Visit with Neurosurgeon

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick post to let you all know about Maria's visit with her neurosurgeon on Monday - he took a lot of X-rays and determined that everything looks great and that she could likely get her braces (neck and body) off in two weeks - that is Monday, October 16th! That will be another HUGE step and make Ree's life much easier.

Maria has been having lots of visitors, and is up and about a lot - tomorrow we have a big outing for cousin Christina's birthday party. Her scabs are off her head and she is looking great. It was really fun to have Albee home for the weekend (Will was in town the weekend before, I don't think I mentioned that).

Other than that, she is just being patient and getting stronger every day - she still loves everything that people are sending, so thanks for that! Hope everyone is having a lovely evening. And for those of you who have sent me recipies, thank you!

Bands Are Off!!!

Hi Everyone,

So Maria had an appointment with the jaw doctor at Harborview today, and the good news is the rubber bands are off her teeth. This means she can open her mouth (as wide as she feels comfortable), stick out her tongue, brush her teeth, and speak better. The bad news is that her jaw is still wired, and she will not get it unwired for 2 weeks. Since her jaw is still healing, she still is not supposed to chew/bite things. . . her diet can be expanded a little (she can eat with a spoon and fork rather than through a straw), but everything still has to be pretty mushy, which is obviously still kind of a bummer (no sandwiches - she was really looking forward to some BREAD this afternoon). The appointment itself was kind of a nightmare as we arrived early for a 1:00 appointment and they didn't call us back until 2:30, and then the actual "un-banding" took about five minutes. Maria was very tired, and went home to take a nap so that she is well rested for Albee's arrival tonight - we are all looking forward to that!

If anyone has any fabulous recipes that are mashed-potato texture, lactose-free, acid-reflux-irritating free, and IBS appropriate, feel free to send them our way! Thanks!

Contact Info

Hi Team,

I've noticed a lot of people asking for Maria's home address. I am hesitant to post it due to security risks (aka internet stalkers), but email me at carly.e.nelson@gmail.com and I will give you her address and new cell phone number. . . hope that helps! Once you have them, feel free to pass them around - I just don't feel that it would be prudent for me to post them.

Thanks! Hope everyone is having a lovely evening!!

Carly

Finally a New Post!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have been such a delinquent poster. . . but I am staying at Maria's house for a few weeks so I will be able to give firsthand updates again. Also, I think Barbara and even Maria might start posting soon, so we can look forward to that!

Maria has been home for a week now - her physical therapist has come twice, and her OT and speech therapy are due to start coming next week. She is sleeping in her own bed, taking a lot less medication, and is up and about for most of the day. She has been having a lot of problems with nausea, but we think that is due to the medication she is taking for her infection, and tomorrow is her last day on that medication, so hopefully it will stop soon. She has an appointment with the jaw doctor on Thursday, so she will get her jaw unwired then - that will be a HUGE improvement in her quality of life as she will no longer have to puree all of her food!

I will write another, more detailed update soon - my class is starting right now so I have to sign off. Thanks to everyone for your continued support - everyone is so very thankful - and thanks for reading even though I haven't posted in 10 days!!!

Saturday, September 16th

Hi Everyone,

I drove up to Seattle on Thursday, and have seen Maria quite a bit since then, so I wanted to give a more detailed update. . .

She has made a lot of improvements since she has been at UW - she can do her neck brace and turtle almost all by herself, is walking around totally on her own without a walker or cane, can drink out of a straw - basically a lot of things she couldn't do (or were very difficult to do) a week ago.

She does have an infection of some sort, so she is on an antibiotic as well as her pain medication, and doesn't feel great. However, she is very determined to keep up with her physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy in spite of feeling sick and tired. This morning she took a shower with her occupational therapist, who remarked that Maria does a very good job managing her own care, i.e. doing everything she is capable of on her own, and telling her nurses and therapists what she needs them to help her with. After OT, the physical therapist came and helped Maria get in and out of Barb's car, in preparation for her trip home on Tuesday. It was a little scary at first for her to think about being in a car, but she was very brave and tried it, and was able to get in and out with no problems. If she feels up to it, she can go on an excursion with an activities coordinator from the hospital tomorrow - anywhere she wants to go. . . she is thinking the zoo:)

She has to have a consult with an oral-maxillofacial surgeon (aka jaw doctor) from Harborview before she can get her jaw unwired, but assuming that that gets taken care of on Monday, she is on track to go home on Tuesday. From there, she will have PT/OT/SP come to her house, and will still have a lot of therapy/rehab work ahead of her. After almost a month in the hospital, though, it will be nice to finally be home!

I'll try to keep everyone updated over the next couple days. . .

Wednesday, September 13th

Hi Everybody,

So my news tonight is short and (mostly) sweet. The good news: Maria gets to go home on Tuesday! Woo hoo! Still a long road ahead, but she can do it as an outpatient, and sleep in her own bed at night and breath the healing sea air of Edmonds, finally! The bad news is that she has a bacterial infection, which is making her really sick, but they have her on some antibiotics and hopefully she will be feeling better soon.

That's all for now! I am headed up to Seattle tomorrow so I will post again when I have more info. Thanks!

Rehab, Day 6

Hello again, everybody!

Maria has continued to do outstandingly well in rehab since my last posting. She started walking with a cane over the weekend, and today walked 45 minutes straight, with her physical therapist walking with her but not holding her up at all. She is still in a great deal of pain, but they are in the process of adjusting her neck brace and turtle (back brace) so that they fit together better - right now the neck brace has a front and a back and the turtle has a front and a back; what they want to do is attach the two front pieces and two back pieces so that they are always lined up correctly and thus are more comfortable (two pieces instead of four). She also had a cognitive test today, and did very well on it as well.

Not surprisingly, Ree is making friends with all of her doctors, nurses, and therapists. She had a lot of visitors this weekend, including Grandma and Grandpa Padden, who were very happy to finally see her, and lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. Katherine also made a trip over from Missoula, and she and her parents were able to spend a lot of time visiting.

It sounds like the food issue is going better. . . Barbara is getting very creative about things that can go in a blender - i.e. salmon (in mashed potatoes) and peach cobbler - yummy!

The rehab team will do another assessment on Wednesday, after which we will know more about what is coming up, and when Maria will be able to go home. . . no rush, as she is in the number one rehab facility in the US!

She continues to enjoy reading all of the notes and blog comments people are sending, and I'm told her room looks gorgeous with all of the flowers people have sent - so thank you!

Friday, September 8th

Hi Everyone,

The update since Maria's arrival at UW is as follows (disclaimer - this is all second hand to me now so it might not be 100% accurate):

The rehab team met with Maria on Wednesday when she arrived to do an assessment. They will be keeping her quite busy - physical therapy from 9-10, speech therapy from 10-11, occupational therapy from 11-12 and 1-2 (break for lunch), and a group exercise class from 2-3 each day. Pretty exhausting! Maria is working on getting her neck brace and turtle on an off by herself - doesn't sound too tough, but it was always a struggle for two or more of us to do for her, so it will be very difficult for her to do on her own.

She has had a lot of visitors already. . . lots of family, and Kelli came last night as well. Christina has taken over the night shift, so it will be nice for Ree to have someone there when she wakes up and needs her medication. They have made a schedule so that people can coordinate visitation - I will try to post when I know who the coordinator is for those who want to visit.

We are a little concerned about her getting enough calories - she is supposed to have at least 2,000 calories per day and is having trouble getting them all in, as she can only eat certain foods, and they have to be in liquid form so that she can eat them through her squeegee/rubber straw contraption. . . but the jaw is supposed to be unwired in a little over a week, so she just has to make it until then and things will get a lot easier. Also, they are still adjusting her medications as she is still in a lot of pain. . . other than that, things are going as well as possible.

I'll try to post again as soon as I know more. . . thanks again to everyone for all of your support!