Saturday Night Out!

Dinner and a movie...we're really starting to feel normal again.  We had sushi and saw Peanut Butter Falcon.  Fun night!

This was a week of really good news.  On Monday Kevin was cleared to go out in a private vehicle with Jean Anne.  Freedom!!!  We immediately went out to dinner at Whiskey Biscuit down on Broadway.  No whiskey (or any alcohol) allowed as in-patient, but nonetheless it felt really good to get out in a car.  It was the first time Kevin rode in a car since August 1st.  

On Tuesday Kevin's doctor came in and asked "do you want the good news or the bad news?"  Well we've had enough bad news to last a lifetime, so he asked for the good news first.  The Dr. B. said, "the good news is that you are making great progress, faster than we expected"....yippee!  So for the "bad news"....they are moving up his discharge date from 10/25 to 10/10.  

On Thursday, Dr. B. came in and said they are stopping the IV antibiotics as of Monday 9/23!  This is HUGE!!  Kevin has been getting antibiotics every 4 hours around the clock since the infection started back in August.  That means he can't be gone from the hospital for more than 3.5 hours at a time....very restraining.  It also means the PIC line can be removed.  No more tubes hanging out of his arm and no more white arm band!!

The October 10th discharge date means he transitions from in-patient status to out-patient status.  He will have more freedom and will move to the outpatient apartments across the parking lot.  He will still go to PT/OT/etc. but he gets new doctors, new therapists, who are part of the outpatient program.  The Craig outpatient program is for two weeks and then the patient can be released, but Craig encourages patients to continue outpatient therapy for as long as possible.  The outpatient program is designed to help patients transition back to "real life"...cooking meals, living in a home with family members, etc.  

Research says, the recovery curve for spinal cord injuries is fastest during the first six months following the injury.  So at this point we plan to stay here for awhile and focus on maximizing Kevin's recovery as much as possible.  Craig provides family housing for the first 4 weeks of outpatient status which will end in mid-November.  At that point, we will need to find a place to live until January/February.  So that's Jean Anne's next project...

Out to the movies....Peanut Butter Falcon.  Great movie!