July 7, 2010

Over the past few weeks, Dystonia has gotten the better of John. His hands are cramped up and physicians have made braces for them to help keep his fingers outstretched and to help keep them more limber and continues to have difficulty swallowing and speaking. He was recently evaluated for a procedure called a nerve block which will hopefully alleviate this cramping in his hands and it was decided that John is a great candidate for this procedure. Doctors will do the block on one side in one procedure and then on the other side about a week later. They have to space it out because there is some concern about puncturing his lung and if this happens, he will need time to heal. This is a precaution and we have been told that they have never had a punctured lung but given John's medical history, they just don't want to take a chance at further injury.

The nerve block can be temporary in cases where the patient needs temporary relief from pain or it can be permanent for folks like John who need long-term help. Essentially, the nerve block changes the way that your brain perceives pain and will hopefully allow John to relax his hands a bit more and provide him the ability to use his hands more easily. He has great difficulty at this point gripping items and moving his fingers individually and the hope is that it will change after this procedure. This is an out-patient procedure and should not be painful for John.

John has been extended at TIRR through the end of July which means that he is showing some improvement in the big scheme of things and it's a great thing because he receives constant rehabilitative activities while at TIRR. His days are comprised of physical therapy, speech therapy, memory therapy and life skills. He has also been riding a specialized bicycle which utilizes his hands (I hope to post a picture of this soon). At this point, we aren't certain where John will go after TIRR however we are grateful for the time he is spending there.

In a side note, Holly wishes to thank everyone for the continued support. She recently received some donations toward John's care and is constantly overwhelmed by the love and encouragement she and John have been blessed with throughout this journey. The paypal link on this blog is active and goes directly toward John's care as well. There are no words to express the level of gratitude and humility that this situation has evoked and we are consistently amazed by the outpouring of help we have received. Thanks, as always for keeping John in your thoughts and prayers as he continues his healing process.