Since December 7th of 2010 all updates were written by Zac Chapman unless otherwise noted.

Zac would love to get a text from you. His new number is

1-682-235-3518

February 13-17

Before therapy Monday I had a doctor's appointment with a general surgeon that could possibly replace my "G-tube", that's my feeding tube, with a "button tube". My G-tube goes 3-4 centimeters under my skin straight into my stomach (for water to hydoctorate me and liquid food to make up for what I don't do by mouth to go in) and sticks out of my body about 5 inches. During the day I have to tape the end of the tube to my belly so it's not pulled. I don't know exactly what this button tube is like but I've been told that above my skin is just a port with a flap to close it. The doctor just has to measure me for one that visit. All he did was look at how many centimeters deep under my skin the tube goes, which the tube is marked by centimeters, so he knows the length of the one to order. Wednesday PT told me a brace company is coming to Harris the following Wednesday to evaluate me for what kind of knee brace and AFO (hopefully lightweight carbon fiber) they will custom make for me to keep. Thursday I had no therapy and had an appointment with my family doctor. We addressed several small issues then voiced the concern of the less bloodflow in my right side of my body. She recommend a vascular doctor to check it out. Friday was my appointment with my neuro optimologist(vision) doctor at Baylor Institute of Rehab in Dallas. She's been my one and only eye doctor since my wreck and I'm really pleased with her. She helped me when I was there for rehab. She re-tested my prescription and since the prism for my double vision has stayed the same for over 6 months I'm eligible for another eye alignment surgery! This will decrease the thickness of my glasses dramatically if not take them away! After that dad and I headed for Houston to the 1st CMRA road race of the season!    

February 6-10

I'm typing this update late so my memory isn't fresh enough to remember each day but I do have an excellent highlight. Last week I was told in my family conference that if there wasn't proof of change in my next two swallow studies I would be discharged from Speech therapy. That week someone pointed out to me what is said in the Bible in James 4:14-15  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

After I read this I contacted my pastor and asked for this to be done. He was all for it and had the elders meet with us at the church office that Saturday. They did just as the scripture says. The following Tuesday (the 7th) in a swallow study I swallowed a nectar thick liquid perfectly! I had been on honey thick liquids since I left Pate in September. I have tried to swallow nectar, which is close to normal consistency, in each of the last 4 studies but it has went down my windpipe.(aspiration) On top of switching to nectar liquids I also successfully swallowed chips! Now that I can eat crunchy foods the list of what I can't eat is getting smaller. I was asked what I did differently to make this advancement, but I answered that I did nothing different. I knew it was my obedience to this scripture and my total faith that did it.

January 30 - February 3

Monday I had swallowing speech, OT and PT therapy. During PT I had the newer to me therapist. First she stretched my legs and I stretched my back on a mat. Then I walked with the braces on each knee that prevent them from locking. I really like walking with these on, they're just designed to use in therapy though as a training tool. If I want a brace for myself to take home and always use I will have to purchase one, which I'm interested in doing. From now on OT will focus solely on my hand-eye coordination, finger dexterity, range of motion in my arms and my grip strength. For the past several weeks she has been focusing on building my leg strength and depending on them while sitting from a stand and standing up along with bettering my posture to help PT. Tuesday was cognitive speech where again we played a game and she critiqued my speech during it. Wednesday I had only swallowing speech therapy and then a family conference. My 3 therapists were present along with my parents, the Harris psychologist, my case manager and my PMR (Physical Medicine Rehab) Dr. who was the one that requested the meeting. In the meeting my therapists updated my parents on what we were working on each day plus how my progress was with that. My PMR Dr. was able to talk face to face with each therapists about what would help speed up that process. She mainly spoke with my PT. My original discharge date from Harris, set on my 1st day of therapy in October was January 27th. Last week my therapist re-evaluated me and since I had met all the goals they set for me when I arrived there plus made significant gains since October my stay was extended. In the conference my parents and I were told the new discharge date was now set for the end of February unless I showed more progress. Thursday was a day off of therapy at Harris and I had no Dr.'s appointments so I got to do therapy at home with Michelle. On Friday I walked wearing the anti-lock knee brace and the lightweight carbon-fiber AFO in PT. In Speech we discussed the plan of action she was going to use from now on to work on my swallowing since she had no evidence to prove it had made a gain lately. She also said I would have a swallow study the following Tuesday and if it looked the same as the last one I would get a last one before being discharged at the end of February.

January 23-27

Monday I had speech, OT & PT therapy. I worked with the same PT that I did last Friday since my therapist was still off work. When walking I got to use both knee braces that won't allow you to lock your knees. (she was able to find both braces today) I really like walking with them on, no reason to keep practicing the wrong way. Tuesday I didn't go to therapy for I had an appointment with my PMR (Physical Medicine Rehab) Dr. Her office is only a few miles from Harris. She happens to be the Dr. that brought me out of coma when I was brought back to Texas. We decided that on March 8th when I'm eligible for more injections for the clonus in my legs I will try Botox since the Disport didn't do the job. Wednesday I only had 2 hours of therapy, swallow speech. & OT. I got to eat Dairy Queen for dinner! My options for food is so open now I can order meals at restaurants! It's a great blessing from God. Since I had to skip therapy Tuesday for my Dr.'s appointment they were able to schedule me in for therapy Thursday to make up for missing. The PT therapist I had was the same person that did my evaluation when I 1st came to Harris. I'm told I will have her now except for Fridays, then I'll probably have my original PT. Before I walked I got on my hands & knees on a mat. From there I came into tall kneeling. (like your standing but on your knees) This still makes you balance, keep your bottom in & balance. I haven't done that activity since I had her last. Friday I had PT, swallowing speech & cognitive speech. In cognitive speech we played a game but though out playing she watched & critiqued my speech.

January 21-22

This weekend a friend, who also goes to the same church as us, took me deer hunting. He was previously a hunting guide for 15 years. He has a lot of hunting knowledge and experience, which was great since I have none. He was called to a ministry where he takes handicap and underprivileged people out to hunt. Anyone can shoot the gun because it's mounted atop a tripod with a device that holds the gun so the person doesn't have to. There's a 3 inch wide and tall screen mounted atop it with a camera that looks through scope for you. What you see on the screen is what's seen in the scope. He leases a 600 acre piece of land the owner lives on plus has a cabin for the hunters on weekends and it's all non-profit. Dad and I arrived there Friday night to unpack, settle in and get ready for Saturday morning. Going from the cabin to our hunting spot each time we rode in a Polaris Ranger.(like a John Deere Gator) We woke up at 4:30 Saturday morning so we were in the deer blind before the feeder scattered corn at 6:30. Within 30 minutes there were 6 bucks and 4 does 100 yards from us! On the property they want to shoot the older deer 1st to allow the 2-3 year olds time to grow up more. One of the deer he noticed was a 5 year old and the same deer they had wanted to get all season. We were sure I had shot him but as our friend spent an hour tracking his body down and couldn't even spot blood we had our doubts. We ate some breakfast, lunch and rested at the cabin for the evening hunt. At 4 we left for a different blind for a feeder that scattered deer food at 4:30. Once the 3 of us were in, it hydraulically lift up 60 feet! Closer to dusk a few younger doe came and then 3 exotic Falon deer. I couldn't shoot at them because they're worth a lot of money. All other deer are intimidated by them and won't come around so that was the end of that hunt. We ate dinner back at the cabin (his wife's homemade spaghetti). We woke up early again Sunday morning to hunt out of the same blind as Saturday morning. As the morning before deer congregated there 30 minutes after the feeder went off. The only deer that came though were 2 and 3 year olds which are not to be shot then the lovely Falon deer. It's strange that out of the 600 acres they showed up in 2 of our hunts which were in separate locations. Even though I came out of the weekend with no deer, which wasn't my priority anyways, I had a great time. To spend the weekend in a secluded place with no distractions, be in the fresh aired country and be outside before dawn to watch it was beyond worth it.

January 9-13

Monday was a day off of therapy but I still exercised at home. I practiced sitting to standing slow, sit-ups, the leg bike and practiced some more things. Tue, Wed and Fri I had therapy at Harris. My swallowing speech therapist has a new student that started this week and will be there until May. Tuesday I got to do pool therapy for the first time while at Harris! Unlike Pate there is no underwater treadmill but it is a much larger pool (4 feet deep) and my PT did the therapy with a helper. I mostly worked on coordination; she would have me doing an exercise and while I was doing it add another. In PT I'm working on standing still and walking without locking my knees plus standing and sitting controlled. OT is helping with this also along with improving my arm and shoulder range of motion and strength. Thursday was a day off from therapy (which later changed) so dad and I went to a TBI (traumatic brain injury) Support Group meeting at Harris from 1:30-3. More patients, some with their caregivers, meet together once a month to discuss a list of points the leader has. (I assume, since this was my 1st time to attend one) After the meeting was over Speech was able to fit me in for an unexpected session of swallow therapy. I happily took the slot. Friday my PT was off work so another one stepped in. I've worked with this PT before and like her ideas. As I'm practicing my slow and controlled sit to stands plus walking without locking my knees she mentions they have a knee brace to prevent that (I thought 'why am I just now hearing about this'). There are 2 of these braces but she could only locate 1. I used the brace on my right knee since my right leg is weaker and my left is strong enough not to lock. It was awesome walking and standing the entire session without my knee locked. Speech therapy was next and it was for swallowing but turned into a cognitive session. I was happy since I hadn't had it in a few weeks. I read the instructions to a card game to myself then tell her how to play. The activity was to talk clearly while I told her how to play.

January 3-6

Monday was a day off from therapy again and I drove my dune buggy (humongous go-cart) at a friend’s house. He has 16 acres and I spent a few hours driving around; that's how I plan to practice getting back to driving. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday I had therapy at Harris. I had a swallow study Wednesday and after it I was released to eat bread! Foods that had bread in them were now open, a long standing goal of mine. Friday in PT I finally was able to unlock both knees and sit down slowly, which takes all leg work and I have not yet been able to do. I practiced that for the rest of my PT session. Thursday therapy was replaced by an appointment at my neuro-urologist in Arlington which is an hour from my house. After the appointment we had some errands to do, so by the time we got back I went to bed, no exercising at home.