A great day with Bruce!

So, with brain injuries (which I'm becoming an expert at) there are good days and there are bad days! It's the luck of the draw! Either way we will take the good with the bad!

Today was a great day! The Bru-man said about 30 words at different times to me ad the kids today. I came with Kenzie and Corbin and spent the afternoon with him. The kids love playing with Brampa. I'm amazed at how much they enjoy how simple the relationship is. Playing catch, having him say the numbers on the UNO cards or cheering him on in the bike while he exercises! Well that is until Kenzie comes into the kitchen freaking out that he was tired! She freaked, Bru was fine, dripping with sweat! I have to tell ya though, 16 minutes on the bike was pretty awesome! He is walking well and he really spoke more than I have heard him since surgery. A great day for Bruce and a great day for me and the kids!

Every day is a new day! Keep the positive coming! What else can you do!

Happy Birthday to the Bru-Man

Just thought we would share this with all of you. We celebrated Bruce's 59th birthday yesterday. An exciting surprise to see Marie and Patrick from Texas! Bru got a NordiTrak recumbent bike and a "pint size" (a bruism) monster truck to torment the little kitties with. He had a cake from Ryke's, it was a huge hit! He also had a celebratory beer with the family! Might as well eat, drink and be merry!

Thought I would post this video of Happy Birthday for you all!

Merry Christmas!

From the Bru-Man group.... May this holiday bring you peace. Thanks for all of the continued support! Continue to pray.

The Bru-Man Christmas Shops!

The girls and I took Bru-man shopping at the mall today. We bought grandma some presents from Brampa and the boys! We had soooo much fun.

We ate Chinese food, strolled the mall and bought gifts! It really was an absolute joy to shut my phone off an spend incredible time with Bru and my wonderful girls! We had a blast. I'm always inspired by his courage!

I was approached by the salvation army ringer after putting Bru in and out of the car. She said as a healthcare worker she was touched by my girls an my love and devotion, she said he must be pretty special and that we touched her! Wished us a Blessed Merry Christmas and Godspeed for a strong recovery. She really made me feel proud of my daughters! I am so thankful this Christmas.

No matter what we endure .... We persevere! I learned that from my parents. Bruce is very special to me and to my family. We owe a great deal to him for his unconditional love and support the last 27 years of my life! Thanks Bru-Man, you continue to bring joy to my life everyday!

Bruce At Home!!

Well, where to start? I guess from where we left off, huh? Bruce came home last Thursday afternoon. He spent most of the weekend trying to get back on his normal sleeping schedule, i.e., sleep at night, up during the day. In the rehab unit that got somewhat reversed and he wasn't getting adequate rest. That's much better now :)

Bruce still doesn't speak much, although when I am conversing (and I say "I" because I do all the talking - nothing new there, huh??) he will just spontaneously add a comment. That's a step forward. Still has difficulty with either gathering his thoughts to express OR having the ability to actually say what he's thinking, thus the photo just added of what Bruce wrote to me last night. As he has short-term memory problems, he didn't remember what had happened to him, the brain tumor, the surgery, nothing. We know that this is normal during the course of his recovery from the surgery and the brain shifting back to its original placement. Unknown if that will get any better. Also unknown if his speech will be getting better, but we're an optimistic bunch, for sure!! And I concur with Bruce's thoughts last night, we SHOULD be in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and as soon as Bruce is capable of travel, we will be doing just that!

Ambulation is very slowly progressing. Bruce is now able to walk with a walker with one person simply assisting to make sure he doesn't fall. Not that he's gonna be running any marathons anytime soon, LOL. He has what is called a Lema strap that allows his left leg to ambulate. This after a short 3 weeks where he could only take one step forward, period! So proud of him and all his efforts :)

I would like to add that our children have stepped up to the plate for their dad. I am so proud of these 3. Guess we must have done something right in the way we raised them! They are going above and beyond and like to tease Bruce, make him laugh/smile, and show him he is so loved. VERY heartwarming to see and experience. Kudos to my and Bruce's families for everything they've done for Bruce and I thus far. The saying has always been you can choose your friends but not your family. Know what? We wouldn't trade our family for anything!!!

Life is very hectic around this house these days. It's like we have a revolving door. Speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and visiting nurses are here pretty much daily. Then radiation/chemotherapy will be started after the holidays, radiation to be 5 days per week for 6 weeks. We would love to have people come visit, sit and chat with Bruce, but we need a little bit of time (probably after Christmas) to get our schedules worked out with everything that's happening in the very near future. Please be patient, and once we have a routine set in place we would love to see each and every one of you! Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to call, write, prepare meals, send cards, run errands, lend a shoulder for me to cry on, and being OUR support system! You need to know that we appreciate it and gives us renewed strength to take one step forward (literally in Bruce's case and figuratively in mine!!) Will update soon......Val

Writing!

Mom will post details later

Quick Update

Hi all- apologize for the delay in posting. Bruce is home! Has been since Thursday afternoon! His room is nice and cozy, all necessary equipment and supplies are there and the family is settling in with a routine and schedule. We really need help with sitting with Bruce. He has to have to people at home at all times. Meals that can be frozen are needed as well. Visiting nurses comes during the week, mandi- his speech therapist from the hospital will continue therapy in the home and he will also have physical and occupational therapy ongoing at home. Bruce had his first cancer center appt. yesterday. I will leave the details to Mom on that one. I wasn't there. Again, sorry for the delay, we have been adjusting and settling in. Mom did get him a zoom tablet for Christmas that I have set up for him to enjoy all his favorite apps like motor trend, eBay, sports illustrated and all the free Seinfeld episodes he would new through crackle. A great app! Thanks to all, we would be lost with all the support!

Rehab Update #4 Video of Bru-Man Walking

Hey All - busy trying to get Bruce ready to come home on Thursday.  All the preparations for the house are underway. Thanks to Freddie Severson, he is coming to help install all of the assist devices that we need at home to welcome Bruce to an environment that ensures he is able to move as independently as possible at home.  We have been busy helping Bruce with his occupational, physical and speech therapy.  We have written down song lyrics and made a blank space for him to fill in for the last word of the verse, some songs we included: 5 o'clock World, With a Little Help From My Friends, Try to See It My Way and The Things We Said Today - Nothin' like the Beatles to keep him smiling.

I have discovered iMovie, an app on my phone that allowed me to edit the movie below and add in some suggested music (as you will see from the video) to help enhance our pride in Bruce's hardwork and efforts to rehab! His spirit is strong, we are learning everyday what it' like to live regardless of the outcome! Please continue the wonderful prayers, they are helping.


Enjoy the video, I know that it has reminded me of the perseverance my parents instilled in me. Bruce has demonstrated courage, the courage to endure! I'm so thankful that my children can learn this through their Brampa!

COMING HOME!!

Bruce will be coming home this next Thursday, December 8. He is still confused at times, has difficulty expressing what he wants to say, and has weakness in his left leg. On the other hand, he walked with his walker VERY WELL today, actually using momentum and a fashioned sling to facilitate lifting his left leg/knee to try to get the leg to activate in walking. The physical therapist, nursing staff, Mitch and I were ecstatic!! I kept bribing him with a kiss in order to get him to walk to where I was standing :) Too funny. Should have seen the grin on his face!! He shaved himself for the first time this morning (I had been doing the honors, and not very well, I might add!) He is now able to get from a sitting position to a standing position and back again with very little prompting from us. So apparently the brain is renewing those neurotransmitter pathways somewhere and sometimes :)

Now we are in the process of getting our home ready for his homecoming. There is a lot of preparation involved in this. The goal has been, and always will be, to make Bruce as comfortable as we can and help him to achieve the highest level of quality of life that we can offer. I have total confidence in our family and friends that we can and WILL achieve that very successfully....with a little bit of help from Bru-man :))

We are going to start organizing visits throughout the weeks so as to not overwhelm Bruce once he returns home. If you haven't had a chance to visit him yet, your time is coming, trust me!! He is grateful and appreciative of those who have come to see him, but I can guarantee that he will be absolutely over the moon to see everyone once he is at home and in familiar environs. Here's to progress!!! Luv ya all! Val AND Bruce

Here's To Progress!! December 1

Bruce had a lot of therapy this morning. He spoke to me more than he has ever before :)

He walked with his walker this morning but very slowly and unable to maneuver his left leg. Only walked about 6 steps.

This afternoon, however, the therapists decided to try to have him walk WITHOUT the walker! What a difference!! He was able to walk 100 feet down the hallway!!! He had assistance with his left leg, of course, but W-O-W!!! What a difference a day can make, eh? He is smiling much more every day and likes getting teased by the nurses/therapists (naturally!!) He was pretty tired when I stopped in to see him at 6:00 p.m. I brought his iPod up with the docking station so that he can listen to music whenever he feels like it. He had me turn it on for him before I left. I KNOW he is drumming out the tunes with his hands and trying to follow the songs' lyrics. Brings him such joy to hear especially Sea Breeze tunes :) Will keep you all posted! Have a great Friday, everyone. HOW did it get to be Friday already????

Pictures of Bru-Man post surgery!

Hi all, here are some pictures of Bruce in the hospital. He is doing well on our way up with the kids this afternoon!