Brooks..finally!

On Friday, July 16th, I came to the hospital to find Tim feverless and ready for Brooks! He was discharged at 3:30 pm. The first night turned out to be quite eventful! He was welcomed by several visitors (friends and family) and then it was straight to business. The first plan of action was a shower! Tim had not been in a shower for 2 weeks, he had only been sponge bathed. Two nurses lifted him into the shower/bathroom wheelchair and as they were doing so, he became very light headed and nauseas. I grabbed a bed pan, just in case and something to fan him with! He blacked out for about 5 seconds and then when he came to, still wanted the shower. He said that immediately when the cold water (as he requested) hit him that nothing else mattered! He started to feel better and successfully completed his first shower in the hospital. We found out later, that the nasuea and light headedness is very normal after laying in a bed for a long period of time and especially in spinal injuries. The blood rushes to his toes and his blood pressure reading becomes very low. The nurses and therapists now take it very slow when transitioning him from bed to wheelchair. This has become Tim's biggest fear at this point in the game, he doesnt like the feeling and is scared he will pass out every time he sits up straight or stands up (even with assistance). He is positive that if he can get past this hurdle, that the rest will be cake! I don't know about that, they are going to work him very hard here at Brooks. They expect progress and quick results. Brooks has a very high success rate and they intend to keep it that way. But, I know Tim will be successful at Brooks, he is extremely motivated and doesnt have a friend or family member that will let him give up. In fact, he has already made some progress since admission. He is able to roll over on his own in the bed and there has been more movement in his left hand and arm. The injury effected his left side much more than the right, and the feeling and movement has been slower to come back. The physical therapists set a goal for Tim to stand by the end of the week, he has already reached the goal and it is only Monday! With some assistance by one of the therapists, Tim stood to his feet and used his own strength to stand in place. He became dizzy pretty quickly, but that's okay, again, it's normal for him to feel that way and what's important is that he is conquering his fears! I am so incredibly proud of him, the therapists worked him hard for 3 hours and besides a little nausea and dizziness, he didn't complain one bit. Tim was absolutely exhausted by 3:30 pm (Mon.) but the Doctors had to send him off for some x-rays as he had some pain in his left shoulder after working with the occupational therpaist (they want to be sure there is not an injury that was not caught). The Dr. really thinks it could be tendonitis (inflammation of the tendon). Tim also had increased levels of enzymes and so they did an ultrasound on his liver, gall bladder and pancreas area. No results on those yet. But, as for the increased enzyme levels, it is probably due to a medication that he is taking. Another one of Tim's challenges is not being able to go to the bathroom on his own, I won't go into all of the details, but he is struggling with it and has asked that we pray for this. It is something that we take for granted everyday and he has not control. This is also very normal after a spinal injury and with his injury being incomplete, they feel like he will get these functions back, especially since he has the sensations. (gaining control is all a part of the rehabilitation process)
Tim has had an overall good experience with Brooks so far. The nurses are great, his Dr. is a big Tarheel fan, as he graduated from UNC and the facility is really nice. He is happy to have me here with him and has been in better spirits ever since he arrived!