Art and Butch (Filliger) visited this afternoon.
Alana came in this evening at 6:30.
This morning: Dave had Brian in the chair looking at his wall of pictures and posters, prior to our talk about the coma. I told him I could take things down for him and he responded with irritation, "I know you can, Mom!" and growled. It was VERY normal Brian, playful irritation.
This evening Brian didn't want Dave to leave the room, after Dave went out to get the smoothie. "Just stay," he ordered. When I was reading Alice in Wonderland, Brian kept looking over to make sure Dave was still there (did it twice). Brian wanted to lie down and rest, and I asked if he'd like me to read to him. He said, "Sure" and was rapt during the reading, which was interrupted by dinner. Brian is very vulnerable right now. We all need to be attentive to his needs, listen to him, be honest, and praise all his efforts. He needs all our support, still. He is more aware now of his world, his place in it, what has happened to him.
10:30 pm I was with Brian from 8:30 till nearly 10. He fell asleep, exhausted after a long, HUGE day. I read Alice in Wonderland again. Dave did not stay with Brian; he took Alana home, then cam back here to the Cheney House.
While I was with Brian, he was in the chair drawing for a while. He was able to scoot himself up using his arms and legs whenever he started sliding down (he was getting tired). At one point, near the end of his sitting up, he told me I needed to lay him down in the chair so I could pull him up. He ended up pushing himself up, with arms and legs, and then I sat the chair up again. When he was tired, he said, "I want to lay down", so Nurse Joleen came in. Brian got his legs onto the bed and as soon as his waist belt was unfastened, he leaned over and dove onto the bed! We got him straightened out (he was laying on his right arm) but he was pleased with himself.
At one point, in bed, Brian peed and tried to tell me and I didn't get it - I thought he was telling me to read. Finally he said - "You don't understand, Mom. I peed." I apologized and later explained that when he talks fast it's hard to understand, but when he slowed down I got it. he understood.
When Alana was with him. he was recalling numerous events from just prior to the heart attack, including swinging her around in the Quad at school, watching Fight Club at Ryan Davidson's, and feeling sad because she couldn't go to Homecoming. She asked if he recalled who was with him the day of the heart attack, and he recalled several people. He also asked her, "Does every one know I'm awake?" She asked him who he wanted to have visit, and after listing a few, Brian said, "Fuck, bring as many as you can rally!"
Alana talked a little about the strained family dynamics. Brian said, "I wish I could change that," and Alana looked him right in the face and told him, "You don't have to do anything except take care of yourself." He looked back and said, "I think I can do that." he also asked her, "Is my mom coming back?" (tonight) She said "Yes" and he replied, "Good!" He greeted me with a BIG smile and a "Hi" when I returned this evening.
Brian, Dave and I were discussing this afternoon how people sometimes talked over him, though it didn't happen often, and didn't ask him questions. He told Dave to ask him a question, so Dave asked, "what do you remember from the coma?" Brian replied, "Well, that's hard." He then started describing something about the shape of the white washcloths he had. We aren't certain if there was a connection.
Once this afternoon, Brian asked me, "Did you always speak English?" He asked Dave, "Did you ever have a girlfriend? Did you ever have a boyfriend?"
Brian wanted me to give him a ride to the home of Janet the OT. Brian wants to go to Good Times in Ashland with Alana this weekend. (A burger place that was popular with the kids when they were younger)
Re: ST Berl and categories: for clothing Brian said, "shirt, cat, pants". Berl thought "cat" was a total mistake, but I pointed out it could be "cap" or "hat". She agreed it could be, a type of aphasia.
Dave and I made contact via phone with Janet Murphy, a social worker at Providence.
November 18, 2012
The recall of events so close to the cardiac arrest is amazing, considering those were generally the things he forgot. However, if they had some kind of emotional hook (Alana) or they were visual (the movie, which he had seen before) he was more likely to remember them. This has remained true.
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