East Coast Cousins Bob, Lora, Al and Robert visit Josh

Josh looks pretty pale next to Bob.   

Josh shows off on the treadmill while Bob, Lora, Al and Robert watch.  Here's Josh and Erin, PT, working out at the gym at Sharp.  Josh kept pressing the button to speed up the treadmill.  Erin had her finger on the off button and finally had to shut off the machine...  She was afraid Josh would get slammed into the wall.  Josh was in a great mood. 

Bob was talking to Josh about golf and who had the longest drive.  Josh, of course, said he did and that he could hit the ball 300 yards.  They talked sports.  Bob had some pretty good advice for me.  He said, "Forget about watching movies, put on the games, watch sports tv...this is what Josh is all about... make Josh read the sports section, have him check out the standings...everyday."  Bob grabs the newspaper, opens it up to the sports section and has Josh read the standings.  "What place are the Padres in, Josh?"  Josh studies the tiny print for a minute or two and replies, "second place."  (Padre fans, this was several days ago...)  "Who is in second place, Josh.?"  Josh says, "Arizona Diamondbacks."   Bob says, "Hey, I think the game is on now.  Put on the game. So, we put on the game and watched the Padres. Josh was into it.   So, now when I go home for the day, ESPN is on or Padres baseball.  Good advice, Bob!

Bob and I took Josh for his hyperbaric treatment on Tuesday in the convertible.  Josh did well.  He gets a little wired and crazy after the treatment.  After we got back to the hospital, Josh says, "Hey, Mom, where has Dad been?"  Oh boy....  All these thoughts come rushing into his head and he gets a bit discombobulated after hbot.  I said, "Josh, Dad died."  Josh starts laughing hysterically like I was nuts...  Then, I started laughing and we left it at that...  

Speaking of people getting discombobulated after hbot, I have seen little kids come out of the chamber and literally bounce off the walls.  One kid came out of the chamber, walked over to a glass partition, put both hands on the partition and started shaking it violently.  They have all this crazy energy.  Then, they settle down.  I was thinking of going into the chamber, but after a treatment, I might get out and choke somebody.  Then, I'd go to jail and Josh would be out of luck...  Actually jail might be more fun than this...

Josh had his first acupuncture session at the hospital and he did really well.  He was a real team player and was very aware of what was happening.  He is so agreeable these days...  During the treatment, he said, "How many needles do I have in me total?"  Elisa, the acupuncturist, said "16 needles."  Josh says, "Wow...how many do I have in my head?"  Elisa says "4 on your scalp."  Elisa told Josh she was going to turn the needles and stimulate various points on the head.  Josh says, "okay".   He's so incredibly sweet...the new and improved Josh!  

I was very impressed with Elisa.  She said Josh was very healthy and had a good constitution.   I like the fact that acupuncture restores balance back to the body and influences a life force that flows along various meridians which are channels of energy that run longitudinally in the body.  We obviously want to increase Josh's brain function.  We know that with pain acupuncture works by increasing the brain's production of natural painkillers called endorphins. We'll get Josh's yin and yang  back on track...   After the treatment, I noticed that Josh was more aware of his surroundings.  He started asking a bunch of questions... He looks out the window and says, "What building is that?"  I tell him it's part of the hospital and he nods.  He says, "What does 'que te mejores' mean?",  looking at the poster on his wall that his Spanish professor put together that all the kids signed.  I tell him it means get better.  He nods.  He seemed pretty peaceful and accepting.   That's a good thing....

Josh is now off of all morphine as well as the anti-Parkinson's drugs.  The anti-Parkinson's drugs were making him irritable.  Who needs that?  Today we have a meeting with Dr. S and the full staff.  I'll keep you posted!

  

No more wheelchair van for Josh. He prefers the Mercedes convertible!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Today  we went downtown in the convertible for Josh's oxygen treatment.    We practiced with Erin, his physical therapist, getting Josh in and out of the car.  Josh did great!  We walked to the car, got in and drove off.  Josh sat next to me and checked out the scenery.  He looked a bit confused, but did extremely well.  He asked where we were going and I told him, "We're going downtown for an oxygen treatment."  Josh says, "Okay".  He's pretty agreeable these days....

Once we arrived at San Diego Hyperbarics, Bob Sands had an entourage of doctors there.  Bob is so thrilled with Josh's progress.  He boasts about Josh to all his colleagues and they wanted to see for themselves "the wonder boy".  I met Dr. Cummins who spoke to my brother, Mike, several times when Josh was in a deep coma at University Medical Center in Tucson.  He is doing his fellowship in hyperbaric medicine at UCSD.  Mike had called Dr. Cummins a few times to see if they would get Josh in a hyperbaric chamber at UCSD.  UCSD would not treat Josh as traditional hospitals do not use hyperbaric oxygen therapy for anoxic brain injuries.  Dr. Cummins wanted to check out San Diego Hyperbarics since he had never been there.  I shot the breeze with Dr. Cummins when Josh was gettting his treatment.  There were two other doctors present when Josh got out of the chamber.  They all watched as Josh stood up and walked to the chair.  Bob gave Josh a bottled water and he guzzled it down.  Bob says, "You don't mind, Paula, if I tell these guys about Josh, do you? "  I said "No, I don't mind at all."  Bob tells the guys about Josh being in a coma and coming by ambulance for his oxygen treatments in early May.  He tells them how he progressed from coming in an ambulance to coming by wheelchair van.  And today, Josh walked into the place! 

Josh was sitting in the chair, taking this all in....  Josh then says, "When do I get my treatment?"  I said, "Josh, you just had your treatment..."  Josh looks a bit puzzled.  I tell him not to worry about a thing that he is just having trouble remembering things.  Everything will be okay in time.  We walk out of the place, get in the car and head back to Sharp Rehab. 

It's interesting.  Once Josh is standing up and gets his balance, he starts walking really fast.  I am trying to break him of the habit of learning forward with his upper chest.  I constantly remind him to pinch his shoulders back and look up so as not to fall forward.  He's getting it.  Once we arrive back at the hospital, Josh gets situated in a sitting position in his bed and tells me to call room service....he's hungry....   After I call the kitchen to order Josh's dinner I say, "Hey, Josh, did you enjoy riding in the car today?"  I was expecting him to say, "I didn't ride in any car today."  Instead, Josh says, "Yeah, I did."  I say "Josh, you remembered!  That's great!"  Josh looks at me like I am crazy and says, "That was only ten minutes ago, why wouldn't I remember?"

  

Josh gets a visit from Daisy ...

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Today I had the brilliant idea of bringing Daisy to visit Josh...so off we went.  Daisy is not the sharpest tool in the shed and I was afraid she would jump out of the car as we sped down the freeway.  But all went well.  She made it to the hospital unscathed and Josh was thrilled to see her! 

He was pretty happy for a while, but then all he said was, "Mom, let's go.  Mom, let's get out of here.  Let's go HOME."  That was pretty sad.  Finally I had Natalie leave with Daisy.  She was two minutes gone when I said to Josh, "Hey, Joshy, did you enjoy seeing Daisy today?"  Josh says, "I didn't see Daisy today...."  I asked him the question hoping he would remember.  This short term memory thing is killing me.  I mean it's bad.  It's worse than "Ten Second Tom" in 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore.  At least Tom was articulate and could walk and take care of himself....       It has to get better.  Dr. S warned me not to "test" him like that.  But, it's hard not to.  You just want everything to be okay.  You want to see a monumental breakthrough.  But it's not like that...  "it's not a sprint, it's a marathon."  I am truly sick of that statement and actually it is not even true.  It's not a marathon.  It's more like a long journey with crazy detours and mazes which lead you down paths of despair and anquish to test your endurance...  it's hard to stay positive ...

Shortly after Natalie left with Daisy, Josh fell fast asleep...so I zippered him up in his Posey Bed and left.  He looked beautiful and peaceful.  I hope he heals while he sleeps...  They say the brain heals while you sleep.  

I'm ready to go to Bora Bora... 

 

 

I am just beside myself with grief. 

 

Josh laughs so hard tears roll down his eyes!

Mike Nunez and Josh share a laugh.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Mike Nunez, Reliable's #1 salesman, came to visit Josh today.  He started telling Josh funny stories about Reliable Pipe and Josh laughed so hard tears rolled down his eyes.  Mike was making fun of all of Reliable's employees and Josh thought it was hysterical...  I haven't seen Josh laugh like that since the accident.  They say laughter is the best medicine!   

Cathy and Zach visit Josh

Monday, August 6, 2007

Cathy and Zach, our Chicago cousins, arrived in town last Thursday.  This picture was taken yesterday in Josh's room at Sharp Rehab.  Zach went to the baseball game with Natalie. 

Josh continues to make slow, steady progress.  Physically he is doing pretty well.  He is walking alot more and is pretty steady on his feet. 

On Saturday, on the way back from hbot while he was in the wheelchair, Josh unbuckled his seat belt, went to stand up and went down head first in the van.  Luckily he caught himself with his left arm and only scraped his knee and jammed his left hand.  He was laughing and said he was okay but I was a nervous wreck asking him repeatedly if he hit his head.  Fifteen minutes later, Josh had no recollection of even falling.  He says, "Mom, what happened to my knee?"  This short term memory thing is killing me...  

In Josh's case, this short term memory loss is due to damage suffered to the hippocampus.  Earlier in the day, while Josh was in the oxygen chamber, I was reading one of Bob Sand's books called The Mind and the Brain, Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Dr. Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Sharon Begley.  They describe the hippocampus as an "unassuming little structure" involved in the formation of memories.  The back of the right hippocampus stores a mental map of the environment.  For example,  a person walks into Sharp Rehab Hospital and knows they are in the hospital.  Josh does not know he is in the hospital because that part of the brain that stores a mental map of the environment took a hit when he was without oxygen.    Hopefully he will get it back with time because new neurons can grow in the hippocampus.  It is called neurogenesis and newly generated neurons are associated with the ability to acquire memories.  So, there is hope for Josh.  Some study was done with mice which showed that new neurons could grow in the hippocampus as a result of mice exercising on a wheel in an "enriched" environment, i.e., mice that were not merely placed in a cage but in an outdoor environment with trees and plants.  So, maybe we'll put Josh on an exercise bike in the great outdoors and see what happens....  

Zach, Cathy, Josh and I played Texas Hold 'Em a few days ago and Josh won several times.  The only thing is Josh has lost his "poker face".  If you deal him a couple of aces, he yells out "Oh, wow!!"  I'll have to bring Josh one of his treatises on the psychology of playing poker...