Update - 6/3/06
The results from Andrew's MRI are in. Andrew has had Osgood Schlatter Syndrome for quite some time and it is very likely that bumping his knee against the dashboard during the accident greatly increased the pain in his knee and made the condition worse. For those of you that don't know what Osgood Schlatter is, here's a definition from familydoctor.org:
Osgood-Schlatter (say: "oz-good shlot-ter") disease is one of the most common causes of knee pain in young athletes. It causes swelling, pain and tenderness just below the knee, over the shin bone (also called the tibia). It occurs mostly in boys who are having a growth spurt during their pre-teen or teenage years. One or both knees may be affected.
So, the treatment for Andrew is to wear a knee brace indefinitely and use crutches for four weeks. In the two days he's been wearing the brace, he's already had improvement and the pain and swelling has gone down. It puts a cramp in Andrew's style for summer activities, but it's much better to give his body a chance to heal.
Matthew's stay at the rehab center has been extended to June 30th. Two of the medications he was on for agitation and concentration had been decreased, but they have discovered they decreased them too soon because of the way Matthew has been acting. So, they will increase the level of the medication back to the previous level, but it takes three weeks for regulating the medication. Rusk cannot release Matthew until the medication is regulated back to where it was.
They also need to continue regulating the baclofen for Matthew's tone. They are working to find the right level for what his body needs. The tone has been very tight in Matthew's legs and it's painful for Matthew.
Next Thursday Matthew will have outpatient surgery to replace the tubing for his feeding tube. They have discovered a tiny hole in the tube. They will replace it with a tube with tiny balloon at the end that inflates and holds the tubing in place (that's not the most accurate description, but you get the jist of it).
Matthew's wound on his foot has almost healed. They would like to try putting him on the tilt table again and also attempt to put him in the ambulator (a machine that will help him stand). This all depends on the muscle tone and the HO (HO has to do with the calcium buildup in his muscles that hardens them). Hopefully they can proceed with this, but alot of this depends on how painful it will be for Matthew.
Matthew's eating has gotten a little better. There is less resistance on Matthew's part and he had more than strawberries the yesterday (baked beans and ribs too! - small amounts though). Brain trauma patients sometimes can't open their mouth to eat because there's an incorrect signal from the brain to clamp the mouth shut. Matthew has managed to get his mouth open a 1/2 inch.
A few days ago Matthew as fitted for a special wheelchair made just for his size and build. This wheelchair is for long-term use. It can be discouraging that the rehab staff are preparing Matthew for long-term wheelchair mobility, but we will continue to pray that Matthew can walk again one day.
Hope you all enjoy warm, sunny days before the intensity and humidity of summer greet us.
O Savior, precious Savior, whom yet unseen we love;
O name of might and favor, all other names above:
We worship you; we bless you;
To you alone we sing;
We praise you and confess you, our holy Lord and King.
(Lutheran Worship, Hymn 282)
Rachel Asburry
Matthew's godmother
Osgood-Schlatter (say: "oz-good shlot-ter") disease is one of the most common causes of knee pain in young athletes. It causes swelling, pain and tenderness just below the knee, over the shin bone (also called the tibia). It occurs mostly in boys who are having a growth spurt during their pre-teen or teenage years. One or both knees may be affected.
So, the treatment for Andrew is to wear a knee brace indefinitely and use crutches for four weeks. In the two days he's been wearing the brace, he's already had improvement and the pain and swelling has gone down. It puts a cramp in Andrew's style for summer activities, but it's much better to give his body a chance to heal.
Matthew's stay at the rehab center has been extended to June 30th. Two of the medications he was on for agitation and concentration had been decreased, but they have discovered they decreased them too soon because of the way Matthew has been acting. So, they will increase the level of the medication back to the previous level, but it takes three weeks for regulating the medication. Rusk cannot release Matthew until the medication is regulated back to where it was.
They also need to continue regulating the baclofen for Matthew's tone. They are working to find the right level for what his body needs. The tone has been very tight in Matthew's legs and it's painful for Matthew.
Next Thursday Matthew will have outpatient surgery to replace the tubing for his feeding tube. They have discovered a tiny hole in the tube. They will replace it with a tube with tiny balloon at the end that inflates and holds the tubing in place (that's not the most accurate description, but you get the jist of it).
Matthew's wound on his foot has almost healed. They would like to try putting him on the tilt table again and also attempt to put him in the ambulator (a machine that will help him stand). This all depends on the muscle tone and the HO (HO has to do with the calcium buildup in his muscles that hardens them). Hopefully they can proceed with this, but alot of this depends on how painful it will be for Matthew.
Matthew's eating has gotten a little better. There is less resistance on Matthew's part and he had more than strawberries the yesterday (baked beans and ribs too! - small amounts though). Brain trauma patients sometimes can't open their mouth to eat because there's an incorrect signal from the brain to clamp the mouth shut. Matthew has managed to get his mouth open a 1/2 inch.
A few days ago Matthew as fitted for a special wheelchair made just for his size and build. This wheelchair is for long-term use. It can be discouraging that the rehab staff are preparing Matthew for long-term wheelchair mobility, but we will continue to pray that Matthew can walk again one day.
Hope you all enjoy warm, sunny days before the intensity and humidity of summer greet us.
O Savior, precious Savior, whom yet unseen we love;
O name of might and favor, all other names above:
We worship you; we bless you;
To you alone we sing;
We praise you and confess you, our holy Lord and King.
(Lutheran Worship, Hymn 282)
Rachel Asburry
Matthew's godmother
posted by Randy Asburry @ 10:29 AM
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