First out patient rehab session

Tony had his first outpatient therapy session today. The first hour was spent in a group classroom type setting with about 10 or 11 other patients. The instructor was explaining to the group how the neurons in the brain form pathways to save and retrieve information. After an injury these pathways are wiped clean and need to be formed again. This is done by doing things repetitively which is similar to making a groove in dirt by moving a tool back and forth over the same spot . The deeper the groove is the quicker it will be to find the path. Once the most basic pathways are restored they can be used to build more complex pathways. She was discussing some different things the patients can do to help rebuild these pathways.
After the first hour the group separated and spent an hour each with a therapist from ot, st, and pt individually. I asked his ot(occupational therapist) about the neurooptamolagist. She said the neurooptamolagist they use tends to get backed up so it would probobly take awhile to get an appointment. She said she would get me a list of doctors in my area so I could try and get an appointment set up on my own.
The physical therapist spent time working on his balance. His balance is pretty good but he still has some minor issues. Some people have asked me if Tony can walk. Yes he can walk without assistance and he is getting up and down the stairs without any problems. I started taking him to the gym with me a couple of days ago so he can work on rebuilding his strength. One therapist told me you loose about a weeks worth of muscle for every day you spend in bed not moving.
While Tony was in physical therapy I had the opportunity to talk to another mother who's 26 year old son was in the group. He was a very handsome young man and had a really good job in charge of PR when he was injured. Apparently he had just broken up with his girlfriend and tried to commit suicide by jumping off the roof where he lived. He was found by a neighbor who came by and called for help. He seems like a very nice young man. He doesn't remember jumping but he realizes what a horrible ordeal it was for his mother to have to go through. God may use him someday to help others contemplating suiside. I'm sure at the time he didn't really consider how his actions were going to affect those he loved and loved him. I felt their pain. He has had a much slower recovery than Tony. His accident happened in January and he stll has trouble remembering what happened yesterday. While his recovery has been very slow the good news is that he still continues to make progress and his mother is very happy to still have her son.
His mother and I shared what it was like to have a son in a coma and not know if he would live or die .