Matt is finally home, and couldn't be happier. It was sure a process to actually get from the hospital to the van, and then to the house, and then into the house.... Special thanks to a neighbor who came to the house to help dad lay the ramp, bring everything into the house including the bed and lift, and help get Matt himself into the house. Mom & dad couldn't have done it without him!
It was fairly late when they arrived in Weekes (8pm), but they had started leaving at 12pm!!! But the hospital was super busy, and Matt has a lot of luggage (extra wheelchair, lift, bed, portable suction, ramps, etc...). The van worked a expected - drove well, ate lots of gas, and was a little cold. But it got them home!
I know some friends had hoped to see Matt this evening, but he was just too tired with all the activity from the day. Mom said he's sound asleep right now! Please pray that Matt will stay healthy with no infections or other complications so that he can remain at the house all week. Praise God that Matt is home for as it says in Psalms 9:1 "I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works."
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Home for Christmas
Sorry I haven't written on the blog for 2 days. Christmas is coming whether I am prepared for it or not, and I realized I am not! We are planning on leaving tomorrow early and driving all day until we get to Weekes. Hopefully everything is still a go. Matt wasn't feeling very well last night. Mom said she knew something was wrong but wasn't sure what it was. He was very flushed and had no appetite. States his body was achy. They took his temp and it was fine, but his pulse was high. Later Matt told mom that he wasn't getting in enough O2, so they checked his O2 sats, and it was only at 83%. Remember the normal range is 97% - 100%. The nurse tried to suction him with no relief. So they finally called down to respiratory, but they were busy in ICU, Matt's breathing became quite heavy and the nurse put O2 on Matt and turned it way up. Eventually when respiratory arrived, Matt's O2 was up to 95% and he was feeling better. He did not have chest physio yesterday and that may have been the problem. Hopefully it was just a mucus plug and was nothing more serious. Matt wants to go home more than anything. Prayers that today they will be on their way to Weekes. Psalms 6:9 "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer".
Mom says they have 5 huge bags worth of stuff for Matt, so dad has to take some of it home in his truck. And they also have to take a manual wheelchair in case the motorized one fails. Therapy is sending home some weights for Matt to use and Airene ( my physiotherapist nanny) and I already have some exercises in mind. The best thing about us being there is we can do Matt's exercises whenever he feels good, not just at certain times of the day. So if he feels good at 10 pm, we can work on him at that time.
Mom says they have 5 huge bags worth of stuff for Matt, so dad has to take some of it home in his truck. And they also have to take a manual wheelchair in case the motorized one fails. Therapy is sending home some weights for Matt to use and Airene ( my physiotherapist nanny) and I already have some exercises in mind. The best thing about us being there is we can do Matt's exercises whenever he feels good, not just at certain times of the day. So if he feels good at 10 pm, we can work on him at that time.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
We Have Found A Van
Finally we have found a van big enough to transport Matthew. The original idea was to borrow a van from another quad patient, but it was just too small. They tried everything, but Matt would just not fit. Then he became very cold with all the maneuvering. So took awhile to warm up. Another quad patient was able to let us try out her old 1988 van, which will work. It is a bit of a gas guzzler, but it will work!! So it definitely sounds like Matt will be home on the 22nd of December. So now it is safe to tell everyone about a little get together they are planning for Matt at the skating rink in Porcupine There will be a hockey game between Kinistino and Porcupine, there will be a few silent auctions and raffles, and a dance afterwards. So mark December 29th on your calendar and be there at 7:30 p.m. For further information contact Dwayne Thorpe at 278-3163.
Matt didn't have the best day yesterday. Still not feeling well from the antibiotics so he didn't do well at rehab. They had a staff/patient Christmas party, but Matt was only able to atttend for a few minutes. That's alright Matt, you will make up for it when you go home.
I would like to write more but my computer is acting up an it has taken me 1/2 hour to write this, so will write more tonight.
Matt didn't have the best day yesterday. Still not feeling well from the antibiotics so he didn't do well at rehab. They had a staff/patient Christmas party, but Matt was only able to atttend for a few minutes. That's alright Matt, you will make up for it when you go home.
I would like to write more but my computer is acting up an it has taken me 1/2 hour to write this, so will write more tonight.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
A New Development
I realize Jacki had already written the blog tonight however I received a bit of news that she didn't know about. After dad had spoken to Jacki on the phone, I phoned because...well... I am nosy and like to have first hand knowledge of every day's happenings. Matt was so excited. He had just received a Grey Cup Jersey signed by all the team members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders!! Also a signed bandanna! He couldn't believe it. Apparently, one of the nurses from ICU wrote a letter to the Riders explaining Matt's situation and asking what they could do. Their initial plan was to come and see Matt, however that didn't turn out but what they did was great! So a big thanks to all involved, and if any of the team members are in Saskatoon, swing by the City hospital for a visit. Will take pictures over the holidays to put on the blog.
A little unwell...
Matt had an OK day. Because he has a urinary tract infection, he's back on antibiotics which always make him sick (started on the pills yesterday which partly explains his nausea yesterday as well). Also, they did x-rays today which showed that Matt hasn't had proper bowel movements, and is a little "full". They've started him on medicine (oral fleet) which will help clear that up as well.
Despite the above issues, he still had a pretty good day. He was in and out of his chair about 3 times which is great. I remember when he used to battle when he was encouraged to get in his chair just once for about 1/2 hour. Now he asks to be in his chair so he can scope out the floor, go down to ICU and visit with his former nurses. By the way, he did go to RUH on Sunday for about 2 hrs to visit the staff there. I guess the staff were sure excited to see Matt, and how well he is doing. Anyway, he had a good rehab session where they mostly worked at transferring. Because he's getting stronger, they no longer need 3 people to transfer him. They need to use 2 people right now, but he's getting closer to just 1. Please pray that Matt will continue to strengthen his upper body to assist in this technique and so that he can eventually do this on his own. 1 John 5:14 "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
Despite the above issues, he still had a pretty good day. He was in and out of his chair about 3 times which is great. I remember when he used to battle when he was encouraged to get in his chair just once for about 1/2 hour. Now he asks to be in his chair so he can scope out the floor, go down to ICU and visit with his former nurses. By the way, he did go to RUH on Sunday for about 2 hrs to visit the staff there. I guess the staff were sure excited to see Matt, and how well he is doing. Anyway, he had a good rehab session where they mostly worked at transferring. Because he's getting stronger, they no longer need 3 people to transfer him. They need to use 2 people right now, but he's getting closer to just 1. Please pray that Matt will continue to strengthen his upper body to assist in this technique and so that he can eventually do this on his own. 1 John 5:14 "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
Monday, December 17, 2007
A big day
Today, Matt had about 3 hrs of rehab. Maybe a bit too much as he got tired, then didn't want to eat lunch because he felt nauseous, then he had to have gravel. This caused him to sleep from 3pm until 6pm - but once 7pm came along he ate all his supper from the hospital, plus poached eggs courtesy of dad.
Rehab highlights - He has a different therapist today who has a slightly different approach then some of the others, and wanted to see all he could do. She then tried 2 new exercises: 1) She got him sitting up on the mat, then lifted the mat hydraulically so that his feet were just barely above the floor. Then she asked him to straighten out his leg so it would be parallel with the floor. Matt was able to lift each leg one at a time almost level (about 2/3 extension), hold it for a couple seconds, and then back to the floor. Awesome job Matt! 2) She had him lie down on his back with his knees up, and his heels on the bed. Then she moved his legs apart, and he could pull them back together again. Praise God that his quadriceps and his groin muscles are working!!!! Phil 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"
Matt continues to play cards - once someone shuffles for him, he uses his right hand to deal out the cards, put his cards in his holder, play out the cards, and move his own pegs. Also, he has started to go daily to the community computer on the floor to read people's comments. Thanks so much for your support and prayers as Matt continues his recovery.
A very rewarding day!
Rehab highlights - He has a different therapist today who has a slightly different approach then some of the others, and wanted to see all he could do. She then tried 2 new exercises: 1) She got him sitting up on the mat, then lifted the mat hydraulically so that his feet were just barely above the floor. Then she asked him to straighten out his leg so it would be parallel with the floor. Matt was able to lift each leg one at a time almost level (about 2/3 extension), hold it for a couple seconds, and then back to the floor. Awesome job Matt! 2) She had him lie down on his back with his knees up, and his heels on the bed. Then she moved his legs apart, and he could pull them back together again. Praise God that his quadriceps and his groin muscles are working!!!! Phil 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"
Matt continues to play cards - once someone shuffles for him, he uses his right hand to deal out the cards, put his cards in his holder, play out the cards, and move his own pegs. Also, he has started to go daily to the community computer on the floor to read people's comments. Thanks so much for your support and prayers as Matt continues his recovery.
A very rewarding day!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
A normal weekend
As most of you know, Matt doesn't have any physio or planned activities on the weekends, but he was busy none the less as he had lots of company. This is appreciated so much as it helps to pass the time more quickly until Monday when he starts his hard work again (just like a regular work week!). I wasn't able to talk to dad today, so I'm not sure if anything out of the ordinary occurred. However, I did speak to my mom who talked to dad earlier in the day. They had planned to go to RUH to see his old nurses, but I'm not sure if they did or not. Will let you know tomorrow.
As for our Christmas plans, please pray that God will continue to lay the pathway for Matt to be able to go home to Weekes for the week. We will find out Tuesday whether or not we will have a van or not. Mr. Paul Gustafson (not sure if we're related or not), the paraplegic from Saskatoon who speaks at the hospital has told us we could borrow his old van as long as his new one is delivered on Tuesday. We are praying that his van is delivered on time as this had been a major obstacle for Matt getting home. Also pray that Matt's health continues to be strong for the week so that there are no setbacks in that area. Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."
As for our Christmas plans, please pray that God will continue to lay the pathway for Matt to be able to go home to Weekes for the week. We will find out Tuesday whether or not we will have a van or not. Mr. Paul Gustafson (not sure if we're related or not), the paraplegic from Saskatoon who speaks at the hospital has told us we could borrow his old van as long as his new one is delivered on Tuesday. We are praying that his van is delivered on time as this had been a major obstacle for Matt getting home. Also pray that Matt's health continues to be strong for the week so that there are no setbacks in that area. Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him."
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