. He more frequently responds to
questions by nodding or shaking his head.
We are told soon they will install the red button on his trachea forcing him to breath through his nose and mouth. They suspect he will tolerate this
well. Soon thereafter, they will begin swallow tests and then dye his food to ensure none goes into his lungs. When this is accomplished, they will close
the trachea. Tonight, I asked him if it hurt to talk, and he nodded “yes.”
They explain that talking will be more natural when the trachea is removed.
Please pray for his left hand, wrist and arm which appear to be tightening up. We see some resistance to moving his left arm and hand as well. We
need those guitar picking fingers to stay nimble!
A few nights ago, the doctor reminded me to speak slow and clear. But I believe Gerry hears everything and responds with facial expressions, laughs
or smirks to my regular chatter, teasing and bantering back and forth with family and friends. The doctor observed his reaction tonight and said “keep doing what your are doing, all this stimulation seems to be what he needs.” A continued thanks to all the visitors! By the way they have moved him to room 108, just next door.
In addition to visiting Gerry, Gina, Edie and I visited two rehab hospitals today. St. Jude’s in Fullerton and Casa Colina in Pomona. They both
appeared to be fine facilities, about equal distance in different directions from home (Fullerton will probably be more traffic, however). It was exciting to see and hear about potential therapy plans. Continue to pray for guidance, timing and insurance cooperation. More research is necessary about potential rehab facilities in San Diego. We don’t know exactly when the transfer will take place but are instructed it is imminent.
Finally, Gerard’s father Frank is in the hospital in Murrieta. His Cumadin mediation he takes for his heart condition was seriously elevated. They
have given him transfusions and are observing him closely. It is a lot for Gina and Edie now to have two patients! Pray for them as well.
“Since I am afflicted and needy, Let the Lord be mindful of me; Thou art my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God.” Ps 40:17
Lori
Friday, June 04, 2004
More progress for Gerry ... June 4th report
From Lori:
Tonight was a good visit. He was very alert after bugging him for a while. He is experiencing some stiffness to his right shoulder, arm and hands.
When I asked him if his wrist was hurting... I said in a singsong voice,"say yes, say no, say yes, say no or maybe so" and he said immediately in loud
and clear "maybe so" then smiled. What at jokester! I had been trying to get him to say a simple "hi" all night and then he pipes up with that one. We all
laughed. He is definitely there!
Anyway, contrary to what the hospital case manager said to Gina today, Dr. Baushura stated as soon as the trachea is closed, he should be ready to transfer
for more aggressive therapy. He confirmed that the pulmonologist is rather conservative, but it should be in a few days to a few weeks.
Dr. Baushura mentioned St. Jude Rehab in Orange County as being the best. It is difficult to get into, costly and the insurance usually balks... but it is the best. They specifically have a unit for just brain trauma/coma rehab as opposed to stroke and spinal cord injuries. He encouraged us to try to get him there. I did some preliminary research on-line and like the emphasis on family participation and communication as well as their very successful rate of returning patients home in a functioning manner. Please take a look and let me know your impressions. The distance on a map doesn't seem far; but it is the 91 gridlock!! What a pain, but maybe worth considering.
Tonight was a good visit. He was very alert after bugging him for a while. He is experiencing some stiffness to his right shoulder, arm and hands.
When I asked him if his wrist was hurting... I said in a singsong voice,"say yes, say no, say yes, say no or maybe so" and he said immediately in loud
and clear "maybe so" then smiled. What at jokester! I had been trying to get him to say a simple "hi" all night and then he pipes up with that one. We all
laughed. He is definitely there!
Anyway, contrary to what the hospital case manager said to Gina today, Dr. Baushura stated as soon as the trachea is closed, he should be ready to transfer
for more aggressive therapy. He confirmed that the pulmonologist is rather conservative, but it should be in a few days to a few weeks.
Dr. Baushura mentioned St. Jude Rehab in Orange County as being the best. It is difficult to get into, costly and the insurance usually balks... but it is the best. They specifically have a unit for just brain trauma/coma rehab as opposed to stroke and spinal cord injuries. He encouraged us to try to get him there. I did some preliminary research on-line and like the emphasis on family participation and communication as well as their very successful rate of returning patients home in a functioning manner. Please take a look and let me know your impressions. The distance on a map doesn't seem far; but it is the 91 gridlock!! What a pain, but maybe worth considering.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
