Hello everyone. It’s been a busy busy week for Tintin. This girl continues to amaze us with her recovery, and she continues to surprise everyone with new things every day. First off, her plasmapheresis treatment is now over and her creepy neck catheter has been removed! I’ve enclosed a photo of what it looks like, comparing it to the size of my hand. No wonder she didn’t feel like eating anything. I was worried about her sleeping too much last week, but after over 24 hrs. of sleep, she has gone back to a more regular sleep pattern. I guess she just needed a deep recharge of her batteries! She is now on the 6th floor, where it’s less critical care, so that’s another sign of improvement.

Tin’s appetite for outside food is growing, and this week she ate some Vietnamese “bun thit nuong” that her mom or sister brought her, and since she was preferring this outside food all of a sudden, we asked her what else she wanted, and right away she said “tacos”. We asked her again a few more times, and same answer. So today, Nini and her co-workers who Tin knows, went across the street to Urbano, our new favorite Mexican spot by here, and got her some carne asada tacos, and she wolfed them down!

Tin has also been making great strides in the physical therapy department. What started out barely a few days ago as barely being able to stand on her own, has now progressed into her showboating all over the lobby outside her room, walking in her walker! I’m telling you, this girl is determined to go home. Just ask the docs and nurses. She’s always asking them how to get out of here, lol! Poor thing. That’s another thing we’re now experiencing. She’s starting to show feelings and emotion. She’s getting lonely here all by herself overnight, and she is also concerned for others, like when her co-worker (now boss) Yvette came, and Tin told her “okay, I don’t want to keep you”. Sorry Yvette, she wasn’t trying to ask you to leave hehe.

Tin’s occupational skills are improving too. She started coloring in one of those adult coloring books and she was precise and neatly filling in areas with her markers! Oh, and we had her practice her signature and sure enough, she could write it exactly how she does, albeit very tiny, but hey, we can now send off her short-term disability form cause she’s able to sign it! She was also able to play some brain puzzle games today. Pretty cool.

Tin has passed the physical tests to qualify for physical rehab, and she should be transferring to the 3rd floor for that, possibly tomorrow, once insurance approves the request. This is the progress we’ve been hoping to get to, and we didn’t expect it to happen this quickly. Just yesterday she was learning to use the bedside commode, and today she’s already going in the regular bathroom! Sorry if this is TMI! I’m just excited for all of this.

The brain has obviously been the most affected and crucial part of this whole disease, and I want to remind you all that this is the hardest part to wrap your head around. Photos don’t show you her lack of a short-term memory. I’m sure it will come back soon though. She can memorize what we tell her, but when we sort of put her on the spot with things like what kind of tacos she wants, she changes her answer from carne asada to carnitas if you ask her again. I scroll through Facebook and show her all the posts and photos on her timeline, and she can name off everybody, so you are all not forgotten lol! She’s in there, and she’s got work to do, and she seems to know that she has a hard time remembering things cause she told me she couldn’t answer some of the doctor’s questions correctly, like why she was in the hospital, which she made it sound like she was a little disappointed. I reassured her that it was okay and it just takes time, and some things are better not remembered, like how this all started out over a month ago. I’m just glad this was caught within a few weeks. Reading so many others’ story about this Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis, and seeing how they went into a coma, or slowly battled with confusion and depression for a few months before getting the seizures and brain swelling that can cause permanent brain damage and memory deficits. I’m hoping and am pretty confident that Tin will regain her full personality and compassion that she once had before. If there’s anything in this world I want for her, it’s for her to have that back. I selfishly need that back. She needs it back for herself, too. Oh, and you better believe she’s gonna knock this physical rehab out in no time…And we’re throwing a huge ass party for her! You’re all invited. Love you all. -Billy