May 15, 2009
This morning began in earnest, with visits from doctors and PT, OT and RT (physical, occupational, and respiratory therapists). Meg was able to sit in a wheel chair for the first time, and after Mark Woempner and I were properly trained on wheel chair use, we were able to wheel Meg around the third floor to see the busy ongoings of her new home away from home.
Meg was also taken off of antibiotics this afternoon. This is great news and a further indication that her body is showing signs of stabilization after the traumatic shock of the wreck. Most importantly, we won't be having all those tangled tubes and IV equipment to manage on our next wheelchair outing. During OT today, Meg used special adaptive equipment on her hands and was able to write her name on a dry erase board. It was her first go at it, and though it did not resemble the Meg handwriting that we all know, it apparently did look uncannily like her former Boss Dave Daniel's penmanship. Meg thoroughly enjoyed her OT session and said that all the stretching and movement made her body feel completely different and somehow refreshed.
Visitors started coming almost as soon as we arrived Thursday, and have continued to come today. Please keep this up as it really brightens her day. Visitors are especially encouraged on the weekends, when Craig Hospital sort of quiets down and the patients have some down time from the rigorous rehabilitation and therapy. All you need to do is get the 5 minute wheelchair training (just grab a nurse, CNA, or tech and they'll show you what to do), and you can then wheel Meg around, and maybe even take her out to get some sun. She'd love it.
