Hi Everyone,
Corey had a good morning. Her speech session went well. Our therapists love working with Corey as she shows them new progress everyday. Today Diane reported that Corey used blended sounds, such as BR and TH. Evidently this is advanced for early speech recovery.
PT also went well. We tried to push Corey to beat her time of sitting for 4 mins and 20 seconds. We got close; she made it 4 minutes but didn’t surpass the current record.
Tonight we had a few visitors…via skype! Her girlfriends Aine and Kelsey “dropped” in. We had a great visit with both the girls and caught up on all the gossip at college. We already have plans to catch up with Leah tomorrow. What a gift it is to have the ability to keep in touch with her friends, especially a live conversation. The connection to her girlfriends has been as invaluable as her daily therapy!
I had another opportunity to visit Karissa, Carla and Kevin today after my sales calls. Karissa is getting better. She had developed a pocket of fluid on the brain as the result of an infection. Their neurosurgeon drained the fluid two days ago. Karissa is bouncing back quickly and her latest CAT scan shows marked improvement. Thank you for continuing to keep their family in your prayers.
When I walked into the ICU to visit Karissa I saw Kim, Clare, Erin, Olivia, Jen, and Tom. Each of them were happy to see me, but had the initial panic cross their faces as they asked, “Why are you here”? They thought Corey was back. I explained that I was back to visit our friends. They each were so glad to hear about Corey’s recovery. I shared with them that when they all tried to tell me that this was going to be a long road, I had NO IDEA what that truly meant. In hindsight I could never conceptualize the meaning of their statements. I realize now just what they were trying to tell me. It also makes wonder just how you can prepare a family for the full scope of what they’re about to embark upon?
Ironically, as we were discussing this very concept I also met Dr. Kalina. This was the man that was on duty the night of Corey’s accident. This was the man that drew the short straw and had to meet with me to tell me the details of Corey’s injuries. He recognized my face but couldn’t place where we met. I extended my hand and introduced myself for the second time. I introduced myself as Corey’s mother, the young woman he worked on a year ago. He remembered as soon as I began recalling the night. He didn’t release my hand.
I shared with him the progress that Corey has been making. Her right side has returned, her left side is beginning to show signs of coming back. She’s trying to speak but capable of writing to communicate and most importantly she shows us everyday that she’s “in there” and it’s a matter of time before she completely comes back to us. I thanked him. I told him that I can only imagine how difficult that night was for him. I can not comprehend that part of his job; I know how devastated I felt hearing the news let alone what he must have felt having to tell me. He didn’t know what to say except that he was so glad we met again and how happy he felt hearing Corey’s progress. He admitted he often wondered how she was. I think it was the closure we both needed.
Corey one of the nurses that knew of us but didn’t work with us approached me today. I apologized that I didn’t remember her name but was surprised she remembered your name as well as mine. She smiled and said, ‘We all remember Corey’! Honey you have no idea how you have touched so many people. Everyone that worked with you were affected by your spirit and strength to fight and overcome the insurmountable odds of recovering from your accident. We are all so proud of you. It sounds silly but your progress just makes everyone smile! You are an amazing young woman, xoxo