It was a busy weekend here at the Shepherd Center for Dana. He had Occupational Therapy on Saturday morning for an hour. The therapist focused on stretching the left arm to get full range of motion back. After the session Dana did a little extra and spent some time on the therapy bike. It is set up to move your legs for you in the pedaling motion while you move the arms. The hope is that someday Dana's brain will reconnect with the nerves and his body will recognize that motion as one he was very familiar with. In the meantime, it keeps the leg muscles from totally withering away(atrophy).
Saturday afternoon and evening we spent visiting with our friends Eric and Colleen. They flew in from Baltimore to see Dana. The visit was very refreshing. It was great to chat about something other than the injury or The Shepherd Center. You get so consumed with daily life at The Shepherd Center, you forget that there is a whole world out there around you. For dinner we were joined by Dan and Erin. We had a push pass and went across the street to TGIFridays. A late night as we didn't get in till around 10:30pm. Thanks Eric and Colleen for the visit. It was great to catch up with you two, Dan and Erin. We are blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.
Sunday was a restful day. Dana and I went to the church service here at The Shepherd Center and spent alot of the day outside because starting Monday morning he will be on bedrest for approx 3-4 weeks.
As you start your Monday morning, say an extra prayer for Dana as he will undergo(what we hope to be the last) surgery around 7 am. He has a sacral wound(tailbone area) that is taking its time to heal. It could take months to heal. Instead of waiting the months to heal, and per doc's suggestion, Dana will have the quarter size hole closed tomorrow via muscle flap. The surgery itself won't take long. The doc will take muscle and skin from another area and cover the sore. The recovery time however is a bit longer and will be a true test of Dana's patience. He will have to lay fairly flat(with side to side turns only) for 3-4 weeks. That means...lots of reading, movies, watching TV etc. The timing is planned so that the sacrum and left arm with both be healed around the same time, late November. With that being said, watch out....come the first of December, Dana will be ready to go! In the meantime...keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Cards, letters, emails etc. will be especially appreciated during the next few weeks. I will have an update as to how the surgery went, tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight!
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3 comments:
Our prayers are definetly with you for what is hopefully your last surgery. What has to be done, has to be done so we are sending you all our positive energy and PATIENCE to help you through the next 3-4 weeks!! We know it will be tough but we know you will endure.
The valley people
Court, could you post this information on the blog. I'm not sure how many people will see it in the comments.
The ECC Women’s Golf Association is holding a “Santa Raffle”, all proceeds to go to Dana. The “Santa” is a one-of-a-kind by Sayre artist, Glory Kilmer and is currently on display at the Elmira Country Club. Ticket price is $10.00. If you would like to help out, here’s the information:
1. Send a check made payable to “ECC Women’s Golf Association” to:
Judy Mustico
826 Holley Road
Elmira, NY 14905
2. Please include your email address or a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like a receipt. Receipts will be forwarded after November 18th.
Drawing is scheduled to be held on December 2nd. If you would like any more information or would like to help with ticket sales, please contact judym@stny.rr.com Thank you!
Dana -
When Chris and I first moved to Austin, I was at UTexas for one semester of grad school in biomechanics. One of the research projects the dept. focused on was rehabilitation of spinal cord injury patients. A friend of mine did research at the hospital where they used those special bikes that move your legs for you. I belive the research UT focused on was related to writing the firing pattern programs for the muscles. I can look into getting additional information for you if you would like to do some research on it. THough I am sure they have plenty of experts there, I just thought I would offer. Let me know, and keep working hard.
Mandy Youmell Bodnar
ayoumell@yahoo.com
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