Wow. What a difference a couple of weeks make. Getting the infection taken care of has really revitalized all of us. Everybody’s spirits are back up. Kathy may still have a little pneumonia but we are keeping a close eye on it. She had a chest x-ray Friday to confirm.
She has been getting physical therapy pretty aggressively again. They haven’t tried to get her on her feet yet but we’ll get there eventually. Today I got her high top tennis shoes. We’re hoping they won’t chafe like the medical boots she is wearing to keep the tendons in her feet from stiffening too much.
We weren’t sure if the therapy was going to be on the same schedule when she returned to the nursing home. There weren’t any beds in the rehab part of the hospital so she is in the long term care wing. But we’re happy with the switch. The staff seems nicer on this side. Mom said one of the orderlies even spent his break talking with her the other day. It’s nice to know good people are working there.
The doctors still don’t know what’s wrong with her left shoulder. They think she her shoulder is frozen. Frozen shoulder can develop after a shoulder is immobilized for a period of time. The symptoms are pain and stiffness or restricted movement. It can take months or years to ‘thaw’ the shoulder out. And the process of thawing will also be painful. It’s one more thing they are working on in her daily physical therapy sessions.
And the vacuum is finally off her arm. The hole is almost completely healed. The skin still has some growing to do. It’s so nice to have one less thing to worry about. And not having a tube attached to that arm gives her a little more mobility. And she is gripping more and more with her right hand. Slowly but surely function is returning.
Mom’s brother, Bob, is visiting for a few days this week. He said he can tell a huge improvement since the last time he was here. It’s great to hear that from someone with some distance. Chuck and I know she’s making progress but it’s hard to see when you visit daily.
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