Karen's Blog

Paul's Update: June 29th at 3pm

Karen is going through the final preparations for her release from the hospital. So far, everything is go for her release on Friday afternoon. Her dad and I have gone through specific trainings at the hospital in order to get us comfortable with transfers, going up and down stairs, etc. Her dad also has retained the services of a home health care professional, and she has been attending many of the training sessions as well. Kai (sp. ?) seems very nice, and Karen likes her. They should do very well together.

Karen has been making significant improvements since my last post. Her therapists all agree that she is coming along quite nicely. Some of the things we are seeing . . . reduction in the swelling of her left leg and arm. She is gaining greater movement in the left arm and hand. She still has considerable pain there, but is able to grasp some objects and raise her arm when she wants to. The physical therapist has been focusing pretty intently on getting Karen to start walking. She has Karen taking some steps with the assistance of a walker, transferring from the wheelchair to a bed on her own, and going up and down some stairs with someone aiding her.

I think we have seen some improvements mentally as well. I have been doing crossword puzzles with her on some nights that I visit, and she as able to follow quite intently, answering most of the clues pretty quickly. Heck, some of them I don’t even know the answer to, particularly when it comes to literature. Gee, there’s a surprise.

She is definitely ready to go home, and is getting a little antsy. I suspect she will continue to exceed some of our expectations, once she is at home and getting more focused attention, and therapy. We are all looking forward to it as well.

posted by Karen's Blog @ Thursday, June 29, 2006