Week Four - Friday

So here we sit still in Arizona and four weeks have passed since the accident. Sometimes I look around and don't even know the life I used to lead. Now my days and nights are filled with trying to help Lenny get through this. It is a weird feeling to think how simple life really used to be before the accident, and how you take it for granted. Get up, go to work, hang out with friends, watch TV, all like clockwork. Now we barely sleep, keep on schedule for Lenny's therapies, and help him with every little daily task that we all can do easily. Even brushing his teeth is a chore for him, and I can see he feels helpless. I am pulling from every piece of my insides to stay strong and never let him see any sleepiness or sadness on my face and we are making it through day by day.

I thought today I would walk you through our day, as it is becoming pretty repetitious. Every night we receive Lenny's therapy schedule for the next day so we know what time he has to be where. We wake up each day (after our many wake ups throughout the night) at 6:30am as breakfast is at 6:45. I go down to the cafeteria and get Lenny's breakfast and bring it back to the room to him. Then I go back and get my own and we eat breakfast together. After breakfast I take the trays back to the cafeteria then proceed to get him up and ready for the day. Today for example we had PT at 9am and OT at 10am. Lenny does all his grooming (brush teeth, wash face, etc.) in bed because he has this great tray table with a mirror in it. Then he gets dressed (I had to buy him all new stuff because of course he had only been wearing a hospital gown since they cut off his board shorts at the accident scene). To get out of bed Lenny uses what is called a slideboard. It is a piece of wood that is about 2 feet long that we put under him, then he slides across it from the bed to the wheelchair. He has gotten really good at it.

At 9am we went down to PT and his therapist was assigned another patient besides Lenny so since I knew all of his starting exercises I was his PT coach for the first half hour doing his leg exercises. Then his therapist teaches him a few new exercises every day. At 10am we went over to OT which seems to be different kinds of things every time he goes. Some days it is puzzle type exercises, some days it is upper body workout, some days it is how to do normal day to day things like take a shower (which we know how to do now). Today he did upper body strength exercises and he did excellent. I told him that next time we will have to take a picture to share with you all.

At 11am is lunch and the procedure is the same as breakfast. Today at 1pm he had speech therapy which is where they put him through exercises to test his brain functionality (memory, problem solving, etc). This is the one he hates the most because he feels they ask him questions for 5 year old. I just keep telling him it is part of the healing process and to just hang in there.

After speech today I helped him take a shower before getting him back into bed (we all know how much Lenny loves showers). After his shower it was time for dinner at 5pm and the procedure is the same as breakfast and lunch of course. After dinner he took a nap for an hour and then we do more little things like brush teeth, etc. Most of my day is spent adjusting pillows, rubbing feet, legs, back, because he is so miserably uncomfortable. If I could do anything for him it would be to make him feel comfortable. Last night I went to Target and bought him a blanket like one we have at home and 6 pillows. He thinks the rubber pillows they have here in the hospital are making him sweat so he asked for different pillows. Even with all of that nothing seems to keep him comfortable for more then 5 to 10 minutes. It seems that as soon as I sit down I am right back up fluffing a pillow or getting him something.

He takes all his medicine at 9 in the morning and night, so at about 10 every night I turn out the lights and try to get him to go to sleep which lasts about an hour at a time. Last night he did really good and only woke up 3 times, he thinks it is because of the blanket and pillows I bought him, and I hope so. I cannot tell you what a helpless feeling it is to see him hurting and so uncomfortable all the time knowing there is nothing I can do but fluff a pillow or get him something to drink. I guess I am feeling a heavy heart today, wanting to be able to help him so much more then I can, and trying to put aside all my own feelings in all of this. I keep wondering when I will stop waking up wondering if this all was just a dream.

We miss everyone and home so much, Lenny got some flowers today which made him smile, and Mishell went over to the house today to overnight Lenny his Laker jersey's so he has them by Monday. It is really funny that Monday starts the Western Conference Finals and it is Phoenix vs. Lakers and we are here in Phoenix. He really wants to live it up with the Laker stuff here in his room so he will be glad to have his jerseys.

Tomorrow we start all over again, and I will try to get some pictures for you all.

Well it is about that time to get him to try to sleep, good night all.
Love Nanc