Coleman's done with Speech Therapy now. Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy still remain. Another milestone in the rear view mirror.
Another milestone today - upon arriving for therapy this morning, the wheelchair was left in the car. The therapists liked seeing that.
Yesterday was the start of Coleman's 2nd week of out-patient rehab. He's getting around our small townhouse better with each day. Yesterday, he mentioned how he's trying to rely less on his cane when moving around our townhouse.
Best wishes for healing go out to Denise and Larry.
One step forward ... Coleman was able to wiggle his toes in his left foot today. Still making those neural pathways.
It's official. Coleman was discharged this morning. His first out-patient rehab will be Thursday and Friday.
 |
| Doing laps |
 |
| Checking out the ducks |
Well, it looks more official now. Tomorrow will be the last day that Coleman will be in an in-patient status since last Halloween - 3 months and 1 week - he's progressing from in-patient status to out-patient status. Tonight will be his last. He'll continue to receive physical, occupational, and speech therapy at Mercy in Coon Rapids, MN on an out-patient basis. His first appointments at Mercy will be Thursday afternoon. He'll stay with Deb and I during the week and then on weekends, he'll stay with Sophia, his fiancé.
It's yet one more step in the right direction. Truly a journey of many steps.
Today, Coleman is coming to visit Deb and I at our home. Coleman is allowed day passes. His first trip out of Courage Kenny Golden Valley was to visit his soon-to-be in-laws and their family dog, Moose. Moose was very excited to see Coleman.
 |
| Part of being able to move on to Courage Kenny in Golden Valley was to get the stiches removed. These stiches were from his skull piece going back in. |
 |
| Olive Garden was where Coleman and Sophia were heading for lunch after he proposed on Halloween. Better late than never. |
 |
| First trip outside since 10/31/2023 |
This morning, Coleman's blood filter that was installed to prevent chunks heading to his heart, was removed after having used a blood thinner for 2+ weeks. This was his last medical procedure that we had planned.
Saw him do some laps walking with the aid of a cane and a therapist this morning.
We're still on schedule to head to the next rehab center in Golden Valley. We get to drive him there.
Coleman can now transfer from his bed to his wheel chair without assistance.
We're still on schedule for the blood filter to be removed tomorrow followed by a day of recovery and then finally making our way to Courage Kenny (CK) in Golden Valley (GV). He is so ready to move on to the next step.
I'll bet that Coleman is in a pretty good mood this morning after the Green Bay Packers embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys big time last night. The final score is in no way indicative of how badly the Pack won. They started pulling their starters and were just running out the clock.
Yesterday, Coleman's feeding tube was removed. Additionally, the sutures in his scalp were removed. No haircuts for another 2 weeks.
Things we learned today from the Care Team:
Coleman will have his blood filter removed on Monday and will have to stay a day for observation. After surgery, he comes back to CK for another day, not the hospital. He then can go to CK GV to continue his rehab therapy. He's disappointed that he can't leave here on Friday as he's been planning for a week. The new and revised plan is now to go to CK GV on Wednesday, January 17.
In therapy, he was measured for his own knee brace and a foot / ankle brace. He's also allowed to solo transition between the chair to the bed.
Last week, Coleman was walking with a cane and a harness for backup. This was a first.
The Neuro department came by today to check on his sutures. They are giving him blood thinner injections for the next couple of weeks so they can remove the blood filter in his vein.
Coleman has advanced to a regular wheelchair. He can now move himself. This is really a big advancement for him.
Things are still looking like Coleman will transition on 1/12 to Courage Kenny (CK) - Golden Valley (GV). It will still depend on the blood filter coming out of a major vein and the stomach feeding tube coming out 1/11. His scalp sutures will come out early next week. He's doing very well and is working extremely hard at his recovery. He said that therapy had him walking backwards today and that it was very hard. He's walking with a brace on his left knee and hanging on to a handrail.
Presently, Coleman is unable to use his left hand or arm. He has a left visual field cut. He can only walk with assistance. Are these permanent conditions? We don't know yet. They say that because he is so young, that he has a chance of making a full recovery. We're told that he'll see the greatest improvement in the first 6 months and then again in the second 6 months. Presently, he's in the rehab program at Courage Kenny (CK) down at Abbott Northwestern (ANW) hospital. This facility is designed for those that need to see a doctor daily. He'll be there for about 2 more weeks. The working assumption is that he'll then need to continue rehab at CK (Golden Valley). This GV facility is for those that don't need to see a doctor daily. It's estimated that he'll be at the GV facility for 2 to 6 weeks. In both facilities, he'll be getting 3 to 5 hours of rehab daily, 5 to 6 days per week.
His feeding tube was supposed to come out today, but now that is up in the air. Deb will be making some inquiries in to the reason for the delay.
Coleman continues to improve a little bit each day. Sometimes, it still feels like two steps forward and one step back. Yesterday he took his first shower since Halloween. He's tolerating food better which is really a blessing. Every day, therapy has him using electronic muscle stimulators.
Coleman should be getting the many stitches in his scalp out one of these days.
It is really quiet in the hospital on Christmas day. There's very few patients and employees. Deb and I celebrated Christmas eve and Christmas day with Coleman in his hospital room.
Coleman had a great day today. Everything he ate stayed down - breakfast and meal later in the day. No pain relief meds, primarily only blood pressure meds. He participated in physical and occupational therapy. It was probably the best day that he's had in over a week.
With his skull piece back in place, Coleman needs to get back to Courage Kenny (CK) for rehab. In order for that to happen, he needs to:
Coleman had the part of his skull, that was removed weeks ago, put back into his head yesterday morning. Spent hours waiting for a room to open up in the neuro ICU after surgery. If everything continues to keep healing, Coleman's next stop is back to Courage Kenny (CK) for rehab.
 |
| From the neuro ICU nurses, waiting for Coleman to arrive from surgery recovery. |