We are experiencing some difficulties with the website, specifically with the Guest Book page. It seems that the Guest Book is being attacked by spam so we have taken it down until we can figure out a way to block the spam. We are also currently working on some updates for the website, as some of the pages are now out of date. We will continue to update the blog as much as possible to keep you all informed as to Charbel's news and progress.
Take a look at the new pictures and videos for March - they highlight much of the hard work that Charb is doing with the help of Robert and his friend Natasha who is volunteering her time. You will also see some videos of Charb and Dale. Dale is a deep tissue massuse who comes from Amherst once a month to give Charbel a 1.5 hour deep tissue massage, which must be heavenly for Charb's tight muscles. As Dale only sees him about once a month, he always is amazed at the progress Charbel is making. And indeed Robert and Dad have a pretty agressive routine in place, and Charb's stregth and coordination are improving greatly.
Please feel free to leave comments on the blog if you wish to send Charbel a message or just want to say hello while the Guest Book is being re-worked.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Feeding Tube Removed
Exactly 18 months after his accident, Charbel had his G-Tube removed on Tuesday March 27th. The procedure didn't take very long, only a couple of minutes, and Charb was hungry and ready to eat right afterwards! We had been holding off on removing the tube, even though Charb hasn't used it in over a month. We had expected that he would be going to Halifax to have a swallow test done, to ensure that his food was going down properly, but the doctors in Halifax are not overly anxious to see him, and we didn't want to wait any longer to have it removed. It was starting to bother him recently, he was sensitive around the area in his stomach, and also it was hard for him to lie flat on his stomach for exercises because of it. Although we were anxious at first about the procedure, it was quick and painless, and now we are one step closer to the full recovery that we are all hoping and working for.
As for Charb, his appetite never ceases, and its sometimes difficult to know what to feed him to give him enough variety since he's still pretty much eating only mashed up food. His chewing is slowly improving...but we have to remind him all the time to chew once the food is in his mouth. It seems that sometimes he forgets how to chew harder foods. Bit by bit we are teaching him to use his tongue and lips, and how to use his back teeth to properly chew more solid foods. For now, the mashed up variety seems to suit him fine, although if he doesn't like it, he lets mom know by asking her if she has some better food for him. If all else fails, he has no problems licking ice cream cones!
As for Charb, his appetite never ceases, and its sometimes difficult to know what to feed him to give him enough variety since he's still pretty much eating only mashed up food. His chewing is slowly improving...but we have to remind him all the time to chew once the food is in his mouth. It seems that sometimes he forgets how to chew harder foods. Bit by bit we are teaching him to use his tongue and lips, and how to use his back teeth to properly chew more solid foods. For now, the mashed up variety seems to suit him fine, although if he doesn't like it, he lets mom know by asking her if she has some better food for him. If all else fails, he has no problems licking ice cream cones!
Friday, March 16, 2007
By Chantal, Charb’s little sister
Now that I am on March break, I have had a lot of time to spend with Charb. He is doing really well with Robert and his range of movement is improving at a fast rate! The left side is doing better, but it is still a lot slower than his right side.
Charbel’s appetite is even bigger than before…if that’s possible! He is constantly asking for food or drinks, and when we give it to him, he never wants to stop! I’m even surprised at how much he eats now and I like to tease him about the double chin he is getting. ;)
You can tell this Charb is very much like the old Charb in many ways. When he first started talking, he talked constantly, and we were very delighted to hear his voice again. But now he is not talking much at all (at least not with me) and the only times you hear him talk is when he is asking for food or asking for a drink! I think many of us are used to the old Charb not talking, but it’s kind of depressing for me… I like it when we talk to each other and joke around. Hopefully his ‘winter blues’ will lift soon!
Charbel’s writing has improved too! He writes us notes like “I’m hungry, feed me” or “Mom, I love you. Can you give me better food?” (As you can see, everything is related with food!) He writes really fast now, and he’s beginning to draw us pictures like sharks and orcs. When he gets frustrated or doesn’t like what the picture looks like, he begins to scribble all over the picture. We try to assure him its good, but he doesn’t listen to us and keeps scribbling away. Even now, Charbel strives to do his best.
Charbel’s appetite is even bigger than before…if that’s possible! He is constantly asking for food or drinks, and when we give it to him, he never wants to stop! I’m even surprised at how much he eats now and I like to tease him about the double chin he is getting. ;)
You can tell this Charb is very much like the old Charb in many ways. When he first started talking, he talked constantly, and we were very delighted to hear his voice again. But now he is not talking much at all (at least not with me) and the only times you hear him talk is when he is asking for food or asking for a drink! I think many of us are used to the old Charb not talking, but it’s kind of depressing for me… I like it when we talk to each other and joke around. Hopefully his ‘winter blues’ will lift soon!
Charbel’s writing has improved too! He writes us notes like “I’m hungry, feed me” or “Mom, I love you. Can you give me better food?” (As you can see, everything is related with food!) He writes really fast now, and he’s beginning to draw us pictures like sharks and orcs. When he gets frustrated or doesn’t like what the picture looks like, he begins to scribble all over the picture. We try to assure him its good, but he doesn’t listen to us and keeps scribbling away. Even now, Charbel strives to do his best.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Updates to the Photo Album
Today we posted some new pictures and videos of Charbel. In the videos you can see how hard he is working at building his strength and how far he has come physically in the past little while. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
No more tube feed
For about a week now, Charbel has been eating only 'real' food, instead of his protein shake that was fed to him by the feeding tube. Since December mom has been feeding Charbel mashed and pureed food, as well as his tube feed. Now he can eat enough varieties of food in the mashed up and pureed form, that he no longer needs to be fed through the feeding tube at all! The feeding tube has not been removed yet, as we are still waiting for an extensive swallow test to be performed once he goes to rehab. I'm not exactly sure what the point is, since he can obviously swallow, and LOVES to eat, but the doctors want to make sure that everything is working properly before the tube is removed. Charb is still not able to eat solid foods, as his ability to chew is not great yet. Hopefully that will return with more practice.
On another equally important note: Charbel is 100% off all medications! Actually, he has been since late November, but for some reason we forgot to write about it. In November, he was only on one type of medication - to help with his spacticity and prevent seizures - but he was taken off this, and he has been taking absolutely no medication for the past 3 1/2 months. Once he is at rehab we will discuss with the doctors the possibility of medications that will help him concentrate better, but right now we are all very hesitant to start him on anything at this point.
On another equally important note: Charbel is 100% off all medications! Actually, he has been since late November, but for some reason we forgot to write about it. In November, he was only on one type of medication - to help with his spacticity and prevent seizures - but he was taken off this, and he has been taking absolutely no medication for the past 3 1/2 months. Once he is at rehab we will discuss with the doctors the possibility of medications that will help him concentrate better, but right now we are all very hesitant to start him on anything at this point.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Awaiting Rehab
Charb continues to progress slowly and steadily in many areas. But as the time goes on, it becomes more apparent that he needs more professional assessments and we need help to establish a more rigorous physical and cognitive routine. After Charbel's improvements in November, we sent word to rehab and have been waiting since January to get him a place at the NS Rehab Centre in Halifax - needless to say, the wait has been frustrating. We finally got word this month that he could be going later on this month, or in April. We have a lot of goals for the rehab center and we are ready to get started!
Along the same lines, Charb has been showing signs of boredom lately. He's used to the usual routine now, and he's much less talkative than he used to be. We are trying to come up with things that will be more fun and interesting for him to do on a daily basis until he goes to the rehab center. This weekend we are planning on taking him to Empire Theatres in New Minas to see the movie '300'. He saw the preview on TV the other day and was intently listening/watching, it's totally his type of film. We'll probably go to that on Sat afternoon. It will be his first trip to the movie theatre since the accident, so hopefully all goes well!
Once the weather gets a little better, we are planning on doing more 'normal' activities such as going for walks, taking Charbel shopping, and going to Hubbards to visit Abbouna at the beach. I think its high time Charb gets to see more than just the house and the hospital. More updates/photos soon (I promise)!
Along the same lines, Charb has been showing signs of boredom lately. He's used to the usual routine now, and he's much less talkative than he used to be. We are trying to come up with things that will be more fun and interesting for him to do on a daily basis until he goes to the rehab center. This weekend we are planning on taking him to Empire Theatres in New Minas to see the movie '300'. He saw the preview on TV the other day and was intently listening/watching, it's totally his type of film. We'll probably go to that on Sat afternoon. It will be his first trip to the movie theatre since the accident, so hopefully all goes well!
Once the weather gets a little better, we are planning on doing more 'normal' activities such as going for walks, taking Charbel shopping, and going to Hubbards to visit Abbouna at the beach. I think its high time Charb gets to see more than just the house and the hospital. More updates/photos soon (I promise)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
