FROM
ACHYUTANANDA DAS
FOR ALL THE DISCIPLES OF HH JAYAPATAKA MAHARAJ.
Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obiesances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
After being requested by Mahavaraha prabhu, I am presenting the current
health status of HH Jayapataka maharaj.
This relates also to the question of till what time Jayapataka maharaj
should stay here in USA and future travelling, treatment plans.
We have been here in Los Angeles going to the High Hopes Head Injury
programme since we have come here, that is for the last four months. It
includes four days of rigourous therapies at that place and at the weekend
some other corelated therapies, pool, some preaching movements. So for the
first time after many many months Jayapataka maharaj has been steady at one
place, concentrating on the therapy, with one physiotherapist. It has
included personal supervision, personal interest of the therpist with
maharaj and use of various forms of equipment. The effects of this is he is
steady at one level of performance, having a little by little progress. It
has not been dramatic, that he is without any support been able to walk;
which is the goal for all these hard work. But he is now able to swim by
forward stroke, right hand is more stable, more often writing by the right
hand is clearer, can stand alone without any support for more time, walking
with lesser need for support. These seem to be very little in comparison to
what maharaj wants, or we want or he had hoped that he would soon walk
independently and begin his preaching tours again. Definitely we are far
away from that goal, and looking at the gains we can easily say that it may
not happen at near sight whatever we may do.
So to discuss all these issues we had a nice meeting with all the servants
and the chief staff of the High Hopes programme. The meeting was very nice
and the salient points of the meeting are as follows:
Every 48 hour that Jayapataka maharaj does not do proper exercise and
physiotherapy, he is going to lose immediately his gain with regards to his
independent abilities.
Any 48 hour that Jayapataka maharaj is out of good set up of physiotherapy
he has to compulsorily return back to hard work of physiotherapy, swimming
and other therapies.
In that estimate if Jayapataka maharaj has been away from nice form of
therapies for one month because of travelling and other reasons he will
require six months of hard work to gain back to the level that he had left
from.
Hence wherever he is, Jayapataka maharaj has to dovetail minimum for four
hours for rigorous physiotherapy, this is for the next many many years, may
be for the life time.
For this he has to learn to say no to so many of proposals that disturb his
schedule of therapies. Learning to say no to so many people who come forward
to divert his attention on the schedule of therapies is extremely important.
All the proposals can be scheduled in the line of need of focus on therapies
in the day and programmes at other time.
There is every chance of a second stroke if proper balance of rest and
exercise is not maintained. Hence he cannot have a stressful life style any
more. Whole style of functioning has to change. The focus being on regular
exercise and then combination of preaching. Thus the place wherever he has
to stay has to be chosen in the matter of availability of pool, proper
physiotherapy place and other medical facilities.
There is no quick fix, this stroke rehabilitation continues for the next
twenty years. Hence we cannot expect that at one day he just gets up and
finds himself miraculously walking totally independently. This training is
going to continue for long time, hence better to stay at home after some
time and continue pool therapy, physiotherapy and other therapies for long
long time. Never change often the tracks of one therapy or one therapist.
Stick to one design of therapy and place of therapy for long time. Then only
it works, often changing the line of therapy does not make one accomplish
for one person anything.
We had the opinion of Ms Mary, the staff for hand occupational therapy. She
pointed out how over the last four months he had been fairing better.
Initially he could arrange 8 cups one over another and now 18 cups over one
another with more smoothness. She suggested that for the continuous
improvement with regards use of right hand maharaj has to have more
application in the rest of the day, like to do most of the day to day things
by himself. It could be more time taking but it would be for the most of
time by far for his benefit that he uses his right hand more often.
We had the opinion of Ms Jenny, the staff for lokomat training, who
elaborated how initially maharaj had more staggering and dragging at the
machine, low coefficient of leg function but now walking is far better. His
coefficient of leg function is far better and no dragging of the legs on
the lokomat machine. She said these could be small as compared to what is
expectation but in the matter of stroke rehabilitation are far important
improvement as these small small ones make a huge turn of the event in the
long run.
This meeting was led by dr Mark Desmond the chief therapist of High Hopes
Head Injury programme. He expressed detailed progress report of Jayapataka
maharaj in the matter of his slow and steady advancement of what he can do
now, like ability to turn and dependence on others for walking getting
lesser and lesser. To the progress profile presented by Mark, Jayapataka
maharaj agreed and said he has been very happy at the personal attention
that Mark provides for him.
The overall consensus of the above discussion is that it would be definitely
a long time of hard effort on behalf of Jayapataka maharaj that he would be
really, practically and safely independent. Till then he would need closely
supervised attention from his caretakers and from his therapists. Dr Mark
Desmond was once of the opinion that, in future it would be in the best
interest of Jayapataka maharaj that he stays at his home, with all the
necessary equipment for advanced form of rehabilitation set there and under
supervision of qualified physiotherapists maharaj continues daily work out
for long long time. In between he may go for a break tour of preaching , the
place well chosen and set by for continued physiotherapy. All though the
opinion of some of well wishing and closely observing disciples may be that
Jayapataka maharaj stays here in Los Angeles for really long long time, like
till the next GBC meeting or so, which is definitely in his best interest,
the answer to the question that when Jayapataka maharaj would return back to
India or where does he go next, only time can reveal .
Apart from his rehabilitation, his other health problems are still the same
at large. Maharaj has his pending need to do the surgery for left eye.
Although advised by all the doctors across the world for surgery, looking at
the risk poised to the left eye cornea for damage because of sagging lower
eye lid, Jayapataka maharaj has been taking some time to decide about it.
Blood pressure more or less remains controlled with medicines. Sugar level
is normal. Blood platelet level is low but remains steady, around 60000 as
compared to the normal level of minimum of 1.5 lakh . The blood white cell
level have been in the low normal range, recently they have fallen little
more. Liver with relation to hepatitis c infection is more or less the same
status, the viral load of hepatitis c going up and down, and the elevated
liver enzymes remaining three times high of normal. Jayapataka maharaj is
currently on blood pressure medicines and the rest of the medicines are many
natural medicines aiming at building up liver immunity, to clear hepatitis c
virus infection, to help build up general body immunity, to prevent rapid
aging, help retain good and healthy heart activity, all being prescribed by
Dr Vijaya Vishnu, one of his disciples.
Hope this finds the disciples and well wishers of HH Jayapataka maharaj with
the necessary summary health information.
HARE KRISHNA.
EVER YOURS
ACHYUTANANDA DAS.