Late Fall/Early Winter Update
This past Friday, Dec. 18th, Will celebrated his 28th birthday and boarded a plane bound for Boston. He will be home on the Cape in Chatham for at least Christmas and New Year's and may stay for 2-3 months. He will be going up to Spaulding Rehab in Boston on 12/28 for an evaluation to enter their outpatient rehab program. It is still very much up in the air if he will "get in" and if he does, how long he will stay. He finished rehab down here at Wake Med and has regained very slight function in some leg muscles. If he concentrates really hard he can contract his quads a little bit. He still has significant muscle spasms which he can use to his advantage at times. Other times, they just "get in the way" and make transfers to/from his chair a bit challenging and time consuming. He has a new back rest on his chair which is more user friendly and lighter than his old back rest. He is still waiting for a standing frame to arrive. Once the order is complete is should be showing up on our doorstep down here in NC. The standing frame will allow him to "stand" which is very important for his bone health.
In other news, we subjected him to a turkey fry at our house with our friends which I think he enjoyed. It turns out our fryer is defective and my friend had to run home and get her parents' fryer and to make a long story short we didn't end up eating until about 9 pm. Still a good time though. It appears that Will left just in time and has arrived on the Cape with about 1 foot of snow! Dad built a ramp for him that had to be shoveled off this morning...sounds like he may need some snow tires on his chair!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
License to drive!
Today was a historical day for Will. He is now back to driving his truck! This is a great milestone, made possible by hand controls. We cannot thank folks enough for the donations he has received which made the vehicle modification possible.
Life continues to be an adjustment for Will. After returning from Hawaii, reality set in a bit more. I know how much Will appreciates his buddies and values talking to them all, much more than talking to a counselor. As my family and I had time right after the accident to grieve the loss of Will's ability to walk, I am not certain he has completely grieved. Many of you know that grief is an ongoing process. Will is working through his reality and continues to press on as best he knows how.
As of now, he is researching Spaulding Hospital's rehab program in Boston. He would like to get on the robotic treadmill machine known as the "Locomat" to see if that may help him in anyway. The Shepherd Center had multiple Locomat machines, but that was not included as part of his therapy since he did not have any lower extremity movement. He would have had to pay out of pocket if he had wanted to get on the machine and at the time we did not pursue that. He continues to do acupuncture twice a week, pool therapy once a week, and regular PT three times a week. He is looking at returning to the Cape in December around his birthday (12/18). He may stay up there for a bit if Spaulding works out, but much of that is up in the air as of now.
For now, it continues to be a step-by-step process, with the wonderful aspect that he can now drive himself anywhere he needs to be!
Today was a historical day for Will. He is now back to driving his truck! This is a great milestone, made possible by hand controls. We cannot thank folks enough for the donations he has received which made the vehicle modification possible.
Life continues to be an adjustment for Will. After returning from Hawaii, reality set in a bit more. I know how much Will appreciates his buddies and values talking to them all, much more than talking to a counselor. As my family and I had time right after the accident to grieve the loss of Will's ability to walk, I am not certain he has completely grieved. Many of you know that grief is an ongoing process. Will is working through his reality and continues to press on as best he knows how.
As of now, he is researching Spaulding Hospital's rehab program in Boston. He would like to get on the robotic treadmill machine known as the "Locomat" to see if that may help him in anyway. The Shepherd Center had multiple Locomat machines, but that was not included as part of his therapy since he did not have any lower extremity movement. He would have had to pay out of pocket if he had wanted to get on the machine and at the time we did not pursue that. He continues to do acupuncture twice a week, pool therapy once a week, and regular PT three times a week. He is looking at returning to the Cape in December around his birthday (12/18). He may stay up there for a bit if Spaulding works out, but much of that is up in the air as of now.
For now, it continues to be a step-by-step process, with the wonderful aspect that he can now drive himself anywhere he needs to be!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Bound for Ironman World Championships!
Saturday morning the Archibalds' and Johnsons' are off to Kona! I will be updating my blog http://ironem.blogspot.com while we are out there. We arrive Oct 3rd and will be back in NC on Oct.13th. The race is Saturday October 10th and you can track my progress on-line at www.ironman.com. There will also be an article on ironman.com next week about Will and our journey over the past few months. We will have a video camera with us and I hope to put together a You Tube video to share with everyone. This way y'all can experience portions of the 140.6 miles and get a taste of the Ironman experience:) It is AMAZING.
Will continues to do really well at rehab and is also continuing to do bi-weekly acupuncture. Tomorrow he is looking forward to an appointment with his wheelchair vendor so they can fit his chair a little better and remove some unnecessary brackets that are only "slowing" him down! He has also been wheeling around for about 3 weeks now without his anti-tip (wheelie) bars- so far no falls! He is able to back himself down a 6 inch curb independently (although he does not do this when he is alone, only when has a spotter, since it is a bit risky and he is still learning these advanced wheelchair maneuvers).
Saturday morning the Archibalds' and Johnsons' are off to Kona! I will be updating my blog http://ironem.blogspot.com while we are out there. We arrive Oct 3rd and will be back in NC on Oct.13th. The race is Saturday October 10th and you can track my progress on-line at www.ironman.com. There will also be an article on ironman.com next week about Will and our journey over the past few months. We will have a video camera with us and I hope to put together a You Tube video to share with everyone. This way y'all can experience portions of the 140.6 miles and get a taste of the Ironman experience:) It is AMAZING.
Will continues to do really well at rehab and is also continuing to do bi-weekly acupuncture. Tomorrow he is looking forward to an appointment with his wheelchair vendor so they can fit his chair a little better and remove some unnecessary brackets that are only "slowing" him down! He has also been wheeling around for about 3 weeks now without his anti-tip (wheelie) bars- so far no falls! He is able to back himself down a 6 inch curb independently (although he does not do this when he is alone, only when has a spotter, since it is a bit risky and he is still learning these advanced wheelchair maneuvers).
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Driving and trip up to MA
It's been a very busy week! This past Thursday Will, Ty, and I flew up to Boston and were on the Cape for the weekend. We all visited with our aunt and cousin Bethany (and our little 2nd cousins Rett & Ellie). Will got to visit with a lot of his friends and also attended his friend's (Kelly) wedding. Ty & I visited with friends and attended another wedding (my friend Heidi Erdmann). The flights were uneventful and served as good practice for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. We allowed for plenty of time to arrive to the airport and go thru security. Will did great transferring to the aisle chair which the airlines use to transport para's and quad's to their seats. Will commented a few times on how the airline personnel were all over him. They do not always understand the fact that he can do everything himself and that he does not need their physical help to move. His chair made the trip without being harmed which was a big relief to us all. You just never know what happens once they stow equipment down below.
Since we returned on Sunday it's been non-stop rehab/appointments. Will has started getting regular acupuncture which will hopefully help with some of his spasms and sensation. He got in the pool down here at rehab which he may continue to do on a regular basis. He got a Tempur Pedic bed which is much more comfortable and better for him than our tired guest bed he had been sleeping on. The big news is that he got to drive today! From what he was told he did great with the driving eval. He spent about an hour driving around town learning to use the hand controls. He said he was driving about 20 mph, and then when he did go faster, like 45 mph, he said it felt like he was going 90! As you can imagine it will take time to adjust. So from this point on, he is waiting to find out if NC Vocational Rehab will accept him into their program, and if they do he will hopefully have the car modifications paid for by them. It will cost about $800-900 for the modifications.
We are getting prepared for the big trip to the Big Island and are looking forward to getting the house a bit more put together. And I can't believe I am writing this, but it's been pretty fun to be living with my brother. It would be more fun if he could work on training the dog! Once I have a little more time I will work on posting some new pics!
It's been a very busy week! This past Thursday Will, Ty, and I flew up to Boston and were on the Cape for the weekend. We all visited with our aunt and cousin Bethany (and our little 2nd cousins Rett & Ellie). Will got to visit with a lot of his friends and also attended his friend's (Kelly) wedding. Ty & I visited with friends and attended another wedding (my friend Heidi Erdmann). The flights were uneventful and served as good practice for our upcoming trip to Hawaii. We allowed for plenty of time to arrive to the airport and go thru security. Will did great transferring to the aisle chair which the airlines use to transport para's and quad's to their seats. Will commented a few times on how the airline personnel were all over him. They do not always understand the fact that he can do everything himself and that he does not need their physical help to move. His chair made the trip without being harmed which was a big relief to us all. You just never know what happens once they stow equipment down below.
Since we returned on Sunday it's been non-stop rehab/appointments. Will has started getting regular acupuncture which will hopefully help with some of his spasms and sensation. He got in the pool down here at rehab which he may continue to do on a regular basis. He got a Tempur Pedic bed which is much more comfortable and better for him than our tired guest bed he had been sleeping on. The big news is that he got to drive today! From what he was told he did great with the driving eval. He spent about an hour driving around town learning to use the hand controls. He said he was driving about 20 mph, and then when he did go faster, like 45 mph, he said it felt like he was going 90! As you can imagine it will take time to adjust. So from this point on, he is waiting to find out if NC Vocational Rehab will accept him into their program, and if they do he will hopefully have the car modifications paid for by them. It will cost about $800-900 for the modifications.
We are getting prepared for the big trip to the Big Island and are looking forward to getting the house a bit more put together. And I can't believe I am writing this, but it's been pretty fun to be living with my brother. It would be more fun if he could work on training the dog! Once I have a little more time I will work on posting some new pics!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, September 04, 2009
Happy Labor DayLife keeps rolling on down here in NC. Will & Ty are watching a scary movie while I type away in bed trying to get rid of nasty head cold. Will has had a busy week. We all enjoyed Brett's visit and were very thankful of him to drive Will's truck down all the way from Massachusetts! Thanks again Brett :) Will is busy trying to gather info and formulate a plan for modifying the truck. He is looking into getting a lift that can be installed into the bed of the truck so he would not have to break down and load his chair. He is still not 100% on modifying the truck and his back-up plan would be to modify Ty's Honda Accord. So we will see what this next week will bring. Other than that, he is looking into another transportation option for the present time. The public transit he uses now really is not ideal. Today he was picked up at 10:30 and did not get home until after 7 pm. It makes for a very long day for him. Tomorrow he will meet with a volunteer organization that will hopefully be a better option- just a little more pricey. The volunteers are also known to be young, motivated folks (alot of them are med students). Tomorrow he is going to practice getting in and out of the truck without any help and then we are going to a friend's Notre Dame football party/pig roast. Sunday we will all head down to Pinehurst for the night and spend some time with the in-laws. I am doing a 100 mile bike ride on Labor Day down there as well. Next Thursday at this time we will be in Chatham! I know we are all looking forward to that!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tuesday August 25th
Today Will went to his first NC Spinal Cord Injury Association support group meeting. He reports that there were about 8 people there, different ages and conditions. They are planning on going out to dinner next week. He also got a peek at a few of other people's modified cars. Otherwise, Will is keeping busy with a lot of phone calls and paperwork. He is trying and learning to navigate the very confusing policies that come along with being disabled ie (long term disability, social security, all the stuff you thought you would never have to think about.) He is looking forward to getting a special bed that will help with pressure relief to ensure he does not get pressure ulcers. In his free time he enjoys harassing our dog (Annie) and cat (Simon). He recently informed me that when Simon lived with him ad his friend Dennis years ago, they shaved him. Awesome. No wonder Simon has issues!
Today Will went to his first NC Spinal Cord Injury Association support group meeting. He reports that there were about 8 people there, different ages and conditions. They are planning on going out to dinner next week. He also got a peek at a few of other people's modified cars. Otherwise, Will is keeping busy with a lot of phone calls and paperwork. He is trying and learning to navigate the very confusing policies that come along with being disabled ie (long term disability, social security, all the stuff you thought you would never have to think about.) He is looking forward to getting a special bed that will help with pressure relief to ensure he does not get pressure ulcers. In his free time he enjoys harassing our dog (Annie) and cat (Simon). He recently informed me that when Simon lived with him ad his friend Dennis years ago, they shaved him. Awesome. No wonder Simon has issues!
New Address:
Will Archibald
1009 Longwillow Court
Morrisville, NC 27560
Will Archibald
1009 Longwillow Court
Morrisville, NC 27560
posted by Em at 6:23 PM 0 comments 
Sorry it has taken me so long to update the blog. It's been a little hectic 'round these parts :) So where were we? Ty & I closed on our new home Wednesday, August 5th after I had started back at work. Will moved in that following Saturday and our folks were down for a week while he started rehab at Wake Med. He is doing really well and is pretty much independent. He goes to rehab 3 x a week. He gets there via a public transit wheelchair van which is not the most ideal since they have to operate on other people's schedules and it is never guaranteed that he will have a ride. But for now it works and Ty is usually able to pick him up at the end of the day. He has met a guy who is also a para, who has been giving him some advice about his chair and modifying his truck. Will is not totally comfortable in his chair and is still trying to work out some kinks with his vendor. We are still waiting for the appropriate wheels and brakes to come in. Will has also increased the amount of medicine he takes for his spasms. He just started yesterday and already we can tell a difference. His tone was very rigid and was making it difficult for him to stretch and do therapy. So now his legs are more "jello-like." Will is looking forward to his buddy Brett coming to visit. Brett is going to drive Will's truck down here next week. Other than that we are pecking away at getting unpacked and getting the house organized. I am still adjusting to now working 5 days a week and also continuing to train for Ironman Hawaii. Once I locate my camera I will upload some new pictures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
