September 10

Well, Kyle has certainly been better about keeping this blog updated than I've been. It's hard to believe I've been home now for as long as I was in the hospital/rehab center - three weeks.  Remembering what my first few days back were like makes me realize how much I've progressed.  I can handle stairs by myself and almost normally - holding onto the railing is sometimes optional.  My first outdoor walks were half a block, wearing a brace, holding onto Kyle and watching my step the whole way.  Yesterday I pushed Megan in the stroller through the campgrounds all by myself.  And anyone who's done SavageMan knows what kind of hills that entails!  

Happy Family on our twice daily walk on Brant Rd

I'm sure ongoing physical therapy is helping with many of these improvements.  I go three times a week and do everything from heel lifts to jumping on a small trampoline.  Not ready to try running again yet, but I'm sure that will come.  My therapist is actually the one who recommended I start riding the trainer again.  Kyle cranked up the handlebars so it's easier on my clavicle and he installed the PowerTap so I can track my progress as my power improves.  I can try to do sprints, which apparently will help my brain realize it needs to fire my muscles more quickly.  I can only handle about 20 minutes at this point, so of course I turned one workout into an FTP test.  :-)  Average watts 128, a bit lower than the 209 I was at a few weeks before the accident.  But it will come back and I feel a little bit more normal to be able to get on my bike.

On the trainer - using my SavageMan brick for my front wheel mount and for motivation!

My main complaint right now is just constant fatigue.  But I guess that's one of the things that comes with a head injury and is much better than having to complain about constant pain or not being able to move my left foot.  The docs have said it should subside in 3-6 months, but I'm hoping for earlier since other aspects of my recovery seem to be accelerated.  I'm also about due for a post-injury cognitive assessment which will highlight any remaining mental deficiencies.  That should give me a better idea of when I'll be cleared to return to work and start driving again.  I challenge anyone to a sudoku match!  Neither Kyle nor my mom stand a chance against me now.  http://www.websudoku.com allows you to specify a puzzle so we can all do same puzzle.  I prefer the Evil category!

For the foreseeable future our plan is to stay at the lake as long as we can since renovation work continues on our house in DC and we seem to be handling well out here.  My mom is able to stay with us through September, which has been a lifesaver.  Megan's started solid foods this week, but hasn't quite figured out that that means she's supposed to "sleep like a rock," so it's huge to have someone here to help with her.  And with me!  I'm definitely getting better, but am still resting more than doing anything productive.

Megan with the remnants of her first spoon-fed meal on her face!

Even though the pace of updates to this blog has slowed, I'm still incredibly thankful for everyone's concern and support.  I'll do my best to at least highlight milestones on here.  In the meantime, I'm back online with access to email and facebook so look forward to keeping in touch with everyone the old fashioned way.  :-)  And I leave you with the latest visitor who has been regularly coming by the house to check on my recovery progress....

Oscar has been getting a little too close for comfort.

- Laura

Thank you

Hello everyone.  Laura here.  As Kyle posted, I left the rehab facility and arrived back at our lake house on Friday.  It feels so good to be home, and I'm so very grateful for all the comments, well wishes and gifts everyone has sent our way.  I'm still getting my head around the accident and the long recovery period and it means so much to have such a support network behind me.

So far things seem to still be improving, but I know I have a long road ahead.  We had our first Garrett County PT appointment this morning, so I should have more structured recovery activities to look forward to soon.  Right now highlights are brief walks down our road, my daily nap and lots of time with Megan.  And, of course, my daily sudoku match against Kyle.  I know you all appreciate his efforts to keep everyone updated with my progress, I just feel so lucky so have such a loving, patient and kind husband.

RileyDawg?

Many folks have asked what RileyDawg has been up to during this whole endeavor.  Well, Riley has been in good hands, spending a few weeks at Team Z summer camp with Coach Ed, Talia, and BFF ring-tailed Pizsla Zoe.  And he is now is happily back at Happy Endings.

Riley is an old geezer dog now and requires much less exercise than his younger days as Pennsylvania Mile World Champion, so he is content to mostly hang out and relax, but he still has the occasional burst of Vizsla energy.

(no making fun of our sickly dock with the broken leg....)

August 19 - Early release for good behavior

DISCHARGED!

Laura is out of HealthSouth and back at Happy Endings three weeks to the day following her accident.  We had been scheduled for discharge on 8/24 but it was agreed that earlier would be possible, so moved up to Monday 8/22.  But weekends at therapy are more just killing time than active therapy, so I asked whether we couldn't just hit the road on Friday.  The doctor agreed this was a good move as getting out of the hospital will only help Laura's state of mind, so out the door we went!

Physical and Occupational outpatient rehab start next week at Garrett Rehab.  Depending on how it goes we will likely stay here a few weeks before heading back to DC and taking over the Sherwood domicile!

Megan, what do you say we blow this taco stand?

 

 

 

Yost family - exit stage right

Laura leaving the hospital on her own two feet!

August 18

Can I get some dorsiflexion in the house?  Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

August 15 - Kicking Ass and Remembering Names

Laura's doing great!  This weekend she has really seemed to come around mentally.  She sleeps less and just seems more "with it".  Even the nurses have commented on it.  Her memory is definitely improving and she whizzes through all the speech therapy sessions now.  You could converse with her before but her voice was quiet and you had to do the majority of the talking.  Now she's a chatterbox.  Maybe not much of an attention span, but a chatterbox.

Physically, the rehab is coming along nicely.  The left leg will be the long pole in the tent with the recovery, but Laura's walking is looking better and better every day.  Getting up and out of bed seems almost effortless now, and assisted walking is not all that assisted anymore, just a hand for guidance and balance.  Still, though, all it will take is one misstep and down she'll go, and with that fractured clavicle that would be very bad.

Sunday was Megan's 5th month birthday.  She's a sweetie.  Everyone loves her at the Rehab Center.

Moving Day (August 13)

Today (Saturday) was a whirlwind day away from the hospital to take care of business in DC, specifically clearing everything out of both the Georgetown house under renovation so that contractors have full ability to gut, as well as clear everything out of the Palisades apartment that is not a conducive residence for Laura to continue her treatment and so we are terminating lease.  Naturally, I underestimated the challenge both of these tasks, but thanks to a crowd of folks we made quick work of both tasks anyway.

My day started far from DC at 6am, but by 10:30am I had a 17 foot UHaul blocking half of Prospect St in Georgetown.  What I had explained would be a small job of moving some furniture and boxes turned out to be a far bigger job of packing lots of miscellaneous junk and moving far more furniture and boxes than I remembered still being left in the house.  Whoopsie.  The 17 foot UHaul was packed full and we headed off to Pete Warner's garage for storage.  Somehow we made it all fit with room to spare.  Thanks Pete and Igda, you are lifesavers!

Then it was off to the Palisades to pick up what I had claimed was a small amount of stuff that Laura and I had stashed there.  Well, turns out that small amount actually was pretty sizable.  We again loaded up the UHaul, and this time to McLean to the Sherwood's house which Laura and I will call home base when we get out of in-patient rehab and return to DC area.  Many thanks to you Dave and Karen for your generosity.

Finally, late afternoon dinner at Chicken Out for the merry gang of movers, return the UHaul, and back to DCL by 9:30pm.  I'll return to Morgantown early tomorrow morning to be back with Laura.  Yowzers, what a day!

Thanks so much to the moving gang who fell hook, line, and sinker for my claims that this would be a quick, simple move: counterclockwise: Richard, Charles, Chris, Haig, Sam, Pete, and of course Chas (not pictured)