h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You all deserve a better year

Sending all my best wishes to you for the New Year . .. ... ............

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html


his will power will see him recovertrue human spirit doesn't know the word "defeat"

In the play The History Boys one of the characters says, "History is just one f...ing thing after another." Sometimes we can describe life like that. If you do go to America I hope you have a lovely time. I'll be in Atlanta in June.

All the best wishes for you all, Lady P!

Thanks.

Not much new, but I'll keep you updated. I always have this thread in mind; reactions here have been lovely throughout this whole thing, and I'm very grateful to the lot of you for your support.

A few recent updates:

Over the last week or so, they've started given him actual food (instead of being fed through a tube). Not solid food yet, just mushy stuff, like baby food, until he can get used again to chewing and swallowing.
Perhaps thanks to getting this sort of 'exercise' (and perhaps not, I have no idea), he managed yesterday to utter some sounds, when asked to. So hopefully he's on his (long, slow) way to talking.

That is really good news. I guess that there are quite a few people on this thread wishing him well and looking forward to a very positive outcome for him. I like to imagine that my positive thoughts combine with the others to make his recovery more possible.

Eating and swallowing are very important for talking. Or at least that's what we were told in my mom's last months. It may have been the other way 'round, or perhaps reciprical--that was in 2000, and I had other things on my mind at the time

Well done on eating and speaking progress!

Kinda drifted off for quite a while, there. And a lot can happen in three months.

Well, depending on your definition of 'a lot'. Cousin keeps progressing, but it is a slow process. So on one hand, he's doing great - on the other hand, there's a long way to go yet.
He's been eating proper food for quite a while, now; very recently they removed the feeding tube to his stomach (which has been used at first to supplement what he's been eating, then for liquids, because apparently drinking is more difficult to master, physically), and that is not only good as far as his physical progress is going, it also means he can finally wear t-shirts.
He's been speaking for a while now, too, although he still can't speak very clearly. Again, that's mostly just a physical issue (I think he also has some trouble concentrating on stuff, but I'm not sure, because my information is limited). His speech therapist found out that it's the sounds made further back in the throat (like velar and guttural, for those familiar with the linguistic lingo) that are harder for him. Cognitively, though, he's fine - he can understand and respond to all the languages he knew before, he remembers the things he knew before, and in general he seems to be just the same person, 'inside' (his brother's wife had a boy not long ago, and he suggested the name Adolf, which is exactly the sort of stupid provocative joke he enjoyed).
In general, mastering his muscles seems to be the greatest challenge. There are small improvements all the time, but he still can't sit up without help, let alone stand, let alone walk. His doctors believe he will get there, eventually, but these things take a lot of time.

They're starting to think of getting back to Israel sometime around June or so - he said he wanted to, and it will definitely be very good for his parents (I've seen the photos of his mother - my aunt - and she looks like she aged ten years these last few months), but there's a lot of bureaucracy to sort out.

That seems to be all there is ot update, I think. I'll try to keep the updates going, at least when something significant happens.

I'm glad to see progress! Really good, that it keeps moving, and not stopping. So, joking eh? That's a great thing! And off tubing, also wonderful! Mazel Tov!

I believe the brain has wonderful capability to learn new ways of doing familiar things, and it seems he has the attitude to do it!

"exactly the sort of stupid provocative joke he enjoyed" slow but sure, but! if humour is therethen he's a fighter and doesn't know or take defeat, as it isn't an option - I've been there (still am)

he'll make good recovery

Thanks, you two. Prof, it is very good to hear that - and yes, humour was one of the first signs that he was doing well cognitively. Even before he started speaking, when he was watching a movie and laughing at the right places, it was a good sign.

It's good hear such positive news about your cousin, Lady P


lil x

Thanks for sharing your good news, Lady P. Best wishes to all, and I hope they can get home soon.

This is really good news. I'm sure being closer to normality will be a great boost for him.

Really need to be updating here - it's been a number of months now since I last wrote, and many things have happened with my cousin.

The most significant thing is that my aunt and uncle finally brought him to Israel, in September. He's now staying at the Beit Loewenstein rehabilitation centre, which is supposed to be very good. A little more recently they also started renting a (wheelchair-accessible) flat somewhere nearby, and have been bringing him there on Saturdays, which I think is a good thing, because what can you do, hospitals are a depressing place. Anyway, now that they're all here it's a bit easier to share the burden and to have family and friends visiting. That should also help.
He's still progressing slowly, though. He can speak, but not very clearly, and it's hard for him to form long sentences so he can't hold a conversation very well. He can stand, and walk a little, but only when aided. It is still very hard for him to move his left side (which suffered more damage, because the hemorrhage was on the right side), although he's getting better and that, and can lift his left leg when prompted, for example. He sleeps a lot - sometimes it seems that he demands to go to sleep because he's frustrated or annoyed, or uncomfortable sitting on his wheelchair, but he also seems to genuinely be tired a lot. We're not exactly sure if that's a natural part of the process he's going through (apparently it might be), or if he's not sleeping well at night and so he's tired during the day (also possible, he's sharing a room with a number of other patients), or something else.
He is definitely better than he was a year ago, but right now progress is slow, and that can be hard to take (I guess the problem is that the brain is so complicated that head injuries are all very different, so one person might progress faster, another might not - and it's very hard to predict. That's the impression I'm getting, anyway). Especially for his parents (understandably). I mean, it's all very difficult for all involved. I go visit, with my parents, every other weekend or so (my parents go more often), and try to help by cooking stuff, or in other little ways.

That's all I have to share, I guess. He's getting better, but he's not there yet. We're hopeful he'll eventually recover, but the process will take a long time.

We appreciate the update. Best wishes to all involved. I'm sure it's a long and wearying process, but it sounds like progress is being made.