It has been awhile since I have written in my blog. I will start with today and work my way backwards. I ran into one of my inpatient therapists from when I was in the hospital in January. She had not seen me since the 16th of January, when I had left went home. Outpatient and Inpatient therapists are usually different people.
Anyways, I was in a line waiting today for a taste of a chocolate energy drink when I saw my PT from inpatient @ Spaulding. She looked at me twice and started to get teary eyed. I asked, "do you know who I am" and she replied that she did. She said she was happy to see how well I was doing and hugged me. As I was leaving, the therapist said to go upstairs and make sure the other therapists and nurses saw me.
When I went upstairs, I saw the nurse in charge of my room first. She started to cry. I then went up to talk to the rest of the people. They were all very nice. Spaulding inpatient floor people can be very emotional.
Earlier in the day I had my brain injury group. It is always great to hear another perspective but today was weird. I was shocked to noticed that there was someone in my group that sounds like me. Now that's scary.
Had Cardiac therapy today also. They have increase my workload again-I actually for the first time felt like I had a mild challenge (still mild though).
My brother is still pretty sick (tranverse myelitis) but has stabilzed. My parent are now in Milwaukee with Glenn and are working their way to Baltimore to John's Hopkins as it has the largest transverse myelitis center in the US. Hopefully things will get better, My Mom has been at this for over 3 months now.
The big push forward now is the return to work. I went to visit my company last Friday. I was tempted to drool at the side, limp, pretend I have a tick, etc., but I figured people would be tenative around me anyways. It will be another transition.
My doctor @ Spaulding is working on my formal return to work letter. Spoke to him today and it should go out this week.
After reviewing this blog, there is 1 word I can use to describe it:
TRANSITION
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
22nd Entry, March 11th , 2009--The transition begins
3-11
The transition has begun. Currently doing cardiac and anoxia rehab, doctors appointments, ICD clinic and clinic. On Saturday, my mother is going home (if for only a short period of time) and I have my more of my independence back. I am still "T" ing it to the hospitals and clinics. My Mom will be arriving in Colorado on Saturday nite but I believe she will get on a plane next week to help my brother, who is out with transverse myelitis in Milwaukee (see last entry).
I had a good appointment from my anoxia (brain) rehab doctor and my recovery is moving forward. Managing the cardiac continuum (doctors, therapists, clinics, administration, has been more work but I am starting to feel better.
3-16
Mom left on Saturday however now my parents are going to Milwaukee on Friday the 20th of March to help my brother Glenn. My guess is that they are going to Wisconsin for awhile. The first 2 days on my own have been great although it has been a little bit more work. Today I did the brain and heart rehab thing. It is funny because there is this person in my group that makes nicknames up for people in one of my rehab groups. Among today's nicknames for people in class were, Jerry Garcia and Mr. Clean. I am sure there are many people in Mercury who see the humor in this.
Today, I worked on work and workout transition items. Oh, and the big news is that I have a new cardiologist-the prior one did not cut it. Over the weekend I went to
RF O'Sullivan's on Friday. I highly recommend the Empire Burger with rings.
My cousins and I took my Mom to the airport. We went took my Mom to Chang Sho , JP Licks to dessert (ice cream) and then dropped her off at Jet Blue departure.
Well time to upload...........Brian
The transition has begun. Currently doing cardiac and anoxia rehab, doctors appointments, ICD clinic and clinic. On Saturday, my mother is going home (if for only a short period of time) and I have my more of my independence back. I am still "T" ing it to the hospitals and clinics. My Mom will be arriving in Colorado on Saturday nite but I believe she will get on a plane next week to help my brother, who is out with transverse myelitis in Milwaukee (see last entry).
I had a good appointment from my anoxia (brain) rehab doctor and my recovery is moving forward. Managing the cardiac continuum (doctors, therapists, clinics, administration, has been more work but I am starting to feel better.
3-16
Mom left on Saturday however now my parents are going to Milwaukee on Friday the 20th of March to help my brother Glenn. My guess is that they are going to Wisconsin for awhile. The first 2 days on my own have been great although it has been a little bit more work. Today I did the brain and heart rehab thing. It is funny because there is this person in my group that makes nicknames up for people in one of my rehab groups. Among today's nicknames for people in class were, Jerry Garcia and Mr. Clean. I am sure there are many people in Mercury who see the humor in this.
Today, I worked on work and workout transition items. Oh, and the big news is that I have a new cardiologist-the prior one did not cut it. Over the weekend I went to
RF O'Sullivan's on Friday. I highly recommend the Empire Burger with rings.
My cousins and I took my Mom to the airport. We went took my Mom to Chang Sho , JP Licks to dessert (ice cream) and then dropped her off at Jet Blue departure.
Well time to upload...........Brian
Friday, March 6, 2009
21st Entry, March 6th, Mom leaves next week and my brother hit by bizarre illness
First quick update:
Based on my last blog, a number of people asked about the sandcastle competition in Revere. Below is the link:
http://www.reverebeachpartnership.com/nessf07/index.htm
I have not started cardiac rehab and am starting to get stronger. The cardiac care portion of recovery remains unstable but is being addressed. My memory therapy and rehab has been great and I am continuing to make progress.
Based on this, I have been given the ok to be off of 24 hour surveillance. Therefore my mother is leaving next Thursday. To all of you who have not had the experience of living with a parent after age 25 for 2 months or more, I can tell you it has been an experience. It has been very very helpful and at times very trying but I do appreciate it. I bought her ticket for tomorrow but she asked me to change for next week, because she wanted to talk to thank some of doctors next week (I have appointments galore). My father has been wifeless for 2 months so I hope he is ready because my Mom is coming home.
My brother is starting to be treated for transverse myelitis; yes it is one of those bizarre diseases that few people have. He got admitted to a hospital on Feb 27 and released on March 2. Transverse myelitis (TM) is an inflamation of the spinal cord. He will be out of work at least 5 weeks (until 4-8) when he sees his doctor. He is treated with steroids. Those of you who know my brother appreciate him for his rare wit, sarcasm and off the wall sense of humor (the stuffed dog). You can tell he is not himself when the characteristics above get replaced with a sense of spirituality and a more sugary personality. Transverse myelitis is a tough disease and we are all really praying for him.
Brian
Based on my last blog, a number of people asked about the sandcastle competition in Revere. Below is the link:
http://www.reverebeachpartnership.com/nessf07/index.htm
I have not started cardiac rehab and am starting to get stronger. The cardiac care portion of recovery remains unstable but is being addressed. My memory therapy and rehab has been great and I am continuing to make progress.
Based on this, I have been given the ok to be off of 24 hour surveillance. Therefore my mother is leaving next Thursday. To all of you who have not had the experience of living with a parent after age 25 for 2 months or more, I can tell you it has been an experience. It has been very very helpful and at times very trying but I do appreciate it. I bought her ticket for tomorrow but she asked me to change for next week, because she wanted to talk to thank some of doctors next week (I have appointments galore). My father has been wifeless for 2 months so I hope he is ready because my Mom is coming home.
My brother is starting to be treated for transverse myelitis; yes it is one of those bizarre diseases that few people have. He got admitted to a hospital on Feb 27 and released on March 2. Transverse myelitis (TM) is an inflamation of the spinal cord. He will be out of work at least 5 weeks (until 4-8) when he sees his doctor. He is treated with steroids. Those of you who know my brother appreciate him for his rare wit, sarcasm and off the wall sense of humor (the stuffed dog). You can tell he is not himself when the characteristics above get replaced with a sense of spirituality and a more sugary personality. Transverse myelitis is a tough disease and we are all really praying for him.
Brian
Sunday, March 1, 2009
20th Entry, March 1st, Warning BWD tomorrow and the 11 items I want to do in Boston over the next 365 days
If you have not heard it yet, we are having a BWD tomorrow. All over TV, my neighbors, my friends and even my mother have warned me about it. I have heard it will be "anywhere from 7"-18" and everything will be at at standstill." The WAHs will be out in droves tomorrow. I have SLP, OT and Cardiac rehab tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will show up.
Today I went to the National Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston. As I sat and watched the events, I thought to myself that there was other items like this that I needed to do
in Boston over the next 365 days. So from March 2nd 2009 to March 1sth 2010 here are the 11 things I want to do in Boston in no certain order.
1)Take the red line to the silver line to the airport. I have alway done red line to green line to blue line and this seems easier and I have never ridden on the silver line.
2)Take the Fung Wah or Bolt from Boston to NYC.
3)Cycle Cape in a day starting in Boston.
4)Go to Santarpios for Pizza in East Boston.
5)Try a new Irish Pub a month. The old stomping grounds are getting old.
6)Go hear Irish music once over the next year in Boston. (Prefer if it was the Cheiftans or the Corrs but could go with someone more local).
7)Go see the Beanpot tournament.
8)Go sailing in Marblehead and go to Maddies Sail Loft afterwards.
9)Go to a Patriots training camp and a Patriots game.
10)Go hear a concert in Symphony Hall
11)Go to Revere Beach during the National Sand Castle Competition
This looks like a good Boston posting
Today I went to the National Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston. As I sat and watched the events, I thought to myself that there was other items like this that I needed to do
in Boston over the next 365 days. So from March 2nd 2009 to March 1sth 2010 here are the 11 things I want to do in Boston in no certain order.
1)Take the red line to the silver line to the airport. I have alway done red line to green line to blue line and this seems easier and I have never ridden on the silver line.
2)Take the Fung Wah or Bolt from Boston to NYC.
3)Cycle Cape in a day starting in Boston.
4)Go to Santarpios for Pizza in East Boston.
5)Try a new Irish Pub a month. The old stomping grounds are getting old.
6)Go hear Irish music once over the next year in Boston. (Prefer if it was the Cheiftans or the Corrs but could go with someone more local).
7)Go see the Beanpot tournament
8)Go sailing in Marblehead and go to Maddies Sail Loft afterwards.
9)Go to a Patriots training camp and a Patriots game.
10)Go hear a concert in Symphony Hall
11)Go to Revere Beach during the National Sand Castle Competition
This looks like a good Boston posting
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Entry 19, February 25, Landing in Town during my First Fictious European Vacation
I've had one of those not great days today. I have been frustrated today over one of the healthcare continuum's I had to deal with. So as I update my blog, I decided to write about something a little less annoying- My First Fictious European Vacation. I had written in my last blog how I came into the money to afford it.
It was 1988 and I was living in Arlington, Ma, one town down from Cambridge. I had 2 ficitious friends from Boston that had moved back to the Netherlands. I called them ficitious at the time as most people in my family had not met them nor anyone else I knew on my side of the US. My Nanny (my grandmother on my mother's side) and my cousin Lindsay were actually the first to people I knew, which drove some of my family nuts.
I had been invited to go out and visit my friends in Holland and upon receiving the money from my Dad's Mother's inheritance, I purchased a ticket to the Netherlands. I informed my family at the time, that I was going to the Netherlands to visit my ficitious friends and they said where. I said I was not sure. Two days before the flight flew out of Logan a bomb went off in the center of Madrid. It freaked my parents out although Madrid was in Spain not Holland. They called me from Michigan frantically, telling to be very very careful while I was in Europe.
I was picked up by fictious friends at Schipol Airport with the worst JET LAG. This lasted at least 2-3 days, although it just may have felt that way. It was about 3:00am, and I had been to a couple of bars in Amsterdam already. I left for the bathroom when all of a sudden I heard on a pay phone: "Hello Verne, this is a friend a Brian's. We just want you to know we just picked him out of the gutter." I ran out of the bathroom and I guess my Mom had then picked up the phone. My other friend picked up the receiver and said loudly in the background, "hurry up Brian, we're off to the red light district". Of course, when my not as fictious friends handed me the phone, my Mom with panic in her voice said was everything alright. I calmed her down while trying not to breakout laughing. We ended up hanging out in town til 4-5 am in the morning and walked back to my friends apartment. Between the Jet Lag and the late night I had a major headache the next day but it was satisfying.
Brian
It was 1988 and I was living in Arlington, Ma, one town down from Cambridge. I had 2 ficitious friends from Boston that had moved back to the Netherlands. I called them ficitious at the time as most people in my family had not met them nor anyone else I knew on my side of the US. My Nanny (my grandmother on my mother's side) and my cousin Lindsay were actually the first to people I knew, which drove some of my family nuts.
I had been invited to go out and visit my friends in Holland and upon receiving the money from my Dad's Mother's inheritance, I purchased a ticket to the Netherlands. I informed my family at the time, that I was going to the Netherlands to visit my ficitious friends and they said where. I said I was not sure. Two days before the flight flew out of Logan a bomb went off in the center of Madrid. It freaked my parents out although Madrid was in Spain not Holland. They called me from Michigan frantically, telling to be very very careful while I was in Europe.
I was picked up by fictious friends at Schipol Airport with the worst JET LAG. This lasted at least 2-3 days, although it just may have felt that way. It was about 3:00am, and I had been to a couple of bars in Amsterdam already. I left for the bathroom when all of a sudden I heard on a pay phone: "Hello Verne, this is a friend a Brian's. We just want you to know we just picked him out of the gutter." I ran out of the bathroom and I guess my Mom had then picked up the phone. My other friend picked up the receiver and said loudly in the background, "hurry up Brian, we're off to the red light district". Of course, when my not as fictious friends handed me the phone, my Mom with panic in her voice said was everything alright. I calmed her down while trying not to breakout laughing. We ended up hanging out in town til 4-5 am in the morning and walked back to my friends apartment. Between the Jet Lag and the late night I had a major headache the next day but it was satisfying.
Brian
Friday, February 20, 2009
Entry 18, February 20th, my first European vacation
First the update portion:
Went to see the rehab doctor for brain and had good news. My scores from January 29th which thought were low had actually increased significantly over when I left the hospital 2 weeks prior and if tested today I would be even higher. I will be able to be on my own (no 24 hour surveillance) in a week and I got the green light to be evaluated to drive again. He said I can start to plan to go back to work, with somewhere in the second half of March place to start. All great stuff.
Cardiac- I forced myself into Cardiac rehab-a month before they had scheduled me. As I mentioned before my stress test scores were great. Tt has been hard getting their attention since I am not in an emergency. I have been working on remedying that situation. The key is working on it. From now til when I return to my job in March, I will be me working on my rehab to prepare return to MRCY.
Spoke to Wim yesterday over Skype-a great tool if you do not use it. I will probably go to hang out with my Dutch friends and their families for vacation later in the summer. I have known Wim and Alexander both since 1986. I lived in the same house they did in Cambridge in 1986 while they were students. I have been to visit them in Europe 6 times including standing up in both of their weddings. I was telling them how I had paid for my first trip to Europe to visit yesterday.
My brothers and I were not crazy (which is being nice) about my grandparents on my Dad's side.
I think the term ogre was the way I heard my grandfather being describe and my grandmother was a little better however after not seeing us for 3-4 months she would sit us down and force us to listen to her read letter from my California cousins sent 3-4 years prior. She tried to cook but it never turned out quite right. Glenn and I remember the Eggs being to loose (rawish), lots of canned fruits with fruit slime, pineapple juice coming from the leftover of a can of Dole pineapple and as Glenn put it, Flour bomb cookies (hard as rock chocolate chips-flour grenades). I could go on forever but the question would be, what does this have to do with how I paid for my first European vacation?
GP (aka Grandma Primack) died in the mid/late 1980s. As they were settling her estate there somehow was ~10K to the 3 of us. For my two brothers they were down payments on their schooling (Scott medical school and Glenn's MBA). For me, I deposited part of the money and the rest was spent on my first European vacation. It was the nicest thing Grandma and Grandma Primack did for any of the 3 of us. It made me believe there was equilibrium in the world.
That's end of another post,
Brian
Went to see the rehab doctor for brain and had good news. My scores from January 29th which thought were low had actually increased significantly over when I left the hospital 2 weeks prior and if tested today I would be even higher. I will be able to be on my own (no 24 hour surveillance) in a week and I got the green light to be evaluated to drive again. He said I can start to plan to go back to work, with somewhere in the second half of March place to start. All great stuff.
Cardiac- I forced myself into Cardiac rehab-a month before they had scheduled me. As I mentioned before my stress test scores were great. Tt has been hard getting their attention since I am not in an emergency. I have been working on remedying that situation. The key is working on it. From now til when I return to my job in March, I will be me working on my rehab to prepare return to MRCY.
Spoke to Wim yesterday over Skype-a great tool if you do not use it. I will probably go to hang out with my Dutch friends and their families for vacation later in the summer. I have known Wim and Alexander both since 1986. I lived in the same house they did in Cambridge in 1986 while they were students. I have been to visit them in Europe 6 times including standing up in both of their weddings. I was telling them how I had paid for my first trip to Europe to visit yesterday.
My brothers and I were not crazy (which is being nice) about my grandparents on my Dad's side.
I think the term ogre was the way I heard my grandfather being describe and my grandmother was a little better however after not seeing us for 3-4 months she would sit us down and force us to listen to her read letter from my California cousins sent 3-4 years prior. She tried to cook but it never turned out quite right. Glenn and I remember the Eggs being to loose (rawish), lots of canned fruits with fruit slime, pineapple juice coming from the leftover of a can of Dole pineapple and as Glenn put it, Flour bomb cookies (hard as rock chocolate chips-flour grenades). I could go on forever but the question would be, what does this have to do with how I paid for my first European vacation?
GP (aka Grandma Primack) died in the mid/late 1980s. As they were settling her estate there somehow was ~10K to the 3 of us. For my two brothers they were down payments on their schooling (Scott medical school and Glenn's MBA). For me, I deposited part of the money and the rest was spent on my first European vacation. It was the nicest thing Grandma and Grandma Primack did for any of the 3 of us. It made me believe there was equilibrium in the world.
That's end of another post,
Brian
Monday, February 16, 2009
17th Entry, February 16th, Stress Test, Rest, Getting Closer and Movie Mindlessness
Here is the 17th Entry on my Blog:
As my therapy has been mostly for Anoxia, PT (Anoxia) was concerned last week about where I was with Cardiac. Breaking thru the Cardiac continuum is cumbersome and frustrating. Appointments have been scheduled far out with little followup. When PT complained to the Brain side about the lack of clarity on my rehab, person incharge of my Anoxia inturn complained to Cardiac side. I immediately was called for a stress test which got scheduled a day later.
After initial setup by the clinician, the doctor came in. I was t0ld that in this test normal people do
between 6-9 minutes on the cardiac treadmill. They start at an incline at a certain level speed and then increase both inclince and speed every 3 minutes. As you go thru the test, the electrodes on you record heart information.
Initial Observation: I was able to do 10.5 minutes to start with and they told me my score were above average. They asked me how long I had been in Cardiac rehab and I replied that I was not in it because I was still waiting to be seen by a Cardiologist. Based on where I am and my scores, I need to be in it. They told me something I already knew and had tried to fix. I went to
my original case working who set me up for after March 20th (5 weeks away) but to no avail. A large portion of healthcare has Presidents Day off so I start back on my "Cardiac Crusade" tomorrow.
Rest and Getting Closer:
The Speech Language and Pathology keep saying to me get MORE REST. Every appointment the question they ask me is "are you getting ENOUGH REST. It is the 4th appointment in a row where I've been asked that so I have taken it to heart (BRAIN in this case). I know I am starting to get closer to where I need to be brainwise. I will know more on Wednesday.
Movie Mindlessness:
Over the weekend, I said I finally did get some rest. My Mom watched 6-7 movies on TV while I slept and read thru most of them. In the early evening my Mom really wanted to go out, because she was tired of sitting inside. Where did she want to go? The Movies.
That's it for this blog,
Brian
As my therapy has been mostly for Anoxia, PT (Anoxia) was concerned last week about where I was with Cardiac. Breaking thru the Cardiac continuum is cumbersome and frustrating. Appointments have been scheduled far out with little followup. When PT complained to the Brain side about the lack of clarity on my rehab, person incharge of my Anoxia inturn complained to Cardiac side. I immediately was called for a stress test which got scheduled a day later.
After initial setup by the clinician, the doctor came in. I was t0ld that in this test normal people do
between 6-9 minutes on the cardiac treadmill. They start at an incline at a certain level speed and then increase both inclince and speed every 3 minutes. As you go thru the test, the electrodes on you record heart information.
Initial Observation: I was able to do 10.5 minutes to start with and they told me my score were above average. They asked me how long I had been in Cardiac rehab and I replied that I was not in it because I was still waiting to be seen by a Cardiologist. Based on where I am and my scores, I need to be in it. They told me something I already knew and had tried to fix. I went to
my original case working who set me up for after March 20th (5 weeks away) but to no avail. A large portion of healthcare has Presidents Day off so I start back on my "Cardiac Crusade" tomorrow.
Rest and Getting Closer:
The Speech Language and Pathology keep saying to me get MORE REST. Every appointment the question they ask me is "are you getting ENOUGH REST. It is the 4th appointment in a row where I've been asked that so I have taken it to heart (BRAIN in this case). I know I am starting to get closer to where I need to be brainwise. I will know more on Wednesday.
Movie Mindlessness:
Over the weekend, I said I finally did get some rest. My Mom watched 6-7 movies on TV while I slept and read thru most of them. In the early evening my Mom really wanted to go out, because she was tired of sitting inside. Where did she want to go? The Movies.
That's it for this blog,
Brian
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