Day 5

I think today could appropriately be labeled therapy visits. Ryan saw the doctor at about 5:30 am, which means I missed him again. My morning consisted of getting myself and the little person ready, dropping her off at a friend's house (thanks Kelly!), swinging by my office, going to a doctor's appointment, and then presenting two orders at the courthouse were I received a parking ticket! After that, I went to the hospital and got there right before lunch. Ryan had already seen the physical therapist and a speech therapist. I arrived in time for the occupational therapist. She took Ryan through a series of tests which showed some cognitive deficits, mainly with short term memory and multi-tasking, but I thought he did really good overall, all things considered.

He then met with a rehabilitation doctor who recommended he spend a few days as an inpatient at the rehabilitation center. Ryan, of course, wants to be home, and after some convincing from his mother that she would be around to take care of him, the doctor agreed that he could try the outpatient program. So long as the main doctor signs off on this course of action, Ryan may very well be released tomorrow. I think being at home will be good for him for at least two reasons: (a) except for Sunday he's had a hard time sleeping during the day, there are just too many noises and interruptions at a hospital for a person to get decent rest and (b) with family members doling out pain meds, there won't be these 10, 15, 30 minutes to an hour delay with his next expected dosage. With constant pain, you need your next dosage before the first wears off, and the nurses have been sporadic at best with their timing. If myself or others hadn't said something at times, I'm not sure when Ryan would've gotten some of his meds.

Last but not least, a big thank you to our friends at the Levy church of Christ for the edible fruit basket - it is really cool. It not only gets the hospital staff's attention, but also is very good to eat. Oh, I also love how Ryan has been getting "mail" in the form of emails that the staff of Sacred Heart have printed off for him. They even put them in sealed envelopes! Ryan has enjoyed your messages!