WAKE UP WOO!

Alright, I revoke everything I said in the last post...

Trevor can now get our attention by saying something other than, "no." Last night, my mom was in the bathroom and Trevor yelled, "Mom, tissue!" She immediately came out and handed him a tissue. But he got frustrated and yelled, "No!" So she asked him what he wanted. Again, he yelled, "No!" After a few minutes of playing the 'Guess what in God's name Trevor wants' game, she figured out that he didn't want a tissue, he wanted the TV on.

Today, while eating a melted Reese's egg, I got chocolate all over my fingers. I asked Trevor if he wanted some. About a minute later he said, "Uh Alyssa" and then mumbled something. Not understanding, I asked, "Huh?" He replied, "Gross!"

It is extremely difficult to figure out what Trevor wants at any given time. He gets frustrated, and so do we. The main thing I have learned in college is that communication is a two-way street, and it cannot be effective unless both parties are communicating equally. What we have here is one-way communication. We can talk to him and he can understand what we are saying, but he cannot express his feelings. It's absolutely miserable for everyone, and I am so sick of this. I want more than anything for my brother to be able to know and say what's on his mind.

Here is an example of this: We went down to the cafeteria to get a snack the other day. We ask Trevor if he wants ice cream. "Nope." We ask if he's sure. He gets really frustrated and yells, "No!" We checkout, he gets mad, says "no" firmly and reverses his wheelchair back into the cafeteria. We ask if he wants something else to eat. He sighs out of frustration and wheels back through the checkout. He gets a spoon and yells "no" again. I ask if he wants some of my ice cream. "No! No! No!" I ask if he's sure. He yells, "Noooo!" and puts the spoon back. We ask if he wants something else. He says "no" and grabs the spoon again. We push him back over to the ice cream. He yells, "No!" We ask if he wants another cup to share my ice cream. "No!" Then he grabs a cup, I pour some of my ice cream into his cup, he says, "alright" and eats it. Man, it would be really awesome to be psychic right now..

However, when Trevor's not thinking and not frustrated, he does exponentially better with speech. I'm no doctor but I think it's because his speech is so impulsive that if he thinks, it messes up the connection between his brain and mouth. He was sitting in bed and I asked him if he wanted to come to my house and help me move my furniture. He shrugged (with only his left shoulder of course) and said, "Nah." I asked why not. He replied, "Don't want to." If only it was that easy every time!

Now back to yesterday. Sorry I'm a day behind on these updates but hey, I'm only one woman...

Trevor went in for surgery to get his vena cava filter removed. I pray to God that this is his last surgery he ever has to go through. There's nothing more terrifying and nerve-racking than sitting in that stupid waiting room, shaking in our boots, waiting for my brother (who has been through more surgeries than anyone should ever have to go through).

But apparently it was a quick and easy surgery, and everything went great. Describing the surgery, the nurse literally said, "It was no brain surgery." We went back to the recovery room and Trevor was all smiley and loopy from the drugs. It was incredibly relieving that he wasn't unconscious or in pain again.

After Trevor slept for a few hours to recover, we went on a therapy outing to the University Union, where we were going to play pool. While getting ready to go, my mom asked him if he wanted a sweatshirt. He got mad, probably because he's a 'grown ass man' and yelled something along the lines of, "Blad Quall!!" You tell her, Trev!

I was amazed at how easily Trevor lifted himself from the wheelchair into the van. He got in trouble for getting up before the wheelchair's wheels were locked and snapped back "Welp, my bad!"

Pool was definitely an interesting choice for someone who can barely move the right side of their body. We spent the entire two hours trying to figure out a way Trevor could use the cue with only one arm, which turned out to be impossible. He would scoot himself around the table in his wheelchair, reposition the stick for a few minutes and then finally take his turn, moving the ball only a few inches in the wrong direction. It's crazy the things we take for granted in life...

According to the doctor, Trevor's right arm may be more affected than his right leg, which makes sense based on his brain injury. However, Novacaine, the medicine they shot Trevor's right leg up with, may not initiate movement in his right arm. He sounded really doubtful that any progress is going to occur. In other words, Trevor's right arm isn't moving on its own, and it may never do so.

As of right now Trevor's scheduled release date is April 12th. To be honest, I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. I know that Trevor and the rest of us are all sick of this place and ready to get the heck out, but I don't know how ready we are to handle him on our own...