Carson continues his adaptation to the rehabilitation schedule and actually had his first good night (relatively speaking) of sleep since the injury. He was previously waking every ~30 minutes with pain and breathing difficulties, but last night he was able to go 1.5-2 hrs in between episodes. After spending the night with him, he had no place BUT to improve in sleeping. As a result, he was able to put forth better effort in his PT sessions, which mainly focus right now on getting him to sit upright for longer periods of time while controlling his blood pressure. Following a spinal cord injury, the regulation of blood pressure decreases and the body needs time to adapt. This is slowly improving. Carson was already very strong in his upper body at the time of the injury and this will be HUGE in his recovery, since he will be lifting his own legs around and propelling himself along in a wheel chair. Also, to clarify any prior confusion, he finally had his feeding tube removed today, hopefully for good. The doctor purposefully left this in until Carson could demonstrate that he could adequately swallow and process regular food, which he has done over the past several days. Once he met the caloric intake necessary, they removed the tube. Even though they left this in, he hasn't been fed through this for multiple days. One more hurdle eclipsed. His arm strength is good for biceps/triceps, shoulders, but fine motor movement, grip, and finger strength are all still very crude. He still has no sensation below his upper chest.........nothing......for now.
After speaking with Carson and looking at each day's schedule, visiting hours should be between the hours of 5:30 to 7:30 P.M.----(1730-1930 for you military oriented folks) M-F. Saturdays are more flexible, but mostly the same times. Sundays are open. Generally speaking, he is busy from early morning through the above mentioned visiting times in OT, PT, eating lunch/sleeping. Also, please be aware that he is often tired after treatment sessions and may not be able to fully attend to conversations. If they are moving him or taking care of personal needs, visitors may also have to wait a few minutes. Finally, there is a "commons" area in the rehabilitation unit where multiple people can meet and talk rather than in his room proper. He is currently located at the University of Utah Rehabilitation Unit on the 2nd Floor. I'm sure he will look forward to seeing you.....
All of you may not realize it, but your support is helping to keep this man emotionally alive and full of hope for a brighter day---I see it in his eyes when letters and cards are read to him. I can virtually guarantee that when Carson is able, he will acknowledge this to each of you personally.
Stephen Tueller
