Hi Everyone, just a short drive by with an update on my daughter. She is doing pretty well, going to OT/PT generally twice a week and she also goes to a place called CORE
http://coreflorida.com/spinal-cord-injuries/ which she really likes, she calls it crossfit for quads
She tries to keep her spirits up but it is pretty hard sometimes, I try to encourage her not to be so impatient as she is only 5 months into this new normal so she can't expect to improve over night. This is a long grueling journey we are on but she can do anything she puts her mind to. She figured out how to put her contacts and makeup on by herself (I help to open a few things but working on that) the first time she tried and has improved with ea new time. Haven't figured out a way for her to get the contacts out on her own yet but we will figure something out there as well. Having no use of fingers is a huge huge challenge for sure but it is amazing what some imagination and determination and just plain stubbornness can accomplish lol.
Unfortunately we are still battling respiratory issues from when the hospital down in Miami damaged her cartilage when they trached her. So far we have avoided a permanent trach and the tracheal resection but it hasn't been easy and she has been hospitalized a few times to have her airway opened, she has one more procedure a week from this Friday then we hope the airway will stay open, at least for a good while.
As for me, I take it just a day at a time, deal with depression, burnout, physical exhaustion as I can and just keep plugging along taking care of her. The boyfriend is still in the picture which affords some help, I hope it lasts but if not we will deal with that as well. Her kids are doing amazingly well! I'm working on trying to get some part time personal care aides lined up so we can get some relief as well as backup if one of us is too sick to care for her.....it's a very slow process.
I am working on trying to figure out a way to get the TT (bigfoot) I bought just before all this happened transported from Wa state to my home in Fl.....we will see. I really don't want to sell it yet, who knows I may still get a chance to use it some, maybe not yet the way I wanted but some.
I hope you all have had and continue to have a good holiday and a great year to come. I will update more as I can