Dear family and friends
Today was not as good a day as yesterday. Grayson was sleepy and tired all day. His speech was very difficult to understand, and he stuttered a lot. When I called him tonight, I asked him what he was doing, and he responded with something I couldn't understand. I asked him to repeat it, and he said, "I-I-I-I-I'm getting re-re-re-re-ready for b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-bed" I didn't think that he would ever get the word "bed" out. Today was another med change – the elimination of an anti-seizure drug – and he has been harder to understand since they started weaning him off of it last week. We'll have to see how he adjusts to the change.
He had to be prodded a bit to do his chores and therapeutic home program (THP) tonight. He also kept exiting the kitchen during dinner prep. He was generally unable to focus and had difficulty completing tasks tonight. His residential assistant (RA) motivated him with a promise to go on the outing to the ice cream parlor if he knuckled down and finished his THP's. That helped, and he finished them up, then joined the gang for the bus ride for ice cream.
Grayson was given his own money to purchase the ice cream, and he ordered by himself and paid for his purchase – more practice for dealing in the "real" world. After the treat, they rode back to the residence, and Grayson got ready for bed – day over!
Yesterday Grayson took two steps forward; today he took one step back. I am still grateful that we continue to have a net gain, but I sure hate the backwards part.
Pax!
Brant
It's so hard when the backward step comes, but surely there are two more forward steps just over the horizon. The medication changes must take a lot of adjustment. We're praying for smoother sailing tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWith Easter upon us we offer our special prayers for the entire Reed family and particularly Grayson. May the Lord of us all be ever present in our celebration and in our thanks for that presence. Steve and Mary
ReplyDeleteThe weather affects people much more than we realize. My Chinese herbalist says that whenever the weather changes, he's flooded with patients. And, my own "neurologicals" have their own relationship to the elements, they can get pretty picky (and pissy) depending on the temperature. When the cold snap passes, and the medication juggling settles down, you'll probably see more steps forward. It sounds like the general trend is towards "better and better," and Lord knows we all have days when backtracking is the best we can do. All things work together for good!
ReplyDelete