It’s past time to update the blog. There are just some days that are so difficult and/or so busy that even thinking about writing on the blog doesn’t come to mind.
Shannon’s birthday party and open house was a great success. Thanks to all who came, emailed, called, stopped by. It was a great day! I was quite concerned because Shannon got up in a pretty down mood. We had canceled all therapies because it was her birthday. So she had a lot of time to just do her thing and it probably wasn’t the best for her. But we continue to enjoy tender mercies. About 1:45 in the afternoon Nephi knocked on the door. As you may recall, this is the man that fell from our roof back in February and made a miraculous recovery from a brain injury as well as many other injuries. He was stopping by just to wish Shannon a Happy Birthday since they couldn’t come that evening. This was the first time that Shannon has ever actually met him. She was pleased to see him and for the next 45 minutes they talked about the similarities and the differences of their TBIs. It was really awesome and it picked Shannon’s spirits up a lot before her friends came for the party. Thank you Nephi!!
People began to arrive and we began watching the clock for we knew what was going to happen at 3:00 pm. The phone rang; Udell answered it, and then told Shannon it was for her. She wanted to know who it was and Udell just said it was for her and she would have to find out. I ran for my camera and got it going about the time she said “hello”. For the next minute or so she just kept saying things like, “really?” “You are kidding me”, “who are you?” “No, really?” She wouldn’t believe the caller when he said that he was BRIAN REGAN! Her favorite comedian that she and her dad quote all the time and have helped her through some tough times. Shannon’s sister-in-law, Kim’s sister, Erika, got the idea that it would be cool for Shannon to meet this guy she quotes so much. She got the ball rolling and then turned it over to Kim. Kim must have made a number of calls and sent several emails getting it all set up! Shannon was thrilled. She talked with him for maybe 10 minutes. He told her that he had read her blog and that she was a real inspiration to many people. He told her that he would like to meet her and that if she was ever in a city where he was performing, he would get tickets for her, her family and some friends to come to his show so he could meet her. As the conversation was coming to a close, Brian said, “well, you take care” and she said, “You take luck!” which happens to be one of Brian’s jokes. She loved pulling that one on him! Throughout the rest of the day, she would tell anyone who wanted to hear who she got to talk to that day! It was a great birthday present. Thank you Brian, Kim and Erika!!
That made the difference! The rest of the day was a pretty happy day for Shannon. She was exhausted by the end of the day but she was also very happy. It turned out not to be such a big deal for us either for I had good friends and family that stepped in and really lightened the load. How grateful I am for good friends and family.
So as most of the blog entries go now that we are home, there is always some good news and also plenty of not so good news. Tuesday, Shannon had an appointment with Dr. SuchNeibar. We went up early and delivered the remaining cookies from the night before to nurses and therapists in the hospital that had been there for Shannon. We did find Dr. Maloney this time. She was so excited to show him how well she was doing and I think he was pleased about seeing her. We also got to see our favorite PICU nurse that related so well to Shannon. I guess not many people go back that have been saved in the PICU so they don’t ever get to see that fabulous work that they accomplished saving lives! We have tried to do that each time we go to the hospital for that reason. We even were able to catch Shannon’s favorite therapist that we have always missed in the past. So that was all great. Then it was time for the doctor appointment.
It was the last appointment of the day and the doctor was busy doing many other things. This is a teaching hospital so we spent some time with a resident before actually visiting with the doctor. We had left a message that we wanted to talk to Dr. SuchNeibar without Shannon there. She gets so upset when we talk about things that she is still struggling with because she doesn’t think she is. The doctor wanted Shannon’s hearing tested so we talked to the doc while her hearing was tested. (Her hearing is perfect!) We told her about the challenging mood swings, that she doesn’t see her deficits and the on- going depression. We told her also where we thought that Shannon was at in her progression. Those kinds of things never sit well with Shannon because she thinks she is fine. In the course of the appointment, Shannon learned that we were still giving her the adderall. She had been refusing to take it before we saw Dr. Giles 2 weeks ago. Dr. Giles told her she had to take it so we thought that Shannon was on board again for taking it. The adderall was in the daily pill containers and so we just gave her what was there. We assumed she remembered what the pill looked like so she knew she was getting it. But evidently not…when we reported the meds she was taking and included adderall, she was furious with us. The rest of the appointment was mostly about her being mad about something. The doctor again told her that rollerblading as well as driving was not in the picture for a while. That made her even madder. When she is upset she doesn’t hear anything else that is said. Even so, the doctor talked in great detail to Shannon about how critical it is that we protect her head right now and how important it was to take all the medications from the doctors. It was not a pleasant experience with the doctor as Shannon was so mad at her and she was being pretty ornery. We were at the hospital for over 4 ½ hours! But everything else physically is doing fine. We thought again that we had made it through another barrier but the first day home, she refused her adderall again. What can you do?? I won’t hold her down and force her to take it. So we are beginning to see the effects of no adderall; she is more tired and her other meds aren’t working as well.
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