Monday, September 15

This morning I learned from the social worker at Ren rehab that Tommy's discharge date has been moved from Sept. 20 to Oct. 4. Tommy has been progressing well in terms of walking and general regaining of strength, but he needs improvement in other areas, including transfers and swallowing. Tommy also needs to voice his wants and needs, a task that is complicated by the fact that he has periods of confusion (I suspect that the reason he clams up at times is because that's what's going on). Occasionally, for example, Tommy says things to me that reveal that at that moment he thinks that he lives in DC, or that he still runs the boatyard, or even that he is working at the car dealership in Georgetown (where he worked before he began to repair boats). It's interesting that, when I realize he's confused in this way, I get him back to "now" by asking him if he has dogs; and when he says yes, by asking what their names are. He always remembers Penny and Sandy.