Thanks Bruce!
This last Monday, she had an evaluation at a place called PRA (Progressive Rehabilitation Associates) where they spent all day running tests. Boy, that was intense! All kinds of stuff that you or I would say is simple (such as balance, word association, executive function (like planning a trip), remembering faces or instructions, etc..) had her exhausted by the end of the day. She was so tired that she threw up in the final interview! Thankfully, the MD (a physiatrist) was understanding and helped us clean up. I hope she can get into this program, but who knows? It's expensive and intensive, but I think it might help her out quite a bit more than the twice-weekly outpatient visits.
One other thing that I re-experienced there: other people have had it a LOT worse than Heather and I. It's amazing what some of those people have actually survived! One guy was driving a big cat (earth moving machine) and it fell backwards off of a cliff. His eye popped out, his skull was crushed in the front, and other "minor" injuries were inflicted. Another person fell 500 feet from a scaffold and had similarly bad injuries.
Heather is up, walking and talking and able to be evaluated by this program in only three months. These guys are just now being able to get to that level and they've been recovering for 2-3 years! Losing chunks of your brain does that to you.
