Monday Updates

Maggie and I were at the hospital until around 2:15, then Nancy went down there, getting there around 4:30. Here's what I know from our visit.

Physical Therapy (PT) got there around 9:30 and got Daniel up and out of the bed. On his own strength, he used the walker to get to the chair, where he sat for an hour. PT was happy with him being able to do that so quickly. The doc showed up around noon while I was taking care of registration problems for Daniel. The doc was in a hurry as he was in the middle of his 10 scheduled surgeries for the day, but he answered Daniel's questions. In sum, the doc was really happy with the movement that Daniel has already. Daniel asked about the lack of cold/hot sensation in his right leg, the tingling still in his hands, and the limited strength in his left leg. The doc told him those were non-issues. As good as he is already - these minor issues are pretty normal and will be resolved as a matter of course.

PT was back in the early afternoon to take Daniel walking. He was out of bed, out the room, and partway down the hall. The PT were happy with him going out of the room and were ecstatic when he was able to walk the extra distance down and back up the hall. They estimated his total distance at 75 feet and said it was a great first day.

The doc and the PT think that Daniel will leave the hospital on Wednesday. They want to transfer him to an intermediate facility. I can't remember what they called it, it was something like a transitional care facility, or interim focused physical therapy center, or whatever. We just called it a halfway house. The idea is that he won't require the services of the hospital but he will need intensive physical therapy for a couple of weeks. So, the case worker is trying to set things up for a halfway house in Madison near Kings Daughters hospital. That would put him there over Christmas, but I'm sure we'd be able to work things out.

Daniel continues to have many friends visiting - the door is wide open and anyone that wants to see him is welcome to. He's got us all laughing during our visits and the hospital staff all love him. It's all good and he's in excellent spirits.

Yes, we've got many negatives this holiday season, but they pale in comparison to the one incredible positive coming out of Daniel's surgery. As Daniel put it in the recovery room, incredibly drowsy and barely able to speak - he raised his arms over his head and yelled out "I'm not paralyzed". We're going to have an incredibly merry Christmas.