10/1 - Sam's Journey - Day 294

It's been a pretty decent week here at Casa Loeffler. We've had a pretty decent routine, and there were no major interruptions to Sam's schedule. We've had several of pieces of good news. On Thursday, I got a call from the neurologist regarding his thoughts on Sam coming off the Keppra. He was able to get the original EEG from Plano, and said there was zero seizure activity. That's kind of what we'd suspected, but now that it's officially official, that's some very excellent news! Because of this, it also means two other good things happened. One is that we got to cancel the 'just in case we couldn't get the Plano EEG' appointment next week, so his schedule will be a little less disrupted. Additionally, we are now in the process of weaning the Keppra, and we're incredibly optimistic that it will be successful. 

The other good news was what arose out of his care conference at rehab yesterday. He continues to work toward and meet the goals the therapists set for him, and he continues to move toward more independence. He is requesting to use his left leg more, and they're working to not only develop using it, but gaining confidence in it as well. We continue to see his mobility improve at home. He's working on walking short distances without the cane also. At home, he is moving from the wheelchair to the sofa without any assistance. The first time I saw it was kind of funny. Previously, he had stood up on his own from the chair and then grabbed someone's hand to walk to the couch. This time, though, he stood up, and I held out my hand for him to use as support. He looked at me square in the eye and said, "Put that hand away." Now I need you to watch this clip from Air Force One and then go back and re-read what same said in the same way:

The hardest part was to not laugh out loud, because he needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Laughter has become a bit of an issue, especially at dinnertime. The rule is to make sure Sam's mouth is devoid of food before saying anything remotely funny, unless you want to wear it. That is a problem we will happily weather considering all that has gone on in the last 9 1/2 months!

The other news is that pending insurance approval, his discharge date from rehab is now December 16th. It didn't make any sense to us to start school and then stop shortly after for Winter break. We're hopeful that the approval goes through, considering the latest fun and games we've seen. I ranted enough in a recent post about that, so I won't go into all the sordid details. I will only advise you to ALWAYS check with your provider before going to an appointment to make sure they're in your network, even if they were when you've used them before. Because they could potentially leave the network within a 4 month period, and you know, not cover a routine (exorbitant) medical test. One that's required within 24 hours for an appointment by another doctor, who despite being in the same provider network is accepting your insurance. Because #idiocy. (So much for not ranting.) 

Sam has a couple of things coming up this week. He will be seeing the gastroenterologist this week for a checkup. His water intake has been steadily improving, but before the feeding tube comes out, he has to have everything--food, water, meds--administered by mouth for two months solid. We're getting closer to that, but he does have a bit of work to do before we can start the countdown. The medicine is going to be the rough part considering his swallowing issues. Those seem to be improving as well, and so we'll keep you updated on that.  

Also this week, we have another school meeting to make a plan for his return. Sam's goal is still to graduate on time, and we will see how that might work. It's going to take a lot of time and planning, but as of right now, it's still possible even if it's going to be tricky. I'm both anxious and excited about him finishing full time rehab and going back to school. It's time for him to regain more of his normal, pre-accident life. At the same time, he still needs some pretty intensive rehab, and we don't want to lose that momentum in his recovery. I also know that every time we have a major transition, it's absolutely exhausting for all of us. For that, I'm definitely not excited. However, it's still positive movement forward, and that part is exciting.

One other thing of note is that I've hit the realization that with the school year in full swing, there is a little too much for us to handle here on the home front. In truth the reality of life as we know it is what's done the hitting, but let's not split hairs here. Over the last few weeks, we've had a few #TeamSam angels offer to bring us dinner, and those days have been infinitely easier for us. So, I'm restarting the Meal Train. Here is the link to help out if you're so inclined! 

Loeffler Meal Train


Also, we are going through paper towels and small water bottles at breakneck pace, so we'd be very appreciative of any donations of those things. Thanks for always having our backs--and our stomachs, too!

That is all for now. Thank you for following along and continuing to stand by us on this journey!