The wtgs could use your long distance support
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BTW, I used Claude early on to interpret imaging reports, and later I fed it all the PT and OT reports. Am using AI carefully, mostly to explain what certain terminology means. It explained what was going on (imaging) and also the "lingo" of PT and OT. It was most helpful. My first use of AI...it saved me a lot of time....
I also tried to use it to come up with the right ramp configuration so we can get into the house with Mr wtg in a wheelchair. It gave some info on ramp manufacturers who make quality products, but it failed pretty miserably at basic geometry....I ended up doing my own "design", which I tested today with the wheel chair that was delivered. I set up the ramps and did a dry run with an empty chair, and then had a friend come over and I took her for a ride up into the house and a tour around the first floor. Everything worked as expected!
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Another tidbit in the whole hospital experience...Epic/MyChart has a section called Day at a Glance. It contains the reports from anyone who has interacted with a patient. Imaging, OT/PT/SLP, doctors, shift nurses, social workers. It's very helpful to be able to stay close to what's going on. It has helped me ask the right questions and to keep an eye on the medical stuff just in case something got missed or recorded incorrectly. Definitely helps anyone advocating for the patient.
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Sending my best vibes. Glad you got a ramp in what seems to be a short time. With the wheelchair and transfers to and from bed, take care of your back. Great to know there has been improvement.
Glad you got a ramp in what seems to be a short time.
Claude recommended two manufacturers whose products seem to be of higher quality, Prairie Valley Industries (PVI) and EZ-Access. I ordered this portable ramp from Home Depot, one of the EZ-Access models. Figured if it didn't work out, it's an easy return to a store. I got two of the 4' portable suitcase style with a non-skid surface. Each one weights around 20 lbs, so super easy to set up/take down.
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Mr wtg has been going to day rehab three times a week since he got home in early April. PT, OT, and SLP, though the speech therapy was dropped after 20 visits.
He's made good progress on the PT/walking front, though he still requires someone to be close by and help him a bit when the right leg doesn't quite follow through. He's gone on a muscle relaxant to help with post-stroke spasticity; it's helped quite a bit. And he's going to be fitted with a custom brace to help with the foot drop.
Occupational therapy was kind of a bummer yesterday. The various therapy disciplines do an evaluation every 10th visit to see how things are progressing; that was yesterday. They indicated that his right arm isn't really responding to all the therapies that they were throwing at it. Mr wtg has been diligent about doing the exercises, mirror box therapy, and imagery, but there hasn't been much progress in the arm. While Mr wtg had kind of sensed that, it was hard to hear it from the "expert". And she didn't do a good job of talking about their assessment of his status; he was totally bummed.
But then, maybe an hour after we got home...
The doorbell rang and when I answered it, a nice looking man about our age said "I'm a classmate of Mr wtg. My name is Larry Schott". I had heard stories about the legendary Larry, so of course we invited him in to visit. He and Mr wtg hadn't been in touch since college.
The guy is a force of nature. He's married to Carole Coleman, who was a reporter for an Irish broadcaster called RTE.
https://magill.ie/archive/alleluia-carole
She's written three books, and Larry brought us her most recent one, which is a look back at the first six months of COVID. They moved to her home town in Ireland after Sandy Hook; they had two adopted daughters from Russia and decided they wanted to be elsewhere, so they moved .
The story gets better...
I had forgotten that Larry is an MD and I asked him what his specialty was. Lo and behold, he was an interventional neurologist who used to place stents in people's carotid and cerebral arteries. Talk about serendipity! He was much more encouraging about the possibility of Mr wtg's arm regaining function, and he encouraged him to keep at it. "I've seen miracles. Don't give up." He also told him that he was doing really well considering where in the brain the stroke was. "The 1%".
Such a happy day. And he stopped by again today and visited for a while longer. He's in town for his aunt's funeral. Apparently he has been back in the area many times and kept thinking about stopping by, but thought he might not be welcomed with open arms because of the long hiatus in communication. His wife finally said to him, "Just do it. It will be fine."
She was right.
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