Umm...anyone still out there? (A big, long, juicy update)

Hey all. It's been quite awhile (my apologies) and I wanted to catch you all up on what's been happening with my fabulous father.

Back in August, we had lots of good stuff. Dad had an appointment at the VA to check in with their neuroophthalmologist. At first he had a regular eye exam which was amazing in and of itself because when Dad had his first eye test back in March, he couldn't really see the eye chart and this time he could read it all (almost ;) ). So encouraging to see how far he'd come that way.

During the visit with the doctor, we discussed the eye appointment we'd had back in March at the Moran Eye Center at the U. and it came up that at that time he was originally scheduled to see a Dr. Warner, but ended up seeing a different doctor. Our doc then said, "Oh, Dr. Warner's here today (our VA is connected to the University), would you like to see her?" He went out and pulled her into our room -- and a bunch of people came in with her. (I jokingly asked our doc later if she always travelled with an entourage and he said whenever Dr. Warner is on the floor, anyone who works in the ophthalmology department follows her when they can because she's the grand poobah of ophthalmologists and knows EVERYTHING.)

So anyway, Dr. Warner just sat down and asked Dad some questions, flipped through his chart, asked our doc some questions. As I listened to them talk, I had a dawning realization that was confirmed when Dr. Warner simply asked Dad to cross his eyes. He tried (his facial contortions actually gave everyone in the room a chuckle) but couldn't. It became clear then that Dad's eyes weren't working together (it's actually really freaky to see). We had noticed as his eyesight improved that looking at distant things was easy, but reading -- even with his reading glasses -- was really challenging and he kept squinting one eye and then the other.

Dr. Warner did a couple more tests indicating that because of this lack of convergence he has no depth perception. Overall, she was amazed (naturally) by his recovery and pretty much felt assured he would be able to work on his eye issue over time and get back to normal. (She gave him some eye exercises and since then his occupational therapist has been working with him on convergence -- in the last week or so she's been getting his eyes crossed with lots of effort, but more and more consistency!) You can just imagine how encouraging that doctor visit turned out to be!

A few days after that, we had a team meeting with all Dad's therapists which was equally encouraging. They were all pleased that he kept making gains and showed no signs of plateauing in his recovery. Interestingly, his speech pathologist had just returned from a conference where she learned a method that can help some people recover speech more quickly. She tested Dad to see if he would be a good candidate and when she discovered he would be, she started in. It was an intensive program during the month of September (four days a week in therapy and daily homework for four weeks) and really helped Dad to improve the clarity of his speech.

Early in October, Dad met with a rehabilitation specialist recommended by his doctor. We spent a couple of hours with Dr. Speed who asked tons of questions and gave Dad multiple tests. Overall, the doctor was amazed (naturally) at the way Dad was recovering. He told him there was nothing more he could recommend because Dad was already doing all the right things to work toward getting better. Additionally, given Dad's history Dr. Speed was very optimistic (though careful not to actually make any pronouncements) about his ability to make a near-full recovery.

Later in October, we met the VA's Low Vision Center team (last spring we went to the state's low vision center) and the eye doctor there (again, fascinated and amazed by Dad) was able to give Dad some new reading glasses that use prisms to help both eyes focus on the same thing. They also directed Dad to a woman whose job is to make sure vets with vision deficits can work with computers (which of course Dad has been super anxious to get back to -- right now he is well able to type, but getting online or anything has been too challenging to attempt). We met with her last week and she set us up with a wonderful program. The VA contracts with a computer tech company whose technicians are also trained to work with low vision patients. They make sure the patient has the right hardware and software to use computers to the best of their ability. Just this morning we had a visit from the tech who assessed Dad's computer and determined that they need to get him a new one which will run the software he'll need (the software is really cool -- we got to try it out at the low vision center). By Christmas, Dad should have his new system and an on-call tech to work with him to use it. We're so excited!

One sad note in the last few weeks -- well, sad mostly to me, but good news -- is that Dad is improving so much physically they discontinued his pool therapy. We absolutely loved Desiree', his PT, and miss her so much. But we're glad Dad's doing that well.

So, overall, things just keep getting better all the time. Physically he's getting more stamina and balance. The other day he asked his PT to let him walk a full mile on the treadmill and he did it with no problem! And yesterday while visiting Mom, Dad had no trouble pushing Mom in her wheelchair from her room to the dining area (and at dinnertime, the halls are full of people in wheelchairs, the nurse's carts and all manner of obstacles). I asked him on the way home how tough it was on a scale of one to ten and he shrugged and said, "I don't know, maybe a four." As of last week, he's switched from the four-footed cane to a regular one.

On the home front, Dad's attitude is so wonderful and he's really been working to add things each week that he's doing for himself. At this point, Dad is making his own bed, shaving and styling his hair, and making his own breakfast. In fact, last Friday Joe and I went out and we were able to leave Dad his dinner in a microwaveable container which he had no problem heating up. It's really wonderful to see him becoming more and more confident in what he can do for himself.

It's tough that it's taking longer than Dad (or any of us) would like (can you believe it's been nearly a year?!?!) and things with Mom still make him sad (I'll give a Mom update over on the other blog), but Dad is a constant source of joy and amazement. He's so engaged with people and life and the world. He's just wonderful to be around and a constant reminder that attitude really is everything.

Some recent pics:

Desiree' working Dad out on the last day of pool therapy.

And after the workout.

Dad and the first batch of toast he ever made for himself!