There Shall Not Be Room Enough to Receive It – March 17, 2013

Bowling! Amy L. and Cathy H. joined us

Michelle, speech therapist

Well it has been an entire month since writing last and for good reason too.  There were many things going on that prevented me from using a computer to take time and write.  For one, Cassie moved to the transition room soon after one of us stayed the night with here in the armchair.  It was a blessing to stay the night with Cassie, just as I anticipated.  It was nice too, and took me away from the bad habits of staying up late watching TV and thus getting a later start in the morning.  Plus, I had to start going back to work.  Luckily I have the ability to care for Cassie if I need to do so.  While in the transition room we were able to complete our taxes and scholarships, just in case I or both of us return to school this coming fall.  I really don’t know how that will turn out, but hopefully towards the end of the year we will see what progress has been made and whether or not it is a feasible idea.  With our taxes, we should be getting a sizable return, which could not have come at a more helpful time.

Cynthia, occupational therapist

Cassie has the wonderful opportunity of going to the Wilkinson Center at BYU for some bowling! The rehab center has begun an annual bowling activity for those who have suffered from strokes.  Cassie was hesitant at first, unsure if she wanted to go.  We were able to convince her otherwise.  It was uplifting to see Cassie out there being able to bowl (albeit with some assistance on both sides of her).  She ended up having a blast, and it was a pleasure to see how happy she was.

Cassie continues to get better and better all of the time.  She currently can walk with just one person using a forearm crutch.  Her new therapists are Shane, Jory and Jim – who replaced Dustin, Cynthia and Michelle.  It was hard for Cassie to part with Dustin, because he was done with his rotation and went back to New Mexico, and Michelle was done with her's and returned to BYU.  Cassie made sure to take pictures and obtain contact information to keep in touch.  Going back to her progress, she is able to go up and down stairs without too much trouble, is able to navigate around the house in her wheelchair, and stand on her own as she brushes her teeth.  She feels that she is not improving, and on occasion cries because of her fears of what might be the end result.  I see much progress and try to convey that to her.  I couldn’t imagine what she must feel like, especially when it comes to her right arm and hand, which remains the least advanced limb.  She can move it away from her body, but her fingers still are mostly clenched and hard to maneuver.  Her knee has been bending more and she takes longer strides.  With the help of the Nioxin hair products her hair has begun to grow back.  Brittany, the physical therapist from the ICU, gave us some product and then gave her a haircut to make the hair more uniform and symmetrical.

We have tried to do fun things, such as going to Ethan’s wrestling match in Pleasant Grove.  She was riveted watching any of the matches, and was concerned when Ethan would get lifted and slammed.  It was a joy to see her out in the real world doing normal things.  I even treated her to Purple Turtle onion rings and Oreo shake, just to test her mother’s theory that the onion rings are the best in the world.  I disagree – not crunchy enough and way to flimsy.  A lot of the time we stay at home and watch something, like Survivor, Boy Meets World, Arrow, or some movie.

Grandma Johnson hooked Cassie up with an iPad!  It’s the third generation one with the retina display.  She has many apps for learning, such as numbers, colors, shapes, animals, etc.  Also, Mathew from BYU (Amy’s coworker) came over one night and helped to sync our iTunes accounts so that movies and such were available on all devices, in case Cassie wanted to have something on the iPad to break the monotony of the day.  It is nice to have these options, to have content transferable to the iPad.

Cassie, hard at work, moping the floor (it needed it!)

Many people have continued to provide meals for us.  The first week it was every night, and the refrigerator was overflowing.  So we had the meals cut back to Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Other friends have still provided food and snacks in the meantime.  The windows of heaven have surely opened, to the point of not having enough room to receive it all.

Contributed by Christopher Holt