Write to Mike

I am sure Mike would really appreciate hearing from friends, family, and new friends who have been so faithful to pray for us and follow our adventure.  His address is:

Mike Rice

1510 Seneca Drive

Blacksburg, VA 24060

He can also have visitors and in an effort to make sure he doesn't get too many at any given time, here is a link to a Google docs spreadsheet for scheduling visits. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnmQxOyNMwyPdDVsTXZpNjFuYkltNHR0SUUyVnJoUkE&usp=sharing

This way I can check with the staff to see if it's an OK time to visit and let them know to expect someone. If he's having a good day, he can be taken out to eat, walk, shop, etc. A staff member will go along also, just in case there are any problems. I know that visitors cannot ride with the NR staff and Mike, but am not sure if NR staff & Mike can ride with the visitors. This is all new territory, so adjustments may need to be made in when and how people visit. I also understand that visiting may be uncomfortable for many, but even if Mike doesn't recognize you, at least he knows people care and have not forgotten him. It is also a real blessing and help to me knowing that others are checking in on him from time to time. I am 3 hours away so cannot visit often, plus believe he needs to get into a routine there and lose some of his attachment to me.

I wish all of the news coming from Blacksburg was as good as our trip there, Mike's first 5 days, and Mark and Lynn's visit; however, he has had some rough days this week.  I am going to copy and paste some of the updates that Lisa, the case manager, has sent to me. 

"I wanted to let you know that we made an appointment for Michael to see Primary Care today due to the amount of mucus he was producing. The primary care doctor believes it is aspiration pneumonia and wants us to put him on liquids nectar thick. He has a modified barium swallow study scheduled for next Tuesday, as well. The primary care doctor also put him on levaquin to treat the aspiration pneumonia."  

I am wondering if some of the medication he was put on at Tucker has slowed his reflexes. He had swallow problems while at WakeMed, but within a couple of months of being home, he was able to drink regular thin liquids. He will see the Psychiatrist this Wednesday, and Lisa said I would like him because he tries to get the residents on the least amount of medication possible.

"His forearm and leg are no longer swollen. The nurse is keeping his eye on them. We have found out that taking Michael for a ride seems to help when he gets really restless and perseverative. They say he gets really quiet and sometimes falls asleep in the car. We noticed that, after a brief nap, he sometimes has better orientation and attention. He’s had a few bad days this week, unfortunately. It could be a combination of being ill and the new transition. Yesterday, he was a little more aggressive, pushing staff members who would attempt to help redirect when he was perseverative and wandering around. He has been evaluated for both OT and PT. I was with him for his OT evaluation. It was a really bad time for him. He was perseverating on an activity that he was doing earlier (color by number) and he kept repeating “6 is Black, 7 is light blue,” etc. It was difficult for him to follow directions for her assessment.  He was in a much better place for his PT evaluation (it was after a nap) and was more cooperative. "

So, as you can see, he continues to follow the same pattern of days or moments of clarity and then days or moments of poor cognition. This is brain injury - I have to keep telling myself that. It is so encouraging when he has good days and can be very discouraging when he lapses back to incoherence. However, it seems that he has had longer periods of coherence, and in that there is hope of even longer periods to come. 2 steps forward, 3 steps back - this is brain injury. It is unlike any other injury that I've ever known so is very hard to understand and grasp.

Psalm 25:5

Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me:

 for Thou art the God of my salvation; 

on Thee do I wait all the day. 

"It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life. Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding. We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us." July 8 devotion from Morning & Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon