Saturday, September 6, 2014

The Order of Coming Back



Cognitive was first...when my eyes were open. I already had hearing. Then was social. Next was fine motor. Just wiggling. It has taken lots of therapy to get to the movement seen. Speech followed. It was only sounds. Finally gross motor. I'm asked if I walk yet. This is the last thing, and I'm not there yet. I am also doing this myself, and am not a licensed Physical Therapist. Yes, I used to work on this with 2 year olds, but I'm not 2 anymore.

The "five senses" would be in the cognitive area. I'd have to think back since this all came back years ago. It wasn't a full come-back. It was gradual, and required some learning. Some of the beginnings were seen in the first few months, but would take months to develop. Even breathing was not immediate, http://thoughtfulveg.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-hole.html.

Hearing was definitely first. I could hear before my eyes were even open. Coma scales talk about lighter coma as it ends. This would be that. Vision is last. I was actually blind in my right eye and it was patched. (I'd wiggle that patch off. It gives credit to rewiring. The eye itself could see, but the brain couldn't make sense of the information.) Feeling came after hearing, just before movement on parts that could move. I couldn't feel a needle stick (ie. blood draw) on a paralyzed arm. Although I was NPO (no food by mouth), taste came back with smell. I have reflux and the formula put in me would come up in my mouth. It wasn't pleasant. Smell has been amazing. Since I was low vision, I could tell if a male nurse was working by his heavy cologne. He didn't even have to come in my room. My vision has since greatly improved, but my keen sense of smell remains.

I describe a process for re-learning smells, http://thoughtfulveg.blogspot.com/2012/10/breathe-deep_11.html . This is not covered in any therapy I know of. Occupational Therapy may have something under Sensory Integration, but it is not widely used.

 




9/4/2018
When I opened my eyes I was made PVS. I presumed that was because I wasn't talking or moving. Movement started some 2-3 months after my injury and vocalization was 8-9 months after injury. Speech production was so late that it was thought that I would never talk.

No comments:

Post a Comment