Stroke at 57. Our story of recovery.

Megan in Speech used electrode stimulation therapy to assist with swallowing today. M was not wild about the way it made his muscles contract, but he was very brave. Currently he is very good with honey consistency liquids, ok with nectar consistency and we are not able to even test regular liquids yet. We have special powder for home to be sure he continues to be safe. Our house has been a daily stop for Amazon lately as there is so much to buy and get ready for his homecoming the day after tomorrow. Wow! Both scary & exciting. Mostly exciting though.

A very nice final inpatient Sunday. Michael had a good PT session earlier. Then he did some wheelchair control practice in the courtyard under my watchful eye. He is really becoming the proficient driver. He had a great lunch of some really good roast beef, surprisingly so. I even asked to speak with the chef to find out how she made it, so I can make mine the same. I think she was quite surprised to get a compliment and give cooking advice. 👍 I am very sure that does not happen often. Lol Now we are just watching basketball, snuggled under the covers. Two full days and two half days to go until M is homeward bound. 💗

Our final Saturday as an inpatient. Yay! M is doing his one hour of OT right now with our buddy Jean from Haiti. He rocked the bike thing again for 20 minutes this time. He had another entirely choke-free lunch and had me laughing a couple of times with his facial expressions..reactions to a couple of things that happened while there. He is expressing his excitement to go home. The nurses are already telling him they are going to miss him. ☺

We had family training today. I got to assist Michael with all of the transfers from place to place via wheelchair, etc. He did well and I know we are going to be a good team. We are super tired after all that activity so it's time for a rest. Patience is indeed a virtue...working on more every day. Happy to say this is our final Friday as an inpatient. Yay!

Today Michael worked on his independent wheelchair driving skills. His PT, Kenny, got him outside navigating the sidewalk. He did great and when asked what he thought, he said it made him feel  "invigorated." He also didn't crash, so that's good. 😃 During Speech he thought of the words he wanted to say to Jake in wishing him a happy birthday! He read a whiteboard that Megan had written his message on. He did well and Jake really liked hearing him speak. Today is our final inpatient Thursday. THAT is exciting!

Listening to funk on the patio soaking in some sunshine waiting for PT. M is a little quiet today. But that will happen. We went rogue today and did our own shower. He did great! (Lol...don't tell) Looks like May 2 will be our release day. He is so ready to get out of here and home. Me too so we can settle into our own routine. We will have lots of appointments, but it will be awesome to reintroduce him to our beautiful new home. Lots of family care training over the next few days. I proudly take on the challenge!

WHEN Michael speaks he has a very gravelly voice. Today his favorite thing to do with that voice during speech was to say, "I'm Batman" a la the Christian Bale version. Megan and I cracked up! He is super happy when he makes us laugh. He completed all therapies before lunch today. So once again he is VERY tired. But unlike last week, he maintained endurance throughout and didn't "bonk." That is in itself is amazing progress. He has a team evaluation this afternoon. I'm hoping they keep his release date for May 2, but will once again trust the process and go with whatever they recommend. I'm still thinking about yesterday's OT session. It was pretty darned awesome. Here is a pic of him doing a half-Superman exercise on the ball. Looks like I have a Superhero on my hands. Actually he IS my hero.