Added: Nov 18, 2008
From: brandonupdate
Duration: 4:52
We flew to Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA to see Brandon 3/6/08 - 3/10/08. On Friday, 3/7, he was discharged from the Shepherd Center hospital and moved into a Shepherd Center apartment where he will live with 24 nurse-care and attend their Day Program from 9 am to 4 pm. Jocelyn, Ethan and I toured the Day Program gym and there are three pieces of equipment in particular Brandon is longing to use. All locomotor treadmills. We actually saw a young man with the robotic braces attached to his legs walking the treadmill while we were there, with assistance from therapists who moved one leg, then the other leg, for him. Brandon's spirits are good. He will need to board the Shepherd bus each morning at 8 am in order to get to his program. When I rode the bus home with him the first day, there were seven people in wheelchairs all chained and harnessed in, going to the same 12-unit apartment building. Brandon is responsible for his own food while he's there and we are exploring the MARTA which has a bus that will pick up individuals such as Brandon for $3.50 and take them where they need to go as long as the perimeters are within the bus line. Brandon will need this service because his apartment is on a very steep and long hill. The manual wheelchair he is in now to help him develop strength would be very dangerous on this hill. Ethan, Jocey and I went up the hill to the grocery store and we lost our cart coming down it. Not good. I was very impressed with Brandon's appearance and mobility. He is very limber and at first glance, you wouldn't realize he is a quadriplegic. It is not until you watch him eat or do fine motor activities with his hands that this is apparent. Although, he has regained thumb and finger movement in his right hand and the middle finger is also trying to come back; has slight movement. On Sunday we all took my sister Sharon's mini van and went to her house in Snellville. We transferred Brandon with the transfer board which would have been challenging if there wasn't so much manpower there. Brandon did a great job and this is where his regained strength is also apparent. Once there, we transferred him again into her salon chair where he got "the treatment". Brandon even used the Nintendo Wii, awkwardly, and bowled. His autonomic dysreflexia appears better managed. Precautions are taken to prevent him from dysreflexing at the key-times he is known to have this happen, and it appears to, for the most part, help.
Channel: People
Tags: atlanta brandon center dawn ethan jocelyn ny perrault qudriplegic shepherd weedsport
Rating: 4.86 (7 ratings) Views: 6789' favoriteCount='7 Comments: 0