Day 5

Today was another day of improvement! A few things are standing out in my mind! First of all,on the evening of Day 4 Skip was doing something that surprised us all! When Annie and Michelle were with him, Skip somehow was asking for a pen and paper! Skip started writing at first in a Vertical, Top to bottom fashion, then he started doing it correctly! He started making a list of things to do...then he wrote his name and a few other things. These things ranged from Jack Kerry (whom we thought he was trying to write John Kerry), to calling people, etc. Nonetheless we were encouraged that his mind and brain are as intact as they are! We spoke to the nurse and she said he's trying to get things out of his mind, they just aren't coming out as he intends them to! As a result of this, we spoke to another Neurologist who mentioned that it may be best to stick with yes and no questions because he wont get frustrated.
So again on the morning of Day 5 Skip was asking for a pen and paper and we got him writing again but stopped shortly after he became a bit frustrated! Later in the morning the speech therapist had come by to assess Skips' ability to swallow, unfortunately he was very tired and we were unable to perform the test. We are hopeful that he will be able to swallow so that we can begin to have him start eating and to avoid a feeding tube. So he will be having another swallow test on Saturday.
Some other highlights of the day were when Dave Howarth, Skips longtime partner and associate came by for a visit. Skip truly enjoyed seeing Dave and Dave was very excited to visit with Skip! Dave is welcomed into our family as a member and also views Skip as a second father!
We learned more about the type of Stroke that Skip had, and now know it occurred in the Basal Ganglia portion of the brain! The assessment of Recovery is tough to say, as we are still in the critical stages but will learn more when the bleeding and Swelling stop and go away!
We are constantly working with Skip and making sure he remains patient and positive! During the later time of the day, Skip was very awake and attentive to everyone! It was too bad that they didn't do the swallow test as I'm sure he would've done well! Skip opened his mouth very well and was able to stich out his tongue much better than any attempt so far! I'm needing to go but ill finish up on the day shortly! As an FYI....the day went really good around the time that Lisa and Annie were there!!! More to come...