As usual, as soon as we start to make plans for a move for Vernon, some unforeseen challenge comes along to upset them. Yesterday morning I was told by our case manager that he would be moved to the Santa Ana Carehouse that very afternoon, only to have her call back later to inform me they had declined him after all. Apparently he wasn’t quite ready for that level of care. But in the same conversation, I was told he had already been accepted into Newport Subacute (don’t worry if you can’t keep up: all these names of care-levels confuse me too.) Now its just a matter of getting a nearby dialysis center lined up and he should be moving there by early next week (at the latest.) Or so they say now.
But while that is still up in the air in the future, I can share some of the fun we had with Vernon today.
I got to be there while Pilar, the Speech Therapist, gave him a variety of food to try. Now, the old Vernon loved a variety of flavors, but she is having a difficult time getting him to try new things now. His tastebuds haven’t come back to life yet, I guess. Here is an example of his trying lemon yogurt. Hilarious.
She next tried Apple Juice, which is all he able to drink now, as it has some sort of thickener which makes it easier to swallow.
Then she gave him peanut butter, which was also pretty entertaining to watch. It was a good exercise as he had to really work his tongue in order to unstick it from the roof of his mouth. Eventually, when he was able, he said: “This doesn’t taste like peanut butter.”
When Pilar asked what it tasted like, he said “Something from the bottom of a truck!”
He remembered Chris being there yesterday and the rounds on the wheelchair they had taken. He said he’d had a great time chatting with him, and how “he hadn’t really got to know him before, but was enjoying getting to know him now.” This is the first I’ve been able to see his short term memory coming back in such a clear way. Usually he gets his days and memories very mixed up, and rarely remembers what happened the day before.
Chris sent me this video of him yesterday doing memory work with Pilar. He was able to work on even more complex reading-comprehension questions today. Great! Vernon should hurry up and get better…he can help Maki out with his Common Core Math problems so I won’t have to!
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So good to get your blog Allison…Joe and I were just saying we missed it this last week. Well I don’t know if you can see it since you see Vernon so regularly but he is so (big emphasis} improved since the time Sandy, Joe, and I went up to see him. Wow its absolutely amazing! So excited to see it! And also I wanted you to know as we watched the blog of him repeating the stories Pilar read to him we were just cheering him on like a football game or something for him to get it right as he repeated the story. That was amazing – he got all of it right. Well just know we are really rejoicing in the progress….love you so much, Nancy & Joe
HI Nancy! I love that you were cheering him on! If you go back on the blog, you can see the posts that you may have missed. There was a little glitch so that it wasn’t emailed out, but they are there! Love you guys so much!
Thanks Allison for the heads up on the missing blogs…we’ll watch them and get all caught up! Love you, Nancy and Joe
food glorious food!!! but maybe he didn`t want some more!!??? Allison waking up to these videos this morning is just amazing .. look at Vern!!!.. doing so much,every day something new … just amazing!! ..love to see him in a t-shirt (one of those mum and dad sent him too , they will love to see that).
love hearing pilars voice and seeing Veronica in the background ..feels like i`m still there visiting Vern (wish i was).. i hope you can share some more videos, and his move goes smoothly next week x
love and miss you all xx
It is so encouraging to see how much faster Vernon is recovering these days. It is very moving. Praise be to God!
Wow … I know it seems like forever ago but in the big picture this is just a blimp, to think of where Vernon was just a few months ago to his ability eat, swallow and retell stories so well is miraculous. On the video I noticed his brain most getting the word out “discount” his lips start to form and then he moves on. And that face! That is exactly the face Lily does when she eats applesauce and I have told my sister I bet it tastes NOTHING like applesauce!!!!! and now Vernon has just confirmed my suspicion. What a total blessing to have Vernon be able to tell you what these things are like – I think your videos are going to help researchers in the field and other patients experiencing the same things. And God love him for knowing that the flavor “is a fruit that he would not pick up and eat” << HE IS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER ALISSON!! Prayers for his continued healing.
It truly is one day at a time…he’s making it, my dear! There is a fire in there working it’s way to the surface! Love you!
Wow Allison, that fruit yogurt routine was really funny. I just can’t imagine being bothered by a yogurt flavor that much. It’s good to see Vern being so expressive and disliking something so much, but please don’t try to serve him Greek yogurt. That stuff is so so so nasty. . . he would throw it at you!