Day 59 - Saturday February 11, 2012

Since leaving the hospital we are starting to actually live like normal people.  I mean, eight weeks of living at the hospital was a little taxing on everyone.  Now we have an apartment and we can all sleep together, at night!  We can shop and cook and do our laundry like normal people.  Everything is much better!  We've even had two days with no doctors or appointments.  Monday things start up seriously again, but at least we are kind of settled, unpacked, etc.  Bridgett has lived at this complex for two years.  This apartment is set up exactly like her first apartment and the same as this years, only flipped.  She can remember things about the apartment naturally (we can tell).  She is finally remembering that it is 2012 (almost all of the time).  It was confusing since the year changed while she was in a coma!  Initially when they tried to cue her on the month by saying it was the month with Valentines, she didn't remember.  Now she remembers that Valentines is in February, although she doesn't remember it's February. So, I have mentioned that all the time in the hospital they would ask the month, day and year (sometimes the day of the week) and where she was including the city, state and the building.  Often the doctors ask if she remembers their names etc.  On the day she was released Dr. Speed asked her if anything exciting was going to happen that day and she said no.  He looked around her room and said look at your things.  She said yes they are all in here.  He said they are all packed--what does that mean and she said I must be going somewhere.  That's right he said, you're going home.  He asked where do you live and she said Provo.  Then he asked her for the year and she said 2012.  He asked the month and she said April (her standard answer, probably since she was born in April).  Then he gave her the cue that it's the month of Valentines and for the first time she remembered February.  He said it was one week from February 14 and asked if that gave her a clue on the day, but she didn't know.  Then he asked the building she was in. She said one of her fake words--something like cassity.  I don't understand you he said.  Are you in a grocery store, a hospital or a library?  She said that same word again.  He said what's that and she said a place for people that have hit their head.  Interesting!  Anyway, I never cease to be amazed at the complexity of the mind.  I mean it's such a complex and complicated thing and a brain injury is so complex.  Everyone is different.  Over and over people ask how long until she is better etc.  I am now sounding just like the doctors!  We have no way of knowing how long it will take for any part of the healing process and everyone heals in their own way and their own time.  No matter how long it takes, as long as there is progress, that's the important thing. However, in my mind, with the severity of the injuries that Bridgett sustained, she is doing great in her healing process.  So, we know a couple of people going through a similar healing process at the same time.  A young man from our stake had a TBI just about 2-1/2 months before Bridgett.  He had a hematoma (I believe) but no shearing.  The young woman I have spoken of before, Courtney, had a TBI about two months before Bridgett.   She had shearing and no hematoma.  Bridgett had a hematoma plus shearing. Some of the shearing was in the frontal lobe--here and there a little.  There was also apparently scattered shearing elsewhere in the brain.  However, the main shearing was close to the brain stem in the corpus callosum, which is responsible for communication between the left and right side of the brain.  Because of the proximity to the brain stem and because of the importance of the function of the corpus callosum the doctors were very guarded in the prognosis.  Well, it's probably fair to say that the doctors are always guarded in their prognosis regarding a TBI.  One doctor told me he's seen terrible imaging on a patient who had very little symptoms and also great imaging on a patient who had terrible symptoms.  So, it's so difficult to predict the outcome.  However, we are seeing great progress in Bridgett's recovery and we are very hopeful and optimistic about her continues recovery. We daily thank the Lord for all our blessings and for the blessing of having our Bridgett here with us.