December, 13, 2007
With Dean on the front page of the Oregonian, Friday, and Kendra on the news Wednesday, they are getting the widespread exposure their situation deserves. There have been many updates since my last post so I am sure to miss details. Hopefully, we will have more information here than what you've heard on the news or read in the paper. - Dean still uses a wheel chair, and is not able to support his own weight, but he's been able to stand for about 15 seconds while strapped in to a harness which I believe is an indication of balance. - He has regained some sight in the upper left quadrant of both eyes’s. - He's now eating on his own now, and is not aspiration like he was, but not back to normal food. - He still doesn’t have the strength or coordination to sit on a hard surface yet. - They are waiting until the 5th month after his brain surgery to implant a plate. - He’s now has some movement on his right side. - He has a good rang of motion on his left, but is still very week. - Dean has been working on his speech and has made good progress - He was admitted in to adult foster care in Forrest Grove. Please contact his family regarding visitation. Please keep Dean, Kendra, and Sylas in your thoughts and prayers. Also, consider how you may contribute to the long term needs of the Schaumburgs through the various organizations. I will attempt to gather that informationtion and present it here on the front page.
Sept 7-8, 2007
Dean continues to receive therapy to help him get stronger. In physical therapy he's moving his left side well, and beginning to slowly improve on the right. Speech therapy is trying to work with him while plugging up his trach., but he hasn't been able to participate much. The other day he refused his pain meds because they seemed to be making him throw up. Yesterday, though, he was able to start taking them again and had good pain control and a restful day.
Sept 5, 2007
Dean has been moved to the 13th floor, the general trauma ward. He has had his left ankle cast removed so they can x-ray it to see how it’s healing. It will then be replaced with either another cast or brace of some sort. They have also down-sized the size of his tracheostomy, hoping to gradually get him to breathe normally. They may even plug the trach. to see how he tolerates it.
Physical therapy is working with him, right now focusing on keeping his joints mobile. They are also working on some cognitive things. When asked to count to 3 with his fingers, he was able to. He is still unable to speak, but has smiled on occasion. According to hospital staff, he is going through the normal stages brain trauma patients tend to. Currently only close family and friends are seeing him; he has much healing to do and information he hears needs to be tailored to his situation.
Aug 31, 2007
Dean is being fed through a tube in his stomach and as of a few days ago he began breathing on his own and no longer needed the ventilator. He is able to follow some commands to move the left side of his body, but so far has little mobility on the right side. He is able to respond appropriately to questions by squeezing your hand, but responsiveness is still variable. Doctors are monitoring for the possibility of vision, swallowing and speech being affected. Nurses are getting him up to a chair daily, and as soon as a bed is available, he should be able to be moved out of ICU and to the recovery trauma ward.
Kendra reports Dean is able to kiss her when she asks him to, unless she's “babying” him, and then he may be known to turn away to avoid her kiss. She says she's glad to see his personality is still there, basically, “stubborn and a little s**t.”