How I am Going

Cory just keeps on pushing harder and harder and striving to do everything in his power to get back to not only walking, but to one day getting back on the bike again. After a bit of a setback in the last few days, he is so determined to get himself back to a normal life.

But first I want to say a big congratulations to our Beautiful daughter Jeldi , who amongst all of this is also trying to lead a normal life of balancing school and a part time job. After battling a completely incompetent driving assessor, Jeldi has also now passed her moped test and is now mobile! Big thanks to Drew from Bunbury Motorcycle School.

Jeldi, you are an amazing young lady and we are so proud of you, just stop getting any older… pretty please….

On Thursday the 15th Cory woke again with pain, but the previous few days Cory has been getting stomach aches which I believe was from having Oxy-Codon as a PRN, so we decided to try some Paracetamol instead, this should be a lot friendlier on the stomach! Aunty Sharna, Liam and Tommy came to visit and joined us as we did his I-Rehab. Both the boys looked pretty stunned to see their big cousin who is always showing them how to do tricks on bikes and scooters, now bound to a wheel chair and unable to do a lot for himself. Keryn also came to visit us and joined us as Cory did his physio session. After lots of stretches and some sit to stand (achieving 50cm) then some squats, Cory started to work towards getting up from the ground unaided. This was incredibly difficult and although he was super determined to do it, he just could not manage the strength to get from the point where he is bent over with his hands and feet on the ground and his knees bent, to straighten up and push up though his knees into the standing position. This is really day one of his goal which he gave himself 9 days to achieve though.
It is probably actually a challenge for a lot of you reading this too. Try it!

Later that evening, we took Cory for his first time to Ronald McDonald House for dinner, where we also played some Table Tennis, Air Hockey, Foosball and some Pac Man, then checked out our room before bringing him back to the Hospital for the night.

Friday Morning Cory woke up extremely tired and sore, the room was so hot the night before that neither him or his roommate managed much sleep at all. Things were off to a really slow start and Cory needed to be at Physio by 10, although requesting his morning micro lax, the nurses did not get there in time and Cory poo’s without it, before having his shower.
Kristy and Rick arrived and we were super excited to have them up, it is amazing how much love and support these two wonderful people have shown to us throughout this journey and this was the first time that Cory was actually meeting them!
With a bit of a freshen up and a bit of bounce with Kristy and Rick arriving we headed off to do Physio with Nicola albeit running pretty late….

Cory did some of his own stretches and some sit to stand work before really turning his attention to his goal of standing up unaided from the ground. I am really not too sure what happened next, whether he was putting on a show for Kristy and Rick or what was going on, but he managed to get himself all the way from the ground to standing with Nicola only once touching him and claiming “Sorry, that wasn’t for you, it was for me, I can’t believe you just did that”. Keep in mind that this is a goal he had set for another 7 days in the future and one that would reasonably be expected to struggle with even in that amount of time, especially since the best sit to stand height he had achieved to date was 50cm!

Not content with that goal and a cheeky grin on his face he turned to the physio stairs and said, I want to try the stairs…. Needless to say, he smashed that too! I guess I had an issue with eye integrity at that point and they started to leak a little.. J

After Physio we headed out down Hay St with Kristy and Rick to grab some lunch and to get a hair cut. He is certainly looking way better without the mop and it was an absolute pleasure to spend the day with a couple of absolute legends. See you next time you’re up!!

After Kristy and Rick left back to Bunbury (hope you didn’t get a parking ticket…) we chilled for a while before heading over to RMH for dinner and some more Table Tennis.

Saturday the 17^th was off to a good start for Cory waking up without pain again and not requiring any additional painkillers over and above his normal concoctions, just after a shower Meghan and Chad arrived and we headed down to the satellite room for some physio.
Cory began with some stretched that he did himself, before moving onto some sit to stand work. Although he had previously achieved the height he was working on, he still struggled with it. Some days are good and some not so much.
He then got onto the floor and showed off his floor to stand moves for Chad and Meghan before walking from the Plinth to the door and back completely unaided! (about 5m there and 5 metres back)

Saturday was another milestone for Cory, not so much in a physical sense, but he and Chad had planned to get out and see a movie for some time now and Saturday was the day for that!
With Popcorn and a Choc-Bombs in hand, Chad, Cory and I headed in to catch the new Jumanji movie while Shona and Meghan caught up for a coffee.

We arrived back at Princess Margaret around 2pm and after downing his 2pm meds, Fliss arrived and we ordered a couple of pizzas.

Later on we also had Darren and Robyn of MaD Cycles Bunbury rock up for a visit and to give Cory a couple of gifts and some cash that they raised for him on Australia Day! Thanks Robyn, Darren, Mark and the entire MaD Cycles crew and everyone that supported Cory on this day!

After Darren and Robyn departed, we headed over to Ronald McDonald House for dinner where both Cory and Fliss ate nothing….lol, they did however head up to the games room where we played some Table Tennis and some arcade games.

Sunday the 18^th was again off to a good start, a little sleep in, but again waking without pain. After normal meds, toilet routines and a shower, Cory and his roommate Jayten headed up to the MegaZone where they played some Sega Rally, Air Hockey and hung around in general before coming back to Ward 7Teen for some lunch.

This is where the story turns…
After expressing that his spaghetti bog tasted weird and dousing it in grated cheese, Cory reluctantly ate it, then about 30 minutes later he said he was starting to feel sick…..
Our good friends Kylie, Paul, Ryan, Scott and Abbey rocked up and unfortunately didn’t get to see much of Cory as his tummy was aching a lot so I put him in a bath to try to settle his stomach a bit and make him feel a little nicer. It was great to see the Selkes (and the Bartle Boys) and after a bath Cory was feeling  a little more perked up, just not for very long, just long enough to show off his T-Rex walking style and to get a great photo with them

I left pretty much straight after Paul and Kylie and headed over to catch up with Gary and help him to work on his car, I was only there for maybe a hour before Shona called me and asked me to come back as Cory really was not too well.
When I did arrive back I was shocked to see Shona wearing a mask and gloves and the nurses donned in disposable gowns and the state of Cory, hunched in the foetal position in pain and as white as a ghost. I had only just missed some major firing from both ends and he was rapidly getting worse. I will spare you the gory details as you will need to eat again at some point in your life and we would hate to put you off your dinner for ever..
Fearing severe dehydration he was immediately connected to an IV drip and stabilised. Within a couple of hours of the drip being connected and some ondancetron to ease the nausea, Cory was starting to get some colour back in his face!
One thing he did manage to stay positive about through this was “I’m so glad this happened now and not 2 weeks ago when I couldn’t move my legs”. He’s definitely a glass half full kind of guy!

Picture to come…..

Sunday night was not such a great night with a couple more rounds of uuuuurrrrk going on and finally being able to have his normal pain meds around 2:30 am (6hrs post being due) as the nurses were convinced that he may actually be able to keep them down now. Shona stayed the night for the first time in quite some time now, but I don’t think either of them actually slept….
Monday was spent in complete lock down, with many showers and lots of school work. Shona spent most of the day scrubbing the room just incase it was gastro and I spent the day solving the Rubiks Cube… We both succeeded in our quests…. Haha Oh and Cory was able to keep down his morning meds and even ate some toast!
His last little “episode” (still aware you will need to eat at some point in the future..) was around 11 am and from this point on he only got better and better although remained in lock down for the remainder of the day.

Tuesday the 20^th was also spent in complete isolation, although feeling great the hospital has to put in precautions to ensure that Cory does not spread whatever it was that he had to other patients, especially since there are undoubtedly some kids with very low immune systems around.
Not being able to attend the REWALK exoskeleton was pretty frustrating for Cory as he was really looking forward to being part of the training of this new awesome piece of kit, but he had to settle for us giving him some stretches before doing 30 minutes on the MotoMed and moving on to some sit to stand work, some floor to stand work and some walking, just to keep him progressing a little until we can get back with the professionals.

Wednesday Cory woke up feeling good after a good nights sleep, but was still a game of hurry up and wait, with the 48hr isolation not being lifted until around 11:30am. Cory was out that door before the doctors had even finished talking to Shona, he had spent the last 3 days in lock down and he wanted out of that room!

We then headed down to the Physio gym where we got to watch the Physio team being trained to use the REWALK, what an awesome experience and what a fantastic piece of kit this is for people who may never ever be able to walk again by themselves! As this was a training exercise and not Cory in the REWALK we were unable to take any photos, but I am sure that he will have the opportunity to get in this at some stage and you can be assured that if we are able to take photos, we will!!!

Cory has also created a brand NERVE, if you would like one of his shirts, let us know 🙂

Sorry again for a long post guys, there really is so much going on and too much not to write, we are already leaving lots of the little things out as it is, but every day we are seeing so much improvement and we are becoming more and more confident every day that Cory will be able to lead a fairly normal life post this journey.

We really appreciate all the love, comments and support that has been coming our way and we are blown away with people like Gary, Chad & Meghan and Kristy & Rick. We don’t have enough words for you guys, we really don’t!

 

#corycrombiecan
#muchlove

The Crombies

 

 

 

So this is going to be a long one guys, but Cory has had some amazing progress the last dozen days and has absolutely smashed some goals well past where we ever imagined that he could!

Starting off on the 07^th Feb Cory was busily doing his physio with Nicola where he walked up and back in the parallel bars and then stood unaided for about 3 mins after lots of stretching. I had just arrived back from Bunbury and had a surprise that I was not too sure how it was going to be received by Cory.

Cory’s new Crisp Bros Racing Team Frame and Merch package arrived and even know he had expressed how much he was still excited to be on the Crisp Bros Team, I was really unsure how he would feel actually receiving a BMX frame when there is no way that he can get on the bike!

When I did give him the box the look on his face and his body language immediately assured me that it was indeed the right decision to give him the frame!
Cory was absolutely ecstatic!!!

We then headed to our family meeting where we discussed reducing Cory’s pain meds and trying to wean him down a little bit more along with starting to work more on his posture in particular his lumbar support, Cory spent the entire meeting playing with the contents of his Crisp Bros Racing box…. Haha

 

Family Meeting or Crisp Bros Racing Session? It’s not clear….After the family meeting we had an OT session with Laura and Aileen where we caught a train to Clarement Quarter shopping centre and got an icecream and a coffee, it is very interesting seeing the world from the perspective of someone in a wheel chair! For instance some of the minor cracks and layout issue we normally experience in walkways are accentuated when trying to traverse these in a chair! Then there are the street signs that are plonked straight in the middle of a footpath that is barely wide enough for a chair in the first place?? Not too sure what that is all about, but being able to get out of the hospital with these two wonderful ladies who already thought of all the problems that we would encounter is absolutely invaluable! Thanks Laura and Aileen!

 

When we got back to PMH it was dinner time, Cory’s meal was pretty average and it was just fortunate that Starlight had a BBQ going on up at the Megazone!! These guys are awesome, what a ripper of a feed!

Aaron & Cory enjoying the BBQ at MegazoneOn the 8^th Cory woke up feeling pretty slow, tired and a bit sore, for some reason one of his charted pain killers had also not been re-ordered and there was none available on the ward. After smashing down a couple of toasties for breakfast and some Oxy- Codon, we headed off to I-Rehab. While waiting for I-Rehab to start we caught up with Amber from Rebound WA where we looked at some possible sports for Cory post rehab one that stood out was the downhill hand cycling.
Cory really does not enjoy his I-Rehab and heading there already in pain was not looking like it was going to be a great session, but strangely after a session in the Lite Gait and a walk in the Rifton Tram, Cory was actually feeling pretty good. This is his first session where he felt better after the I-Rehab than he did before it.

On Friday the 8^th Cory was again pretty slow to start, after being woken to take his morning meds, he slipped back into a quick sleep since there was nothing pressing to get up for immediately. We discussed with the Doctors about changing his charted Oxy-Codon from a dose of 10mg to a dose of 5-10mg and we are going to try to see how this reduced dose works for him when in pain. A slow lazy start to the day soon changed when we started physio at 12 where after lots of stretching we had Cory walk from the Physio Plinth to the Physio reception (about 20 metres) only holding on to Nicola and myself! He even walked about 3-4 Metres only holding on to Nicola, everyday we can feel more and more strength coming into Cory’s legs, trunk and core! Cory also did his first balance test and although he could not complete it, we feel that he is so well advanced from where he started.

Cory then set a goal to be able to walk completely unaided for the length of the Parallel bars by Friday the 16^th Feb.

 

After arriving back from I-Rehab late Laura from OT was waiting for us in his room with some more new mobility aids. Laura had brought a new shower chair and a new toilet chair in trade for the commode. This is awesome as the commode was really difficult to get dried and dressed etc after a shower and now with the ability to do a stand transfer, there really was no need to be stuck in the commode.
Pretty much flowing straight from here we headed to I-Rehab where Cory then walked 3 X 5 minutes in the Lite Gait on the Treadmill then about 40 metres from the I-Rehab gym to the Physio Gym with only about 20Kg of weight supported in the Rifton Tram! Progress Progress Progress! Everytime he does this we see more and more strength and form coming into his legs.

Cory then headed off to Live wire with his roommate Ben then came back to the room where we played the Boganology Board game, needless to say I was thrashed and Ben emerged the victor….

Saturday the 10^th Chad and Meghan arrived (Again…) and we headed down to the Satellite room for physio. After lots more stretching Cory showed off his ground to plinth transfer skills before smashing out 5 push-ups!!

We then headed out to town where we got some MOP doughnuts before meeting up with my cousin Hayley and Shaun who were down to watch the AFLW. We headed into the Apple store where Cory bought himself a new Apple watch with his birthday money.

On Sunday Jeldi came up for a visit with Uncle Noel, we headed up to the Megazone for a little while before they had to head home again, later that night we headed out for dinner at Sizzlers to celebrate Gary’s Birthday, what a great night to be able to get out and have a semi normal meal and night out, although again we experienced the lack of thought for disabled people with some teenage and fully able kid tying up the disabled toilet for a lengthy amount of time and leaving it in an absolutely disgraceful state (I had to clean his crap off the seat before Cory could use it). With Bladder and Bowel function still not 100% right, Cory was lucky to be able to hold on for long enough to wait for the toilet to become available….. We then dropped Cory back at the Hospital before Shona and I both headed back to Bunbury.

I then headed back up to Perth for Monday morning arriving just as Cory got to the Pool for Hydrotherapy (I suggest if travelling in peak hour in Perth, get yourself a motorcycle). Last time Cory did Hydrotherapy he had to transfer from his wheel chair to the pool chair and be hoisted in and out of the pool, this time with a the aid of Nicola and myself, Cory was able to walk himself down the stairs and into the pool! This in itself was an amazing feat!

Once in the pool Cory tried to do some breaststroke which was average to say the least then did some walking and balancing exercises. While standing with his feet apart he had to balance in one spot while Nicola swam around him trying to make the water turbulent to knock him off balance, he then had to put his feet apart, then close his eyes. It was pretty awesome and hilarious as Nicola tried to unbalance him until finally she had to give him a push to get him off balance. It is amazing how fun and amusing Nicola is able to make his rehab sessions, she has him working so hard and laughing at the same time, she truly is a special person. After then walking up and out of the pool via the stairs, Cory realised that he had not brought a change of clothes to the pool……. Hmmmmm looks like he was heading back to the ward in wet pants….. hahaha

When we got back to the room (and put some dry clothes on) Cory and Ben headed up to Livewire where they made a clock in Art before saying goodbye to Ben as he was being discharged. But it was only a matter of a few short hours when he got a new room mate who just happened to live across the road from my Cousins! What a small world!

Later in the day Cory had another Asia test (normal Monday routine) with Renae, every week he is gaining more and more sensation, mobility and strength, it is very hard to describe here in this blog how this changes, it is still strange to see that in places on his body he can feel a cotton wool ball touch him, but in the same place cannot feel a sharpened pop stick poke him??? It is weird and we are still amazed by the way the nervous system works/ doesn’t work. Infact can’t I can’t remember if I already noted that at several points Cory’s right foot has been icy cold, purple and with really poor capillary refill while his left foot had either been hot or very warm. This was all caused by the nerves not really knowing what was going on and stopping/ slowing the blood flow to his foot. Since adding more of the neurological pain killer meds into the middle of the day, this has almost completely stopped this problem. What and amazing thing the human body is!

On Tuesday the 8^th Cory awoke without pain again, he is starting to have more and more mornings where he is not in pain when he wakes up which is fantastic. After Cory had is micro lax and shower he walked (aided) back to his chair and dressed in his chair, this new shower chair is certainly promoting more activity for him. After breaky we headed down for physio with Christina where he did lots of balancing work and some side stepping, then smashed out 8 push-ups too!

After a quick rest we then headed to I-Rehab where Cory was able to complete 3 X 6 minutes in the Lite Gait before walking in the Rifton Pacer this time instead of the Rifton Tram. The Pacer is much better as although it does not have the ability to take Cory’s weight by lifting up like the Tram does, the rear wheels are able to lock directionally and the pacer is much lighter allowing Cory to actually control it and push it along by himself with it simply aiding his balance and able to rest down in it if it all gets too much. It is kind of like a giant baby walker.

After getting back from I-Rehab, eating some lunch and doing some OLNA practice tests in class for a while, we headed down for OT with Laura and Aileen where they had an amazing surprise for Cory.
A New wheel Chair! This time a Panthera U2 which is like night and day compared to his last chair. This one is so much stiffer, lighter and way way more nimble, not to mention a lot more easy to flip…. We grabbed a couple of traffic cones and some paving bricks and headed out to the carpark so that Laura and Aileen could teach Cory some more wheel chair skills that he will need to have for everyday life. We practiced going up and down descents and ramps, learned how to perform drag turns around corners and his favourite… How to hop up over and off curbs! This is something that he had been looking forward to for sometime.

Learning to get up curbs

On Wednesday the 14^th Shona returned as we were in Physio and after stretching and some sit to stand and soft knee work, Cory Smashed his Goal to walk completely unaided for the length of the parallel bars. This is a couple of days short of where he set to achieve this goal! We then re set another goal for the following Friday the 23rd, to stand up from the ground completely unaided. This was going to be a tough one to achieve as Cory was really struggling to even sit to stand from 54cm without using his hands!

Also being Valentines Day Cory and Fliss spent some time in the park on the Hospital grounds laying on a blanket on the grass and eating some of the amazing treats from the absolutely amazing Kristy & Rick!

TO BE CONTINUED…….

#corycrombiecan
#muchlove

The Crombies