Seth-n-Jode's Adventures

I got an email from our California boating crew the other day and had to share this photo with you all.  There is some story behind the gatorade but they haven't divulged it yet.  Maybe via the blog!

Eric, Dan and Scott basically lived at our house for ~3 years every weekend in the mid 90's as we were all whitewater kayaker fanatics.  They would drive up from the Bay Area and stay at our house in Sacramento.  I was the planner so I planned out all the trips.  We went all over California boating most every stream we could find.  Man, did we have some adventures.  Like the time Eric was running Clavey Falls on the Tuolumne and got hit by a raft mid rapid, shunted right towards Clavey Hole (a big nasty recirculating type of thing) and narrowly escaped by faceplanting against the rocks.  He definitely met the test of grace under pressure.  Or the time that Dan and Scott inadvertently ran a waterfall that is normally portaged on the South Yuba.  Dan ended up downstream with no boat, using a poagie (something you wear over your hands that attaches to the kayak paddle when its cold out) for his shoe that he had lost.  And Scott was forever in a recirculating eddy that he couldn't get out of.  Seth came to save him and Scott said it was "like the hand of God" getting him out of there.  Oh and did I mention the snoring?  Or the fact that Scott never wanted to wash his polypro because he thought it made it less warm but sure was stinky?  I could go on forever with the stories.  Little quirks and adventures together that cement friendships forever.

I need some help.  What do you do with a guy who is used to walking around, chasing a ball, kayaking a rapid, riding a mountain bike, hiking up a hill who says he just wants to go home?  Who like his normal Seth self is starting to question why the doctors are saying this many weeks before he can stand on this leg and that many weeks before he can stand on the other leg.  And is wondering how he can start to bend some rules to do more exercises.  Who is starting to ask the doctors and therapists really pointed questions and getting them to let him push the boundaries a little more.   He did say that he understands, for my sake, that he won't try to walk or put any weight on his legs yet.  Which gives me some relief!

His Physical Therapists (PT) and Occupational Therapists (OT) are just awesome.   Who wouldn't like a patient who wants to do lots of excercises and makes you laugh with his jokes while you are doing them?  Emily, his PT for today, brought us a phamplet of excercises that he should be doing.  They are doing the excercises with Seth twice per day and she asked me to do them with Seth 1 - 2 X more per day.  This is really great and we really appreciate getting this info so Seth can continue rebuilding his arms and legs. Ron, his OT often takes Seth outside to do his excercises.  I really appreciate this attention to Seth and he really appreciates all that they are doing for him.

Seth's neurologist, Dr. Yarnell, came in today as well and remains very pleased with Seth's healing neurologically.  He thinks he will heal 100% or near 100% with the appropriate therapy.  Mainly Seth is still having a little bit of short term memory loss (although that does seem to be getting better) and he says he is having trouble reading not because he can't read the words but he says the contrast seems to be off (especially in sunny environments) and he has to move his head in order to get the words to show with a proper contrast so he can read them.  His long range vision is good. A friend of ours said that probably there might be some nerve damage from his brain to his eyes but that Craig has a vision clinic that tends to these types of things.  I also want him to do more complex problem solving like he will get at Craig to make sure all those processes are working fine.

The thing with these neurologists is they always ask you for dates like they expect you to have a calendar in your head and everything memorized as to what happened when.  Well as it happens, I did.  Since I kept getting the same types of questions, I had gotten a calendar and put on some key dates, like when the accident happened, when he had surgery, when he had his MRI's, when he will be weight bearing, etc, etc.  This calendar came in immensely handy while we were talking with Dr. Yarnell.

No word yet on if Seth will stay at Kindred until he is admitted to Craig.  We really hope that to be the case. 

Our friends Erinn and Darren came up from Durango again bringing me a load of supplies.  They also brought me some spinach, parsley and mint from my garden.  Dan and Diane, our housesitters, had brought me a load of things from my garden as well last weekend.  Its really great that I get to eat things from my garden in Durango while I'm here in Denver!  Its like a breath of air from home as I open each container.  Erinn and Darren also brought Seth this big huge ice cream cone.  I've been bringing him burritos.  John brought him a pizza yesterday.  Seth is really liking this food over the hospital food although he still remains very skinny!

Have a great weekend everyone!  Bike some mountains for us, climb some walls, hike some trails, kayak some rivers.  Smell the wildflowers.  Listen to the wind blow through the trees.  We'll be with you all in spirit.