Week 2
On Sunday night, Dimitri was moved from ICU to Neuro. We were told that 25% of folks in his condition die in ICU.Dimitri did not sleep Sunday night as he shared a room with a gentleman who snored and wore a CPAP machine. He forgot I am not allowed to visit until 11 o’clock as there are new rules on this floor. He was placed in his wheelchair, in front of the window, for a couple of hours. He could not move any part of his body or call for help as his voice was too weak. Needless to say, when I arrived, he was very upset.
Testing improved, and he was moved up a level on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale to D. Only 50% of folks in his condition do.
Dimitri was able to assist with some movements as I moved his limbs. We did most of his physiotherapy outside as all the lines into his body had been removed. He would get 30 minutes of hospital physio a day during weekdays, and I augmented that.
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I would like to thank you ALL for your kind thoughts, prayers, support and well wishes. It helps out my family tremendously, and I know it helped increase the healing in Dimitri. For that, I have the utmost gratitude and appreciation. Please continue to send messages as I read them all and share them with Dimitri.
I continue to reach out to my colleges for advice on how I can best help Dimitri, and this is a TEAM effort. I am most grateful for my U of S education, professors and mentors who have drilled into my head, so it’s automatic on what to do. I reached back 25 years and remembered my time in the practical classroom in neuro. I was fortunate to have placements in ICU, spinal cord and brain injury wards as a student in Saskatchewan and Alberta. This, and my post-graduate training, have all rolled together and become autopilot, which has been a blessing as I can be of service.
Between Dimitri’s work and personal phone and mine, I can spend 1-3 hours a day copying and pasting messages. I also still run my clinic that has "must do’s" that I cannot delegate. We are still just getting settled into our new clinic as we moved at the end of April. I no longer have the time or energy for daily texting/emails as Dimitri and our family are my priority. I am dealing with numerous tradespeople for repairs, modifications and looking for more suitable housing options for our family. I am maxed out on these tasks, thus thought this way of sharing progress may simplify my life. It may be a bit impersonal, but it still shares the miracles happening every day, which we are profoundly grateful for.
May I kindly request, that these pictures are viewed, not shared, or distributed as it’s a very personal part of our lives.