No news is good news

Well, things are slow and steady around here, and we are certainly grateful.

Ben had a rough night with some stomach issues, so he didn't get much sleep. He is feeling much better today. Ben's mom spent last night with him, and his sister drove me home and stayed with me, all of which was a huge help and a relief.

When Katie and I got back this morning at about 8:30, there was a flurry of activity in Ben's room. We all got a little confused by everything going on. One nurse mentioned a possible discharge for Ben today, an occupational therapist came by, no one knew if physical therapy was stopping by again later, and no one was exactly clear on when Ben's doctor would come in and check on him.

Luckily, a lot of those questions have been answered throughout the day. The occupational therapist recommended outpatient occupational therapy for Ben. This is therapy that will help him gain back functions to use in everyday activities like caring for himself and eventually returning to work. It will focus on fine motor skills.

The physical therapist came by as well, and helped Ben practice walking, bending, and tackling the stairs. He did wonderfully....I was so impressed! The physical therapist also recommended outpatient therapy. She did say Ben should definitely not be home alone at this point, and that we had to make sure he would not be stubborn and try to walk anywhere alone once he did get home. She did share that to qualify for inpatient therapy, a patient needs to have pretty significant deficits in at least 2 areas. Since Ben is doing so well with the occupational side and the physical side, he wouldn't qualify for inpatient rehab at all. That is definitely a good thing!

The discharge nurse shared a few details about how things would work when we do leave the hospital. Ben will be able to do his outpatient therapy appointments at CMC-University, and the first appointments will be a week from today. She will give us notes and any of his prescriptions to take with us.

We also got to see one PA from Dr. Asher's office today, which was great. She gave us some details on Ben's follow up appointments and care, but she reiterated that another doctor should be coming by today with more details. She was the PA who had been in the office with us when we first learned about this diagnosis/surgery, and even though her specialty is brains (not spines), it was very reassuring to see and talk to someone who has been with us through this whole process.

While there was talk of discharging Ben today, that is looking less and less likely at this point. Ben still needs to see a doctor or PA to be officially discharged, and we have some questions about his incision, caring for it, other follow up steps, etc. We are also hoping to see or at least talk to the therapists one more time to get some idea of exercises Ben can do at home before he officially starts outpatient therapy.

I will update with any big news, but we are feeling good about Ben's progress and the next steps. The days have felt long so far, but I know how much longer they would feel if things were worse, so I am very grateful. :-)