Homeward Bound

Exciting news - the doctors at UPMC Southside have decided that Greg is medically ready to come back home on Wednesday, February 4. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, this doesn't mean that he's completely recovered (he's most certainly not), but he is doing well enough that he won't endanger himself or Jess (or the as-yet unborn baby). As you can imagine, this is great news, and everyone is really excited to get Greg back home.
Therapy will continue three days a week for three hours per day on an outpatient basis. In addition to guided rehabilitation, Greg will be increasing his ability to speak and use his right arm by doing things that he does every day, instead of simulating exercises (though he'll do those during outpatient rehab).
Greg's talking has come along beautifully. He's speaking in full sentences, though his enunciation is not perfect, he stutters on some words and has trouble with others. Greg is aware of these problems, which is both frustrating to watch as well as encouraging. The progress of his speech is one of the most amazing things about his injury: the way the brain can rebound after trauma is astounding. It's also a reminder of how lucky Greg has been, as plenty of TBI patients never regain speech to nearly the extent he has (and still improving!).
Greg's right arm is the main point of concern right now. The strength is improving, but his right hand is still clearly weak. For example, he can lift a styrofoam cup, but bringing it to his lips is next to impossible. He's using large-handled utensils in therapy, and is able to control them but again has difficulty with the strength and control of bringing them to his mouth. The right arm will obviously be a major concentration of his continued therapy.
As Greg comes home, we're hoping he'll be able to make some updates to this blog. Jessie will also make a guest appearance shortly, and we're going to try to get some recovery photos and videos up as well (home being a much more conducive environment to photography than a hospital).
In the meantime, by popular demand, the following is a photograph of Greg's head. While undated, it was taken after he moved to UPMC Southside. As you can see, the surgical scar is quite long on the left side of his head, and the extra stitch to the upper right of the photo is from the drainage tube that stayed in Greg's skull following surgery. And, as so many images and moments since January 21 have, this photo reminds us of how lucky we are that Greg is in a position to recover.