A Yo-Yo Kind Of Day

Jackie woke a little earlier than normal today and did not fall back asleep.  We let him rest in bed and then got him up, dressed and ready for the start of the week.   Jackie had breakfast, spoke with Dr. K and took morning meds.  As per Jackie’s usual schedule, speech was first.

Becca came to pick him up and had a high school senior with her.  She was shadowing Becca to see if this was a field she was interested in majoring in.  Jackie greeted them with a strong audible voice.  Becca was thrilled and actually taken back by how well Jackie sounded.  One of the medical students who is following Jackie stopped by Becca’s office.  They played Guess Who and Black Jack.  They also were playing some of Jackie’s favorite tunes.  When they came back to the room, Jackie said he won all of the games.  I’m not sure if that is true, but he had a great session.  Becca actually said that she would now call him Mr. Semi-loud instead of Mr. Quiet. Jackie was starting out the day on a high note.  PTL.

He got very tired after speech and was back to being very quiet and subdued.  Erin came in to get him at 11:00 and tried to get him excited about her PT session.  Jackie walked on the Vector machine today and then took some separate walks with Erin and Mark, the PT manager.  Erin said the session had it’s ups and downs but was better than she expected based on how Jackie was feeling. We barely got him through lunch he was so tired.  He took a nap and woke up with more energy.

Paula came to get him and he seemed to be quiet once again.  They had a good session even though he had slipped back into his Mr. Quiet alter ego.  Paula worked with Jackie to stretch many muscle groups.  This stretching will help when Jackie practices his hygiene.  Jackie and Paula also worked on sitting balance and standing.  The medical student stopped by the gym to check in on how Jackie was doing.  Jackie’s challenge for tomorrow is to remember his name.

Jim and I picked up Jackie in the gym and came back to his room for dinner.  He ate a good meal but seemed to be getting tired again.  We were planning to attend group art therapy in the greenhouse, but Jackie was just too sleepy.  The boys worked together to shave Jackie and then it was an early shower and bed.  We had to wake him for his evening meds.  We decided to both stay tonight as there were bad thunderstorms in the city and walking back to the hotel would not be fun or safe.

I feel like a broken record, but TBI is tough and unpredictable.  The best way to tackle it is head on and in the moment, rolling with its ups and downs.  After all this is a marathon, not a sprint and the distance traveled each day will slowly but surely get Jackie closer to the finish line.

Thanks for all of your positive thoughts, prayers and support.