May 8, 2006 - Late Evening

Mandy's been a busy girl, making slow but steady progress and doing some visiting. We have an update from Terri and her day with Mandy the Friday before last and from Christine of their visit last Thursday and this past weekend.

From Terri,"Friday with Mandy was a great day. I told her I would be spending the day with her, and she said she was glad. We went to her counselor first thing, so she was bright and alert and willing to chat quite a bit. She told her counselor, that I was her good friend Terri, and that we'd gone to school together. We convinced her that we'd actually worked together, but Mandy still believed that we went to school together, too. They are trying to help Mandy remember to work on her social skills and be a supportive family member or friend, so she asked her how she had supported me in the past. Mandy said that my husband and I had gotten divorced because he didn’t support me, and she helped me through that. I told her that, while she absolutely did help me through a hard time several years ago, I am still married to my husband and we're doing fine. She was disappointed to hear that!

In education therapy, she did math problems and some reading for comprehension. Some of the math problems were complex word problems that made me cringe, but Mandy only missed one of eight. She also did well at some testing that she was not ready for yet when she first came to CNS. These months have shown tremendous progress!

In OT, we sat at a table for a few minutes waiting for the therapist. During this time, Mandy took the two puzzles that were on the table and worked those out on her own. Then, when the therapist came in, she did an awesome job putting colored and numbered/lettered tiles in the correct slots, choosing to do them one color at a time. Then she did basically the same with tiles that had a letter followed by six numbers. She barely hesitated at these tasks and got done much faster than I would have. (You can almost hear those wheels turning in her head!) Then she went to the kitchen and got her lunch ready, deciding what needed to go into the microwave and for how long. She is apparently doing great at the tasks they are giving her to help her to gain back some independence, and getting her lunch ready is just one of those.

Lunch was a break from her busy day, and she was much more interested in watching the news than in talking much to me. I pulled out some lip gloss and asked if she wanted to use some. She said, "Could I? Oh, you're beautiful!" Then she put in on - perfectly, as always - and said, "Oh, I feel so good now!" I told her she looked good, too, and she just smiled her cute smile.

PT was after lunch, so I sat in the lobby. There was definitely some complaining and arguing going on about her left foot, but since we still don't know just what is causing the pain, we don't know how much complaining there should be. Also, she didn't seem to be any striking out at the therapist, so that's good.

Kurt very kindly let me sit in on the monthly conference, where therapists each come in and give an update on Mandy's progress for the month. That meeting was almost all positive, with Mandy chiming in occasionally. When asked if she still wants the RA to wake her up in the night for a restroom visit, she said yes, then motioned toward Kurt and said, "HE would say, she's already in bed, it's fine." She still knows what she wants, which is wonderful! That made all of us laugh. Her physical therapist wants Kurt to continue with stretching her leg at the apartment, maybe trying it in the morning. (Hopefully, that won't start her off on a grumpy note when she gets to CNS.) We also learned that her doctor wants to have a test done to check the circulation in the left foot, still trying to find out what is causing the pain and swelling, and also considering using Botox injections to see if they might ease the pain. They have to figure that out before they try to push her too much to walk.

It started raining pretty hard when it was time to leave, so I didn't go to the apartment yet, but I hope to see it soon. (I look forward to some games of Uno with the princess.) It was such a good day, though. I just felt happy all the way home, even in rain and traffic!"

From Christine's day on Thursday,"Of course another awesome day with Amanda today! She was in a good mood all day. This may be her favorite day this week…NO PT!!! Although she did have to stand up to mix up a fruit salad, it was quiet complaining for the most part. Once when she did get loud with some curse words & name-calling to her therapist, she was reminded that there are others in the room. So she said very quietly, “You are a f___ b___.”

The fruit salad was made for the Cinco de Mayo celebration tomorrow. I wasn’t allowed to help which may have seemed weird to her. She couldn’t get the bag of walnuts open, and we had no scissors, so she handed the bag to me, “Christine, can you open this for me?” Her therapist (a new one) said, “No, Amanda this is your task. You can do it.” Normally, I would do any “hard stuff” while she & I were cooking together. She used to call me her “she-man” friend! It was just understood that I would open jars, etc.

In counseling, her therapist asked if we would like to play some word games. Mandy gave a big smile & leaned forward in her wheelchair, anxious for instructions:) She did very well at guessing what word we needed, while I gave hints. Then the tables turned as she gave me hints, & so on. Amanda really enjoyed this. When Kelsey was here for a week, 2 years ago, we played “Catch Phrase” for hours, never getting bored! So this weekend, we’ll find that game & play again.

While waiting to go into Speech Therapy, Mandy looked in the window & said, “I like her. She’s a lot of fun!” This therapy was challenging today, as Amanda was asked to put words in order to make complete sentences. At the same time, her therapist had her memorize 5 words that were to be repeated out loud 10 minutes later. This is a great exercise! Mandy watched the clock for that 10-minute mark. Once she got rolling with these tasks, her therapist asked Mandy what her favorite radio station is. “88.5”, she answered! We couldn’t get that station, but had the radio semi-loud while she kept busy. Things got tougher at this point, for all of us! She still did well, but was definitely distracted by the radio.

When asked what 3 things she likes to do on vacation, Mandy wrote, “ I like to water shake, then make dinner, then make some beer & wine.” We could never figure out the 1st part, but the last ones are right on! Amanda’s memory, short & long-term, is definitely improving quickly. Each week, I can see progress! If you haven’t been able to visit in a while, you will be pleasantly surprised!!!"

And from Christine's visit this weekend,"Gene & I were very blessed to get to spend lots of time with Kurt & Mandy this weekend. Saturday was about getting stuff done at the Bethke homestead. Gene & Kurt worked outside, while us girls relaxed indoors & then cleaned for a while. Amanda insisted on helping me dust the furniture in their bedroom. She had to put her shoes & brace on, and walk (with me on one side, pole on the other) to the bedroom where I was working. I told her she does not have to help & she replied, “I just want to be in here with you helping.”

We saw many “Mandyisms” throughout the day, as we joked about old times, such as Gene getting the mail in his boxers once. She giggled a few times, which is sooo nice to hear! She & I picked up lunch at Chili’s, with her giving out directions while I drove. She commented many times about the other idiots on the road, and how “they don’t know what they are doing!” So true!!

Sunday morning, Gene & I picked Mandy up at the apartment bright & early. The RA who assisted her with getting ready told us that Mandy recognized her from last Sunday, which was the 1st time they had met. When Mandy woke, she said, “Oh, you’re the one from Louisiana.” This is such wonderful progress. Then the RA asked Mandy about us. “That’s Gene. He’s my famous neighbor. He’s famous for going outdoors with nothing to keep him warm.” While saying this, she was using her hands to show us the bottom portion of her body, indicating that she remembered the conversation we’d had the day before:)

I cooked lunch while Mandy read magazines, occasionally pointing out something interesting to me. Mom & Grandma & my mom joined us for lunch. She told Grandma Sue, “Grandma, it’s amazing to me how old you are. It’s just amazing. You are so --- cute! It’s just amazing!” In the past, Mandy has always kidded Grandma about how old she is, saying that, “It’s not an insult if it’s true!”

Then we played “Catch Phrase”. Mandy ruled the game! She would never pass the game when her turn was supposed to be over, not that we cared! This means she was giving clues about what word she saw. The best one was in the food/drink category: “It goes in a bowl, and I work there!”. Chili! She was awesome at the game, much like prior to the TBI. Her clues were sometimes difficult to understand, as she still struggles with coming up with the “right” words, but for the most part, we got it! When she doesn’t come up with the exact word she’s looking for, much of the time it is a synonym, so we can definitely tell what she’s getting at."