Day 34

As you can tell, I've been a bit off with my dates, but in looking at the calendar, today is 33 days since Jon had his stroke, and we never would have thought then how far he would come!

Today started out slow, but Jon had another good day. He didn't have any therapy until 2pm, and then went straight until 5, so he was pretty wiped out by dinner time.

He's been making progress in PT each day. Today she had him walking with his cane on carpet and back onto the tile, so he gets a feel for the differences in walking from one surface to the next. The first round on the carpet was a bit difficult I think, but after that he did great! He even walked up and down the ramp and up and down a few stairs. He's been working very hard on getting more movement in his ankle and toes and it shows! That helps when he has to go up the stairs, because he's able to pick his foot up a bit better and his toes don't drag as much on the steps when he lifts his foot up.

He's been using his quad cane more and more each day. On Tuesday, he walked 335 feet! He walked from the therapy gym to his room. That was a big accomplishment for him. Now the therapists are working less on distance and more on quality and form. He will be able to mainly use just the quad cane when we go home, so they are working with him on how he's walking, not just how far.

OT is going well, the arm is just slower in coming back than the leg. But it will get there.

And as we've said his speech therapy has been just wonderful and he's made tremendous progress. He took a test today that was a check of his cognitive ability. It was actually a re-test. He took the same test the first week he was here, and needless to say, his newest score was just a wee bit better! The first time, he scored in the 42nd percentile (which equates to the cognitive ability of a 13-year-old!). This time, as I'm sure all of you can believe, he finished in the 91st percentile!! His speech therapist told him today that he has made more progress faster than any patient she has had! And that does not surprise me a bit. I told her it was imperative he has all of his cognitive function back asap, because he's the brain for both of us, and I need to be able to rely on him for all of the useless information I never remember - and he always does!

But the best news of the day was that we get to go home sooner than anticipated! We were originally scheduled to head out on July 5, but because he's making such good progress, he gets to go home July 1 (after a full day of therapy, of course). So that is very exciting. It also makes us a little nervous, because this place has become our safety net, and we know that even though he's being pushed, he's also being watched over and protected. Once we get home, all bets are off! But we are both excited. It's been a long time since we've all be under one roof, and it's going to mean so much to the kids to have their Dad back.

But while we might be headed home, the work will not stop. He will most likely be in outpatient therapy - both OT and PT - three days a week. We will be able to drop speech, and just focus on the other therapies. So he will still be busy, but at least he can sleep in his own bed and eat our food (unfortunately with me as the cook, the quality will most likely not improve substantially! He will most likely get very tired of spaghetti and tacos!).

The day Jon gets home from the hospital will be a busy one, so once we get settled back in, we'll let folks know when they can start visiting. I think he will need a day or two to get re-acclimated. I know lots of people will want to visit, and we welcome everyone, but we will take a few days to get organized (so I can clean my house!) before we get to that point.

So all is well in Waco. We continue to get visitors and cards and that means the world to us. When everyone comes to visit, they are so encouraging that it truly lifts Jon's spirits and makes him feel like he's making progress. So thank you for the continued support!