Finally A Shower

Mike finally had his first shower since July 4th (yuck). It was a little bit of a let down though because he got dizzy a lot and his blood pressure got low. A common thing according to his Dr. He also was hoping Kendra the PT girl who gave him the shower would have some kind of skimpy outfit on, but no such luck.

I had a long talk with his Dr and he said Mike is progressing as expected. He is still in the early stages of his injury. At least 3-4 more weeks of spinal shock is expected. Once that dissipates things could start to progress faster on his arm and hand capabilities and maybe more progress belpow is level of injury. They are givng him some protein drinks and are going to start him on steroids soon to help him gain some weight and muscle back.

His respritory problems are getting better everyday and he is coughing up that stuff that has been giving him problems. We have been doing compression coughs everytime I have been there the last few days with good success. He will be less tierd and have more stamina for PT and OT everyday.

Mike is in a place where he goes between being frustrated and optimistic at the same time. PT is hard work and he is up for it but at the same time it reminds him what he can't do. His freinds and family are what truely keeps his spirits high. You are all amazing and I don't think you have a real sense of how big a part of his recovery that is.

Now that we have a tentative discharge date I am concentrating on the house and a van. 6 weeks is going to go by really fast. Joe is going to help me get some measurements and get a materials list going as a start. I got a lot of information on required space and door widths etc. and lifts. We will need 2 to give Mike accessability to the whole house. All of your great ideas on fundraisers will be a help with this. Mike and the family are very gratefull.

Red