KKI Week 2

Dan has completed his 2nd week of intensive exercises and therapies at Kennedy Krieger Institute [KKI] in Baltimore, MD.

Sunday Mike flew in town to stay with Dan during this week #2. Jen and Jeff joined us, as we went down to the Baltimore Harbor, which has old ships, shopping and ESPN Zone. We played arcade games, while Dan got a good laugh at the old people trying to race cars. Jen wrote a few notes about it on her blog. Eating out with a wheelchair bound person takes some effort at times, like convincing the hostess that a narrow table down a crowded aisle, was not good for Dan as he could not see any of the TV screens. It's just something that we're getting used to when going out. "Prepare the way first"

After lunch, which included watching the Cubs game and the Indy 500, we did some shopping, and Dan picked up some clothes for his extended stay.

Extended stay you said? Yes, we were a bit surprised to have Dan's stay increased from 4 weeks to 8 weeks, which we learned at the first week's "steering committee" meeting. They include the 10 departments that are involved in Dan's care and therapies at KKI. Everything in Dan's life is on the table for review and revising, i.e. internal issues, therapies, medications, exercising, daily care, respiratory, eating, sleeping, etc.

Dan's therapies increased this week with the tilt table, which increases his tolerance for being upright at a 90* angle. The heart rate and blood pressure go up with each increase of 10*, the PT's wait until all goes back down to normal, and increase the bed another 10*

Other medical notes for Dan's nurses and care givers back home. His trach has been reduced to a #4 Shiley. His pacer breaths per minute [bpm] is up to 15 for everyday use, and 18 for exercise. His toes about the same, his spasms under control, and his sleep a bit better this week, getting about 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He had a 4 injection of Botox, [he felt the needles] to his left leg, to relax the muscles, thus helping the foot to stay flat instead of curving in.

The video below is Dan moving his arm with e-stim help, ever so slight, and it's tiring work on his part, but he is glad for the progress.



Dan also started 2 online classes this week. He says it's harder and different than before his accident. He needs the most help with turning pages. arrrrrgh to thick text books.

. Keep us all in your prayers, as the next 6 weeks hold, the closing on our home, modifications for Dan, moving, many trips back and forth to KKI, a wedding or 2 that Mike and Dan are involved in ...

That's all for now