Hi Everyone,
Caitlin is a riot!!
I wish you all could have been in the room with us when she was writing her care page last night. She had a list of Corey stories that we had to compress to fit on one page. We laughed as one story fed into another! I believe I’ve finally convinced Caitlin to perform a Comedy night. We’re going to dedicate it to Corey because laughter is the best medicine! We just have to find a location and we’ll invite you all! PS – Caitlin would be happy to hijack the page again, so stay tuned…
As for tonight, you’re stuck with me, but I have good news to share! We had a late day appointment with the neurosurgeon. This man does not embellish anything. That is why his comments gave me great hope and excitement.
After Corey’s neurological exam, he commented that he was “surprised and impressed” with Corey’s progress since he last saw her in January. He commented that although her injury was extremely severe, she is showing signs of improvement in 6 months that most victims with her level of injury sometimes don’t show after 2 years. He is encouraged by her mobility and feels that she will regain motor skills and could be ambulatory but with some deficits; most likely on the left side. He is less happy with the fact that she is not vocalizing to communicate. He would have hoped that she was using her voice by now. That being said, he is encouraged by the fact that she is bright, reactive, alert and responsive to commands. He feels her cognitive ability may suggest that she could use alternate forms of communication such as computers and/or sign language to express herself. It’s not to say that she won’t regain her voice, but the longer it takes to regain vocalization the more it suggests that it will be another deficit she will have to accommodate for. The doctor also stated that we have a long road ahead of us. Long term functionality will not be known for at least 2 to 2 ½ years. He concluded that he would support the reasoning that Corey should stay as an inpatient for acute rehabilitation. It is clearly evident that the therapy and clinical care is working!
Corey, as Caitlin said last night, you had another day of blowing up the Doctor’s expectations! You don’t remember, but 6 months ago, this same man was trying to prepare us that you would most likely not survive the first surgery and IF you did, you may not survive the first week of recovery! WAY TO PROVE HIM WRONG KID!
We are going to continue moving forward. We are not going to look at 2 years because that is a lifetime away. We have today! Today was a great day. Tomorrow will present new challenges, new joys and new rewards. Bring it on! You are doing an amazing job Corey. We are so proud of you. Happy dreams, xoxo