Today has really been a rough day. I don't really want to talk about my dad, but I do thank everyone for the comments.
So I spent some time with Kevin taping some more videos tonight. They may seem redundant to you, but that's the way it is in this household, lol. We do the same words and activities every day so that they stick.
One example is Kevin finally learned how to say his name correctly. You will notice though that he forgot what it was. He knows it. Honestly. But sometimes things just don't come to him. I am just happy that he can finally say it. It's always been "Kenin" and not "Kevin" so this is a major improvement and has only taken him 8 months to perfect. The first time we tried to get his name said was in May when we were on our way to PA for our first visit home. We have worked on that word nearly every single day and he just now got it the night we went to the hospital. Finally!
So here are some videos. The first one is Kevin just walking out of his room and acting goofy:
The next two are of him just practicing words:
And now Breezy and I are going to watch America's Next Dance Crew. Oh and Sue - Breezy is just here for the week. The whole family came here for my Dad's surgery.
First 2 from the Nov kit!
12 years ago
9 comments:
JUST AMAZING ! Keep up the good work Kevin
Keeping your family in our prayers! Thank you so much for sharing the videos. He's saying a lot of things now! :)
Have a good day!
Kathy in IA
So much progress since last time!
A.
You are doing GREAT Kevin! Keep up the good work kiddo! Thanks for sharing the video's with us, we love to see them!
BIG HUGS AND ALL MY LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andrew's Aunt Jodi
hmmmmm . . . fascinating. I found myself wondering if Kevin was noticing the rhyme. Seven--Kevin. It is really a wonder--the recovery such a wounded person can make. Every new learned thing is such an accomplishment. Every one!
Ruthie
Hello Leslie,
Please let Kevin know...
I sat with tears in my eyes while I watched one of my main Hero's showing how far you have come from the day I first met you on this web-page shortly after you were wounded.
To have been able to follow your recovery when the doctors were saying you would be unable to talk and to forget about you walking after being wounded so badly but your Mom said that you would be able to walk AND talk because she had NOT given up on you like the medical staff had.
With Breezy at her side she began the work even before you began to wake up from the comma. She had a lot of people praying and giving advice and ideas on how to help you make this difficult journey from the wounding to this day. A day of showing ALL the people that have been there for and with you just how far you have come on this journey.
CONGRATULATION !!!!!!
Can't wait to see what you accomplish as you continue on this journey of healing.
Miss Em
Austell, Ga.
Leslie,
Candles lit, Prayers being said.
Don't forget to take care of yourself.
Miss Em.
I have followed the blog for about a year now..but I have never posted anything. As I read everyday and most recently about your dad I felt that I really need to post. I wanted to tell you what a amazing and strong woman you seem to be. You very rarely compalin you just keep going. My prayers are with you and your family..you are a special gift from god to your family.. the
One of the things I learned with a young ward, who was finally diagnosed with what is called "pre-frontal lobe syndrome," as well as with my aging mother (she died at 98) is that there's sometimes a considerable delay between the time when information is received (an order to the brain) and when it can be acted upon. Sometimes, the delay can be as long as ten or fifteen minutes and perhaps accounts for why we suggest to the parents of young children that they prompt a change in behavior well before they want it to occur.
This delay resulted in considerable difficulty for my ward and her keepers in various institution where her caregivers were constantly changing because one person's directions would frequently not be carried out until that caregiver was long gone. So, the girl's behavior was often judged to be inappropriate (think of a car horn going off ten minutes after you hit the button).
Clearly, Kevin is able to command his own brain and when he counts it's not just a reflexive jingle that many children learn before they have any awareness of what the numbers mean. Indeed, it may be that thinking about counting is what causes the hesitation--much as thinking about driving, as when you first drive an unfamiliar vehicle, will make you seem less expert than when you do it automatically. Thinking about what you are doing doesn't make you more efficient. It does, however, prevent making stupid mistakes. LOL
Kevin knowing that he's messed up the sequence means that his brain is registering the sequence of steps necessary to accomplish a task. When the sequencing function is absent or deteriorates (as it did in my mother), it's not possible to accomplish even the simplest tasks, such as putting a button through a hole.
In a young person, this lack of the sequencing function can be overcome by directing a complex action step by step until it become a habit and automatic.
Rehabilitation, I suspect, is largely a matter of recreating habitual behaviors. That, perhaps, gives you, as Kevin's mother, an advantage that strangers wouldn't have because you are already familiar with his old habits and can help recreate them.
Absolutley amazing!! Kevin is doing a fantastic job!
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