Updates: (11/28/2025)

Hi everyone, and sorry for the quiet stretch the last few days. With the holidays, everything at the hospital has been moving a bit slowly.

Physically, Eli continues to heal really well. Neurologically, he is doing okay. He has good moments and harder moments. When he first wakes up or gets tired, he becomes confused and frustrated. During those times he is much more agitated and can get angry quickly. He also gets timelines mixed up or says things that don’t quite line up, like thinking he took an Uber to the hospital.

His physical therapy is going well. Today he walked around the entire floor with his walker, which is his longest walk yet.

Earlier this week he had an MRI on his shoulder. It showed muscle strain on his left side, which matches the pain he feels when he sits up. The doctor said this will probably stay sore for a while, but it still doesn’t look like anything surgical. The neurologist is planning to review the scan, hopefully tomorrow, just to be sure the pain isn’t coming from his neck injury. They do not think that is the case, since he has no tingling or numbness in his arm.

He is so tired of only being able to drink thickened liquids. It has become a big source of anger and frustration. The only drinks he can have are the thickened ones in those little cups, like thickened apple juice, and he is completely over them.

He is finally getting another video swallow test tomorrow morning to see if he can be cleared for regular liquids. Fingers crossed he passes so he can finally have his Sprite Zero and a normal glass of water. It would relieve such a huge daily frustration for him.

He was able to shower yesterday and today. He has been begging for a shower since he first woke up, so I can only imagine how good that must have felt.

We also learned today that he still has to have a sitter because of his impulsive behavior. Until he can go without a sitter, he cannot move to the intensive PT floor. Once he is less impulsive and no longer trying to do things like take off his neck brace or get out of bed without assistance, he will be able to move forward with that next step.

My parents had Thanksgiving at the hospital with him yesterday. They brought a lovely Chinese food spread, and they were able to sit together in a nice lounge area while Eli ate in his wheelchair. It was a small bright spot in all of this.

We are keeping our fingers crossed for good results on the swallow test tomorrow, and hoping to see continued improvements from Eli. ❤️