Week of June 8, 2009

Bob and sister Laurie (my mom)

Bob and I outside for the first time since the stroke

Bob continues to amaze us all.  He continues to receive 3 hours of therapy each day.  In occupational therapy he is getting much more independent with daily activities and slowly gaining more range of motion in his arms and legs.  In speech therapy he has really been working hard at saying what he wants to say.  The therapist believes that Bob has a form of apraxia from the stroke.  With apraxia Bob knows what he wants to say, but he can't always verbalize the right words.  This really frustrates Bob.  With time and repetition Bob's brain will continue to make "connections" and the words will start to come back.  In physical therapy Bob is making huge gains.   On Wednesday he took his first steps.  As I mentioned in the previous post Bob walked 18 feet with the help of the therapist.  On Thursday Bob walked a total of 47 feet (20 feet and 27 feet).  He is now walking in PT with the help of a specialized walker.  Yesterday was another big day because he walked 75 feet with shoes on.  

For now phone calls (on his cell) and cards are the best way to contact Bob.  He does have his cell phone with him at Pinecrest.  He is continuing to ask for no visitors next week so he can focus on his therapy sessions.  After 3 hours of therapy he is exhausted.  Bob is also asking for no visitors because he is very worried about germs and infection.  I did have a chance to share the blog with him when I was with him this week.  He was extremely touched and emotional about the comments left on the blog and everyone that is praying for him.  In the 4 days that I spent with him he mentioned the blog at least 5 times a day.  He thought it was so cool to tell the nurses how many hits he had on his blog.