Making Progress...yay!

       Today was a good day for the most part for Prissy! She did an awesome job today with transferring in and out of the car. Today we made some changes that made the transfer easier! She did it really well and I was even able to do it well enough that her therapist and doctors may grant her a pass out for a couple of hours on Sunday! I felt really comfortable aiding her in her transfer; but at this point I am the only one in the family who has helped her and saw how the therapist did it. I am pretty sure that at some point; other members of the family will be able to attend therapy sessions to learn also. Some of the changes the therapist made were:

• placing a wheelchair cushion onto the seat of the car to give her some extra height
• placing a sheet on top of the cushion so that whoever is assisting her can grab hold of it and help pull her out of the car.
• They lined her transfer board so that it would not be as slippery.
• Lastly, one of the aide's made leg straps for my Scilla to aid in lifting her legs into the car; since they are really heavy for her to lift alone currently.

     Prissy did so well in practicing her transfer that the security man even commented that today was the best she has done since we have been practicing. So way to go Prissy! You did an awesome job and I was sooo proud today.

ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS: GETTING LEFT LEG IN CAR AND GETTING SUPPORT SLIDING IN.

GETTING OUT OF THE CAR AFTER FIRST ATTEMPT

ALMOST IN THE CAR ON 2ND ATTEMPT

RESTING AFTER THE HARD WORK OF GETTING IN THE CAR. YOU CAN SEE HER SLIDING AND THE SHEET AND LEG STRAPS. 

        

Still trying hard...

   Today was an okay day for Priscilla. She is getting frustrated with trying to achieve some of her therapy goals. Getting into the car is easier for her than getting out. The past two days she has practiced transferring in and out of the car, but today she was in a lot of pain afterwards.  In her frustration she wanted to give up and said she just needed a van. I kept telling her how well she was doing and trying to encourage her to stay positive and continue to work hard.

    Scilla is having a better afternoon and  her pain is better controlled after her hardwork this morning. They also changed her wheelchair to one that is more compact and foldable; also this is suppose to be closer to the one she will actually take home. Scilla doesn't really care for this chair because it a specialized chair and for her it feels constricting and she feels like she is squeezed into it. The following are pictures from practicing transferring in and out of the car :

She was super excited to try getting in the car for the first time since her accident.

Rolling up to the car on Monday, April 19, 2010 for day 1 of practice.

Resting. We had no idea something as simple as getting into a car after her accident would be so hard. It makes you thankful; I hope it gets easier for her.

Day 2, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Trying to get out of the car. This has proven to be the most difficult part of the transfer. It caused her a lot of pain and frustration and we are hoping that God continues to give her strength, healing, and faith that she CAN DO IT!

"Walking in faith..."

Coping...

    I didn't write on Sunday because I was just so tired and emotionally that drained that I needed a day to just rest and relax with the people I care about the most.

      After having a very rough day on Saturday; Sunday was a much better day for Scilla emotionally. she was very cheerful and smiling; she laughed and joked with us which was a big change from Saturday. She did not have her drainage tube removed on Sunday because again she was putting out too much fluid.

    Now to today, Monday! Scilla called me early and said she hates these days that when she is sad or doesn't feel happy. She has been talking with various family members and  has realized that her accident has affected everyone in a major way, especially her husband and kids. Sometimes when life changing events happen, we have a tendency to internalize everything, but it is better to talk to someone or have some type of outlet to remove our stress and vent. As a family, we are beginning to look into our options as far as counseling for some members of our family. As African Americans many people in our community frown upon counseling; but it is not a bad thing. I think that more African Americans should take advantage of the health options available to us to help us live a more healthy and fulfilling life.

   Scilla did not get moved back to Roger C. Peace today because she is still draining too much and we are hoping that by Tuesday her drainage will be back under control and she can return to RCP. I was informed today that Her rehab doctor visited and said that she is now a 2-person case (she used another word, but she basically meant that she would need 2 care givers instead of one), but we don't understand why because nothing has changed or gotten worse since she has been back at Memorial.

   Scilla did have a small therapy session today. It is amazing what we take for granted when we are healthy and all is well. In her session today she worked on balancing, leaning on her arm/elbow for support and then pushing up using her arm/elbow. She also worked on sitting upright, as she tried to sit upright and stretch as in lifting her head and raising her shoulders, she commented on how good that felt and I could only imagine that it must have because of her surgery, she is often sitting with what looks like a curve in her spine. She also practiced lifting her arms and Mimi got to help today by standing in front of her aunt Scilla with her hands open as targets for Scilla to hit.

    I have been thinking a lot lately about how blessed so many of us are and how often we take for granted so many things that seem so minute to us. As I watched Scilla today and witnessed her fear of trying to sit in  an upright position as she tried to balance herself; I tried to encourage her, but I kept thinking that sitting up, balanced in an upright position, with the ability to support yourself is something we all take for granted; but when she is able to accomplish that; it will be a major milestone for her.

    We also learned some things for her therapist, Sue on today. Scilla told her about her legs feeling like they were hanging off the side of the bed and tingling. Sue said that is normal and could be one of two things:

1.  Phantom sensation, basically she hasn't had her injury long enough for her brain to know that her that part of her body doesn't work. So in her mind, she is still trying to move her legs, but can't. The therapists also said that it should not be possible for her to move her legs because from what they know; her injury was complete, meaning that her spinal cord was completely severed. Had Scilla's injury been incomplete, her chance's of walking would have been greater.
2. Maybe there is some regeneration going on in her spine or maybe there was just a small nerve or portion in her spine that remained connected during her injury and that could be the cause of what she is feeling; again this is very unlikely seeing as though doctors are sure that her spinal cord was completely severed.

   This has turned into a pretty long blog tonight, so I think I will end it here by saying thank you to everyone who continues to pray for our family because we all know that God has the final say in any situation.

"Walking in Faith..."         

How do you tell a 16 year old girl her mom may be paralyzed? & My reactions

      So, as mentioned in the previous post I went to pick Shakelle up from school. I got to the school and waited patiently for about 2-3 minutes (which seemed like an eternity) and no one came to my assitance, so of course I was getting irritated, so I knocked on the desk to get 2 ladies attention and in my mean voice said " I have an emergency and need some help." After getting assistance, I told the lady in attendance what was going on and she acted fast and went to get the Early dismisal approved, which happened very fast. So Shakelle was walking towards me and she was soooo happy, just smiling and I began to turn red, because I didn't know if I should tell her now or wait! She saw the look of horror on my face and began asking wait and so I told her and she broke down and I had to drag her to the car and literally put her inside. On our way back to the hospital, we got the news that they were taking her to ICU.
  

    *My Quick Reactions and Others*
          When my mom called me, I was still enjoying my wonderful sleep, this is not the wake up call you want to receive! I jumped up out of the bed and was panicing and felt like I was going to cry, but my God is so good, he said Betty, don't cry, pray! So I immediately started to pray and ask God for strength and healing. After that I called Eric, my hubby to come home from work to babysit our daughter and I tell you, he was not getting home fast enough and I was getting pissed by the minute...lol (Side Note: I love my hubby and he has been really supportive and he got there as soon as he could).
       I must mention this in reactions, I have always said that I could feel my moms pain and she tells us all the time, she feels ours. At the time of my sister's accident, my mother was inside of Bi-Lo to get milk for work. Her legs froze and she could not move and one of the clerks who knows her said "Ms. Pat, are you ok" and my mom replied " Yea, I'm ok, it's couldy out and these old knee's just acting up" But she was really feeling my sisters paralysis as it was occuring...(My God, My God)

*Return to regular programming*
   So we get back to the hospital and goes to the ICU, by this time all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and sister's closest friends have arrived. We are all waiting to see what the Doctors have the say. In comes Neuro-trauma specialist #1, Dr. Kanos. He comes in the ICU and says he has reviewed the x-rays and CT Scans and other stuff and says, " I am going to be blunt with you, she is paralyzed and it will be permanent, but I would like to bring in my colleague who is a specialist at this, I do this all the time, but I really want to get his 2nd opinion."
  So next comes the orthopedic surgeon, he says no broken bones besides the back and yes paralysis!
       After the ortho-surgeon, we wait hours and finally in walks a man in a suit, Dr. Hodge, Nuero-Surgeon number 2 and he gives the same diagnosis and schedules surgery for Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 3pm.
              After Dr. Hodge leaves, they move her from ICU to the neuro-trauma unit, which is ICU for people with Nuero injuries.

After thinking about it for days, I decided to create this blog...

   So I for days now, I have been trying to decide if I would start a blog to document my sister, Priscilla Hightower's journey back to restoration after her life changing accident on Monday, March 15, 2010. I will try my best to update this blog as soon as updates become available to keep everyone updated. The first couple of entries from tonight will be very short, but I want to break them up, so as to have some type of organization to the blog. Enjoy reading and remember to keep praying....
"Walking in faith"