Projected Release Date!!

I went up so see Kevin today and to go thru therapy with him. He is making so much progress its amazing.
I missed out on the speech therapy but got to talk with her a little bit and she said he's been improving everyday. During OT he was working on a puzzle game that was similar to a lightbright..(but without the light) They would show him a picture of a pattern and on his board he would have to copy the pattern by putting the right color pegs into the right places to match the picture. And he could only use his right hand. After he finished that game she brought out this piece of wood that had screws, screwed into it and nuts and bolts ( or whatever there called..sorry I'm a girl) attached to them and Kevin had to take each one off and then screw it back, again just with his right hand. That was totally right up his alley.

Now for my favorite part..physical therapy. I mentioned before that he has been using a hemi walker. I got to see him in action with it today and man did he cruise up and down the hall. They even had him walk into a bathroom that is set up to a standard apartment bathroom so we don't even have to worry about getting a wheelchair in ours now. After that he showed me how he has been practicing walking up a step!!! He walked up and down a 4 inch step, about the size of a curb or sidewalk. He is comfortable walking about 100 feet on average before he begins to get tired and sloppy. That means that he should be able to walk around our new house ok without having to use the wheelchair. The wheelchair will primarily be used for going outside or to use for things like shopping etc. Pretty cool huh?

On to business. Moving day is June 10th. Right now, Kevin is approved to stay at Bayfront until May 30th. At that time, our case manager will request a final 2 weeks for Kevin which will put his release on June 14th. Can't believe I just typed that. Kevin will be home on June 14th!

Family visit, more walking and more packing!

A ridiculously busy week with still sooo much to do... what day is it?


First off my sister Pam and brother in law Mike brought my nieces Arianna and Liese down for a visit. We had a good day relaxing at the beach on Monday night and Tuesday with them and the rest of the family. Maya loves loves loves her cousins, no doubt about that. I do not however, love my sunburn...lol Kevin was amused by it though. I walked in Tuesday afternoon to see him and he started pointing and laughing at me...funny guy he is.

Kevin has been using a Hemi walker. It looks like a cane with four feet at the bottom for more stability. He started out walking 30 feet one day and 50 feet another, but on Monday he walked 204 feet!! He is able to get out of his chair and into bed all by himself now. And his speech is coming along great. I'm going up early tomorrow to go thru therapy with him again so I'll let you know all the new stuff he's been working on.

I'm still packing. Bobbi Lynn came over today and we knocked out 2 big rooms..completely done. ( Thanks Girl!!) But Ohhhhh sooo much more to do. Moving day is sneaking up on me fast.

Oh and I need boxes..lots more boxes! Please and Thank you!!

A walking brace

Went up to see Kevin tonight with Maya. He's been doing soooo good. He got fitted for a walking brace for his right leg a few days ago and it came in today. He used it to walk a little bit and he says its comfortable for him and really helps with support. Its just a clear plastic brace that fits into his shoe and goes up to about his knee.

I also spoke with our case manager and he said that we got approved for another extension at the rehab center. Right now he's approved until May 30th. Our move in date is June 7th. He is confident they will approve another short length of time for Kevin to stay there until we are moved into our new place. Our 4 year wedding anniversary is June 9th. What an anniversary present that would be!!!

Still packing...

Just a quick note to say we're all still here. I've been busy packing.. well, trying to pack as you can see Maya is not making this easy one bit. Seems like everytime I get a box packed, she empties it and takes it hostage for herself.

Kev is doing well. No special news to report. Sometimes no news is good news. Ok back to packing..

Approved!!

So my favorite word of the day was.... Approved!!! Yes! We got approved for our new apartment. All fee's have been paid and we are scheduled to move in no later than June 7th!! Its a 2 bed 2 bath 1120sq feet. Split floorplan, no hallways and completly open and accessable for Kevin. You know I've never in my life doubted the power of prayer, and after this you can rest assured that I never will. I just called Kevin earlier and told him the news. He was very excited. Now Maya, not so much! When I first told Maya that we were going to get a new home, the child was absolutley distraught!! Screaming ..( with real tears now ) NOOOO YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY HOUSE!! THIS IS MY HOUSE!! Yeah, I totally didn't see that one coming. But after I sat her down and told her that her new house has 2 playgrounds....She immediatly stoped crying and wanted to move in today...lol

On to even better news.. I called and spoke with our case manager at the hospital. I told him we got approved and gave him the dates. They are already planning that once we get moved in, they will allow Kevin to come home for an overnight stay to see if there are any limitations that may need to be worked out. If all goes well, they will start his discharge and Kevin will be coming home to stay!!! Somebody pinch me!

Now there's so much work to be done. I'm off to start packing...ew!

Love, Kim

A Mothers Day Outing

What a special Mothers Day!! We got permission to take Kevin on an outing for the day. He actually got to leave the hospital grounds for the first time since Jan 26th! We decided to have our Mother day outing at the St. Pete Pier. It was Kevin, Maya and I, and mom and dad. Everything went absolutely flawless. We strolled the pier, went to the aquarium, grabbed a burger and an ice cream cone, then back outside to watch some folks fish and enjoy the view. It was perfect! I'll never forget Kevin reacting to hearing music on the radio for the first time in over 3 months. He was bobbin' his head...lol Its little things like that, that make you think... wow what else has he missed out on all this time.
I couldn't have asked for a better day. It was definitely one of my favorite Mothers days...granted I've only had 3, but still. Thanks to my folks that helped make this day so special for us. Mom, thanks for always being there for me in the good times and bad. I couldn't make it through this without you and I love you sooo much! I also wanted to say thank you to Ralph from Progressive who went up to see Kevin this weekend. I can already tell that Kevin's short term memory is getting better because he remembered your visit even after the next day. I saw your name on the visitor log so I asked him who came to see him. He said Ralph did and is going to bring him back some ribs to eat one day....lol!! That made me laugh.

Kevin Walks!!

Its been exactly 100 days since Kevin got sick. Today is National Prayer Day. And Today, KEVIN WALKED!!

He walked..no no he POWER WALKED around this funny looking parallel bars thingie he has been working with. He did about 75% of the work on his own. His physical therapist put his right foot in a walking brace, Kevin stood up and held on to the bar with his left hand...then off he went. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was thinking I was gonna count his steps but he just kept going around and around this thing. I stopped counting at 30 but Kevin was still going. I just stood there and cried like a baby ...and he's still going. Nothing short of a miracle. We practiced our transfers a lot today. They had a simulation car there and we practiced transferring him from his wheelchair and into the car. After we accomplished that, she told me to go get my truck and pull it up to the front of the hospital where we practiced getting him in and out of my truck. We did everything with no problem at all completley by ourselves.

During OT we practiced some stretches that help with his shoulder. He's been getting better at helping get himself dressed. He can actually put his shirt on all by himself now, brush is teeth, shave and all those ADL's that we have to do everyday. His speech is coming along so much better. His therapist would give him scenarios and ask him how he would respond. A lot of .."What would you do if's.." and Kevin would answer her questions in complete sentences.

They are really pushing and preparing us for Kevin to be released back home. I'm in total panic mode because we currently live in a townhouse and I need to get us into a handicap accessible apartment. Like yesterday!! I've been looking around for something accessible and within our budget and I think I may have found something. Literally right down the street from where we are now. I went today to look at the model and picked up an application that I'll be dropping off tomorrow along with the fee's. Please pray that we get approved for this place, as it is essential for Kevin to be able to come home.

Today was absolutely amazing.. by far his best day yet. Thank you so much for all your continued prayers.

Love Kim

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! Mom picked Maya and I up to go visit Kevin and brought Moe's for dinner. One of his favorite. Thanks mom. I go up for more "family training" tomorrow. At first I didn't like the name of that, but by the looks of this pic it seems as if Maya is attempting to attack me from behind for hugging on her daddy. Maybe we need some family training after all :)

Can't wait to report on any new progress.

Another special visit

Kevin had a really good visit tonight. A few mins after Maya and I got there, Jim Mary.. one of Kevin's buddies from Progressive...came to spend some time with Kevin. These are two peas in a pod. They were cutting up and joking around. He had Kevin laughing again..which was good to see. He even misbehaved while signing the visitor log. Kevin really got a kick outta that one. Typical Boys! It was a much needed fun night! He also "expanded" our 3 year olds vocabulary quite a bit...Thaaanks for that Jim! lol Kevin showed off what he can do now with his right side to move his hand, arm and leg. My next appointment to go up for family training is Thursday so he can show off some of the new stuff he does this week. Can't wait. A big thank you to Mr. Mary for coming out to see Kevin tonight. He really enjoyed it.

Kim