Stay posted....dad possibly moving to Stallworth Vanderbilt Rehab in Nashillve

One day this past week Stephen and I toured two highly recommended rehab facilities here in Nashville. Both were very impressive but decided that Stallworth Rehab at Vanderbilt was by far the best for stroke patients with their cutting edge technology. Paperwork has been faxed to Nurse Liason at the Rehab place and now we are just praying he is accepted. We hope to here something today(friday) and Stephen will go over and pick him up.
Mom needs a much needed break and we are more than glad to take over. If I need my feet up and taking it easy what better way to spend with dad in the rehab hospital. Please pray that he is accepted and we can get him here for better rehab.
Much love to all.
AMBER

Hard to leave

Lara left yesterday to head home and it was hard to leave. Dad has had extra therapy thanks to Lara, Angel and Mom who have been working with him at the Skilled Facility inbetween his scheduled therapy.
He's sitting up on his own and calling him on the phone tends to stimulate his communicative side as you can tell he is trying so hard to talk back. Stephen and Jonathan will go over for the weekend and Jonathan will stay part if not all of next week. We are hoping that by the end of the week he can tolerate 3 hours of therapy since that is all he needs to be able to do to get into an acute rehab place possibly here in Nashville. We know that the more independent he is the happier he'll be and most definitely better off mom will be. He's much more aware of his surroundings. Mom said it takes about 15 minutest to leave in the evening cause he does not want her to go. Everyday we see improvement but doctor says it could be up to 6 months before we know how much of his independence he'll get back. Speech is still an issue but he did say "Judy" this past week and the speech therapist will begin working with him on Tuesday. His catheter was removed which brings on another obsticle to relearn but we hope that will come with time. His blood sugar and blood pressure have been great. Dad is very determined which will play a huge part in his recovery.
he's sitting up on his own, feeding himself pretty good but following commands is still going to take time. It's amazing how some things he gets and some things he doesnt. Lara handed him her sunglasses and asked him "what do you do with these" and he put them on and knew where they went- same thing if you hand him a shirt with buttons- he'll work for 30 minutes making sure each button is lined up and buttoned. Still not much movement on the right side. He has moved his R leg and R hand but it takes a lot of effort and we are not sure if its a twitch or him actually moving it, we know that will take time also. Lara says she is hopeful for his recovery and she see's the progress he is making. Thank you to all who follow the blog and have kept us all in your thoughts and prayers. much love,(photo taken a few days ago)
amber

Update on Dad

Yesterday I sat down and wrote for about 20 minutes only to realize the site was down and I did not save along the way. So I will try again.
At this point in pregnancy two weeks flies by and I am rejoicing that I have made it 31 weeks! But two weeks ago today was when dad had his stroke and the days just drag on. Getting updates from Lara each day is hopeful and yes at times we've had to chuckle at the funny things dad has done. He's been getting about three hours of therapy a day at the Skilled Nursing Facility(nursing home) and Lara feels hopeful with the work they are doing. Mom is back to work and comes at lunch and in the evening. It is convenient but we (lara and I) know that he needs to be at a more aggressive rehab. After working at a SNF for 5 years I have seen the good, bad and the ugly but both facilites I worked at had excellent therapists and I can only hope for the same there. Lara said it is diffucult to watch. Dad is not in a private room and we wonder what his thoughts are as he glances over to see a 90 year old dementia patient speechless or cursing like a sailor. His eating and swallowing is improving but with some help. He has to lean his head to the left since that is where he feels the food and knows to swallow. Lara went to WalMart and bought a dry eraser board and large letters. She scrambled his name on the board and he put the letters J-A-E-M-S in order. Lara told him it was incorrect and he switched the M and the E to get it right. Anything put in his hand has to be watched because within minutes he thinks it's edible and will put it in his mouth.
So often we think we are far off from having to take care of our parents and really we should be. We did know that dad's conditoin was shaky even weeks before his stroke but you just never think it's going to happen.
As most of you know Dad had quiet the little farm but with winter coming and mom having to spend most of her time after work with dad the animals are being sold. Although mom did feel guilty I told her that those are things that can all be replaced and she does not need anything else on her plate.

Thank you for all your continued calls,emails and support. Dad loves to get cards and smile everytime mom tells him who has called or written. Some of you have asked mom's address also: 1692 Viar Rd. Dyersburg, TN 38024
Much Love,AMBER

Dad's long road of therapy

Today dad will move to a Skilled Nursing Facility. According to the Rehab Doctor in he hospital he does not meet the criteria for their advanced therapy which we were all disappointed about. He will be going to a SNF in Dyersburg about 5 minutes from mom's work where therapist there will start to work with him a few hours a day. Once he can sit up on his own and follow commands we will have him moved to a more aggressive rehab facility. The rehab doctor said it could be a very long and slow road to recovery but dad is very determined-we can tell. Please continue to keep mom and and dad both in your prayers. The address where dad will be staying is 1900 Parr Ave. Dyersburg TN 38024 for those that would like to send cards.
Much appreciation and love to all our friends and family that have shown their support the past coulple weeks and months ahead.
Thurmonds.

Dad...still hanging in there.

Again...i must start off with expressing my sincere gratitude for the continued concern and support of my father and our family as he continues to struggle back to a normal life. As much as I’d like to compose individual/personal e-mails to each of you...i’m going to cheat and rely on technology to help me get the latest news out in one shot. I just got back home from spending the day with dad in Jackson and I’m pretty exhausted...so please find it in your heart to forgive me.

Dad was released from ICU today so, he’s in a regular room on the Neural floor. He looks much better as you can see in the picture attached...a clean shave works wonders. He’s much more stable right now, but his blood pressure keeps fluctuating quite a bit which has been a concern. However, anything is better than 217/170 (what the EMT told us his BP was when they arrived at the house to take him to the ER)...so he’s pretty lucky to be alive, considering those numbers.

He’s much more responsive and has quite a bit more movement and motor skills in his left side. The right side is still pretty much toast as of now, although it does seem a bit more relaxed and not near as withdrawn as it was earlier in the week. It’s going to take a lot of therapy to prevent muscular atrophy as he heals. His swallowing is much better as well...however, he doesn’t have complete control over his mouth/tongue, so he sometimes gets too much in one gulp when drinking and then starts to choke/cough pretty bad. It’s going to take time.

He still cannot speak, but he’s trying really hard. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to witness, but you can’t help but get excited that he’s even uttering sounds and trying to form a coherent word...so, it’s an emotional rollercoaster for all of us as he tries to get those speech synapses firing properly once again. He seems to be exceptionally responsive over the phone for some reason. For instance, when Amber called earlier today from Nashville he actually got out a muffled two words that really sounded like “hey, Amber”. We told mom to call him on the phone while she was en route to the hospital and we’re pretty sure he got out a “hey, baby” when he answered the phone. Maybe we’re straining to hear something that’s not there...but, there’s no denying that he’s trying really hard to express himself and...that’s a start. Right now, it’s just muffled grunts/groans and incoherent fragments of what we think are words. You can see the frustration on his face as he tries to get it out. We’re just hopeful he’ll improve in this area as quickly as possible.

He can also write a few letters. He’s right handed and virtually paralyzed on that side, so the pic attached is what he came up with using his left hand. “JATER”. We think he’s trying to formulate his name, James Thurmond, but the synapses just aren’t there yet. It’s literally like teaching an infant at this point. But, as the bruising on the brain subsides and with constant stimulation and therapy...all these functions should improve over time.

If any of you have had a friend or loved one that has gone through a stroke and you have any good pointers, advice, suggestions that we can try in order to get him up to par as soon as humanly possible...please let us know. Also, for those of you in the medical field, if you have any information on the proper administration/usage of the “TPA” shot he received that incapacitated him...please feel free to divulge anything you feel comfortable with. I’ve been doing some research and talking with a few people in the medical field and I’m nearly convinced that he SHOULD NOT have received that shot with 1.) His blood pressure being that high. 2.) His prior history of having a “bleed” stroke 6 years ago. 3.) Before having a CT scan to see if it was a “clot” or a “bleed”. He was coherent, cognitive, speaking with the EMT’s/Doctors and my mother before and upon his arrival at Dyersburg hospital. Almost immediately after they gave him that shot...he became comatose, and that’s when they put him in an ambulance to Jackson General. I’m not a neurologist...but even I know that you don’t give a brain hemorrhaging patient a powerful blood thinner WHILE they’re having a “bleed” stroke. We also had confirmation of this when the neurologist at Jackson General said these exact words...“they SHOULD NOT have given him that shot.”

We hope to have him in the rehab program at Jackson General by Monday morning...but, it all depends on if he “checks out” with their criteria. If not there, we’ll probably bring him up to Nashville and get him in the Stallworth inpatient rehab program at Vandy. I’ll keep you updated as he progresses.

We’ve tried our best to remember everyone that has expressed concern and support for him and we tell him who all has been sending their love...he smiles a lot when we do that...so, know that he appreciates your well wishes, thoughts, love, and prayers...as do the rest of us.

Again...much love to each and every one of you. It doesn’t go un-noticed.

-stephen