Would you rather?

Tuesday was another great day! 

Started with awesome PT/OT. In physical therapy, they had Porter try out a new power assisted wheelchair. It's kind of like an E-bike where you do what you can and then it helps you keep going. They put these cool grippy gloves on him that helped. He picked it up really quickly and made a lap around the whole room. I love how they change things up everyday to give him new experiences and are able to see what he can do. 

They also have him learning to move himself to relieve the pressure off his bum. They like them to do this every 20 min or so when they are in their wheelchairs. So they are teaching him different ways to do this. In occupational therapy, Thomas, his therapist, wheeled him up to a table with 2 spoons on it. I could see Porter look at that table and back up at me like, "Um, I can't use my hands." He didn't say that, but that's the feeling I got. For the next 45 minutes, Thomas worked with Porter until he could pick up the spoon and get it into his mouth. I was AMAZED. First of all, Thomas wants to help Porter. You can tell he is so invested in his patients because he has learned to move like them, and think like them. If you would have been watching from afar off, you wouldn't have been able to tell which one was the patient. It's like he can feel what they feel. He has learned how to maneuver his arms and hands to function like someone with an injury like Porter. He showed Porter various ways to go about picking up the spoon, and teaching him tricks to go about it very differently than just reaching out and grabbing it. I was so interested to see this therapy session. It's awesome to watch his therapist show him a new way to do things with his abilities right now. I think it gives Porter hope as he does these things and see that it's possible. Although, it is VERY frustrating for Porter as he tries and tries and tries and just keeps not being able to do things. He can see it in his head, but his body just won't do what he tells it to do. His frustration is very audible sometimes and then other times, he just closes his eyes and doesn't say anything. Everyone keeps telling him to express what he's feeling, even if it's not nice. They say, "Let us know what you're thinking. If you're frustrated tell us so we can figure out a better or different way. If you're not wanting to talk and need a moment, just close your eyes and breathe. If you are mad, let it out. This sucks and we want to help you to figure it all out." They are very validating and patient. 

We spent some time outside on the balcony. I took a pic of Porter to send to my brother,  because he was wearing his NOMATIC shirt...from my brother's company (you should check them out). He responded, "Life on the move. A whole new meaning." That is their slogan, "Life on the move." It suddenly took on new meaning for me as well. I love what their company stands for especially with new eyes. "To us, that means so much more than just physical movement, it's a way of life. It's constantly trying to progress in all facets of life, whether that's physical, mental, in your hobbies, or in relationships. We believe that "Life on the move" is a life well lived."

 I tried to lay out and catch some rays, but Porter wanted me to feed him Cheez-its that the resident physician brought him. I was telling her that I thought we should have something like a doggy treat to give Porter when he does what we ask or 'performs a new trick'. Porter said he would pick Cheez-its. Next thing we knew, she went out and bought him some. SOOOO nice. We have had some great education classes that teach us about the spinal cord and SCI (Spinal Cord Injuries) or how to take care of your skin or what's happening with your muscles. It's all very informative and interesting and Porter always passes the quizzes at the end. Even though he has his eyes closed for half the power point, he must still be listening. (Just like during scriptures). They are always impressed. He's got a great mind and we are so very grateful it wasn't injured in the accident. 

Miranda, our favorite speech therapist came and talked to us more about concussions and also some cognitive stuff. She wants to do a test on him to see if he is remembering things and recalling things and still has his wits about him. She said she doesn't have any concerns, they just like to do it to make sure we aren't missing anything. Sometimes other things take the front seat and less obvious things get overlooked. She doesn't want that to happen. In the course of our conversation, she was asking why he still had the feeding tube. We told her it was only to make sure he could swallow a pill and be eating enough. She felt like we were good in all those areas so she said, "I'm going to ask the doc if I can pull out that NG tube...right now." And she did and then, she did. She pulled that sucker out right quick. She was making all sorts of jokes about never having done it before and that she googled it right before she came in to see us. She said, "It can't be that hard." So, we were VERY confident in her. She's hilarious. We were thrilled. She gets things done. Porter has never looked so cute. I love his face. 

Since they pulled out his feeding tube unexpectedly, they hadn't ordered pill form meds because they have all been liquid and been put in his feeding tube. They were able to get all of them in pill form for his evening doses except one. He decided to just 'send it' and boy did he regret that. It was only about 1 1/2 Tbsps. but it was terrible. Almost immediately after he swallowed it, he was saying how bad it was burning his mouth and throat and he kept having a gag reflex. I grabbed a garbage can and was just waiting for it to come back up. He just sat there swallowing every couple of seconds and he could not get the taste out of his mouth. We tried various things and the only thing that seemed to help a little was strawberry ice cream. But even with that, he was dying. He said, "I bet you can't think of a 'would you rather' for this. I would pick the other thing every time." We came up with some pretty bad ones and he still picked them. It was not okay. Poor guy. Luckily, it had somewhat mellowed out by the time he was going to bed. I felt so bad. 

We had quite a few visitors today and it's so nice to see how many people are anxious to see him and help and do whatever they can. It's wonderful. We appreciate the love and support so much. 

"We all have battles to fight. And it's often in those battles that we are most alive. It's on the frontlines of our lives that we earn wisdom, create joy, forge friendships, discover happiness, find love and do purposeful work." - Eric Greitens