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Monday, September 19, 2011

Todays Thought

9/19/11

Still more falls, and this particular weekend was especially bad, Bernie’s balance was way off. He fell Friday night down 2 stairs and has quite the contusion on his thigh, and again hit an elbow. He did not have the pads on because it was the middle of the night and he does not sleep with them. Our bathroom (on the main floor) should be done in a week to 10 days, and then he won’t have to go down stairs to use the facilities. I will also be moving the TV from the basement upstairs also, so he will have no reason to go down to the family room in the basement, we are at that point where we have to make major changes to keep him safe. The TV in the basement has a home theater system hooked up to it so he likes to watch things downstairs but the stairs are unsafe so he will have to make some adjustments too. He is generally slowing down in all areas, there are noticeable progressions almost weekly, unless you are with him a lot you might not notice them but they are there. He will be starting another round of PT soon so I am hoping that it will strengthen his legs and arms so he can hopefully be better balanced, I just don’t know if that will help. Although we try to take it one day at a time I sometimes wonder if the progression picks up at this point. After having this condition for 4-5 years and neuron continue to die off it just seems like it will get worse at a quicker pace. I wish I knew someone to talk to who has been through this, just to see their story and timeline, it might help me to prepare for what’s ahead.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Still Eye Issues

9/12/11

The Botox injections are helping with the involuntary closing of Bernie’s eyes, however I have noticed that his blink rate is significantly less than before and much less than what is required. His eyes are now red and dry, and he has also developed an infection. The optometrists says it is because his eyes are not blinking which would lubricate the eyes normally. So is this because of the Botox injections or again a natural progression as it could be either. That’s what makes this condition so difficult, deciding what is progression and what is considered side effects. We go back to the neurologist in December so hoping he can shed so light on this.
Bernie has decided he wants to wear elbow pads to help with his falls, he seems to fall mostly on his left side and bang that elbow, and it has been bruised of months.  I am looking into a better elbow pad at this time because he bought a set at Wal-Mart for extreme sports and although they do help somewhat I would like to see if I can get something that is a better fit, these slide down on his arm. He has fallen on it so much that he has bone chips floating around it, I am surprised that he has not broken it yet. That is one of my biggest fears it that he will fall and break a bone whether is a hand, elbow, shoulder, hip, or God forbid his head, it could set him back to the point where he might not recover fully.
I am trying to find some time where I can sit and put more thought out there but for now all I have time for are these tidbit.

God Bless,
Kelly