Day 73 – Grayson’s Condition

Dear family and friends

Regina and I spent another day at the facility finalizing details and observing Grayson in his new environment. As I mentioned a few days ago, there is the residential campus where the patients live and a clinic where they work. There is a fleet of special busses that transport the patients between the facilities, roughly a 20 minute ride. These busses go back and forth hourly.

Grayson's first full day of work consisted of a full battery of therapies. As he is a new patient, the first few weeks are going to be focused on getting baseline information down to the minutest detail so that development plans can be created.

When Grayson arrived, a staff member guided him to the posted schedule, had him locate his name, and determine where he should go that hour. First stop was occupational therapy (OT). Grayson was interviewed, had his eyes examined for visual acuity at a gross level and he did some activities to test his fine motor skills. The therapist then guided Grayson to the schedule again so that he could determine where he needed to go next.

Next up was physical therapy (PT). Grayson had his blood pressure and heart rate checked, then hit the treadmill for a workout.

Can we pause here for just a moment? Treadmill? Less than a month ago Grayson could barely walk with two people holding him and someone walking behind with a wheelchair. Wow!

Ok, so back to my story. The therapist fired up the machine at 1.7 MPH and 0% incline. On 3 minute intervals, he moved the incline to 5%, then 10%, then he increased the speed to 2.5 MPH and 12% incline for the final 3 minutes. Grayson didn't miss a beat, or a step I should say. Afterward, he had to sit while his blood pressure and heart rate was checked over time to see how he recovered. He did very well. He concluded his PT hour with range of motion tests before being led to the lunch area.

After lunch, the lunchtime supervisor led Grayson to the schedule so he could determine where he needed to go – cognitive rehabilitation (CR). In CR, Grayson was tested on his ability to put bits and facts together and observations together. I likened it to testing the processor, not the memory. We already know that his long term memory is in pretty good shape. As the concepts got harder he had difficulty putting all of the test pieces together.

His final session of the day was another OT session with yet a different therapist. She took an immediate liking to Grayson, because she is a fellow Trojan! Here Grayson was tested on his fine motor skills. This is an area where Grayson will need a lot of work. His hands, though steady at rest, shake when the brain directs them to do something.

Throughout the day, Grayson was trying to go to sleep. He slept well the previous night, but it is a constant struggle to keep him awake and focused. At this point it could be a med problem, a neuro problem, or just another sign of healing. Whatever the cause, when Grayson is able to focus, he does much better than when he is head down on the table. This is an area that the staff and the medical staff will focus on over the next few weeks.

After we said our good-byes, we watched Grayson get on the bus for the trip to the residential campus, and we hopped in the car for the 100+ mile drive home. The time we spent here was good for us. As parents, we needed to see firsthand the caring and loving actions of the staff with Grayson. We needed to see how they adjusted to his frustration when he was unable to communicate his desires, or when he wanted to do something unsafe. Based on our observations, I know that God has led us to the right place. Why should I be surprised?

Pax!

Brant