Day 119

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I have been here in Tucson for 2 weeks now and during these two weeks I have seen such a change in my brother. It’s amazing to see it all. When I first got here the one thing that stood out the most was the fact that his face looked more like “him.” Since the muscles have been coming back little by little, the facial expressions that I am so familiar with have come back. It was nice to have that little surprise when I got here.

When I first got here mom was here and it was really nice for the three of us to spend some quality time together. Franky was a little sad to see mom go, but all of us knew that the next step in the process was to become a little more independent. That’s why I was next in line to be a caretaker. During the time here, I have managed to let him be a bit more independent. He cleans his cat’s litter box, he sweeps and mops his own apartment, he makes his bed, he takes out the trash, he does his own laundry and he empties out the dishwasher. I never did manage to get him to cook though! Although he made his own sandwiches and heated up his own leftovers.

During the time here, it has been inspiring to see how focused he is on his rehab. It’s a little tough to get him to wake up in the mornings to go to the rehab facility. However in his everyday life, he is making an effort to push himself along. Not only is he working out at home with hand weights, stretches and exercises, but he has jumped into his studies by reading articles, taking on projects and having discussions with fellow classmates.

I really don’t get to watch him at the rehab facility, but yesterday I got to go with him to a doctor’s appointment. It was really exciting to talk to the doctor and hear what he had to say. After assessing Franky, he was really pleased with his balance and his progress. Franky had 2 questions to ask….

1) He asked the doctor what he thought his final outcome would be from all the therapy…the doctor said that he thinks that he will be able to make a full recovery. There might be a slight limp that he might have to live with, but overall he was impressed with the progress being made considering the timeframe. He also told Franky that with brain injuries, you can’t limit the progress to the 2 years like they do stroke patients. With TBI, there is no timeframe…it’s a matter of allowing the brain to remap itself.

2) He asked the doctor if he thought he would ever be able to ride his bike…the doctor said he didn’t see why not. Granted, there might some changes that need to be made to the foot peddles, but he felt that with his balance being good, it is just a matter of him strengthening his left side enough to ride a bike. Needless to say, this is all Franky had to hear in order to come back home focused on the task at hand….exercise, exercise, exercise. Last night a friend gave him a bike helmet and now he is thinking of rearranging his apartment so he can bring in a stationary bike.

I mentioned to the doctor that come December the plan was to have him live independently and that in January he was going to try to take 2 classes. He seemed pleased with that and thought it was a good idea. With that came the question of driving. There are several evaluations that need to take place, but overall it seemed like he was ok with the driving issue. Luckily, his right side is in good working order so driving an automatic car should be ok. He did tell Franky to start playing video games in order to work on hand-eye coordination.

During my time here I have seen my baby brother be the awesome person that he is. He has amazed me with his spirit and his attitude. He has amazed me with his bravery and his endurance. He has amazed me with his hope and his faith. He has amazed me with his determination and his perseverance. He is my hero! These last few weeks he has been trying to figure out what to give me for my birthday, and what he doesn’t realize is that he has already given me a gift. He has given me inspiration.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
1) That he continues to progress at the rate he has been.
2) That we are able to resolve the transportation issues by the time school starts.
3) That progress is made with his left hand.
4) That he has safe travels during the month of November.
5) That we are able to find his 2nd cat.

Now for the fun part….

Here is a picture of mom, Franky and I the day that I flew in:

Here is a picture of mom and him having breakfast:

Here is a picture of Franky today. He loves to go to local cafes and have himself a Red Eye Cubano style:

Here is a video of him walking. He walks without a cane around the house, but when he is out and about he uses it.

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