7:35pm
I walked into Taylor's room at 4pm and he said "I've got a few surprises for you", then began to rattle them off. Four important things happened to him today.
Today he walked with a regular walker instead of the chest high style he had been using. On Monday or Tuesday he'll get on the treadmill. He may be walking much sooner than any of us had hoped.
The daily shots he was getting in his stomach to prevent blood clots ended today. He was REAL happy with that.
His continuous feeding tube was traded for bolus feeding. He'll get this 4 times a day and it's the next step closer to him eating real food.
A PIC line was previously inserted into his left arm to allow for blood to be drawn and medications to be introduced without having to stick him all the time. But, it's a source of infection, so they don't like to leave them in too long. Today that came out. Taylor and I both were surprised to learn that it was 18"-24" long and dropped in somewhere around the heart. He said when it was removed it was like a "hand over hand" pulling of a little rope. He was pretty creeped out by the sensation of it coming out.
It was a great week for Taylor. We've been told repeatedly that his progress would be very slow. If this is slow, we're ALL okay with the pace. He's really shown everyone what he's made of. His drive and determination impresses everyone here. He continues
Taylor is doing the same thing here that he did at Lakeland Regional Medical Center - demonstrating just how motivated he is to get better. The physical, speech and respiratory therapists have all commented on his drive and determination. His Nurses mention how much better he looks and how he improves during their days off.
Jessica Kent and Aaron Adams made the drive down this evening to visit Taylor, and he has several visitors lined up throughout the day tomorrow to hang out.
Taylor was a little concerned that his friends may not want to make the trip to rehab. It's not really all that far - about 30 miles from our house. But, they've proven that a little drive won't get in their way of visiting him. The real payoff for them is to be able to see the improvements he makes between their visits. It's a lot more dramatic for them than it is for us, since we see him everyday. Still, I almost get giddy (and I don't get giddy too often) every time Taylor kicks it up another notch.
I walked into Taylor's room at 4pm and he said "I've got a few surprises for you", then began to rattle them off. Four important things happened to him today.
Today he walked with a regular walker instead of the chest high style he had been using. On Monday or Tuesday he'll get on the treadmill. He may be walking much sooner than any of us had hoped.
The daily shots he was getting in his stomach to prevent blood clots ended today. He was REAL happy with that.
His continuous feeding tube was traded for bolus feeding. He'll get this 4 times a day and it's the next step closer to him eating real food.
A PIC line was previously inserted into his left arm to allow for blood to be drawn and medications to be introduced without having to stick him all the time. But, it's a source of infection, so they don't like to leave them in too long. Today that came out. Taylor and I both were surprised to learn that it was 18"-24" long and dropped in somewhere around the heart. He said when it was removed it was like a "hand over hand" pulling of a little rope. He was pretty creeped out by the sensation of it coming out.
It was a great week for Taylor. We've been told repeatedly that his progress would be very slow. If this is slow, we're ALL okay with the pace. He's really shown everyone what he's made of. His drive and determination impresses everyone here. He continues
Taylor is doing the same thing here that he did at Lakeland Regional Medical Center - demonstrating just how motivated he is to get better. The physical, speech and respiratory therapists have all commented on his drive and determination. His Nurses mention how much better he looks and how he improves during their days off.
Jessica Kent and Aaron Adams made the drive down this evening to visit Taylor, and he has several visitors lined up throughout the day tomorrow to hang out.
Taylor was a little concerned that his friends may not want to make the trip to rehab. It's not really all that far - about 30 miles from our house. But, they've proven that a little drive won't get in their way of visiting him. The real payoff for them is to be able to see the improvements he makes between their visits. It's a lot more dramatic for them than it is for us, since we see him everyday. Still, I almost get giddy (and I don't get giddy too often) every time Taylor kicks it up another notch.
