Daniel was in an bad automobile accident on May 3rd. He was leading a caravan of Bard students into the town to do an outreach to teenagers there. Toni told me that Daniel was driving on this country road when his back wheel hit the soft shoulder and he swerved to correct and overcorrected into the oncoming traffic. He hit a Cadillac in a head on collision. Luckily, the people in the Cadillac were not critically injured. The town closed the road and 20 rescue workers were there to assist. He was airlifted to Albany Medical Center where he was in critical condition and in ICU until July 28th. He was then moved to Sunnyview Rebilitation Center in Schenectady, where he is undergoing acute rehabilitation. Prognosis is now very good.
Sunday, August 25th, 10 pm This weekend, the doctors discovered a bruised and torn tendon on his foot (from the accident) which had been causing a significant amount of pain. He now has an air cast on his foot and a shoe that he wears in bed that looks like an old bowling shoe. He had his functional communication group this weekend which he really enjoyed. This is a large group discussion on a variety of different topics. He continues to work on his walking and "out of bed" tolerance which will speed up the possibility of him returning home. Daniel's sister Betsy arrived Saturday for a few days visit and Emily Richardson from Bard also arrived for a visit. (She has spent the summer in Alaska.) When Jim talked to Daniel throughout the weekend, Daniel was in exceptionally good spirits! He was sure that the visits from Betsy and Emily really helped revive his spirits after a hard week last week.
Monday, August 26th, 9:30 pm Today was an upbeat day. Betsy and Emilie Richardson went with Daniel to all his therapies and agreed they keep him very busy. He is learning to do a "sit to sit" transfer from his bed to the wheelchair so he won't need the slide board. It may sound easy but you would be amazed at how tricky it can be. If he misses the edge of the chair or the bed, Daniel will find himself on the floor. Betsy, Emilie and I serve as spotters. In physical therapy the big news is Daniel climbed five stairs with the help of his therapist. He was so proud of the accomplishment...and exhausted. He is practicing transfering from his wheelchair to the car so he can get a pass for this weekend. I've put in for it but all of his therapists, the nurses and doctors must agree that he is ready. Keep your fingers crossed...the walls of the hospital are beginning to wear on our delicate sensibilities! Thanks, Toni
Tuesday, August 27, 7:00 pm Toni will try to do daily updates! Today Daniel began the day with dressing OT (putting on shoes with a two foot long shoe horn is something to see), followed by PT where he walked and practiced more wheelchair transfers. In regular OT they played games and in Recreation he and Betsy made collages. The big news was Daniel's first trip to the pool for PT in the afternoon. He will be going three times a week. The pool floor is even with the deck until all therapists and patients are in the center. Then it lowers everyone until they are in 4 feet of water. It is amazing! Daniel was all smiles, partly because movement was so much easier and close to normal. Plus he teased his therapist by pretending to fall and boogied to oldies. He ate a Friendly's cheeseburger, we went on an evening stroll around the block and pretty much poured him into bed after his shower. He also was cleared for an 8 hour pass for this Sunday. We've promised him a trip to the Fisher House for rest and relaxation. All in all, a great day! Betsy and Emily Richardson leave tomorrow and will be sorely missed. It's not that hanging out with your Mom isn't every 19 year old's dream, but he has really laughed a lot with them here. Love to everyone, Toni
Wednesday update from Toni August 28th, posted 11 pm Today was a
day of ups and downs. For the "up" parts...Daniel apparently sang to his
nurses and therapists this morning because he awoke in such a good mood. He
made it the length of the floor in PT and out the door onto the carpet before
he tired. He also went up and down the steps twice and his therapist had to
remind him to slow down. He was scheduled for a chest x-ray 15 minutes
before pool time, so we sent him in his swim suit because he didn't want to
miss his time in the pool...already, it's his favorite. For OT, he walked to
the refrigerator (with a walker) and got himself a drink. All these are
small steps but greeted with big cheers. Daniel said farewell to Emily
Richardson as she left for Bard today...bittersweet as he so enjoyed his time
with her and at the same time knows he will not be returning this year.
For dinner Daniel threw up a strawberry shake (quite spectacular) and pasta,
then took a couple sips of water and ate a sandwich. We carried on like this
is a typical dinner...because often it is.
Betsy also departed today after a wonderful visit with Daniel. Eight weeks
after Daniel's accident, Betsy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I was
in Daniel's room when I received the news and wanted to be cloned so I could
be on both coasts at the same time. We decided at the time not to tell
Daniel, but he did find out during Jim's last visit. This was the first time
Betsy and Daniel have been together since and it was so good for each of them
to see the other healthy. We are hoping Betsy has a mild form and she is
doing a great job of listening to her body, and getting rest and exercise.
They were both so concerned about each other and it was good to see them
laughing, hugging, teasing and just enjoying each other's company. We all
agreed we can't wait until the five of us can be together again.
This evening, Daniel and I shed a few tears together, missing home, grateful
for so many new and old friends, and wishing for some of Harry Potter's
magic...(we settled for kleenex and an episode of "Friends." Love to all,
Toni
Toni's Thursday update 7:15 pm Today Daniel charmed his nurses with more songs and quotes from "Zoolander" before breakfast. He worked out on a hand-bike while we sang to the radio in PT (oldies), and he climbed the BIG stairs with help from Kim, his therapist. In OT, he made blueberry muffins, washed the dishes, and cleaned up with Tracy, his OT therapist. He gave the warm muffins to his nurses for a snack and they seemed pleased. Origami was the name of the game in speech (following directions) and his therapist, Dee, said he did well but wants to go too fast. This is how we know he is getting better. Since it was Dee's tenth anniversary at Sunnyview, Daniel made her a paper crown as a surprise (yes, we sometimes have too much time on our hands) and she wore it. Daniel then asked Tracy for extra credit in OT because he had used scissors, glitter glue, marking pens, tape and pipe cleaners on the crown. She obliged. While waiting for Jim, we played musical bingo during evening recreation and both won. Jim now is the proud owner of a waterfowl tie (it must be seen to be appreciated)...just one of our prizes. It was so wonderful for Daniel to see his Dad and the ending to a very good day. Love to all, Toni
Friday, August 30th, 9:15 pm We arrived to an empty bed but with some simple sleuthing, we found Daniel up and walking (with a walker) in PT. He also worked on the flat bed putting his hands on his thighs and trying to stand without the support of the walker to strengthen his muscles. For OT, he worked with "theraputty" (think playdoh) pulling objects out of it. Then he worked on his handwriting...lists of animals, sports (a very short list for Daniel), flowers, things that are green etc. Lots of stretching for shoulder mobility, plus posture for back strength in the afternoon. In the pool, he walked forward, backward, and did a bit of the Electric Slide side-step for balance. He did get a bit of shoulder movement going which was his attempt at boogying in the water. Jim went with Daniel to all his therapies today and learned the intricacies of trying to move the leg rests on his wheelchair (sounds easy, but trust me it's tricky). In Speech, Jim reported Daniel wrote a story for Dee, his therapist, because she wanted to be able to use it with other patients. Unfortunately he must "redo" it, because the vocabulary he used was beyond the reach of most of her patients. ;-) They also played some word games...Daniel had a hard time, but Jim was even worse. So glad I missed the embarrassment since I was napping in Daniel's bed. Daniel now sports a tie-dye pillowcase made by his sister, Emily and we will have to send pictures since his room is starting to look like his SICU room. By the way, Jim ran into Dr. Sacaris at the Albany airport last night and she is getting married on Sunday. She's been keeping up with Daniel on the Internet and Jim mentioned she looked rested, happy and beautiful. We completed the night with "Harold and Maude", a great flick and left him in the good hands of Diana Krall. (Michael, we haven't forgotten her. In fact she is a part of the nightly ritual...we just like to watch you get excited). Happy Labor Day to everyone...we miss you all. Love, Toni