Dear family and friends
Today, Grayson enjoyed a good evening at the rec center as they had a going away party for one of the patients. Cake and ice cream was served, and Grayson was the entertainment as he broke into song with the karaoke machine. Grayson's residential assistant (RA) told the activities director that the karaoke machine was the best investment he has ever made. I'm sure Grayson would agree!
Grayson had a very small appetite again this evening, and he barely ate any of his food. I am starting to fear that his loss of his ability to taste or smell may have an impact on his appetite. The staff is continuing to monitor it, but so far he is still within the healthy limits for his height.
It is hard to believe, but we passed the four month mark today since Grayson's cardiac arrest and subsequent brain injury. Grayson went into the hospital in the fall, and spring begins next week. In looking back, the first 10 weeks we spent in three different hospitals. The last 7 weeks we have seen some stability as Grayson has settled into his rehab facility and their routine. We have seen some miraculous recovery in his physical abilities, his long term memory and his speech. We have recently seen the first improvement in short term and working memory. We continue to see slow improvement in his cognitive abilities, but improvements that will allow him to operate without supervision are still a long way off. We have also witnessed probable permanent deficits in his senses of taste, smell and temperature. All in all, I did not think that the outcome would be this good last November, and so I thank God for giving this much of Grayson back to us. We continue to pray that we get a little more back each week.
Pax!
Brant
The brain is actually healing, which is incredible! We don't know yet how far the healing will go, but each step is so wonderful to witness.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this would help Grayson or not, but I listen to a cooking show on the radio "Splendid Table". One week, a caller phoned in for suggestions when cooking for his wife because she had lost most of her sense of smell due to lifelong allergies. The host suggested making dishes with lots of aromatic spices, and seasoning the portion the wife would eat separately from what everyone else would be eating so the spices could be stronger. Maybe you could think up some recipes to try this out with for Grayson?
ReplyDeletePS - It was nice to see you at Salem the other night Brant.