Angela's Blog

Today was day 1.5 at the SNF (Skilled Nursing Facility).  I have to tell you all that checking your 27 y.o. wife of three years (next month) into a nursing home is one of the most surreal experiences of my life.  Then again, I suppose this entire situation will probably be the most surreal experience in the end.  I can’t even articulate how difficult this journey has been.  I see my wife everywhere I look, especially now that we are back in West Seattle, our usual stomping grounds.  Every ounce of my being aches for her… 

As we have indicated, she is making remarkable progress, nonetheless; every day that we are with her is the most difficult and trying time of our lives.  I keep waiting for her to simply come back to us like people do in the movies and for everything to be alright, but it is God’s timing and not ours.  I know that He is working in her and through her, but I cannot deny that each minute of each day is a tremendous struggle and truly a test of faith.

Ang had her initial PT, OT, and ST evaluations today.  Needless to say, it was a big day for her.  I think that Teresa and I are for the most part comfortable with the people that will be working with Ang during her time at the SNF.  Ang will have to stay at this facility until she can bear her own weight and the therapists provide their blessing / referral that she is ready for inpatient rehab.  We plan on transitioning her back to Harborview or the UW, which has one of the best TBI rehab programs in the nation.  Teresa and I will continue to alternate nights with Ang so that one of us is with her 24/7 to ensure that she is getting the care that she needs to expedite the healing process.  I can’t imagine what it would be like for her if we were not there.  The quality of care deteriorates exponentially when a person does not have someone onsite to be their advocate.  Teresa and I share the primary caregiver role still despite her transitioning to the SNF.  I think that Teresa and I can both agree that a nursing career is out of the question for either of us!  We changed Ang at least 8 times today and my back is killing me from moving her around while she is still in the “confused / agitated” phase. 

Her mind continues to race constantly and she only slept a total of 45 minutes last night (a couple of hours at the most is pretty typical) so please continue to pray that the Lord would give her some much needed rest.  Ang and I went through pictures from our wedding and pictures of our church friends this morning and she nailed most of the people that I pointed out.  Additionally, Ang finally moved her left leg.  I ran my finger along the bottom of her foot and she bent her knee towards her chest.  We also played catch with her for quite some time this afternoon.  Man does she have an arm!  Teresa and I are also reading a book on a field of study called neuroplasticity (The brains ability to change and essentially “rewire” itself).  I was reading it out loud to Ang today and she said it was “interesting”.  My little scientist…  I read an article about a woman that went through a similar experience as Ang and she was familiar with the topic.  She stated that during her time in a coma (several months vs. Ang’s 2 weeks) her understanding of the topic gave her hope.  Here is a link to the article which references the book if any of you are interested.

 http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=7683de16-5ff8-4746-bef8-ecc3b041cc6a

We are in the process of tracking down a layer that might be able to help us set up a trust agreement for Ang.  This needs to be in place prior to us setting up a trust account for her.  If anyone out there has any contacts please refer to the email address that Fred left in the journal a few days ago.

We should know more about what Angela’s weekly schedule will look like on Monday and will fill you all in accordingly so people can visit on a basis that is most conducive to Ang’s continued healing.

There were a couple of posts in the guestbook regarding children visiting Ang at Park West.  At this point I am uncertain if this is a good idea.  You never know what you are going to get from her and I don’t want any of the kiddies to be frightened or put in an uncomfortable situation.  Please use your best discretion if you plan on bringing kids with you to visit.

Stage V here we come!

Thank you again for your continued prayers and words of encouragement.  We read your posts daily and they mean the world to us (and Ang).  On a side-note, the SNF does not have WI-FI so our posts on the caringbridge site will likely be much later in the evening when each of us heads home for the night.

Josh