Plasmapheresis #2 down!

(guest post by Kate)

Adam is asleep after a day that seemed to be full of stuff. He worked with PT this morning and sat in “chair mode” on his bed (literally the bed ends up looking like a barcalounger) for a half hour, which was great. He also had his second round of plasmapheresis, which he sailed through without a problem. During the washing out of his unfriendly plasma, we listened to a very special CD that was delivered yesterday afternoon. Adam’s professors and colleagues from his Radio Workshop class at the journalism school made an awesome hour-long radio show - just for him! Adam was totally blown away and loved every minute of it. Special thanks to Molly, Annie, Megan, Jed, Lauren, Tristan, Andrea, Rick and Ailsa, and everyone who sent messages to him from afar. What a wonderful, beautiful thing you recorded. Thank you - Adam LOVED it. After it was finished Adam mentioned how much he misses listening to music. I had loaded up a bunch of songs on a shuffle when he was admitted to the ICU, but he didn’t want to listen to it very often. We ended up leaving some mellow music on it, but filled the rest of the space with an audio book. Once he’s done with the book, I think we’ll be putting some more music back on.

Kathleen, Adam and I talked with his current attending physician this afternoon, who is very nice. After we asked more about whether his EMG could really predict his progress given his severe axonal damage, she gently suggested that rather than focusing on percentages or numbers to focus on him making a full recovery. It was a good reminder for us to not get too wrapped up in the minutia - we need to focus on the big picture, which is helping Adam be as successful as possible in regaining his full pre-GBS ability. It may take a while, but as Adam has mentioned previously - he’s good for it. :)