Well it has almost been a week since we have been home. What a busy week it has been! Sean said to tell you he is very thankful for all the prayers, cards, gifts, meals and visits….. they all mean a great deal to him. He promises to respond to all the emails and letters as soon as he is able to type again (or I find the time to let him dictate the typing to me). 😉

Some highlights of our first few days home….

We finally got off the IV Wednesday! We were both thankful for that because that meant no more late night “bottles” as Sean called them. He is still on the steroids for at least another 5 days which means he will still be an eating machine for a little while longer.

Hallelujah… last night was our first night of pain-free sleeping! He woke up so happy today. Let’s pray this continues.

Friday was Sean’s first day of rehab and boy did they work him! He will go everyday from 9:00 – 3:00 (WOW!) and his day will consist of a regiment of speech, physical and occupational therapy with a little school work mixed in. I was with him on the first day to get to know the therapist and help them understand Sean’s abilities prior to the surgery and his goals…. but now he will go on his own. I am not sure how long he will have to go to the full day rehab. They will finish their assessments early next week and give us a goal date. Given what I saw yesterday, I expect it to be at least a month. They gave us a cane to take home yesterday and he is totally enjoying his new found freedom around the house and neighborhood.

Yesterday was one of the first times we were actually told realistically what to expect. In a nut shell it looks like at least 6 months to a year before he is capable to do all the things he could do before. Physical abilities (walking, running, writing) will probably come quicker but speech will take the longest. They explained it as the brain being under construction, it is having to re-wire the routes it use to take to get things done and this can take a lot of time to complete. His brain has to literally think about what to do before he can do any normal task….this takes a great deal of mental energy so stamina also plays an issue on ones ability.

You would think the time frame would be devastating to Sean…. but not our Sean. He was simply happy to be able to try the everyday things with the therapist and was beaming with every new accomplishment. Who knows, he may just surprise them all and blow those estimates away. 🙂

Something to laugh at: When Sean was first at the hospital they took his weight and measurements….he was 6 feet 2 1/2 inches and 142 lbs. Yesterday they did it again at rehab…. he was 6 feet 3 1/8 inches and 157 lbs!!!!! WHO THE HECK GROWS DURING BRAIN TRAUMA?!?!?! The weight is pure steroid induced hogging I am sure, but it looks like the brain hasn’t forgotten how to stretch that boy out!

So we have a long road but we remember every moment how blessed we are to be on this road… I don’t even want to think of what it would have been like had we not found this tumor when we did. Look at what He has already accomplished… Sean’s every ability now and to come is proof of His power.

Blessings,

The Hackaday Family 🙂