A Down Day

Jackie woke up to the same routine he has done for weeks and weeks.  He had breakfast, morning meds and then went to speech.  He hardly spoke for Aimee.  She ended up having Jackie use thumbs up and thumbs down to communicate.  When she asked him if he was sad he gave her a thumbs up.  It had been such a great day yesterday, today was back to normal.  It is hard to really know what Jackie is thinking.  I believe he is aware of everything and realizes his friends are going back to school, moving on with their lives and dreams while his life is on hold. Jim and I and Magee staffers are trying to make each day a good one, mixed with different activities. For Jackie, seeing a glimpse of what life used to be like and then going back to reality was tough.

After speech Jackie went to PT.  He had a decent session but it couldn’t rival yesterdays session.  He came back to the room and took a nap.  Aimee returned and finished her session while Jackie was laying down.  The three of us tried to engage Jackie.  Aimee asked if we had heard about the Grouper fish that ate a small shark.  As much as circle of life stories bother me, it was a fish story and that peaked Jackies interest.  It worked and helped end the session on a positive note.

Jackie woke and ate a late lunch.  Paula came to get him for OT and they went to the gym.  Just like PT, the session was not bad, just not as productive as yesterday.  Jackie was a little more verbal and seemed to be feeling better when Paula brought him back to the room. PTL

The IV issues continue.  The last two that were put in, never were able to be used.  Tonight we were going to try again.  We went to the second floor terrace to try to get Jackie warmed up.  It worked well last time, but we didn’t have as much time and the sun was not consistently out.  We went back to the room and thankfully an IV was put in with success.  We started running fluids right away since we had missed two nights.  Jackie is eating better but is still consuming less fluids than he should.  The IV helps ensure Jackie stays hydrated.

After dinner and a shower Jackie was back in bed.  Tomorrow is a new day.