We have had a busy first full day at Dodd! Three hours of therapy, x-rays, and a 3-ounce water challenge. After not sleeping well last night, Lynette is finally back in her room and sleeping.
Today we met with mom's case manager. She informed us that we will get a tentative discharge date tomorrow. Each week, all the therapists and psychologists will get together to determine mom's strengths, weaknesses and needs. They will use this information to decide how long she needs to stay in rehabilitation. The team will have their first meeting tomorrow morning. Mom says her main goal is to be mobile. Her PT man said he will be asking for as much time as possible to work with her. He really wants to get her as healthy and strong as possible!
After PT and OT, mom met with a Speech Therapist to see how she was swallowing and hopefully get her back to a regular, unrestricted diet. She did great! To pass the exam, she had to complete a 3 oz water challenge, where she had to chug 3 oz of water without stopping. She did an awesome job, and the therapist was impressed and happy! She is no longer on small bites or thickened liquids.
I wanted to give a little information on her injury. We were given barely any information on what was injured or her surgery when we were in SC. Today we confirmed that her spinal injury was C4-C6 and is considered an incomplete spinal fracture. Her surgery was called an ACDF surgery (Anterior Cervical Diskectomy and Fusion).