March 2010 - 10 Months

So it's been a couple months since I've done an update. I have good news to share. Kathy is doing great. She's walking with a walker with no problems. She can't go very far, but she can do it! She gets up a lot more frequently now than she did a few months ago. Chuck can get her up now with no assistance from the nurses or aides.

Also, Chuck is able to help her in and out of the car now and has taken her home for a couple trips and to get her hair cut. It's nice for them to have more freedom. She's working on going up a step in physical therapy. She needs to step up a little to get in the car. They don't have a practice step in PT. I guess residents usually don't progress enough to work on stairs.

She still has limited mobility in her right hand. The damage from the clot in that arm is 99% healed but we're not sure how much more improvement she will have. She does well enough to write letters but it's really slow.

Chuck had a minor foot surgery last week. He's doing well and last weekend experienced his first couple days away from the nursing home/hospital in 10 months while he recovered from surgery. The residents in the nursing home were concerned when he didn't show up for the second day in a row. Several of them asked me where he was.

We're hoping that Kathy will be able to come home in the next month or two. I think it depends on how much work Chuck can handle. They are meeting with the therapists and counselors this week to determine a plan for coming home. The foot surgery may slow the coming home process a little. But he wanted to take care of it before mom comes home. We're so glad to see a light at the end of the tunnel for getting home.

Love to all....Lara

Christmas Photos

7 Months

As promised in last months blog, Mom is walking this month! She took 8 real steps on Friday using a walker. She had been sort of shuffling her feet up until then. But she actually lifted her feet to take steps. She's so excited to pass this milestone. Everything seems to be getting a little easier. She still needs assistance to stand up but it's getting easier all the time--both for her and the nursing home staff. Hopefully she'll be able to come home in a couple months.

Thanksgiving went really well. Mom came home for a few hours and we stuffed ourselves with a great turkey dinner. We also invited one of the other residents that has MS to come and join us. It was a fun afternoon. It was nice to see everyone relaxing and enjoying themselves.

This weekend there was a Christmas Party at the nursing home. The residents sang carols for us and Santa came to hand out gifts to the residents. It was cute. We're looking forward to celebrating on Christmas Eve. Depending on the weather, Mom is coming home for a few hours on Christmas Eve. It should be a quieter Christmas with just the three of us.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

6 Months

This Friday marks 6 months from Kathy's stroke. It's hard to believe it's been that long. As slow as things have seemed, we are grateful for steady, foward movement despite a couple ups and downs. Things seem to be moving a little faster now.

The big news is Kathy had her first visit home last Friday. With a little help from the home's van, she was able to spend about three hours at home. It was really nice for her to see the house and yard and to spend time with her dog. And since it's been unseasonably warm we spent some time outside. Our family friend Diane also visited while we were there.

And we have big plans for another three hour visit home on Thanksgiving. My aunt and uncle, Bob and Marcia, will be visiting over Thanksgiving. We are ordering a pre-made meal from a local restaurant. I've never made a whole turkey and wouldn't mind attempting it but the time constraints make that impossible. We have a lot to be thankful for this year.

The therapists have moved Kathy on to the next step in physical therapy, practicing the actual act of standing up. The therapists put her chair between the parallel bars and assist her to stand using her own arm strength to pull herself up. She needs the assistance but is able to pull herself up to standing up 3 or 4 times a session. And although it's very difficult for her it's getting a little easier. She had an evaluation session today with the person who oversees the therapy. They were very pleased with how she's doing.

Her left arm strength is increasing and her endurance is coming along. Progress in her right hand is still frustratingly slow but it seems like there is a little more movement. It's going to take some time to see how much recovery is possible after the amount of swelling and tissue damage she had from the clot in her arm. She was discharged from the vascular surgeon's service. So at least there's one less doctor to see!

Hopefully next time I'll able to report first steps! I'll keep my fingers crossed. And, as always, Mom appreciates your cards and letters.

Getting stronger

Mom had a great week in therapy. Her legs and core are getting stronger in every session. After having stood up for the first time last weekend, she stood up in two more therapy sessions last week. The second time she stood for 5 minutes and immediately after stood again for another 3 minutes. On Friday, she stood for 8 minutes and then again for another 2 minutes. She says it feels pretty good but she eventually gets lightheaded and has to sit back down. I think it's amazing progress in a week. As always, we appreciate your cards and letters!

Up for three minutes--first time in over 5 months!

Mom was able to stand up for 3 minutes this morning! The therapists use a lift machine to make sure she doesn't fall. She was able to support her weight and had good posture. The therapists were pleased and Dad and I are really happy.

She didn't have much pain except for one knee. They plan on doing this more often now. It should lead to a different and easier process of transfering her from the bed to the wheelchair pretty soon. That will make life easier for everyone.

After she was done she still had enough strength to pull herself up on the bar and reposition herself correctly in the wheel chair. And then she did a full session of physical therapy. She's pretty worn out today and suspect she's going to sleep really soundly tonight.

Stronger and stronger-big weekend plans

We're working towards a big goal this weekend. We've spent quite a bit of time over the last month in physical therapy strengthening mom's core and working on getting more movement in her one weak leg. The hard work is paying off. This weekend the therapists are planning on getting her on her feet. They use a machine to help support her weight so she doesn't fall. Mom's a little worried but we're excited about taking this first step.

I had misunderstood what happened in my last blog post. She was not up on her feet. She just did something called a transfer that involves scooting along from one seat to another seat. So this weekend is big news!

The injury in her arm is completely filled in now. She has an appointment with the vascular surgeon this week who did the operation. She had appointments with him every other week. We're hoping that's going to drop to every couple months now.

We try to keep ourselves entertained at the nursing home. There's a bird feeder outside mom's window. We've kept it filled and have had a steady stream of birds. But lately the deer have been emptying the feeder before the birds have a chance. We're also enjoying the daily drama of the nursing home residents. There's definitely a lot of interesting personalities that we've gotten to know.

I'll post again this weekend to let you know how Saturday goes!