This past week was a big one during Anthony's traumatic brain injury rehab program. It feels like everything happened all at once and we had couple of big moments. First, Anthony was approved to walk freely by himself. This ultimately gave him his independence back. Second, he ran for the first time! He was supported on a machine of course but he ran. Big moment for Anthony and I could see how much that meant to him. His spirits were definitely lifted. Personally, my big moment was when we were in the elevators and he was standing on his own and he reached to give me a hug and he held ME instead. Finally, we found out that they decided to move his discharge date up so our time here is coming to an end sooner that everyone thought it would. This is such great news because this means Anthony is doing really well but also nerve wracking, at least for me, because we are about to be thrown into real life. We have had a team of doctors surrounding Anthony providing him constant support and all of that is about to go away very quickly.
It has felt like this whole experience has been going in phases and we are now on phase 3:
Phase one was survival with not knowing if Anthony was going to make it. I was constantly worried he was going to die. Phase 2 moved out of survival and into a much more physical mode not knowing if he would be paralyzed for life. Daily improvements started happening and we have seen good progress with Anthony's physical abilities coming back. I feel like I can confidently say he will not only get 100% of his walking back but he will most likely run again on his own too. The question now is how long and how many of the minor motor skills will he get back to full potential. At this point, we don't know. This may seem like not a big deal in the scheme of things, but for Anthony this is huge. Getting his fine motor skills back could determine whether or not he can get back to his job.
Phase 3 is our next phase. This is the beginning to adjusting to normal life which is going to bring on so many other challenges. Anthony has physically made progress with big milestones like walking again, but where it is going to be challenging is doing simple things in daily life. He had to cook a meal for his doctors today and that was pretty hard. A normal daily task that everyone does without a second thought. Simple things that require fine motor skills like writing, putting on shoes or other clothes for example are still tough. On top of that add in trying to manage two rambunctious kids. He also gets mentally tired pretty quickly because he has to exert more energy to do tasks that many of us don't have to. This means he has to make sure he is taking the necessary time to rest when he starts to feel fatigued because it is not good to push past that. He also still doesn't have full feeling in his left leg which makes things physically hard.
I don't know what phase 4 is yet. Maybe its the exciting part where we are better people because of all this. I have a feeling though the phases won't stop and they will just continue to evolve for the rest of our life. We are just so profoundly happy that he is a lucky one and will be able to life his life to the fullest for the most part.
Anthony started his own IG account to document his recovery journey and i just have to quote him because he said it so well...
"I just want to say that I am extremely lucky but not lucky. And the reason I say that is that there are many men and women that lose their lives, in my line of work. Also, there are men and women who get injured in my line of work who don’t gain back as much of the ability that I have, who fight to improve every day. My ability to hug my family and talk to them and be cognitively aware is a blessing. And I am reminded of that every day.
The hospital I am currently in has patients that have not regained their cognitive ability and who have to breathe through straws to complete basic tasks, and my heart goes out to them and their families .
I have spoken to a few of those individuals and some of the things that have brought them to this situation are often times simple and heartbreaking. I tell you this because I want you to watch out for the basic things in everyday life that can put you in a crappy situation like slipping on rugs, tripping over a toy, falling off a ladder, falling down the stairs, getting hit by car while unloading at the beach, falling on a bicycle or not wearing a helmet while you’re skiing are a few of the things we do everyday that can change your life in an instant. So, please be very careful, because one simple slip or inattention can change your life and your family‘s life instantly. So I say again don’t take the time with your kids and family for granted. And I am not trying to make a mockery of people in these situations with my videos. The videos are therapeutic to me and I am just so blessed I’m able to make them."
- @bulletproof_tony_recovery
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