Hamburgers and Pudding (Update for January 25)

When Dan and I arrived at the hospital, Sam was feeling a little nauseated and his sodium levels had dipped to 135. They do his bloodwork every morning, so we have to wait until tomorrow to see if it is better. However, he was ready to take a walk so that was good news. Dan and I walked with Sam (walker and helmet in hand and on head) downstairs, outside through "the yellow brick road" in the atrium and then to the Heartbeat Cafe, where he had a Sprite. He loved it, and kept looking around and saying how nice the hospital was and mentioned taking this same walk tomorrow.
When we returned to the room, his physical therapist showed up and wanted to go to the gym. He did great ... with his balance, and walking sideways, forward and backwards. Based on how he did, she said he can take walks WITHOUT THE WALKER as long as she, or a member of the family, is walking beside him. However, it's his call. If he feels like he can walk without it, he is free to leave it behind. We have decided to just carry it along, just in case he gets tired.

Sam is a reader. 

After all the activity, he was very tired and had a headache. Additionally, his ankle was hurting so the physical therapist brought ice and decided to elevate his ankle today.
His trauma doctor said he was doing well, and as long as his sodium levels stay in the normal range, he's almost ready for the next stage of his recovery ... a rehabilitation facility. That will probably happen this week, and we consider that really good news. It is just another part of the journey to get home. She also told us that his next surgery, to have his skull returned to his head, will probably be in six weeks.
Today, we also visited with a social worker AND a representative from the Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon (RIO). When Sam goes there, he will receive intense physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. After he leaves RIO, he will still need 24-hour supervision and that will be Bridget's full-time job. She also has three friends to help her, when she needs to go to class, run errands, etc.
Sam had a session with his occupational therapist, and she said he did great. AND, then he met again with the speech therapist (and again, he wasn't very cooperative). He did draw a great clock, and answered most of the questions correctly. He still struggles a little with math, and he gets impatient with the questions.
When he is tired, he starts getting a little confused and calling things by the wrong name. For example, he wanted some pudding, and he kept referring to it as "manning." So ... either he is equating Peyton Manning to "pudding" or he had just watched a football game yesterday, and his brain was just misfiring a little. (We like Peyton Manning.) He looked at some books today, but said he was too tired to read.
Back to pudding, that's all he ate today until dinner. He actually looked at the menu (hospitals are a little different these days) and ordered a hamburger. The best news is that he ate about three quarters of it. That's really good for him.
His fluid intake is still restricted, and we are supposed to record all of his liquid intake. He tries to get us to write it down wrong. When I measure his Sprite or water, and I know it is 200 ml, he will tell me it's really only 100 ml. Hmmm ....
I had guessed he had lost 20 pounds, but they weighed him today and he has lost 15.
Overall, he had a great day. He was calm, coherent and followed all instructions well. He has some short-term memory loss, and we have to repeat things sometimes. He smiled and laughed a few times. We are praying for another day of progress tomorrow.
Another bar in Portland, besides his employer, The Abbey Bar, is planning on having a fundraiser for Sam. I will post information as I have it. People in Portland have been so supportive, and want to make sure he is OK when he returns to his home with Bridget. Here is the information on The Abbey Bar fundraiser. Thank you all for reading and understanding.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/01/packers_fans_coworkers_plan_fu.html