ENG link
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http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/testing/engrot.html
On Tuesday, Dr. Beacham was doing emergency surgery. So we got Dr. Bols. Nice guy. But neither we nor he knew why we were there. Kif's discharge sheet just said to call the neurosurgery clinic for a follow up. So, the appt. with neurosurgery was brief. Dr. Bols tested Kif's reflexes and asked me how he was. I said he was okay, what else could I say, I didn't even know why we there.
On Wednesday, Dr. Blei chatted with us for a long time. He really didn't say anything at all, just talked in circles. It was annoying, I wanted to get out of there fast.
Thursday, we went to CCD, the local Community College, to just walk around on campus. Kif has since shown an interest in going back to school. So we sent a request for a copy of his GED.
Everyday seems painful for him, and I am wracking my brain just trying to keep us both upbeat. I'm not sleeping at night, and I can't drink enough coffee in the morning. I feel completely discombobulated and constantly distracted.
This a.m. I tried to schedule an outpatient therapy appt. Here's how it went:
1. I called the centralized appt. telephone number like Dr. Blei told me to. They tell me they aren't scheduling appts for outpatient therapy until August 1. So, they give me the direct number of the clinic to call.
2. I call the clinic directly, where I wait, and wait, patiently. The nurse I talk to then tells me she doesn't see the Dr.'s referral for therapy in the computer. This means that Dr. Blei didn't put in the referral yet. So, I call his direct number. No answer. No voice mail. So I'll have to call on Monday to try and schedule the appt.
You'd think making one therapy appointment wouldn't be so difficult.
Our next appt. is with ENT (Ear Nose Throat) clinic on Tuesday a.m.
Meanwhile, my brother is in a funk. He's realized he's unable to work and I think that's what's bothering him most right now.
Myself, I desperately need a break. I'm yelling at Karl these days and am so frustrated that there is no definite answer for anything these days.
From the local TBI Support Group Coordinator
Here are some helpful brain injury websites you may want to check into:
www.biacolorado.org
www.memoryzine.com
www.subtlebraininjury.com
www.headinjury.com
www.tbilife.com
Here's a book I found on Amazon re: traumatic brain injuries:
I'll Carry the Fork
Yesterday Kif had a 11:30am Dr. appointment. We got there early, read the paper, Kif wanted to sleep.
We waited about 45 minutes in the exam room. Kif was miserable, wanted to go. When the Dr. got there, he perked up a little, paid attention, was cordial.
Dr. Euserman was the ENT (Ear Nose Throat) doctor who wanted to do surgery for a CSF leak. When the lumbar drain came out, they waited and watched, and the CSF leak had healed itself, so no need for surgery after all.
Here's what Dr. Euserman said: 85% chance Kif's numbness on his right side will come back (unless there's a bone chip inhibiting any healing, we don't know if there is one or not); Dr. wants to schedule an audio-hearing test and an ENG (dizziness test). Kif's not having any obvious problems hearing, but the dizziness is still there when he gets up in the a.m. and if he rises too quickly.
Kif's first facial fractures were April 2004.
24 July 2006
Conversation with Sierra Robinson, Chamberlain Edmonds
*CE needs a copy of ID and SS card
1. state’s long-term care, still pending.
2. federal, Medicaid, SSI/Disability still pending; could take three months to a year for approval, can be transferred to another state
I thought I had heard that he needs to reside in the state for Medicaid to go through, is that true?
Had a nice conversation with Linda at the BIA Colorado office.
There's this amazing camp for TBI survivors that I know my brother would benefit greatly from. Ropes course, climbing wall, and being outdoors in Breckenridge.
There are two big obstacles: One, my brother doesn't want to go, and Two, the cost is $1600. Scholarship may be available, but Kif needs to want to go, and that's not looking likely.
Still not taking care of myself as much as I should be.
Kif wants to go back to work already. I know he'll be able to but I think two months is a little soon. He says he was doing scaffolding, putting it up, taking it down. Or he would go to the day laborer place.
We have three more outpatient appointments. And despite the doctors not knowing anything, I'd like to get their opinion.
Right now he's rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. He made sloppy joes, with minimal assistance, for dinner tonight.
Today we went to Target and picked out a nice pair of glasses for him. Then we spent the better part of a day trying to find a video game he could play on the PC because someone heard that video games might help him. We eventually picked up CounterStrike.
I haven't had much time to sit and write. I'd like to keep Kif busy on something, but he doesn't focus on any one thing for a lengthy amount of time. After he's worked on something for awhile, he feels the need to go somewhere (flight or fight?).
It's been a good week with Kif.
He gets up around 7am and has a morning routine: teeth brushing, bath, shaving (with electric shaver), and eats breakfast. Then he will lay down, listen to music, or fall back asleep.
I've taken him with me to work, where he watches movies on his DVD player. He's remembering things from day to day, and following through on a given task. He almost really doesn't need supervision, in my opinion. The only times that are really important to watch him is when he's getting in and out of the bathtub, and making sure he's next to you on walks.
We have conversations about Mom and Dad, how "wobbly" he still feels when he's standing or walking.
He definitely has an affinity for suspense/action movies, which surprises me.
This a.m. we see the opthamologist-Dr. Favrowski(?). It's a follow up appt, and we're going to talk about getting a new eyeglass prescription.
The first night at Lucille's went okay. He woke up thinking he was at Cynthe's house (another family friend). Sometime early in the a.m. Kif needed to use the bathroom. It was dark and there weren't any lights, so he tried several doors before locking himself in the garage. Later, Lucille went out to the garage, and there was Kif, in the dark, in the garage. He gave her such a start. I could hear the conversation from my bed and heard Kif's nervous laughter/explanation that he was trying to find the bathroom. He said he was scared; he was afraid he was going to set off the alarm for the house if he moved too much.
This a.m. went okay. Kif decided to take a shower by himself this morning. He didn't scald himself like I had initially imagined, and he was fine. I was so dead tired, I hadn't heard him get up.
Other than these incidents, all is going really well. We're taking walks every morning and trying to create a structured daily program for him.
Friday: Met with Kendra, social worker; Dr. Weiler, Kif's doctor, and Emy, speech therapist. I was worried because Kendra called me Thursday sounding like she wanted me to pick him up. When I explained I couldn't provide the kind of supervision he needed because of a job, she sounded surprised, as if I hadn't mentioned this before. So, Friday a.m, I went down to the hospital to get my questions answered. Kendra couldn't definitively answer my questions, so luckily Dr. Weiler, who Id' never met, happened to be around. She answered all my questions, which was a relief. For instance, I thought they were going to discharge my brother and expect me to know how to care for him.
Kif is allowed to leave the hospital for six hours at a time on weekends, something I didn't fully understand before. He can fly with me when I go home, and the doctors will provide a letter saying he's recently suffered a head injury.
After I got my questions answered, Kif had therapy appointments, so I left and ran errands. I picked up some pizza for Kif, his roommate and the nurses. Told Kif I'd take him out for the next day.
Saturday: Kif was able to negotiate his way around, without needing much guidance. We went out to lunch at Noodles, He needed help finding the restroom, but I'm not sure how much of that was poor eyesight.
We went out for Bonnie Brae ice cream and then visited Scott and Carole at their house. We stopped by Tattered Cover, Confluence Park and then REI (for a bathroom break).
Sunday: Kif really, really wanted to see Superman Returns. I wasn't sure he was ready to see an action movie, but I didn't want to discount his ability to handle it, so we went. At first he wanted to see the IMAX version, but I told him I thought his head would explode from so much overwhelming stimulation. He just laughed.
We got to the movie way too early. His attention span can only last so long, so by the time we got through the pre-movie entertainment, the commercials and the previews, he was already looking at his watch and closing his eyes. We left an hour into the movie. He was exhausted and I took him "home" back to the hospital.