Day 65 - New Year's Eve

Luke spend the last day of 2008 with therapy in the morning and taking a nap in the afternoon while Paula and I got some work done on line. Paula also made travel arrangements to fly back to Meadville tomorrow. I will be staying for a while to get Luke settled back in his house, work on some modifications that may be necessary, and take him to some doctor's appointments next week.

Paula and I made a trip to his house this evening taking things there in preparation for his return. His wheel chair, walker and bath bench arrived today as well. We spent the evening playing the Wii and going through things to pack up. Then we welcomed in the new year!

We extend to all of you our very best wishes for a very happy new year and may God richly bless you as you have blessed us with your prayers, cards and comments. The new year will no doubt be the most challenging ever for Luke, but with his strength, determination, and great sense of humor, it will be a good one.

---Bill

Day 64 - Discharge Date

As a result of our meeting this morning with the staff at Sharp Rehab Center, Luke is scheduled to be discharged this Friday. He will be going home to his house and adapting to life without continuous professional care for the first time in over two months. Paula and I haven't set any definite plans for returning home yet as Luke will be needing plenty of help initially in this adjustment. It will be several weeks yet before he will have a prosthetic leg to get around on.

It was therapy as usual today. This morning SCOPe Orthotics and Prosthetics came in and fitted Luke with compression sleeves that will shape his leg in preparation for his prosthetic. There are too many factors to predict a definite time frame, but he will most likely wear the sleeve for a couple of weeks before they will be able to make a cast for the prosthesis and then couple more weeks before it is ready.

This afternoon we took Luke for an EMG (electromyogram) on his left arm. This measures the electrical activity in the muscles at rest and during contraction. The doctor tested all the areas controlled by the brachial plexus. The results are inconclusive and he is going to study the results further, but basically there was no activity in the fingers, hand or arm. This is the baseline test and further testing down the road will be able to show whether there is any improvement. We remain confident that Luke will regain the use of his left arm. Pray that God will bring swift healing here as He has in other areas of injury and astounded doctors with his recovery.

Following the EMG we had another enjoyable meal out, this time at Applebee's.

---Bill

Day 63 - Back To Work

It was a return to therapy sessions for Luke this morning. An hour of occupational therapy, an hour of physical therapy and an hour of exercise class where he works out on exercise machines with therapists overseeing. His physical therapist was so impressed how well Luke could stand and balance himself, he asked how soon he would be going home. There is a lot to be prepared before we're ready for that, but Luke is physically getting closer and closer every day.

We have our biweekly meeting with Luke's doctor, his therapists and the rehab center management to discuss Luke's progress and status. Possibly we will have a better idea of a timetable from that. Luke also has a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon.

This afternoon we took Luke out to take care of a couple of things and then a little shopping with some gift cards he received. Then it was to Outback for a dinner out which we thoroughly enjoyed.

---Bill

Day 62 - Another Rest Day

Luke had a pretty restful day gearing up for another week of therapy. In fact, he got to sleep in until late morning! After lunch he got up in a chair for most of the afternoon, working on improving his skills on the Wii, so at least his right arm got a good workout! This evening we watched a movie.

As of now he is scheduled for all his therapies in the morning tomorrow. Unless that changes, we are planning getting him out with us and taking care of some of his personal business around town. Schedules do change quite frequently based on patient needs, so we'll have to play it by ear.

---Bill

Day 61 - Kicking Back

Luke had a relaxing day today with no therapies scheduled. So we hung out together watching college bowl games, playing games on the Wii and video visiting with family back home on the computer.

Luke continues to get stronger and adapting to his modified mobility. Soon he will be starting on the compression sleeve on his leg to get it prepared for a prosthesis. His left arm still has no mobility. He may be getting some sensation to touch in the upper part of his arm, but that is negligible. He is getting pain sensations in his finger tips and elbow, which could be a good sign, but could also be phantom pain. We won't know for sure what the extent of the damage to the brachial plexis is for two more weeks when we see the neuro surgeons.

Luke remains in great spirits and continues to whoop up on me on the Wii.

---Bill

Day 60 - A Typical Day

Today was a typical day of therapy for Luke. Three hours of strengthening, endurance and range of motion of his left arm kept him busy for half of his day. The rest of the day was spent getting lots of Wii therapy with Dad. This evening his neighbors brought in pizza and movies for the evening entertainment.

At the present Luke is planning on staying in San Diego when he is released from the rehab center and continuing his out-patient therapy. He's got some things to work out yet so nothing at this time is definite.

---Bill

Day 59 - A Very Different Christmas

Although Luke spent Christmas 2007 in warm and sunny San Diego apart from the rest of us, this was a first for Paula and I. While the rest of our family gathered at our home in Meadville, we spent the day at the rehab center with Luke, except for an hour and a half when we were able to get away to the Zamora household to once again visit Luke's dog, Boston, and to be treated to a delicious traditional Christmas turkey dinner. Since Luke didn't have any therapy on Tuesday because of travelling to doctor appointments, he had a full day of therapy today. This morning was occupational therapy. When it was done at 11:30, we booked to Zamora's for a brief visit and to enjoy the meal. We just made it back in time for Luke's physical therapy at 1.

Later we hooked up on line with our family and were able to see our grandkids showing off their Christmas presents and chat with the family. They got to see Luke open his gifts. While in the hospital we rigged up his X-Box for him, but he found that he wasn't able to effectively play the games he had for that with one hand. After seeing what he could do with the Wii systems that they use here for therapy, we felt that this would be a good gift for him. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening playing it. He thoroughly enjoyed it and the day as well.

---Bill