February 24, 2008

Gulp!!
Will's current challenge is learning again how to swallow. When the neural circuits that lead to your swallow mechanism have been decommissioned, you have to start from scratch to recreate the ability.

To help Will regain control of the process, the therapists are jump-starting him by stimulating his swallow muscles electrically and coaching him how to take over the process. They first tried the electrical stimulation Monday. On Tuesday he swallowed successfully for the first time. On Wednesday they let Barbara Sue and Lizzie try to feed him at meal times. The therapists thought the women were sufficiently patient and not trying to force progress that their involvement would be helpful. On Friday Will did 15 swallows in a therapy session before his muscles froze up and refused to work.

Speech
On Friday, while playing "Go Fish!", Will asked "Mom, do you have a nine?" Was he using backup circuits we don't know about? It's a mystery. But even an age ago, when he was in the ICU, Will sometimes clearly vocalized sentences, though most of the time complete sentences were unintelligible.

Exotic Diseases
Two weeks ago I mentioned that a neurologist intended to screen for rare diseases and metabolic conditions that are also known to cause bilateral thalamic stroke. The tests are not all done yet, but so far they are all negative.

Rate of Progress
During the week Will's mentor stopped in again. She was very encouraging. She offered to help Will study for his step 3 boards, so he doesn't get behind his class. We don't think he's ready to crack the books on that yet (I don't even know when they are), but the message the offer carries is very upbeat. She also told Will that he was at a point three weeks after his stroke that similarly situated patients she had known did not get to until three months after theirs.