Hi Everyone,
For those of you who don’t go to sleep until the update is posted, good news…it’s early tonight!
Corey had a busy first day back. She spent an hour each with PT/OT/Speech and Psychology! This week will be a new evaluation week. Believe it or not, spending a week away from rehab has set her back a little. The teams will be evaluating her and assessing her new goals now that her weight baring status has been upgraded. Corey doesn’t truly understand that she is officially enrolled in Rehab BOOT CAMP!
Corey closed her day with a long relaxing shower (it definitely was not as fun as Ashley’s Spa night but I’m sure she loved it since it’s her first since surgery)
By the time we arrived, she was exhausted, dozing in and out. She does look better than yesterday! Her face is still swollen but we did see a positive change in the intensity of the swelling. Another important improvement was her skin color. She’s not as pale as she was and is beginning to have pink cheeks again!
It was also encouraging to see her eye movements. She not only looked midline (center) she’s looking to her left as well. This is very big…she hadn’t consistently looked left since she’s opened her eyes! Corey also turned her head a few times tonight but the biggest surprise was watching her lift her head off the pillow and hold it independently for well over a minute!
One of the nurses commented on her impression of when Corey seems alert and when we can see she’s really not connected. She playfully said, “Corey’s definitely home. Sometimes the lights are on but sometimes she’s out in the backyard on the swing!”
The staff at the rehab are so excited to see Corey back. They all asked about the week at the ICU, the reunion with the ICU team and the Skate for Corey event. We shared the observations from Christiana and then we chatted about the Skate for Corey event.
What an event! Like the Beef and Beer, there was a 20 foot table filled with gift baskets for raffle. There was a silent auction for the “big” prizes…a signed hockey jersey from the NY Islanders 2010 team, a signed hockey stick and dinner and skating at Rockerfeller Center for 4 just to name a few. There was an inflatable “slap shot” booth (which reminded me of when my brother Tom would use us as goalies for his practice in the garage…we weren’t wearing pads!) The rink was filled with skaters. There were T-shirts with a drawing of an angel wearing skates that said “Holiday Skate for Corey”. Pepsi and Domino’s fed everyone that came…it was great. The icing on the cake, literally, was the opportunity to celebrate my birthday with my family. As if the fundraiser wasn’t enough of a gift, my family had a cake and presents for me, too. Tomorrow I will be 48 years young. I will be celebrating with Corey! Another wonderful gift!!
Again, thank you all for your daily gifts of encouragement. They are cherished more than you know! xoxo