Today we went to speech therapy and the therapist couldn't get over how many new words Kevin has picked up lately. I hear him sometimes sitting in his room practicing words he hears on TV and nothing pleases me more.
It was funny because the other day he came out of his room, looked at me and with a smile said "Why I oughta punch you." My response "Why you oughta just try it", lol. It was so funny (he was joking and must have heard it on tv or a movie). The point to this - he said a sentence - even if it is a line from a movie.
Truly, he is speaking so much better. I am excited to see the changes ResCare brings because he will have all of his therapies five days a week.
So let's see...he can now count to 50 (although sometimes he gets stuck and needs a nudge) and he can say all the days of the week. He is able to tell me what time it is when I ask and he will tell people that he was in the Army and was Airborne. He will even say one, seven, three to let people know his unit.
He can say Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Florida, Texas and we are now working on Germany. I suppose I should work on Afghanistan as most people ask where he was wounded...
He can say all of his drink choices; Mountain Dew, Pepsi, lemonade, strawberry milk, Bud Light (yep - ordered it clearly one night at a restaurant - I about fell of my chair), milk, etc.
He can say pizza and Subway, but he still struggles with Taco Bell. He won't attempt McDonalds at all though, lol.
I am also pleased to say that he now listens to the radio almost the whole time we are in the car. He sings too, mumbling mostly, but still...he tries.
All of this just goes to show that some doctors and therapists can just be plain wrong at times. I was told he would never be able to speak and I guess Kevin proved them wrong.
It appears we will continue to have to keep showing some of them though. His neuro-psych exam (which I am just too mad to talk about in-depth yet) said that he will 'unlikely have large gains in terms of traditional expressive or receptive language'. I beg to differ and I told the speech therapist at the VA that when she told me this on the day I picked Kevin up from the hospital. Truly - I just have no time for small minded people. I honestly don't understand why therapists that set recovery limits before working with a patient even have jobs? Makes no sense to me. If I listened to all the folks that told me how little Kevin was going to do - he would still be minimally conscious.
Ack! Well, I am signing off. It just makes me mad so I need to go cool down.
First 2 from the Nov kit!
11 years ago
8 comments:
Gotta love the experts. Most of them are so narrow-minded that they can't even imagine possibilities outside-the-box. You just keep on keeping on, Leslie!
Meant to ask, how's day care going?
Of course, a young man would teach himself to order a beer! LOL! I think it's just awesome that he has decided to really work on his speech. Maybe he'd be willing to try saying Mickey D's instead of McDonald's.
It's so exciting to hear how he is doing!
When they tell you the minimum Kevin would be able to do, just think of it as you will always be amazed when he learns something new. If they would say he will make a full recovery within this amount of time, it would sometimes make you feel like he might not be getting there as fast as they said. It might make you feel frustrated or let down if he isn't at the point they said he would be by now. It may be even a extra motivator to prove them wrong. Just a different way of looking at it. No matter what was said, Kevin is doing exceptionably well. It's hard to believe sometimes after the kind of injury he had. Keep up the great work, it sure is paying off! :)
Can't wait to hear about his time at ResCare.
Take care,
Kathy in IA
Leslie, you are a great mom! :)
A.
Leslie, Kevin would not be where he is without the love and support you, Breezy, his family, and his friends have given him. He's a strong man with a strong will, which he obviously inherited from his mother! Kudos to you both!
~P~
PS: remember the days when he couldn't bear the sound of the tv? He's come so, so far!
Your advocacy and excellent care have been a huge multiplier in Kevin's amazing progress.
Looking forward to reading of Kevin further surpassing the 'experts' evaluations.
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