Visit from PT

This morning JD received an evaluation from physical therapy. This has been the visit we've been waiting for. She evaluated him and determined that she feels he needs in-patient rehab for about 7-10 days and then out-patient rehab after that. The hope is to get him walking in 3 weeks. That is actually not bad compared to what it could be. But it's still a lot to take in.

JD Update

Today JD had a test where they stuck a scope down his throat. The scope looks through the esophagus to examine the heart a little closer. They did find a small hole. The hole is so small that they are not exactly sure if it was the cause of the stroke. Usually, repairing a hole in the heart is a surprisingly un-invasive procedure. However, because of the size, they feel that if they are going to repair it, they will have to do full-blown open heart surgery. The tools that they use to repair it through out patient are not precise enough for his hole.


So that leaves us with a difficult decision. One option is to be on aspirin as a blood thinner for the rest of his life. That's no big deal except that the only way they know if it is not working is if he has another stroke. The other option is to assume the risks of open heart surgery. I don't know what we will do. Well- we WILL get another opinion- but I don't know about after that.


He was also evaluated by an occupational therapist. OT looks at fine motor skills and the upper body. He did a bunch of tests and he can tell the difference hot/cold, sharp/dull, manipulation of joints, and such. He struggles with writing, with the tingling feeling, and precise movements with his fingers. I think he will get those skills back pretty quick. The OT did have him do some walking. That didn't go as well. He used a walker but he can't feel the floor. He felt that the temperature changed, but that's really it. He's not so stable either. The physical therapist will look more at his walking ability tomorrow- was supposed to be today- grrr.

So that's where we are at. I think once he gets to use the PT equiptment he will progress quickly, but it's taking forever to get in there. The OT thinks he needs a couple more days in the hospital before going home so he can get a little more coordinated, but the doctor is the one who decides when he goes home. And now we wait.....

All in all JD is in good spirits and is one determined man. I so admire his outlook and strength.

JD

I know that there are many who use the blog to keep up with the happenings around our part, so I thought posting might be the easiest way to let all of JD's great friends know that on Friday morning, JD suffered a minor stroke. They think it occurred sometime during the night, but JD woke up feeling a little dizzy and off. He didn't think much about it and went to his internship. Later that morning he noticed that things were getting fuzzy. He was talking to a fellow law student and she could tell something wasn't right. Pretty quickly thereafter, he started losing feeling on his right side. They rushed him to the ER where I met him. It was confirmed that night or the next morning (things are kind of a blur) that he did suffer a stroke on the left side of his brain where it affects sensation and the heart.

Because JD is so young, is in amazing physical condition, and has no risk factors, doctors are very concerned about what caused it. He was put at the top of all waiting lists for the different tests that he needs. It's crazy that he, of all people, would have suffered a stroke. They have checked his brain and the blood vessels to his brain and all look normal (besides where it shows where the stroke occurred). They are now trying to examine his heart to see if there is some abnormality that caused the stroke.

Right now, he feels sensation on the right side, but it all feels like it does when your foot falls asleep- that pins and needles feeling. He teeth even feel numb. He has not lost any strength on his right side. He can still move everything, but he has a hard time with precise movements. He can't write and he can't pick up small objects. He tried to grab a strawberry from me and couldn't get his had to go to the strawberry without a lot of concentration. He also can't walk at this point. His speech is fine. In fact the doctor said that if it had been any higher, he would have lost his speech. Gratefully that was not the case.

He will be starting physical therapy tomorrow and so hopefully we will be able to see how much he is missing and get an estimate as to long it will take to get it back. We are confident he will have a full recovery. He was promised so in a blessing- we just don't know how long it will take.

We are primarily worried that we may not find the cause. We don't really want to find something wrong, but we do want closure and reassurance that it will not happen again. We will see.

JD and I are both doing ok. The blessing JD received was so helpful and there have been many small manifestations of God's awareness of him. We know that there may be some hard roads ahead, but that he will eventually recover.

Please keep him in your prayers. He can use them. It's amazing how life can change in an instant. I love JD so much and am so grateful that the right people were there to help him when his body shut down. I just keep thinking that even if I told him every 1o seconds that I love him, it's not enough. Be sure to tell those you love how much they mean to you. Thank goodness for the knowledge that there is a Plan. The Lord is truly great.

Wow!

What a performance!!!

American Idol Defense

Ok- I know Adam has some funky things going on- but I must defend my choice. I will admit that if he continues to perform like last week, he will be voted off due to not connecting with the Idol voters. However, there is no denying his talent as a singer and performer. I am not particularly into his kind of music. In fact, I doubt I'd ever buy one of his albums. (I DID buy his Black and White song- that was incredible!) But he is super talented vocally. No one can match him. And he knows how to work the stage better than anyone else. If he gets real with his audience and stays consistent, I think he will win.

Why not Megan? She's too much like Brooke White. Brooke White did awesome up to the end, but her voice is too stylized to get her to the end. All of Megan's songs are going to start sounding the same.

Why not Danny? Danny was actually my first choice in the beginning. He is great, however, he sounds so much like David Cook ( I totally wanted Cook to win last season- BTW) that I think American Idol fans will want a different sound this year. It gets boring pumping out the same kind of winners every year. I also feel the same about Lil- I'm tired of the same sound season to season- but I think she stands a better chance because she's different than last season's winner.

Who else has a shot in my opinion? I think Allison, Matt, and possibly Anoop will have a shot at the end. I think they need to up their game vocally and Adam needs to connect with his audience better (which he has been told in the past is his weakness as a Broadway performer).

That's my analysis. "Analysis" makes it sound like the topic is actually important to discuss- like politics or philosophy. American Idol is mostly a waste of time, but it is my guilty pleasure. What can I say?

Are these MY legs?

I was rounding the last bend of my run tonight and I thought "did my legs just do what I thought they did?" And they did. 10 miles. If you would have asked me a couple of months ago if I would be running this far, I would have laughed.

Pardon the brag- I'm mostly just shocked!

Your Next American Idol

Hands down.