Heal Nick

The other day one of my sisters asked by email how Nicholas was doing. I got a little long-winded with my reply but I think it pretty much summed it up. So here it is:

It’s really just a lot of little things. What he says without being prompted. It doesn’t happen often but enough to realize some neuro connections are beginning to establish. On good days he’s beginning to remember some of the speech drills his therapist, Cathy, has him doing. It’s amazing
what she’s been able to do with/for him. Actually it’s a bit like 1st grade sentence construction. Kind of reteaching this discipline to reestablish the connections. Subject, verb, object. It’s not that he doesn’t know this, it’s a way to retrain the mind to make logical steps & retrieve knowledge. He’s also learned how to use his special laptop to help him remember things (what he wants for breakfast, etc.). Physically, he’s still battling his right hip, knee, ankle flexion. His PT, Pat, is working tirelessly on this & there’s some improvement. He actually walks better with just a cane than 2 crutches but because of the right leg thing his balance is not as good as with crutches. The other problem is his incredibly tight hamstrings. This is a result of the brain injury & he’ll have to deal with it for the rest of his life. He has to stretch every time he stands up & even while he’s sitting down. He doesn’t remember to do this & has to be constantly reminded, which means we have to remember to tell him & we’re not very good about this. As the neuro connections begin to improve, so will his right leg. Just have to be patient. I hope this eventually comes around, as
it will really open up a lot of things he can do outdoors. Pat just returned from a teaching tour in Thailand & Saudi Arabia. She had a session with him Tuesday after a 2 week absence & watching him walk with a cane & carry on a conversation at the same time her remark was “Nicholas, your
brain is beginning to wake-up". Can’t say enough about all the therapists’ dedication to Nicholas. I would think after 2-3 years they might get discouraged or just lose interest. However, they see progress & the results of their hard work, plus Nicholas’ wonderful work ethic & sense of humor.
They’re just as determined as I am to have him achieve a modest level of independence.

For those of you who have become accustomed to reading this on Monday morning, there will be a 24 hour delay.

This was a great “do nothing” week. Nicholas’ Monday work-out at the athletic club was canceled, his PT was traveling all week and his speech therapist retreated to Cape Cod for a well-deserved break. So, no stress. Just a therapeutic massage and music therapy. However, he had a great week of doing pretty much what he wanted to do for a change. R & R for everyone. Although, as promised to his PT, he did do stretches at least once a day. I’m pretty sure Nicholas fully enjoyed the break from the routine and its back to work tomorrow with a full schedule.

In my posting on October 12 I mentioned Nicholas’ use of a highly interactive loaner laptop (Lingraphica - http://www.aphasia.com/patients/index.aspx) to improve his communication skills. He now owns one and with a great deal of guidance from his speech therapist has become quite comfortable using it. As a result Nicholas has become more confident in his ability to communicate and is much more as ease now joining conversations and verbalizing thoughts.

Happy New Year to all in Nick’s World. And, Happy Birthday to his sister, Kristin.

Just saw 3 great movies with Nicholas over the last week. So, don’t miss DOUBT, MILK or SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.

Avoid any consumable product made in China containing melamine.

All’s well and we’re looking forward to a great year in 2009.