Sunday October 11,2009

hi everybody this is jessica i would like to say thankyou for all your
concerns im getting botox on the 19 im scared i hate needels but they
said it will get me walking faster and relax the tone in my muscles
and last friday in the pool they made me bicycle and both legs did it
it was amazing eveyone was amazed so i guess its just a step by step
process i cant complain im just happy im alive.


Sunday October 04,2009

Jessica has been doing great at Health South, Now that they have added
the aquatic therapy her days are long but well worth it.  On the days
that she doesn't have therapy she goes to the barn and rides Ralph.
She goes for about half and hour.  She sits really good but the
mounting is pretty ugly. The trot is getting better but that right arm
gets a little excited.
Jessica is looking forward to college.  She has decided that maybe
classes at home on the computer are the way to go. On September 26 she
joined Stacey on a 5k walk.  Between him and her uncle they pushed her
the whole way.  Keep in mind that Stacey was in full gear. He is one
of the main firefighters that helped save her life.
On October 19 she will get the Botox injections, in her bicept and
quads. She is a little nervous about it.


Sunday September 20,2009

Jessica is doing great in therapy. They might give her aquatic therapy
on Fridays too.  If she can get an hour then they will go for it the
problem is the pool closes early on Fridays. Jessica is all excited
because they may not do the Botox. Her right arm has calmed down a
lot. She is willing to do anything as long as it does not involve
shots. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and the weekend she is out at the barn.
She has given a lesson or two. She gets tired easily and naps.  By
nine o’clock she is usually sound as sleep. Of course she is up by
6:30.
Here are a few snap shot of Jessica in therapy. Like Jessica says “I’m back!!!”

5 attachments —

Friday September 11,2009

Today marks 4 months since Jessica’s accident.  I think we can all
agree that she truly is a miracle.
She has been at Health South day treatment program for a week now.
Next week she will get the added benefit of aquatic therapy.  So
therapy days will be a little longer but well worth it.  She was back
on the tread mill this week it went well.  They also put the saboflex
on her right hand.  It is a device that keeps her fingers open with
springs but she is able to close the hand on her own. The arm seems to
be getting better. On Monday they will start the vital stem which is
the electrical stimulation to her face. I can’t tell you how thrilled
she is. They also lent me a electrical unit to use over the weekend on
her triceps that just made her day.
Jessica is very happy with the new place although she says she liked
Brooks better. I offered to take her back to  Jacksonville but she
wont have it. In true Jessica form she has the therapist all laughing
and not really knowing when to take her seriously.

Thank you for checking in.

Monday  September  7, 2009

Jessica has been home for a little over a week .  The adjustment was
been a bit of a challenge.  Her second day home she rode Ralph. We had
to stop her from galloping off.  She has rode him since and every time
her balance improves.  She is dying to get on her horse Vegas but I
think its best to wait. She gets tired easily but I think it has a lot
to do with the heat.
Rehab starts on Wednesday down in Sunrise 9-3.  The speech therapist
couldn’t believe he was having an actual conversation with her. Not
even 4 months from the accident.  I believe she is finally going to
get the botox in her arm. They will continue with the electrical
stimulation to her face.  Although I believe it has gotten better
already. And the walking well that will come with time and practice
,practice ,practice..
We  met some friends today at Spanish River Park for a labor day
picnic and Jessica was playing  Frisbee. (from her chair but she was
playing). She is usually always happy which does make it easy.
Argumentative but happy.
Thank you to everyone who has come along on this long journey.  A very
special thanks to the paramedics, firefighters, doctors ,nurses  and
the give big crew.  The world is a much better place with caring
people like you guys.

Keep the prayers coming we are not done yet.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Guess whose back in town again…. Jessica has arrived alive. After enjoying a few free days it has been off onto the trail of finding another rehab facility.  She has spent the last couple of days on the road with Mom going down to Sunrise and meeting with the people from Health South. Hopefully they will allow her into the outpatient program, we find out Friday so stayed tuned. Her return home marks a great point that has been crossed, she is finally home.

She can’t walk but she can talk and will let you know exactly what she thinks. She got a WII today in order to help her with her coordination and a stability ball and a floor mat  so she can do her stretching  and exercises. The motor skills on her right side are still not working well but she can manage to walk with support and a Cain. Mainly she gets around on a wheel chair and uses her left hand to do most things. We are optimistic that if she keeps on improving at this rate she will be walking on her own by the holidays. That’s all for now, keep on checking in and we will have more info coming your way ….take care and god bless

Friday  August 28, 2009

Tomorrow is a big day.  Jessica finally goes home. It has been almost 4 months since Jessica has been home. As nice as it is to go home it’s a little sad leaving Brooks.  Jessica said it was like leaving friends everyone was so nice to her.

I would like everyone to understand Jessica’s condition. She came to Brooks in very bad shape and she has made amazing progress.  However its far from over. She will not be walking in the door, driving to her friend’s house, or even be able to put her hair up in a ponytail.  That is not to say it would not happen. She has a lot of therapy ahead of her. She is a work in progress.

Her next stop will hopefully be the day treatment program at Health South in Sunrise.  It is an intensive therapy program. She will surely kick butt there as well.

Thanks for your good thoughts.

Wednesday August 26, 20093 days to go……..Soon Jessica will be opening another chapter in her recovery.  God willing it will continue at the same momentum that it has. 

The speech therapist commented today that Jessica’s reading has improved greatly.  Before she would have to correct her 3-4 times per sentence, now it is 1-2 times per paragraph. 

She has doubled her walking goal.  We go 2 times around the nurses station. Balance is getting better, but she still needs assistance.

As far as her face goes, she will have to get a CT scan to determine the extent of nerve damage. That way we know what we are dealing with (I hope).

 

Thank you for checking in.

August 23, 2009

Jessica is in good spirits with 6 days left there still is a lot of work to be done. She is walking with some assistance but now her ankle is turning in and she keeps putting her toe down instead of her heel. Her right arm is going great she can raise it from her chest to over her head.  She can’t move her fingers yet. Sometimes it feels like 2 steps forward and 1 back. Tomorrow they are going to see if maybe she can walk better with a walker.  They will have to tape or ace wrap her right hand to the walker. She also seems to have gotten some sort of infection in her elbow it was swollen and hot full of puss.  They quickly put her first on bactrim then on the other antibiotic that they use for MRSA.  Here we go again. Just have to keep telling myself 6 days left!!

Thank-you for your continued support

 

 

Friday August 21.2009
 
I apologize for not posting technical difficulties.  Jessica continues to improve, she met her goal. Made it around the nurses station(little fumble here and there) so no more shots. Her stomach is one huge bruise. There are days when her memory is right on and her steps aren't fumbled. Then there are days that aren't that good and she's tired and cranky.  Finally got some movement in her right ankle. You need range of motion in the ankles to be able to walk normally.  The occupational therapist recast her right arm to get a better stretch . Boy was that fun and it was only on 12 hours. They  bi-valved it, that's when they cut it in half and she puts it on every night.  The therapist wants Botox injections in the arm but the Doctor doesn't feel it's necessary. They told me to keep pushing for it when she goes for day treatment.
Can you believe she can actually tie her shoes with her left hand. Still set for 29th discharge.
 
Believe in Miracles

Sunday August 16, 2009

 

Jessica has begun the count down, 13 days. God help them if they postpone it again. She is doing so much better. Jessica can walk (assisted) all the way to the computer room from her room about 90 feet.  Her goal for the next two weeks will be to walk(assisted) all the way around the nurses station. Brooks is one big circle with the rooms going out from the middle with the nurses stations in the middle. She was fitted for a wheel chair she got a bright yellow light weight chair.( just until she can WALK.) The boys really like it apparently its very fast.  They get kinda bored here. Finally she was able to move her right wrist,. that's huge! Tomorrow we go to the optomologist her right eye has been bothering her for about a week now.  They couldn't tell me what was wrong so I made an appointment.  Hope I can find the place.

Dr. Srinivasa gets back from vacation tomorrow. That's Jessica rehab doctor.  We are hoping she will take Jessica off the heparin shots. The shots are to help avoid blood clots. The  shot isn't so bad it's the heparin that stings and bruises her stomach.

Jessica was told she should be the poster girl for electronic stimulation. It really seems to work for her. Although unfortunately no results in the face yet. They loaned me a zapper, so part of the routine every evening is to zap Jessica along with all the other stuff they have me do. I Think they are determined to make me a therapist. I am glad they find me capable, there is only so much they can do in the limited time they have.

 

If you have hope you have everything.

 



 

jessica's garden

Wednesday August 12,2009

 

Jessica's new discharge date is August 29.  Finally success Jessica was able to walk on the treadmill. She did very well on it after she stopped laughing. They are trying to get her hamstrings to cooperate ,her quads are trying to do all the work. Just like with her right arm the bicept overworks and the trisect doesn't  kick in. They are also trying electrical stimulation on both. Her muscles seem to respond very nicely to that type of stimulation. With extensive therapy her right side should come back but it may take a while.

She is no longer on any heart medication. They also changed the muscle spasm medication. The one she was on was making her tired they will take her off that one slowly and start her on a new one that shouldn't make her sleepy.

Jessica's garden ,in recreational therapy they let her paint a ceiling tile. They put the tiles back in the ceiling once they are done.  On the second floor the ceiling is quite colorful.(thats her floor)

Hope to see everyone by late August Jessica is very anxious to get home.

Monday August 10.2009

I am happy to say Jessica's heartrate seems to have stablized.  She did not need the tenormin this morning. They did do an echo cardiogram

no one has come to tell me the results.

In physical therapy they are going to start working more on balance. Which will help her walk. We hope now that her heart is stable they will try the treadmill again.

Because of all her riding her abdominal muscles are quite strong which really helps.

In Jessica's words " slowly but surely".

 

God Bless

Saturday August 8, 2009

Friday Jessica’s heart rate was still high. Apparently, it has probably always been that way since the adderal.  Because she is asymptomatic, no one thought to check during her therapies. Although even at rest it was at 90. She got through 3 therapies on Friday and had to go on bed rest for the rest of the day.  The cardiologist feels that its due to the adderal so he discontinued that and put her on tenormin.  The doctors hope that within a few days everything will be normal.

Nothing else to report unfortunately weekends really stink around here. Thank goodness the boys are here to keep things interesting.

Thanks to everyone for checking in.


Wednesday,August 5,2009 All therapies went as usual, except for physical when they tried the thread mill.  Jessica’s heart rate needed to be 100 or under hers was 123.  So they figured that after they put the harness on it should go down well it went to 132.  Ok they figure if they just attach her to the thread mill and walk she should be alright, well just attaching her made her heart rate soar to 173. They couldn’t get her down fast enough. She is fine guess just a tad nervous. Hopefully they will try again tomorrow.

She is taking trazadone to sleep. It was at 100 mg they have lowered it to 50 mg soon to be as needed.

We will see what tomorrow brings………….only good things I’m sure.

Much love


Tuesday August 4,2009

Jessica has started her 5^th week of therapy here at Brooks. Her progress continues to be positive.

The Bioness 200 seems to show some promise although it is far to soon to tell.  They are  hoping to put Jessica in a harness type thread mill, they can adjust how much weight she will be putting on her legs.  The hope is that it will allow for a more natural gait. When she walks now its with assistance and kinda in jerky motions.

The best news today came from a nurse from the 3^rd floor. She hadn’t seen Jessica for about 2 weeks. She noticed some muscle improvement on the right  side of her face.

A sure sign that Jessica is getting back to normal ………………..she pedals a stationary bike daily, if Jennifer her PT or I sit with her she can barley pedal.  But if Chris a student PT sits with her she seems to have no problem. She talks to him for the half hour and pedals, pedals ,pedals.

Keeps the prays coming she is not done yet!!!!  

Sunday August 2,2009
 
Well, so far Jessica has AFO's she needs to wear at night. They bi=valved her cast so she wears that at night only. She wears a paddle on her right hand most of the time. Starting Monday we are hoping they will use the nessH200.  The nessH200 is an advanced therapy system designed to use mild electrical stimulation to improve the way the arm works.  They are using vitalstem on her face which is also a form of electical stimulation.
All her therapies are going well.  The speech therapist says that even the para=aphasia is becoming less and less.  Jessica is definatly making up for lost time.
It's easy to forget that she has only been here a month. I have it on good authority that for every down day you have three days of recovery.  So we are just at the beginin of the tunnel but the light is as stong as can be.  I am so amazed by Jessica's commitment to getting well.
 
Regards to all........

Thursday July 30,2009

Jessica keeps amazing the therapist.  They have adopted her favorite word "lovely".  Her personality has not changed a whole lot. Today when asked what she liked about herself she reponded with " I just like me".  She certainly keeps everyone laughing around here. Which isn't that easy it's not exactly a joyous place.

All her therapies are going GREAT. Which is another one of her words.  She was able to ride the stationary bike today for half and hour and the motor never had to click on.  Oh, by the way thats all with the right leg.

Her memory for some things is better. But if you give her say 3 things to do and ask her fifteen minutes later what they were she can't tell you. That should get better but if not we will go through a whole lot of memo pads.

Jessica can't wait to get out to the barn and ride. It might have to be Sojo(yeah right).

Thanks for checking in. Jessica loves to read all your comments.

 

God Bless

Tuesday  July 28,2009

Jessica appears to be very oriented now.  It's a continuous effort to get her core muscles stronger. We have another session of bio-feed back tomorrow.
She peddled a stationary bike today for almost 5 minutes by herself.

I has been raining here every afternoon so no basketball.

Thank-you for checking in.

Monday  July 27,2009

 

Jessica got her first session of bio-feedback on her right leg.  They would have liked to do her right arm but it is in a cast.  The next session is wednesday and I am hoping they will include the right side of her face.  Her right eye is trying to blink not quite there but at least there is some movement.

The progression is slow but still positive. She has gained another 2 pounds. Tomorrow the team meets (therapist and doctor) they will see if everyone is on the right page and monitor her progress,

Everyones kindness is greatly appreciated.

Sunday  July 26.2009

Jessica spent Sunday afternoon playing basketball with Matthew.  OK ......well not exactly.
She is standing with little assistance.  The cast on her arm will be removed Wednesday.  They will replace it with one from the shoulder to
the wrist and a paddle on her hand to keep the fingers extended.  She suffers from aphasia.  Which for Jessica means she sometimes cant find the right word in conversation.  But she can usually spell it.
Tomorrow starts another week of therapy.  We have 3 weeks left here and a lot to accomplish.  With Jessica's determination it should be a peice of cake.( we can dream .)

Thank you all and God bless!!!!!
 
Thursday July 23,2009

 

Tuesday night was not a good night.  Something upset Jessica's stomach and she was throwing up all night.  Wendnesday we were able to skip the first therapy at 8;30.  But had to be at the 9 o'clock one, she got a long arm cast on her right arm.  We were worried that the cast would really bother her but that was not the case. That cast comes of in a week and they are hoping that the arm will extend. She had a good night what ever it was seems to have passed.

Today they removed the cast from her right leg. When they put the cast on her foot it was at a negative degree, now it's a positive 4.  So no more cast. Hopefully the arm will do just as good if not better. She is wearing splints on both ankles for 2 hours a night, it will be increased slowly to all night. The muscle spasms seem to be under control. She still needs to strenghthen her core muscles.  She is able to sit on the side of the bed with little to no assistance.

At this point Jessica appreares to be at stage 6 confused/appropriate.  There are 8 stages of recovery.

 

Thanks to everyone for following Jessica's amazing recovery.

Tuesday  July 21,2009

Monday, July 20, 2009

Jessica continues to improve.  In physical therapy she was able to walk with a cane and a little assistance from the therapist.  They may have to cast her right arm to stretch it. It’s in a brace but she keeps taking it off.  In occupational therapy they seem more concerned with making sure she can brush her hair and teeth, and putting her shirt on rather than on getting that right arm moving. 

Through it all Jessica  has keep her sense of humor.  They should do a study on the effects of laughter because it sure has helped us all.

God bless and keep the prayers and good energy coming,

Saturday July 18,2009

wasn’t a whole lot today.  We have been practicing walking on our own. And doing great. The doctor has prescribed Ateral , which has increased her blood pressure and has made her a bit sweaty. I was told the Ateral is for her concentration, of which there is very little right now.

We only had rec. therapy today were she painted a few pictures.

Thank you for your prayers and nice thoughts!

P.S. Britany and Sage the boarder looks great almost like being home.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Jessica gets better and better everyday.  She has suffered significant cognitive damage, memory, speech, ect.  They feel that with time everything should improve.  And no one can accurately tell how much improvement there will be. For those of you that know Jessica personally you know the improvement s will be limitless.

In physical therapy she used the Arjowalker to help her walk once around the gym.  Then with the help of just two therapist she was able make another lap. Still working the right arm, apparently the arms because of the fine motor take a bit longer than the legs.  They removed the first cast and stretched the tendon again and re-casted it. So far she hasn’t complained about it. Hopefully we will have a good night.

Weekends are slow around here but the therapist have given us homework to keep us busy and speed her recovery.

Thanks to all who are keeping up with Jessica’s progress. God bless you all.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Jessica had a rough night last night. The cast was really bothering her, she begged us to cut it off.  Hopefully tonight will be peaceful.

She was taken off the megace which opened her appetite.  She has a very good appetite, almost scary.  Seems she has acquired quite a sweet tooth.

She is improving everyday in all her therapies. The exciting news is that when the speech therapist saw her today after 2 days off, she thought her face was more symmetrical.

She still get confused as to events of the day, and names of things . But she is not consistent. It’s almost hour by hour. One hour good the next confusion. The doctor said to keep correcting her and that with time it should get better.

Keep  the positive comments comin Jessica has been reading them.

Thank you

Monday, July 13, 2009

Jessica had a good day today.  She is really putting forth the effort in therapy.   They casted her left ankle today, she was very worried about it.  But just as they told her it was no big deal, hopefully they will get the stretch that they are looking for.

In speech she seems to be able to write whatever she is asked to. When it comes to reading it’s a different story.  She can read but skips words and makes up her own sentence. When shown pictures of things she knows about 90 percent then comes up with off the wall answers for the other 10 percent.

She does keep the people here laughing.  Although I think they are not quite sure on what to make of Jessica, Sweet with a twist of sarcasm.  

Thanks to everyone……………..God Bless

Sunday   July 12, 2009

Weekends are slow around here, or as Jessica puts it very  boring. She is used to 8-9 therapies during the week.  Weekend there are only 1-2.  Today it was recreational, bowling again. Occupational therapy worked her right arm, which she was able to raise 10 times.  It was not easy but she did it.She is able to move her right leg a little bit. Jessica likes going out to the pond to feed the fish and enjoy the little sunshine that came our way ( finally stopped raining,)

Thanks for checking in.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Jessica arrived at Brooks rehabilitation center weighing 116 pounds a week later she weighs in at 123 pounds. She is constantly laughing and making fun of people. She does however get upset when she can’t move her right side. But the good news is in physical therapy today she was able to move her right hand from her side up to her chin. She managed to do that three times and then had to go take a nap. They are still using the electrodes on her face in hopes of strengthening the muscles. The speech therapist is very happy with the daily improvements Jessica has shown. In recreational therapy she was bowling on the wii and got a score of 100.

Overall  we are all very happy with Jessica’s progress and would like to thank  everyone for their continued support.       

Wednesday, July 8, 2009