Okay, just a few more words before I go back to Texas. Yesterday Peggy, Tim and I went to visit Ilyse, Peggy's cognitive therapist. She asked lots of questions and then told us that everything Peggy had described was pretty normal at this time after a closed head injury or TBI (traumatic brain injury). She then tested Peggy and gave us the results. There were five or six tests that she took and they measured reading comprehension, memory and attention. Peggy did well on the reading comprehension--somewhere in the 80th percentile. On the other tests she was somewhere in the 50th percentile with the exception of one test where she scored somewhere in the 40th percentile. Thus, she came about about average for the people who take the test. Ilyse said she thought that overall Peggy is doing very well considering that it is still early in the recovery process and that she felt like most of the problem was due to inability to concentrate (attention) and that that was very normal at this point. She also said that there were lots of things they could do to help her retrain for attention. Peggy had told her that she still feels like things are fuzzy a good part of the time. Ilyse said that that was normal and that she expected that to get much better with time. So, although Peggy tested in the average range, it is not unusual during this part of the healing process. What it did tell all of us is that there is more healing to be done and that the therapy she will be doing with Ilyse gives her a track to run on so she can measure her progress. Ilyse advised her to take things easy, try to stay out of situations that provide lots of stimulation (she said having a five year old at home is plenty of stimulation to test her ability to tolerate it), rest lots, an d goeasy on herself. It takes time to heal!
I have spent everyday with Peggy since the accident happened. I can see tremendous progress. Yes, she still has some short-term memory problems, and she is still tired, and she is not eating well, but overall, each day is a little better. She wants to know what happened, even when she has already been told, and I think that's important. She needs to be able to integrate what happened with where she is now, so tell her what she wants to know. She is beginning to put it all together, but isn't totally there yet. Be patient, she'll get there.
I am going home on Sunday. I told Peggy that if it gets to be too much and she needs me to come back, I will. So, take care of her. Continue to call, e-mail, comment on the blog, and visit. All of those things help everyone get back to normal. Most of all give her hugs from me every time you see her. Thank all of you for the prayers, the concern, the food, the visits, etc. You've been great. Love to all. Linda (Mom, Grandmama)
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