Friday, November 18, 2011

Friday November 18th

Good Morning everyone.
I do have some good news to report. First of all, dad is really starting to move his right arm and leg so much more than the last post. He's now able to move his hand up to his face. He uses it to scratch his nose or cheek and sometimes tries to reach his ear. He's also able to lift his right leg up about 6 inches off of the floor. This is enough room to get his pants on from a sitting position. All of these movements take some time to perform. However, we see this as great improvement. We believe the reason for this significant improvement is because the aneurysm is shrinking. We know this is happening because the best news of all is that his left eye is starting to open. It's about 1/4 inch open and he can see out of the eye. We were told that should the clipping on the aneurysm hold and the swelling shrink, his eye may regain control. So far, so good. Keep in mind, his eyeball is positioned to the left and down somewhat which causes him to see double. This is a okay because he's starting to regain control. The leg that has the clot swells when he really works at standing and exercising. We're going to have to just keep an eye on the swelling and make sure the swelling below the knee doesn't get out of hand. When swelling starts, we just pull back on the exercising and elevate the leg. We're going to have to decide if he'll have surgery to repair the clot or not. He will be seen again in December and we have until then to decide what we're going to do. He's also talking a little louder. This is also an indication the swelling is shrinking.
Well, I had mentioned that I'd have him out on the golf course by the end of November. That's not going to happen. I'm now going to leave that up to God and your prayers to get him out on the course.
He's still fighting more than ever and hasn't given up.
Keep on praying and sending your messages. He loves to read and hear them.
Have a great weekend and Go Cats!

Friday, November 4, 2011

November 4

Time sure does fly by.
Here's a short update to dad's progress. Allow me to begin by telling everyone, he's doing just great. We had a small set back because his right leg began to swell. This is due to the clot that was found way back in August. We went to see a vascular surgeon this week and he gave us some options. First of all, it's normal for legs to swell with his condition. The doctor told us this is due to too much activity to the leg and not enough leg rest and inactivity. The good news is that the swelling has gone way down.  We can either do nothing but try to keep the swelling down by using compression socks and elevation, put him on blood thinners or take him in to have his vein cleaned out. We have 6 weeks to decide which path we'll go. In the meantime, he's really doing well with his exercises, appetite, right side mobility. He's moving his right side more and more each week.  Still far from normal but we know he'll get there with hard work and time. Anyone that would like to communicate with him via Skype, please let me know. This will be very therapeutic for him because he'll have to use his voice to communicate. I can be reached at: davidv1@cox.net
We hope you all have a great and safe weekend. Stay warm. It's suppose to get cold and wet.