By Lisa Ansay —
There are a couple surgeries coming up: an ENT surgeon will address the frontal sinus fractures (in the lower forehead); a cranial/facial plastic surgeon will take care of the eye socket/orbit, cheek, and whatever else necessary. It has not yet been decided if all the work can be done at once. There are meetings next week for all to discuss around the same table – at the same time. There are two infectious disease docs, the most recent plastic surgery doc (from three weeks ago), an oculoplastic surgeon, his TBI (traumatic brain injury) doc, the endocrinologist and neurosurgeons from Barrow to be present for these discussios. Taylor was visited by three of these doctors today, so things may happen pretty quickly.
Taylor has been rocking his therapies! Occupational Therapy has been working quite a bit on his eye movements. Physical Therapy has him walking all over the place – with little or no walker. Speech Therapy is so impressed with his hard work in speaking and swallowing, he has a swallow test in radiology on Monday, to see if he’s ready/safe to chew and swallow REAL foods, drinks, applesauce, ice cream, etc.
Aqua therapy starts next week. It’s fine to swim with the feeding tube in his belly, but they’ll have to be VERY careful about his eyes, sinus, etc., until he is cleared after his surgeries.
Taylor is in great spirits, and is super psyched to see how his hard work is paying off.
He will be discharged from Barrow’s Neuro Rehab for his surgeries, and admitted to Acute Care for surgery and recovery at St. Joseph’s across the street. Then he will likely re-admit to Barrow Neuro Rehab until he is discharged from Inpatient Care.
The next step is for him to begin his Outpatient Rehab which is anticipated to go on for months. We will be ‘setting up shop’ in Minneapolis for a while so he can attend the Courage Center for young adults with TBI in Golden Valley, MN. This is an awesome facility, and is well known in the Barrow community. Many Barrow staff have toured the Courage Center facility, and some have even left Barrow to work there!
Ron and I anticipate taking some turns to return to work, with the other staying in Minneapolis as T’s primary caregiver during his rehab. Both Ron and I are from the Twin Cities, and pretty much all of our family still live there. Family and friends are a pivotal part of this next phase of Taylor’s rehabilitation.
There are still many details to attend to, and we don’t have all the anwers yet, but things are definitely moving in the right direction!
Go Taylor!
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Dear Lord: Please keep your loving arms around Taylor, and help him remain the incredible, awe inspiring warrior, who marches confindently toward his full recovery with You in his heart. And thank you Lord for all the blessings and miracles that saw him through this far. Amen
