Everyone woke up this morning with things to do. We packed the girls off to school and then prepped Claire for our return visit to OCH Dallas. Aside from having to fill out another library of paperwork because we are outpatient instead of inpatient visitors, there’s not much to report in terms of progress. Claire’s physician, Dr. Raji, was pleased with the improvement in Claire’s arms and reported that we were doing all the right things. Yet the now familiar refrain of “wait and see” rings in our ears.
We did make some slight changes to Claire’s regimen. Claire will go to outpatient therapy once a week now instead of three. We feel that our efforts at home have been more productive so far. The time it takes to get ready and drive over to Grapevine would be better spent conducting exercises and sessions at home. As Claire continues to improve, we will re-evaluate increasing the number of sessions at outpatient therapy with a more aggressive rehab plan.
We also asked the doctor to prescribe Ambien for Claire. Claire has been on Seroquel as a sleep-aid since she was admitted to OCH Dallas. It is primarily a psychiatric drug and we would prefer to have Claire on a med that targets sleep: Ambien is a good place to start. We will trial the Ambien for a month and hope to move Claire off the Seroquel soon. While we wait to wean off the Seroquel, we are taking Claire off the Amantadine right away. We learned that the Amantadine has a history of causing reflux. Dr. Raji wasn’t seeing any continued benefit from the Amantadine and since Claire has been struggling to keep food down, we decided to cease Amantadine doses. It will be out of her system by Sunday.
The rest of Claire’s day was mild. Her calm mood matched the subdued day outside in north Dallas. Claire was content. And we were reluctant to push her hard today for therapy. Tiffany conducted some easy sessions throughout the day, keeping Claire loose and comfortable. The break ended at 7:30 PM. We gave her legs a vigorous session. Her quadriceps have been a growing source of discomfort the last week. We made them our focus tonight. Claire was not happy. It was a mixture of contempt for not being consulted and overall discomfort. She may not have wanted to do it, but she did. And by the end of the night her legs were more flexible and her disposition even more relaxed.
The hefty workout was a great prep for sleep. Just talking about it makes me more sleepy. So with that, I bid you a good night. Thank you for your continued support and prayers.
Our Claire Journal 