This past week Charbel met with his neurologist for the first time since October. The last time Dr. W saw him, Charbel wasn't doing well. He had recently had his bone flap replaced and had fluid build up in his head. In October the doctors thought he might not make it much longer...
This time, their meeting was much different! Dr. W was so excited to see Charb. When he came in the office, Charb went to shake is hand and Dr. W told him, "You made my year!" Needless to say, he was amazed at the progress that Charbel has made so far. He told us that he has no medical or scientific explanation as to why Charbel is aware, is talking, and is able to do what he's doing. He said it's due to our hard work and the work of God (and all of your prayers!). It was a very emotional meeting, and the first time we have met with doctors since Charbel's accident that we actually left smiling and feeling good about the situation.
We asked him several questions about Charbel's recovery and his possible limitations. Dr. W had no idea - Charbel obviously is a fighter and he has unlimited potential - if he's made it this far, he can go a lot further. In the words of Dr. W, we "won the lottery." Indeed, we are very lucky. Charbel will be going back to get an MRI. Although the doctor doesn't think that it will show anything different than the MRI taken before he began to talk, it will be interesting to see if there are any visible changes.
Charbel's old nurses on the 7th floor on the QEII were all talking about his recovery. One of the head nurses came down to see him and was totally amazed that he could talk to her! Charb has proven a lot of people wrong and we know that with hard work he will continue to amaze us all!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Visiting Charb at the Rehab Center
As always, Charb looks forward to visits from his friends. Although his mornings are usually busy with therapy, he has some down time between 3pm-5pm and also 6pm-8pm, which would be a great time to come see him. On the weekends (Friday night to Sunday) he will be back in Windsor. If you would like to come see him at the rehab center, give mom a call on her cell phone (902)791-0982 she can tell you the best time to come visit when Charb is free from other commitments. We look forward to seeing you soon!
First days at rehab
Hi everyone, I'm sure you are all waiting to hear what happened with Charb and the rehab saga this past week...
He was admitted Friday and spent most of the day getting settled. He is in a room with 4 other people who all seem really nice, and can tell the nurses if he is calling for anything at night. All of the nurses and staff who had seen Charbel at the rehab center last year were surprised and truly amazed that he is doing as well as he is. Friday night, mom brought Charb home and he spent the weekend with us. We took him back on Sunday night. That was his first night at rehab, and according to the nurses and his roommates, he slept really well, which is always good to hear.
Monday and Tuesday he met with the physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and others. They are in the process of working out a program for him. Meanwhile, he has done well with the PT and speech so far. We are determined that his program should be extensive in order provide him with best chance at a full recovery.
Charb has also undergone a series of tests this week. On Monday he took the swallow test. In this test they use and x-ray and dye while he is eating and drinking to make sure that the food is going down the right way. They found that while eating soft/pureed food he had no problem. Unfortunately, while drinking juice/water some of the liquid was going into the airways and possibly into his lungs. So he is no longer allowed to have regular liquids, only thickened juice and water. They will be working with him on proper swallowing over the coming weeks so that he will be able to drink all liquids eventually. At least he can still eat, imagine telling him that he's not allowed to have food!
Charb had an ultrasound to check his kidneys. He also had an x-ray done on his left shoulder and knee, both of which really bother him. We haven't yet received the results from the doctors.
He was admitted Friday and spent most of the day getting settled. He is in a room with 4 other people who all seem really nice, and can tell the nurses if he is calling for anything at night. All of the nurses and staff who had seen Charbel at the rehab center last year were surprised and truly amazed that he is doing as well as he is. Friday night, mom brought Charb home and he spent the weekend with us. We took him back on Sunday night. That was his first night at rehab, and according to the nurses and his roommates, he slept really well, which is always good to hear.
Monday and Tuesday he met with the physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and others. They are in the process of working out a program for him. Meanwhile, he has done well with the PT and speech so far. We are determined that his program should be extensive in order provide him with best chance at a full recovery.
Charb has also undergone a series of tests this week. On Monday he took the swallow test. In this test they use and x-ray and dye while he is eating and drinking to make sure that the food is going down the right way. They found that while eating soft/pureed food he had no problem. Unfortunately, while drinking juice/water some of the liquid was going into the airways and possibly into his lungs. So he is no longer allowed to have regular liquids, only thickened juice and water. They will be working with him on proper swallowing over the coming weeks so that he will be able to drink all liquids eventually. At least he can still eat, imagine telling him that he's not allowed to have food!
Charb had an ultrasound to check his kidneys. He also had an x-ray done on his left shoulder and knee, both of which really bother him. We haven't yet received the results from the doctors.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Rehab Friday
We got a call this morning that the NS Rehab Center is ready to admit Charbel tomorrow (Friday) morning. He will be going back to the hospital in Windsor tonight and then leaving in the morning from there. We'll let you know how the first day goes!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Latest Rehab News
Mom got a call on Monday morning from the NS Rehab Center telling her that Charb would be admitted by 10am Tuesday morning. Mom was excited, so after she hung up the phone, she turned to Charb and said, "hurray, you're going to rehab!", Charb looked at her, gave her a thumbs down, and said "BOO!" Well, Charb got his way, because just a couple of hours later they called and said that they have to put off his admission until Thursday or Friday of this week because there are still no free beds. Mom is supposed to hear back from them today as to when he will be going, but it should be late this week or early next week, AT THE LATEST (or at least we will hope). I thought I'd give you all a heads up in case you are planning on visiting Charb, he may be in Halifax by then. I'll update as soon as we know exactly when he's going.
On another note, Charb surprised us yesterday by answering mom's cell phone twice! Mom called the first time to see if he would answer. He picked up the phone, flipped it open, and pressed the talk button! Not bad, that takes a lot of coordination. Then another time dad called and mom didn't hear the phone so Charb picked it up and answered. Way to go Charbie!
On another note, Charb surprised us yesterday by answering mom's cell phone twice! Mom called the first time to see if he would answer. He picked up the phone, flipped it open, and pressed the talk button! Not bad, that takes a lot of coordination. Then another time dad called and mom didn't hear the phone so Charb picked it up and answered. Way to go Charbie!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Good weekend
Charb has been a lot happier the last few days which is great because it lifts all of our moods. He's back to talking and smiling - and I can see some improvement in his speech this week. Not only is he making more effort to communicate by talking, he is pronouncing much better. There's still a long way to go, but its good to hear him talking and laughing again! I guess everyone has their ups and downs!
Today the weather was nice so we took Charbel for a walk to Windsor Elementary School. There we ran into Charbel's friends walking their dogs. Charb was really happy to see them and he was petting their huge German Shepard and telling it to 'calm down' it was pretty funny. The best part is, he remembered it even after a couple of hours. I think his short term memory has improved SLIGHTLY (there are other things that he seems to remember for longer periods of time now).
Later on in the day, Mom and Dad took Charbel to the driving range where dad got some practice as Charb looked on, he even practiced a couple of swings himself by holding the club. As the weather gets better we are able to take Charbel outside and do some more interesting things with him, which we are all looking forward to. The daily routine was getting pretty boring for all of us.
The latest rehab news is that mom called Charb's neurologist and the director of the rehab center on Friday. She only got their secretaries, but she left them both stern messages that we are sick of waiting for them to get their act together - we want Charbel in rehab NOW! So she got an appointment with the neurologist on April 25th and a promise from the rehab centre that 90% he'll be there next week, 100% the week after. Well, we've heard that before, so we'll see. If we don't hear anything by the end of the week mom might have to drive to Halifax and make them talk to her face to face. For their sake, I hope it doesn't come to that!
That's all the news for now, we'll keep you posted on any developments. Charb is looking forward to seeing his friends after they have finished exams!
Today the weather was nice so we took Charbel for a walk to Windsor Elementary School. There we ran into Charbel's friends walking their dogs. Charb was really happy to see them and he was petting their huge German Shepard and telling it to 'calm down' it was pretty funny. The best part is, he remembered it even after a couple of hours. I think his short term memory has improved SLIGHTLY (there are other things that he seems to remember for longer periods of time now).
Later on in the day, Mom and Dad took Charbel to the driving range where dad got some practice as Charb looked on, he even practiced a couple of swings himself by holding the club. As the weather gets better we are able to take Charbel outside and do some more interesting things with him, which we are all looking forward to. The daily routine was getting pretty boring for all of us.
The latest rehab news is that mom called Charb's neurologist and the director of the rehab center on Friday. She only got their secretaries, but she left them both stern messages that we are sick of waiting for them to get their act together - we want Charbel in rehab NOW! So she got an appointment with the neurologist on April 25th and a promise from the rehab centre that 90% he'll be there next week, 100% the week after. Well, we've heard that before, so we'll see. If we don't hear anything by the end of the week mom might have to drive to Halifax and make them talk to her face to face. For their sake, I hope it doesn't come to that!
That's all the news for now, we'll keep you posted on any developments. Charb is looking forward to seeing his friends after they have finished exams!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Quiet Weekend
Charbie had a quiet weekend, just the basic humdrum routine. He's been really quiet himself lately, hardly talking. He usually now just points to the things he wants. He's made up some distinctive signals that tell us either: I want to eat, I want to drink, I'm watching, I can't see, Give me Kleenex, and Come Here! It's been hard to get him to engage in any kind of conversation - quite a contrast to a couple of months ago when he was so eager to talk and express himself. It's hard to figure out why this is happening. We think it is in part that he is pretty bored and possibly depressed/lonely, the other reason (which is what he says) is that he doesn't seem to have the energy - perhaps all the physical work is taking a lot out of him - hard to say. That's why he needs to see a neuropsychologist or cognitive specialist (whatever they are called) they know more about recovering mentally fron brain injury than we do. Unfortunately, the NS Rehab Centre is in absolutely no rush to admit him, saying that they are short of staff, etc. So we are still waiting for ANY brain specialist to see Charbel, be it neurologist, neuropsychologist or otherwise.
Until then, we are continuing to give it our best. Robert and Dad continue their intensive routine, and on the physical side, Charbel is making gains. It is on the mental/emotional/cognitive side of things that we are at a loss (and seeking professional help) and worried about not getting him the support he needs soon. We have started to look into other options in other provinces and in the US that can offer the cognitive and physical rehabilitation that Charbel needs, in addition to waiting for him to admitted to the NS Rehab Center.
If anyone has any information about successful rehabilitation programs, anywhere in North America, please send us an email at omelia@ns.sympatico.ca. We have just started our research and would welcome any information.
Until then, we are continuing to give it our best. Robert and Dad continue their intensive routine, and on the physical side, Charbel is making gains. It is on the mental/emotional/cognitive side of things that we are at a loss (and seeking professional help) and worried about not getting him the support he needs soon. We have started to look into other options in other provinces and in the US that can offer the cognitive and physical rehabilitation that Charbel needs, in addition to waiting for him to admitted to the NS Rehab Center.
If anyone has any information about successful rehabilitation programs, anywhere in North America, please send us an email at omelia@ns.sympatico.ca. We have just started our research and would welcome any information.
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