11.20.10 – Update from Mom

Everyone at Baylor is saying how good Peter looks and how much more alert he seems since a month ago when we left after our first visit.

Pete’s tracking is stronger and more consistent.  He is more capable of longer therapy sessions, meaning that his endurance is better. He also seems to be responding more to simple commands: opening his mouth, swallowing on command at times, and giving thumbs up–still not often enough to be called “consistent” command following, but one of the doctors told us that his bad days on this visit are better than his good days on the last visit at Baylor.  In fact, during our last visit, Peter’s ratings on the neuropsychologist’s scale of assessment were consistently in “near coma” range.  This past week, he scored in the “no coma” range once. So the overall trajectory is toward continued improvement, which we are grateful for.

The occupational therapists have bounced Pete around in a sitting position on therapy balls.  They have even propped him up on his elbows (since stress on major joints triggers deep memories). While they were working with him this week, we actually heard his voice spontaneously making sounds for the first time since his accident, though he said no actual words.  Pete is also making early attempts to hold up his head, though he tires very quickly. We have really liked the aggressive approach of the occupational therapists, and Peter seems to be responding to it well.

The doctors and therapists have been very complimentary of the family’s care of Peter.  They say the progress he has made is indicative of a lot of attention and hard work at home.  (This after all, is the most strenuous homeschool “unit study” we have ever done.)

And they are all saying, “He’s in there, trying to get out.”

Prayer requests:

1.  That the Lord would bring Peter to the point of consistent command following.  And that we would be patient in weathering the time it takes to get to that point. It would be great if he could reach that point before our discharge date of December 10, because then he could just stay there and continue formal rehabilitation.

2.  That the Lord would continue to heal his brain.  The doctor did a new CT scan last week, and said that though his brain looks better, there are still bleeding and swelling issues being resolved.

3. That the family would have strength and trust in the Lord.  This is a long slow, roller coaster ride, and we sometimes can’t help but battle weariness on every level.

4. That the Lord would give the therapists and doctors wisdom and good intuition about the best course for Peter.  Brain trauma medicine is much more an “art” than a “science,” and there are a lot of variables that go into deciding treatment for each individual.  Sometimes it is just a matter of “trying out” different medications and therapies to see what works for a particular patient.  It would be neat if the Lord would show them the best thing for Peter on first trial.

Thanks to all for faithful prayers.

Selah