Outside Reading

Caring Bridge: Brett Hansen-Begg
By: Greta & Alan Hansen-Begg

Brett is still coming along with all of his improvements!! His Thanksgiving was spent at his aunt and uncles house in Saint Paul. After about three hours there his mom and dad could tell that he was ready to go back to the hospital. His way of transportation was unexpectedly changed right before he left the hospital. He was suppose to have a hospital taxi but that fell through and he got to go in his car with his brother, sister and parents. It worked out very nicely though. A month ago the Hansen-Begg family were planning on having a lift installed in their house to lift Brett in and out of the bath tub, but Brett has enough strength to lift himself in and out of the bath tub so the lift will not be needed. Lately Brett's attitude has not been as positive as Greta would like it. So she is doing the best of reminding Brett of all the positive things that have been happening, after a little reminder Brett will agree to having a good day. Last Wednesday night Brett was on Fox 9 News!!! On the news Brett showed off his new skill of taking small assisted steps and he also told them what he was thankful for.

Here is the link to the Fox 9 website where there is a story of Brett :

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7956833&version=1&locale=EN-US

Outside Reading

Caring Bridge: Brett Hansen-Begg
By: Greta & Alan Hansen-Begg

Since my last post about Brett his improvements are still coming along. He now can use an electronic key board to spell out things he is wanting to say. Because his only words right now are "hi" "mom" "unnnhua" and "naahaa" his spelling of words are 100% accurate and using the key board really helps Brett communicate what he really wants. With Brett being able to show what he wants to say, he can text his friends now. His mom, Greta will ask him what he wants said to who and he can open his phone and navigate through it but Greta still helps with the texting. He will get to texting on his own soon I know it!! A new thing for him now is laughing. If it is a joke from his mom or the nurses Brett will on occasion belly laugh. Brett's foods are also getting thicker and more solid. His diet consists of softened foods and liquids that barley have to be thickened. He will be eating normal foods and thin liquids hopefully in the next two weeks or so. Brett is planning to have an exciting Thanksgiving. Thursday will be his first day out of the hospital, beside the transfer from HCMC to Regions Hospital. He is going to his aunts house with his family for the day.

Outside Reading

Some recent reading I have done is reading various verses and letters at TEC, a Church retreat, this past weekend. The main verse for the weekend was Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, it pretty much says that there is a certain time for everything. I time to be born a time to heal a time to build up a time to break down a time to laugh a time to weep and a time to dance. Through out the weekend we read different verses that could help us relate to current day struggles or difficulties. Our small group leaders did a very good job of presenting some of these verses to us and helped us find verses that we could relate to and they helped us work through things going on. But the verse that I mentioned before was the theme of the week and it stuck out to me and applies to my life a lot. I really enjoyed this retreat, the fun leaders that were in charge helped this experience be one to never forget!!

Outside Reading

Caring Bridge : Brett Hansen-Begg
By: Greta & Alan Hansen-Begg

A new goal was set for Brett, spontaneous smiles. Normally he will smile if someone says Brett show me your smile! But just the other day his mom counted 4 spontaneous smiles, Brett now smiles just because he is happy. Great improvements! On the other hand he has been having a pain in his left shoulder. When the nurses ask him if he wants medicine he normally turns them down, but he has been showing a great deal of pain by moaning. So the nurses skipped the asking and decided to give him pain meds anyways. They help his pain but also make him tired. On Monday Brett had a cat scan to see if there was any trauma to his shoulder, good news: nothing is wrong! The doctors are saying that it is from his limited mobility. From being in his wheelchair a lot and not moving it as often as before. Greta, Brett's mom is getting a little bit more comfortable with leaving Brett alone in his room, when she leaves she will leave a call light right there for him to use if he needs her, and sure enough when Greta was down the hall his call light went off. He is becoming more aware of his surroundings.

Outside Reading

Caring Bridge : Brett Hansen-Begg

By: Greta & Alan Hansen-Begg

Brett's communication abilities have improved so much in the past week! He is fully capable to answer yes/no questions with head nods. His comprehension level used to be slow, for example having to wait 10-15 seconds for him to understand the question and give an answer but now its immediate! I can relate Brett's communication skill to the movie that we watched in class, The diving Bell and the Butterfly. Bauby and Brett both could/can answer questions by using eye movements or head nods. They are different though because Brett is not in Locked-in syndrome. Brett is able to move his arms and legs and will even vocalize every once and a while. Just yesterday Tori, Molly, Sarah and I went to see him. He was holding our hands the whole time and answering our questions. He even gave us a wave goodbye as we were leaving. This friend of mine is such a strong person, I can't wait to see the improvements to come his bright future.

Outside Reading

Caring Bridge - Brett Hansen-Begg
By: Alan and Great Hansen-Begg

Brett trucking on the road to recovery!! The strength in his legs is growing immensely, Brett normally goes in something called the stander for abuot an hour each day. But lately he has been in it more often because he communicates with his mom and the nurses that he would like more time out of his wheel chair. Also when Brett is in the stander he practices stretching out his legs and will even support some of his own body weight at times. Another improvement that has happen in the last day or so is that Brett is starting to use his voice. He rarely will say anything but last night when his mom went to the other side of the room to talk to Brett's roommate Brett said "mom" to get her attention! Real food has been starting to be in Bretts diet. Although they are mostly pureed they still count as food! Brett is not using his feeding tube much anymore.

Outside Reading

Caring Bridge : Brett Hansen-Begg
By: Greta and Alan Hansen- Begg

Brett's improvements have been increasing greatly in the past week. Since my last post about Caring Bridge I have gone to Gillette Children's Hospital to see him. Just lately he has not been fighting his mom when she tries to brush his teeth. 3 days ago Greta had to put a bite block in Brett's mouth to keep it open while she brushed his teeth but now Brett will keep his mouth open when told to. He also has been eating foods like ice cream and applesauce with out coughing and he swallows it right away! Another accomplishment Brett has made in the past few weeks is answering simple yes and no questions correctly by nodding his head or pushing buttons that say yes and no. Something else connected to Brett answering questions is that he is now able to answer them faster. His comprehension level of what is going on around him is increasing, and his brain is quicker to respond. Keep the improvements coming Brett!