Day 94

Hello Everyone,

My dad began to feel a bit worse as he neared the tentative check out date of December 24th. They kept him in the hospital to administer a second round of the plasmapheresis treatment. This second round seemed to help quite a bit. He's gone through a lot of ups and downs during the last several months. He gets better, plateaus then gets worse. Hopefully, the downs are over and it's only ups from now on.

Last night, Wednesday, January 7th, my dad was released from the hospital. He will continue Physical Therapy three times a week as an outpatient. He can stand, open a water bottle, snap his fingers, and even walk unassisted for a few paces. He mainly gets around with a walker or crutches. Naturally, since he's stubborn and impatient, he tries to struggle around without the crutches/walker when he thinks he can. He's very unstable without support of some kind however. One day about three weeks ago, he was on a day pass from the hospital and was walking in his garage (without any support equipment) and he lost his footing and fell. He bruised his ribs quite badly with the fall and since has been slightly more careful when walking around.

I spent most of the day driving him around to do several errands. I am out in L.A. visiting for a week. I had to insist that I drive today - he doesn't have great control of his feet, so I don't want him to drive around. As I'm typing this, I am hearing him drive back from the gas station - he snuck out. Grr. He looks a lot better than when I last saw him in mid-October. He's gained back most of the 30 lbs that he lost while in the hospital. He is still very shaky, but that seems to be a lingering side effect of the plasmapheresis treatment. He still has the catheter in his chest - his last plasmapheresis treatment is tomorrow.

It will take some time for his nerves to heal and for his coordination to return. He said that before he got sick, he could do a bicep curl with 45 lb dumbbells and now he struggles with 8 lb weights. In PT, they also work with him on heel raises. He sits in a chair and puts a 12 lb weight over his knee and tries to lift his foot up onto his toes. His ankles are very weak - the extremities are the last to heal as they are the first to deteriorate with this ailment.

Right now, the plan is to just take it easy, go to the PT sessions, and build strength back up. He's still interested in taking some Yoga classes for the overall fitness benefits. His body is very stiff and all of the stretching done in Yoga would be perfect for him. It's just a matter of pulling the trigger and going to some places to try out their Yoga classes. I worry about him with the "taking it easy" directions from the doctors. He's been known to be stubborn and impatient at times. I had to insist several times today that I would drive him or otherwise help him in situations.

It is good to see him though and he is doing so much better. It's been over 3 months since he was first checked into the ICU at the hospital. As these cases go, he's been very, VERY lucky. Some patients are in the hospital for several months. Some patients must be put on a ventilator and other forms of life support at the beginning stage. I believe it helps that he's in relatively good shape. He's always been athletic. His eating habits have improved over the years. He takes vitamins/mineral supplements everyday.

He is in the fast lane on Recovery Road. I recently became engaged and told my dad that he needs to take it easy and practice his walking for the big day. I'm very excited to get to walk with him and I hope he will viewthis traditional duty as additional motivation to reach a full recovery.

To all of his supporters, friends and family: thank you so much for all of your continued support and well wishes. It has made all the difference in his speedy recovery. He is very blessed to have you all in his life and I believe he knows that too. He's not big on emotional expressions, but I know that he appreciates all of you and was very touched to receive your emails, phone calls and cards. My brother, Matt, and I truly appreciate all of your support and kindness as well.

Have a Healthy and Happy New Year!!!
~The Dymond Family