Category: Medical Journal

Jim is getting ready to head home. He is scheduled to leave Shirley Ryan next Thursday, January 6th. A lift is being installed outside the front stoop. A hospital bed is getting set up and home health care is getting lined up. Jim is learning how to run a wheelchair with his head and also has some speech-to-text software installed on his laptop. His biceps are getting stronger, specifically his left. The late-day chills have also diminished with the use of a wool hat. Who knew?

We just got done with the weekly zoom call. About 10 friends and family in attendance. We will continue this next week and on.

Peace

Got to Shirley Ryan at noon today. Impressive facility. Bre came in to do PT at 1. The nurses got Jim in his chair and while Bre worked on Jim’s shoulders, I trimmed his beard and other hairy areas!
Put a cool T-shirt on him and we went for a walk around the floor. Some very cool views from the 22nd floor.

Yesterday Jim finally got to leave RML and is now at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab! Take a moment and take that in.

December 1st marked 150 days since the accident. And now Jim can start working to regain movement. And it will be a lot of work.

As I learn Jim’s schedule I will share. For now just gratitude!

Jim’s wound on his backside is improving. The wound team changes the wound vac 3 times per week and document the healing. There is another minor abrasion on Jim’s buttocks, but it is also healing.

Each day is just more of the same at RML while waiting to get the nod to move to the Rehab Facility. Three meals a day are provided by the hospital. Jim tolerates the egg sandwich and the grilled cheese the best. But most days he is treated with some food from the “outside”.

He has rehab a few times per week for a total of about 3 hours. Focus on shoulders, biceps, and hands. With this limited amount of rehab, I would say Jim is maintaining. This is why it is imperative to get on to the rehab focused facility.

Hoping to be able to zoom on Sunday. I’ll post Sunday morning to let everyone know.

Take care of each other.

Great news
The doc that is responsible for Jim’s wound on his back side came in this afternoon and is going to put in her orders that Jim is ready to be released on the wound vac! She was very happy with how it has healed. I believe this to be the last requirement to move on to Shirley Ryan.
She estimated it would be 3 months until the wound is closed up.
Jimmy and I celebrated with rib eyes from the Country House. No Gibsons, but very satisfying.

I spoke with Jimmy yesterday and he wanted to skip zooming today. He needs the extra time to get his Halloween costume on.
This last week was tough. Jim’s oxygen level was a little low and he had to go on the vent for a day to get it back up. Been solid since Wednesday.
Wound is still our big hurdle to moving on. The hope that he would be getting to Shirley Ryan in the next week has been delayed.
Keep praying!

Good Morning!

We had a great zoom with Jim yesterday. Here are the highlights:

-Jim has received the approval to move to Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. This has been a long time coming. The wound on his “arse” is what has been holding up the move. And although it is still a long way from being completely healed, it has improved enough that the “Grand Puba” who makes the decision is satisfied. No firm date is set, but the wheels are in motion. Shirley Ryan will be focusing on getting Jim back movement. Check them out at https://www.sralab.org/

-Jim is not required to wear his neck brace anymore. This has been a great improvement in day-to-day comfort.

-Hair is still long and beard has grown back. Jim told us that Suzie and he have worked out a weekly hair washing schedule.

-Lots of good stories and laughs. After a little over an hour, Jim proclaimed he was ready for a snack.

I can’t stress enough how great it is to get the news that the move to Shirley Ryan is on the horizon. Continue to pray hard for Jimmy.

Just talked to Jimmy briefly. He didn’t sleep well last night and he’s really tuckered.
He’s been able to leave his collar off most of the time which is a huge blessing. His wound is still slowly healing. That’s about all right now.

Quick update with Jim. Going to keep to 30 minutes today, will be done at 4:00pm.

Bob Lawrence is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting…

Jim’s not feeling up to having a zoom today. I’ll put an update a little later.