Current Hospital

Craig Hospital Room 205A

If you want to send cards...etc. the address is

Craig Hospital Patricia Schmidt 3425 South Clarkson St. Englewood, CO 80110
(303)789-8254

E-mail's, cards and notes will all go in Pat's new scrapbook.

We know your love is here. Debra

Mailing List Subscription Information The Aunt Pat Mail List

Tom, Larry, and Kay here.

Mom Ardelle and Pat are taking a nap together in the Craig bed. Pat looks fabulous to me (Kay) especially compared to when I last saw her in Salt Lake City. She was napping when we arrived, but when she opened her eyes, we got big smiles. As I got close to her to hug her and tell her I love her, she slowly and carefully said, "I feel better." She tried hard to think of other things to say, but most of it came out a little scrambled. Her yes/no answers and OK are very clear, and she takes in all of the information all around her. She was able to get herself to the edge of the bed and with Larry's help, they danced over to her wheelchair. She is quite adept at unlocking the left brake, but had trouble finding the right one. With some encouragement and assistance, she got it unlocked, then proceeded to wheel herself out of the room and down the hall! When she approached an incline, she wheeled the chair around and pushed herself backwards up the hill. She found the correct button at the elevator, but was not quite able to put her right index finger on it. There is a possibility that she is experiencing some double vision, which might explain part of the confusion on the right side.

We went for an outdoor tour of the hospital grounds in beautiful Denver weather, all the while marveling at how well Pat is doing. The hole where her trach was will leave very little scar (not that a scar would be a problem), and the bedsore on the back of her head has just a small bandage on it.

Pat did well in her classes this morning. She typed her name on the computer. She did some excersizes in a kneeling position and was able to keep her body upright. Part of the training is that she bend at the waist to toss a ball or have it handed back to her without losing her balance.

We had dinner together this evening - Pat, Larry, Larry's sister Patty, Ardelle, Tom, and I. Pat fed herself and picked up her glass whenever she needed a drink. The behavioral assistant chopped up a pear and reminded her to finish what she had in her mouth before taking any more. The modified plate has a movable ridge so that the patient can push food up against it. The ridge can slide around the edge of the plate as the food disappears from one area.

Ardelle is staying in an apartment provided by Craig Hospital and will be able to pop in on Pat anytime. Tom and Kay will stay with Debra and Mike.

After dinner, we had another first. Larry was commenting on how marvelous Pat looked. She had her finger in her mouth trying to get something out of her teeth, and Larry looked inside her mouth like a dentist. He said whatever it was that was caught in her teeth, they'd have to get it later with a toothbrush. Here's the first: "Ha .ha ha ha ha" she laughed! Larry was amazed. Then at teethbrushing time, she did much better than yesterday. Truly, every day she shows progress in some way.

Pat had an MRI this morning, and we'll know the results in a day or two. Greetings to all! Keep the PLS a-comin'.

Larry wants me to put something mushy here, but some of you don't want to know what it is, so you'll have to use your imagination.

KK here with an update from Larry for Monday.

Pat continues to make improvements on a daily basis, moving so fast right now. The rest over the weekend seems to have made a great deal of difference.

Jean her therapist sees Pat has more strength in her quads. She is almost able to push herself from her chair to stand up on her own. Pat is getting more "real food nourishment" as she is able to eat more semi-solid foods on her own. Monday she had ravioli, which she liked, pureed noodle soup, she didn't like, zucchini, she didn't like, and a banana, which Larry says, "she ate like any regular monkey!"

Pat's speech therapist has her writing her name with her left hand, an improvement from just a few days ago when Pat's circle looked like a scribble. She also is singing simple nursery rhymes, keeping the beat with her hand. The words aren't the same we remember, but she is still singing to the beat.

This is part of Pat's biggest challenge at the moment of finding the right words for the thoughts she is trying so hard to communicate. Pat is talking lots more, but the words don't always make sense. Larry told me a story at this point about his Pastor, who also married Pat and Larry. The Pastor remembered Larry at his confirmation when Larry was just a boy. As part of the ceremony each boy was to stand and Pastor would verbally throw them a Bible verse and they were to recite it back. Larry had memorized several verses, so felt ready when his turn arrived. Pastor threw Larry his verse and Larry flawlessly recited the first line of the verse. Larry then continued reciting, using appropriate Biblical terms and finished the verse without skipping a beat, however after the first line Larry was totally winging it, as he had remembered none of the verse after the first line. Pastor had reminded Larry that there are times when all of us do just what Pat is experiencing in trying to find the words!

So things are good, Pat is understanding things told her, is starting to use her right hand more, motors around her floor like a pro, and is well liked by staff and her neighbors. Once while Larry was sitting next to Pat, she was asked who is that sitting next to you? Pat's reply, "that's Smiley".

All for now from Pat and Smiley.