By Lisa Ansay —
Saturday morning therapy at Brilles Therapy House.
Taylor started his Saturday morning with a long walk through a nearby park, and then a visit by his massage therapist.
Outpatient Physical and Occupational Rehab will begin next Wednesday at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, per recommendation by Taylor’s Traumatic Brain Injury specialist. He has 20 visits for each therapy type until December 31st, and then a new clock starts for therapy at the first of the year.
Speech Therapy will be conducted by a therapist that works specifically with the Craniofacial/Palate facility associated with Barrow Neuro Institute. Taylor’s Craniofacial plastic surgeon (Dr. Joganic) will be the overseeing physician, and the ST works directly with Dr. Joganic, and has for over 25 years.
A naso-endoscopy was performed a few weeks back to assess some of Taylor’s challenges with speech. Because much of the difficulty stems from airflow, or air escaping the nostrils rather than being routed through the mouth. It was assumed the TBI was effecting the muscles in the back of his throat, which serve to block the nasal passage when mouth sounds are generated.
The study showed that all the musculature is fine – muscle action was strong and appropriate. The problem is with the spacing from the top jaw/palate to the back of the throat. When the jaw was reconstructed very early on, the top jaw was placed a bit forward in the scheme of things, allowing for a larger space between the palate and the back of the throat. Although the muscle action needed to bridge that gap and close off the nasal pathway is functioning properly, the gap is simply now too large so the muscles can’t reach to close it off.
Still no word on whether Dr. Joganic will want to repair this in the near future, but the Speech Pathologist that performed the procedure was confident he would. I explained to her Dr. Joganic doesn’t really want to do any surgeries for a few months yet, but she felt if he sent Taylor to her, he knew that’s what was likely wrong. And because this effects speech and swallow, he’d likely do it soon.
Word should come next week as to what’s next.
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