A very positive and exciting note, the Hoyer hydraulic lift came today so my mom can finally get Matt in and out of bed alone. It will also make transfers in and out of bed for the caregivers easier and safer for Matt too. The most dangerous activity Matt faces each day is the transfer in and out of his wheelchair and bed. Quite a dramatic change from the dangers he faced before the accident, but no less dangerous I can assure you. Matt is still the adrenaline junky he always was, you should see how fast he drives that wheelchair! Another positive note, Matt began receiving disability payments on an expedited schedule (normally it can take six months to kick in). The bad news is the first month payment was $35 which is all they will give you while you're in the hospital. The next month is going to be around $600, which obviously doesn't cover much when we're spending just $900 a month on home care helpers to take care of Matt every night so my parents can sleep. Basically you get two hour naps all night long with Matt. There are two regular care givers who have been coming pretty regularly, Brian and Tia, they have been life savers. They get paid next to nothing and still come with a smile on their face and help Matt almost every day. This freed up my dad to go back to work and my mom can have a little time for herself again.
If we can get together enough money Matt can get some serious rehab started. Check out this MSNBC story from a few years ago about the FES bike.
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