Josh is golfing!!

Why didn't I think of this before???  I enrolled Josh in the "Golf for the Physically Challenged" program at Sharp Rehab with PGA Pro John Klein.  Today was our first day and Josh did great!  We went to an executive course in San Diego called Four Points Sheraton and met several other guys who had brain injuries.  John, the Pro, took Josh under his wing and worked with his balance to get Josh comfortable with swinging the golf club.  First they went to the chipping and putting green and worked on the basics.  

I was extremely happy to learn that Josh does, indeed, have good balance.  Although I was instructed by the Sharp Rehab therapists to bring the gait belt for balance, I soon learned that Josh did not need a belt.  After working with John for a while, Josh was soon chipping and putting on his own.  After practicing for a while, off we went to play our first hole of golf.  Josh did great!!   He got a six on his first hole.  Not bad for a kid who has been in a coma for two months and who hasn't picked up a club in over 8 months.  GO JOSHY!!!!!  We will be coming every Saturday and working with John.  He is  a wonderful guy who is dedicated to helping the "physically challenged" get back in the swing of things.  Thanks, John, you are a class act!!!

It was wonderful to have Josh on the golf course concentrating so hard and listening so intently  to John.  It gave me a break from Josh's constant questioning....  "Mom, where's Dad?"  "Mom, when am I going back to school?"  "Mom, what day is it?"  "Mom, is it still summer?"  This constant questioning is very common with brain injuries.  It is called "perseveration".  After fifteen minutes of the same question, you're ready to reach for the gun.  Josh will be sleeping and will suddenly shout out - "Mom, what day is it????"  It is something else...   the wonderful world of the brain injured.....  

Last weekend we went to the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation meeting at Scripps in Encinitas and Josh won the raffle - a tee shirt with their logo.  After the meeting, Josh said, "I hate these people!"  It cracked me up.  He is so funny.  He truly drives me nuts, but he makes me laugh at the same time.  Whenever a survivor meets Josh and learns that his injury occurred on 3/28/07, they always say, "Wow, he's come a long way.  That is truly incredible!"  This makes me feel so good.  I feel like it has been an eternity!!!  I always let them know about the hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the fact that Josh has had close to 70 treatments!!!!   I know this helped Josh tremendously!   THANKS, MIKE!!

Our biggest challenge is Josh's short term memory.  He will watch an entire Charger game, scream and yell and understand all the plays....then when it's over, it's gone from his mind.  He'll cruise the channels looking for the game when he just watched the entire game from start to finish!!!!  Isn't that amazing???

Josh is on his fifth day of medicine for Alzheimer's.  We are trying it to see if it makes a difference....  Let's hope so.  I understand that Namenda, the drug that Josh is on, has no negative side effects so we are trying it.   I did just learn from a brain injury consultant that there is a natural antioxidant that is supposed to work on short term memory and that is called pycnogenol.  It is a vegetarian sourced antioxidant from the French maritime pine bark.  I will start Josh on this antioxidant on Monday after consulting with Dr. Stenehjem.  I have a brain injury consultant who likes me - Pedro Leon.  He is an extremely knowledgable guy.  He says he'll give me all the free advice I want if I take him to lunch once in a while .... not a bad offer.  I took him to a late Friday afternoon lunch at Los Cabos and we wined and dined and talked for three hours about brain injuries.  He has clients all over the globe....

I have also enrolled Josh in a weight training class on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Sharp Rehab gym.  I hired a guy to work out with Josh - a guy named Christopher who was recommended to me by a girlfriend.  He is pretty cool.  He is a tall guy who used to play pro basketball for some Australian team.  He has dual citizenship and is very interesting and kind. 

I am particularly excited about Josh golfing again!!  We look forward to going next week!  Chris and Bruce are coming for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It will be wonderful to  see them again.  CONGRATULATIONS TO ANGIE for getting her surgery overwith!!!  LOVE TO EVERYONE WHO READS THIS BLOG!    HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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Josh is extremely happy these days!

Josh is always laughing.  He is so happy these days.  He wakes up happy.  He's happy all day long -- he goes along with whatever I say.  I say, "Josh, go brush your teeth."  He says, "Okay, Mom."   I say, "Josh, go get dressed and get ready for therapy."  He says, "Okay, Mom,"  I say, "Josh, drink this glass of water to flush out your system."  He says, "Okay, Mom."   He is just the most pleasant kid you can imagine.  He's such a team player.   He participates willingly in all of his therapies.  It's interesting...  Pedro Leon, the physical therapist consultant that I am thinking of hiring, says, "Just wait...this will change..."

We continue to write in Josh's memory book every day telling him what day it is and what his schedule is for the day.  Josh still continuously throughout the day asks about Jerry.  "Where's Dad, Mom?"  "Did he really die?"  "Why?"   I even drove Josh to the cemetery, dragged Josh up the steep hill where Jerry's gravesite is  and showed it to Josh.  Josh looks at it and says, "Oh, wow!"  Josh remembered having gone to the cemetery and seeing the gravesite for about half an hour!!  This was a big deal for Josh since his short term memory is normally less than a minute.  Later on that afternoon Josh had no recollection of going to the cemetery.  He would read what I wrote in his memory book and say, "We didn't go to the cemetery today."  It's crazy... 

Josh's new thing is reading his high school yearbook.  He now asks me, "Why aren't I going to college?  When am I going back?"  This is a good thing, isn't it?   It is so strange....sometimes Josh thinks he's still a senior at Torrey Pines and Natalie is 13...  Other times he is "with it".  He knows he is 20 and knows Natalie is 17.  But when Natalie takes off and gets in the car to drive, Josh can't believe she has her license.  "Mom, Natalie is driving and she doesn't have her license!".....   I think with time things will fall into place.

Josh is on no meds at all.  Contrary to what the doctors say about brain injuries, Josh never sleeps in the day.  He never takes naps and will stay up all night if you lethim.  Josh is constantly asking about time.  He'll be sitting on the john and he'll scream out, "Mom, what day is it?  What month is it?  Am I going to school today?"   It's wild.

Josh's speech is still slurred.  He runs all the words together.  Next week we are having more speech therapies than physical and occupational therapies combined.  I told the scheduler at Sharp that Josh needs speech therapy more than anything else.  It is frustrating when he talks and no one can understand him.  He continues to laugh his butt off.   When I tell him, "Josh, I can't understand a word you're saying!"  He just laughs...  I tell him to speak slowly....one word at a time...  

I enrolled Josh in this program called Cognition Ignition which is a cognitive remediation program successfully used in 70 countries as a tool for the enhancement of learning potential.  This guy, David Witkowski, swears he can get Josh's short term memory back.  Josh had one session and I really liked the guy.  He is animated and uses all kinds of different techniques.  The first thing he did was give Josh a series of pictures with dots all over the pages and asked Josh to find squares and triangles.  He said, "Josh, first connect the dots and make a square, then connect the dots and make a triangle."  The dots were not numbered.  Josh breezed through the exercises.  I guess the idea is to remember what to do first.  The exercises get progressively harder...  Then he would give Josh all these cards with pictures on them and ask him to make pairings, such as a knife and a loaf of bread, a saw and a piece of wood.  Josh breezed through this exercise as well.  As the hour came to a close, Josh was getting fatiqued and was messing up....   The method used is called Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment.  Everything is comprised of paper and pencil tasks aimed at specific cognitive goals.   I figure this method has to have some validity since it has been translated into 29 languages.  Who knows?  The guy had a big ad in the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation newsletter.  I'll try it.  Josh doesn't seem to mind.  The guy asked him if he had a good time after the session and Josh said, "Yeah, I did."....   

We're continuing with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.  We have two sessions next week.  We're trying everything! 

Hopefully next time you see Josh you'll be amazed as his improvement! 

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys about the wildfires!  How horrible was that???  We survived the fires unscathed, but we did have to evacuate.  I knew we were in big trouble Monday morning when smoke and soot were coming our way.  There was lots of soot which came into the house through the door and window cracks.  The air quality sucked.  We immediately got our stuff together and checked into the Beach Terrace Inn in Carlsbad on the water where the sky was blue and the air was clear.  I grabbed my wedding album, my mom's wedding album, some pictures of the kids and family, my insurance policy and estate file, a suitcase full of piano music and off we went.  Josh did amazingly well.  We stayed in the hotel three nights.  I was thinking, "Gosh, on top of all the crap we're going through with Josh, our house might burn down....I guess that's par for the course...."   We were lucky! 

 

   

Josh survived his four day stay at the Howard House

Memory impaired Josh can still play video games.  Can you see what it says in the lower left hand corner of the video screen?  1st!  Not bad, Josh...  Josh will play video games for a few hours at a time.  His fine motor skills are pretty good and video games work on your eye-hand coordination.  The other day Josh was sitting on the edge of the chair playing a video game when he crashed to the floor.  Of course, Josh was laughing his butt off.  He thinks everything is funny these days...  I wish his gross motor skills would improve faster.  It is very difficult to get Josh off the floor.  His body just doesn't know what to do... 

Josh survived his four days at the Howard House, but came home with a terrible cold.  I know he was stressing in there because he called me several times a day saying, "Mom, pick me up now..."  I told Josh to read the letter Natalie wrote to him in his memory book which said where he was staying and where I was going.  The staff at the Howard House is very kind.  Currently there are four guys living there.  When I went to pick Josh up one of the guys says to me, "Hey, what's your husband's name?"  I said, "My husband's name was Jerry."  The guy says, "Oh, did he pass on?"  I said, "Yeah, he did."  The guy says, "You know,  I only know three women named Jerry.  Nice to meet you, Jerry."    I said to him, "No, my name is Paula.  My husband's name was Jerry..."      He says, "Nice to meet you, Jerry.  Hope to see you soon."    Oh boy.....  

Another guy reminded me of Pee Wee Herman.  He was adorable, but had the mentality of a four year old.  He was so happy and animated.  He comes running up to me and starts hugging me and stroking my arms....  I didn't want to be rude, but he startled me.  I learned his name was John and that he now had an infatuation with birds!   He used to be a mechanical contractor with Solar Turbines and was in a violent car crash.  He and his wife were drunk.  She died on impact.  How sad is that!     I must say I never thought I would be a part of the brain-injury world. 

Josh was very happy to be leaving the Howard House.  He told me in the car on the way home, "Mom, thanks for coming to get me."   The next day, Josh says, "Mom, where did I sleep last night?"  I told him he slept in his own bed at home.  The memory thing continues to haunt me.  I think Josh knew he was some place different for a few days... 

We had an appointment with Dr. Stenehjem just before the Catalina trip and he thinks Josh is making slow, steady progress.  Dr. S said I could stop all medications for Josh, but not to do so until after the trip.   I asked Dr. S about a consultant that I was thinking of hiring to help get structure in Josh's life.  This guy, Pedro Leon, is a physical therapist that started a consulting business for families dealing with brain injuries.  He came to the house and did a formal assessment of Josh.  It took him three hours.  I need to read his report and all the paperwork which he sent me.  Dr. S said Pedro was excellent and would get structure in Josh's life.   He'd screen and train all the people I need.  I want to hire a guy to take Josh to the gym a few times a week and take him to the recreational therapy programs that Sharp has, like golf for the physically challenged...

I had Josh's hearing tested by Dr. Jackson, an ENT man.  Josh has  moderate hearing loss in both ears.  The right ear is worse.  He cannot hear some higher pitches.  I was wondering why he was constantly saying, "What?" in a very high tone.  The plan is to wait 6 weeks, have his hearing re-tested and then get hearing aids.  Last night when Natalie was talking to Josh and he continuously said, "What?" in that crazy high pitched voice, Natalie says, "Mom, I can't wait until Josh gets those hearing aids..."  It does drive you crazy.  I just hope Josh's hearing is not a degenerative thing.  I wouldn't think it would be... 

Today we have three outpatient therapies at Sharp.  This morning I am having a reflexologist caregiver come over to work on Josh.   Hopefully today Josh will make a monumental breakthrough!  That would be wonderful.

   

 

I AM LEAVING FOR CATALINA ISLAND THIS MORNING! NO JOSH FOR FOUR DAYS!

After more than six months of caring for Josh every single day, I am taking off for Catalina Island this morning to celebrate a girlfriend's 60th birthday!  We're going to the jazz festival.  I can't wait!!!  I need a break so desperately.

Last night Natalie and I took Josh to the Howard House in Escondido, a private home run by the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation.  There are only four patients there and it seems like a loving, caring place.  The director, Beth, is young and beautiful, kind and compassionate...  So, how bad can this experience be for Josh?  Beth is willing to take Josh to his three therapies at Sharp on Friday and Monday.  I think it's a good thing.  It's better than leaving Josh at home with caregivers who will let him eat all day.  At the Howard House, Josh will have structure which he needs.

We have a memory book for Josh which we write in every day which states what we're doing for the day.  I make Josh bring this with him when we get in the car so he can refer to it when he asks me 100 times where we're going.  Natalie said to me yesterday that Josh has a "17 second memory".  She says, "I timed it, Mom, and Josh can remember things for 17 seconds." 

I'll update the blog when I get home and tell you all the latest on Josh's most recent appointments with Dr. Stenehjem and his ear, nose and throat man, Dr. Jackson...

Josh looks great and is pretty good with his fine motor skills.  He can still play video games.  I'll put photos on the blog next time. 

See ya and thanks for reading the blog!

 

 

 

 

 

Auntie Helen, Uncle Mark and Carrie visit from Chicago and Marco Island

Josh who still "lives in the moment" had a great time with Uncle Mark, Auntie Helen and Carrie.  Josh was happy to see everyone.

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Josh particularly enjoyed himself with Uncle Mark. 

Uncle Mark was great with Josh.  He came with us to Josh's acupuncture appointment and spoke with Elisa, Josh's acupuncturist about the ancient Chinese remedy. 

Josh is a team player and participates willingly in his treatments.  These points on the ear stimulate the brain.  We're trying to get Josh's short term memory back.

You can see the acupuncture needles in Josh's head and hands.  They don't hurt once they are placed appropriately in the right spot.  Josh is a great patient!

Hopefully something miraculous will happen soon because I am getting weary...  Unfortunately there is no magic pill to get Josh back to what he once was.  The good news is that we started speech therapy and hopefully will get in 50 sessions before the end of the year.  I am pushing and fighting for what Josh is entitled to under our health insurance plan.  Everything is a fight.  I walked into Sharp a few days ago and was told by one of the administrators that I would have to start paying for his outpatient therapies --  $140 an hour times 9 times a week  --  $1260 a week.  Wow...  I was upset.    After speaking with her, I made several phone calls and learned that this was not correct.  So all is good at the moment.  I am pushing for those 50 hours of speech therapy before the end of the year.  I think Josh is going to do very well with his speech therapist - a guy named Lance who is very cool and relates well with Josh. 

Physically, Josh is coming along.  His balance is improving.  He is still a fall risk and needs supervision around the clock.  I am sick of sleeping on the air mattress in his room, but everytime I try to sleep in my own bed, the dogs follow me to my room and Josh yells for the dogs over and over until you want to shoot yourself.    "Ruffy, Daisy, Ruffy, Daisy, Ruffy, Daisy."  So, I just give in and sleep on the air mattress. 

Elsie, his nurse, is leaving on Tuesday morning.  So, Josh will be getting a new caregiver.  Hopefully she will be as good as Elsie.  Maybe she will be better!  That would be great.  I need a lucky break - someone firm, but kind, someone who is willing to do some exercises with Josh both physically and mentally.  Lance will be giving Josh homework to do.  He needs mental stimulation and structure.  I get upset when I think of him just hanging out all day when he doesn't have therapies and walking to the refrigerator every ten minutes.  What kind of life is that for a 20 year old kid?   I looked into the Napa Institute in Los Angeles which is a great place that provides 6 hours of intensive physical therapy a day.  No place around here does that.  I spoke at length with the owner whose daughter has a brain injury.  He said, "You will see results.  The program consists of 6 hours a day in a gym for 15 straight days  with skilled physical therapists.  His mind will improve and his body will definitely change..."  The problem is it is out-patient and I would have to live in the corporate living quarters.  Caregivers are not provided.  After thinking about his program, I decided that I could get the same thing here.  I'd just have to do more running around. 

Josh still has severe short term memory deficits.  I need to really pick Dr. Stenehjem's brain and ask specific questions next time I see him.  I want to know what I can expect.  I want to be reassured that he will improve and get better.  The big mystery and incredible source of horrible anxiety for me is HOW MUCH BETTER....  It has been six months since the injury.  They say to give it two years...    I am trying to stay positive, but sometimes, like today, I am overwhelmingly sad.

On a good note, Carrie took us to her friends' restaurants, Savory in Encinitas and The Lodge at Torrey Pines.  We brought Josh with us and he did great!  He still has his gourmet tastes.  Carrie's friends, especially Jeff, were wonderful and hospitable, generous and kind.   They really roll out the red carpet for Carrie! 

I want to thank Carrie for bringing Josh a monogrammed Four Seasons robe.  Hopefully when Josh gets better, we can all laugh about how he thought he was at the Four Seasons when he was at Sharp Rehab...  Josh is such a character - a high roller like his Dad.  Also, Carrie, thanks for my Kiehl's products and Natalie's beautiful headband!  

Also, thanks, Uncle Mark, for going through Josh's football and baseball cards and picking out the pricey ones!  Auntie Helen, thanks for playing Black Jack with Josh and hanging out.  We had fun!  Natalie really enjoyed herself !

 

       

 

 

Josh is home and we're all adjusting...

The Lawrence family visits Josh...  That's Josh's buddy, Kyle, on the right.  He called 911 on that infamous morning.   

Josh is happy to be home after spending over five months in hospitals.  He has no recollection of those five months due to post-traumatic stress amnesia....but I suppose that's a good thing.  Who wants to remember being on live support and fighting for your life?

The first thing Josh did when he walked into the house was say, "Wow, this looks just like our house..."  I said, "Josh, look around...that's a picture of us on the wall."  He then says, "Wow, this IS our house."  How brilliant is that! 

We're getting into the routine of being an outpatient at Sharp Rehab.  He has about fifteen hours of out-patient therapy per week.  It takes a long time to get it together to go out the door and be on time.  It's S L O W.  To make a 9 a.m. appointment, we have to get up at 7 a.m.  We have to get Josh out of bed, on his feet, to the bathroom, to the kitchen table for breakfast, back to the bathroom, into the bedroom to get dressed, then down the stairs and into the car.....     I sleep on an air mattress in Josh's room so I can help him get up in the middle of the morning to use the bathroom and also to keep a watch so he doesn't fall.  He has already fallen twice on the watch of a clueless caregiver.  Caring for Josh is MAJOR.  I feel old and tired...

Elsie is the best nurse and caregiver anyone could ask for.  However, she can't work 24/7 with no breaks.  She sleeps on an air mattress in the family room, close by.  She is extremely efficient and helpful.  She took a few days off and we had this clueless caregiver that claimed she was a nurse with experience in brain injuries.  We soon learned that this was all untrue.  She was pathetic.  I was wondering why she would just kind of stand by and let me do everything.  One morning we were on our way to therapy and I noticed Josh's knuckles were bleeding on both hands.  I knew he had fallen.  I confronted her and she says he slipped when they were walking down the stairs.  She also said, "He pushed me and I am more injured than he is."  Josh was holding his shoulder and I looked under his shirt and noticed that it, too, was bruised and bleeding.  I was livid!  We arrived at Sharp Rehab and I had the occupational therapist check him out thoroughly.  She said he was just a bit swollen, but nothing was broken. 

Later on that evening, I went out with some friends and Natalie was home doing her homework at the kitchen table.  Natalie calls me and says, "Mom, Josh wants to use the bathroom and the caregiver is asleep on the couch...."      So, needless to say we got rid of that gal.  Elsie is back and we're thankful!  I think the plan is to have Elsie 4 days and another gal named Celeste three days.  We'll see how everything works out.

I am looking into other options for Josh such as a place called Learning Services in Escondido which is a more structured environment specializing in integrating brain injured patients back into society.  However, that place was pretty low level.  I checked it out and it was so overwhelmingly sad....   There is another place called the Howard House which I will check out.  Josh has only been home less than 2 weeks, so we have to wait things out and see how he does.  It is just so much work, even with a full time nurse! 

I can't wait until Josh starts speech therapy.  He needs it so badly.  He slurs all his words together and talks so fast.  It is very difficult to understand him.  Yesterday when I got home, Elsie said Josh answered the phone which was a first!  I looked at the caller id and noticed that Joyce had called.  Of course, Josh has no recollection of the conversation, but Elsie said they talked for about 5 minutes!  That's a start...but I am sure Joyce had no idea what he was saying.  I can understand him because I am with him so much.  Hopefully with time and therapy his speech will improve.  He reads well and understands.

Auntie Helen, Uncle Mark and Carrie are coming to visit.  That will be fun.  Josh and Natalie will really enjoy that.  You guys are definitely staying in our house.  Uncle Mark and Auntie Helen can sleep in the master bedroom since I sleep on the air mattress in Josh's room which believe it or not is comfortable.  Carrie will sleep upstairs in the guest room.  So that's settled.  Also Gina Davis is having a fundraiser at the Four Seasons Aviara so I got us tickets to that event.  It's called See Jane and it's always a blast.  They'll be comedians there and you'll get to meet Gina Davis.  She is quite cool! 

JOSH GOES HOME AFTER MORE THAN FIVE MONTHS IN HOSPITALS!!

Josh poses with Ed, one of his favorite nursing assistants as he is being wheeled through the garden and to the car.  Josh is through with sleeping  in this place.  He'll sleep in his own bed tonight after sleeping in hospital beds for more than five months!  How about that one?   We're not through with Sharp Rehab....we'll be back for outpatient therapies on Tuesday.

Josh poses with Joan, his nurse and nursing assistants as he is wheeled out of the hospital.  The gal with the light blue pants and black top is Elsie, the nurse we hired to take care of Josh at home.  She is darling.

Josh is so happy to be leaving the hospital and poses happily with Joan, his nurse.  All his stuff is packed up and ready to go.

 

HOME AT LAST!

On Saturday, September 1st at 11:00 a.m., we left the hospital and headed home with our new nurse, Elsie.  Josh immediately perked up as we got closer to our house.  He recognized all the freeway signs and was so happy to see the Del Mar Heights Road exit and the Via de la Valle exit.  He was talking non-stop...reading all the freeway signs outloud as we got closer and closer.  I said, "Hey Josh, which way do we go?"  He said, "Take a right on Via de la Valle."  I said, "Which way is that east or west?"  He says in a sarcastic tone, "East."  Josh knows where he lives.

We get home and get Josh up the stairs.  That was a bit of a struggle because his sense of space is still off and he doesn't always put his feet flat on the stairs... When he walked into the house, he says, "This looks just like our house."  I said, "Josh, look at the picture of us on the wall..."  He then says, "This IS our house."  He was laughing.  The dogs were barking and Josh was happy!! 

I had actually gone grocery shopping and stocked up the frig for the big event.  Josh hung out in the family room and watched ESPN and the Padres baseball channel all day.  He yelled out Ruffy and Daisy a thousand times... We sat at the kitchen table and had lunch and dinner.  Natalie was happy that the frig was finally well stocked.   She had her friends over and they made turkey sandwiches and ate watermelon.  

I had filled Josh's prescriptions on Friday night.  He is down to two medicines only -- an anti-seizure pill and Adavan.  He is supposed to take one of each every eight hours. I must say that Dr. Stenehjem did an excellent job in weaning Josh from the morphine and all of his other medicines.  Josh was on a laundry list of meds at one time.  Slowly and skillfully Dr. S weaned him from the opiates, the beta-blockers and the blood pressure medicines.  Thanks, Dr. S., you're the best!  You're fine-tuning Josh.

I decided to skip the mid-day dosage of Adavan the first day.  Then, it was 11:00 p.m. and Josh was wired.   We finished watching the USC football game and Josh was reading every score on the screen.  He said he wasn't tired and wanted to stay up.  Elsie and I were exhausted.  We finally got Josh in bed.  We all slept in his room the first night.   I bought a couple of air mattresses for convenience.  You can put them anywhere and they're pretty comfortable.  We made it through the first night.  Josh was unscathed!  He is still a fall risk and needs supervision 24/7... the joys of a brain injury.   As time goes on, he'll get steadier and stronger.  I just hope he stays as happy as he is.  He is so sweet and agreeable.  He's transformed!!!   I imagine as time goes on and he continues to wake up cognitively, he'll become frustrated, especially with the short term memory limitations.  You can only take one day at a time. 

I am happy to be home.  I am thrilled to have found Elsie.  She is efficient and kind -- extremely attentive.  I told her Josh is her only concern.  His safely and well-being come first.  I found Elsie through a service which was started by a gal who used to be the head rehab nurse at Sharp.  What more can I ask for! 

On Sunday, we went to hbot.  Josh was in a great mood.  Elsie, Josh and I went out for submarine sandwiches after hbot.  Josh always comes out of the chamber starving as it burns through your blood sugar quickly.  I notice that Josh is no longer acting wired and crazy after hbot.  He used to confabulate amazing stories about this and that - watching fights and insisting on going to supporting events.  Now, he gets out of the chamber and he's pretty cool...   I hope that continues.   

Tomorrow we start outpatient therapy at Sharp.  I think things are looking up!