Lights and Tunnels

The meeting today was, by all rights, a roaring success. Stephen (social worker), Eddie and Darlene (nurses), Bree and Venka (physical therapists) and my folks and myself all gathered and discussed the many issues at hand...namely, what it will take to get my folks out of Maryville and how long it's going to take.

Both therapists had good things to say about Mom's and Dad's respective progress, and the nurses chimed in to say that Mom's UTI is cleared up. Her coumadin level is still considered stable even though the doses change every few days, so I will call Dr. Jones tomorrow to schedule her ablation procedure, and while Mom had plateaued previously in terms of her physical therapy, Venka recently found some new interesting breakthroughs for her in terms of day to day occupational activities so there is more work to be done for sure.

The short answer as far as length of stay: 2-3 weeks for both Mom and Dad. If they don't get out at the same time, Mom will likely be the first to be released, and we discussed options for her if that is the case since the staff agrees that Mom needs to have someone around 24 hours a day to make sure she has the help and care she needs.

We also discussed the preparations necessary to ensure that the Gilchrist home is ready for either or both of them to return. The staff is very positive about the ramp project, and I explained how Paul and I spoke yesterday both about the ramp and the doors to the bathroom and bedroom so that wheelchair access is ensured, but Venka was wanting to follow up on the home visit so she can see the situation and make suggestions as needed. We scheduled a visit for next Tuesday morning, and we're bringing Dad and an extra wheelchair to run through the house so I'm sure I'll have a long list of things to clean up and modify before Mom and Dad come home.

After the meeting, I sat in on and helped with one of Mom and Dad's joint physical therapy sessions, and it was encouraging to see them doing so well. I helped at one point with transferring Mom from the wheelchair to the bed, and she does really well as long as she has the help she needs when she needs it. I spoke with Venka and Bree briefly after the session and prepped Venka for the visit by showing her a few pictures I had taken, including the one above. It may not be a live grenade (as Dad explained), but its presence is definitely an indication of things to come.