Ear We Are!

Picked up Mom's hearing aid this morning and brought it to her. The doc couldn't find anything wrong with it when she took it apart and put it back together, but Mom said it wasn't working before and now it is, so all is well as far as I'm concerned...plus the "fix" was free, so double score! Also brought Dad the new issue of Perfect Vision magazine fresh from the mailbox so he's at least got some reading material to keep him busy when not in therapy, at meals or visiting with friends and family.

When I stopped by last night (a little later than usual), Mom was already fast asleep and Dad was in his room with headphones on doing a crossword puzzle. We chatted quietly for a little while so as not to wake his roommate Paul, then I bid him adieu for the evening. So he was surprised to see me this morning to say the least, and if nothing else, it's good to keep him confused.

Word has it among the physical therapy staff that Dad MIGHT be getting released as early as mid-next week, but no one else can confirm or deny that so we're not getting our hopes up. I've got a call into Stephen the social worker to see if that's indeed the case, so I'll let YOU know as soon as I do.

Hands Across the Ocean

Here's another snapshot of visitors to the blog...now with international reach!

Thanks everyone for your kind words and support. I'll be tapping people for help in the coming weeks for sure.

A Minor Update

Stopped by the 'rents last night and delivered a couple of pre-dinner mochas. I arrived to find that Mom had stubbed her toe and was having it treated by a member of the nursing staff. She had to keep it elevated as we visited in what I have dubbed the Plasma Activity Room (or PAR for short), but the mocha I think helped ease the pain.

I gave them an update on the bill and hearing aid situations, and let them know that I scheduled a followup appointment for Mom on June 5th. With that appointment we should see about scheduling a new CT scan and possibly get the ablation procedure back on the timeline, which brings Mom that much closer to coming home. I'll post the results of the visit as soon as I have them.

Got a call back from one of the pavers yesterday interested in bidding the job, but I need to remove the cars first, which should be able to get done by this weekend. Ed the Renter took a gander at the deck etc and said he could definitely pitch in during the day since he's close anyway, but the sequence is key and I don't want to leave anything undone for when either of the folks come home.

Also got Dad's cell phone loaded with minutes so he's entered the cellular age! He even got a call while we were visiting...I told him he just needs to get on the phone while in the checkout line and he'll finally have arrived.

No News is Indeed Good News

Today is my first post in over 36 hours, but fear not: I've visited my folks both days (around mealtime) and aside from a continually aggressive course of physical therapy that's making them tired and sore, they're doing really really well. Mom is getting around in the wheelchair like a champ and responding well to the physical and speech therapies, and Dad is doing amazingly well with his right hand...eating, shaving, even signing his name are all coming back with amazing speed. More work on that foot and he's on track to come home within the next two weeks!

More tomorrow after I talk to the Doctor about Mom's June 1st follow-up and set up a number of other arrangements that have been frozen in time over the long weekend.

A Jolly Good Time

Stopped by for a quick lunchtime visit and found a large chunk of the family were doing the same, so we closed down the lunchroom and retired to the "social area" for about three hours of hanging out. It was great catching up with family and I know Mom and Dad enjoyed the visit. Thanks to Tony for the picture (man, that Blackberry takes fine photo).

I will be calling Mom's doctor on Tuesday to see if her June 1st appointment is still a go and I am spending some time at the house keeping Gizmo the cat calm. Might do some weedwacking and skething of the new deck arrangement in the next day or two. Once I have a plan in mind for the deck, I will be contacting those of you who have offered handy help and we'll put together a work party of epic proportions.

A Meeting of the Minds

My parents and I had a sit-down with Stephen the social worker, Darlene the head nurse, Eddie the care staff lead and Venka the physical therapist yesterday. We discussed progress and Dad himself thinks he's not ready to be released, which is surprising. We're going to meet again in a week or so for another pulse-check, but in general the progress is on track. Sounds like it's recommended that Mom stay a little longer than Dad for lengthier therapy (which is to be expected), and in a week or so I'm going to on a field trip with Venka and I my Dad to the homestead to identify "trouble spots" and put together a list of things to move and organize.

In the meantime, I'm indeed focusing on the outside. Priority one is removing all the cars and arrangements are underway to hopefully get that done during the week, then I can get more serious about the paving. Next door neighbor Guy has a tractor and I'm going to see if we can borrow it for some smoothing, and Tasha had a good idea to pave the end of the driveway near the road as well since pulling out into traffic can lead to some spinouts when the weather is uncooperative.

A work party may be organized on a couple weekends, so stay tuned for details.

A Sunny Day at Maryville

Checked in with the folks tonight after work, and both were enjoying a post-dinner, post-mocha cup of coffee. Last night's LOST extravaganza was a lot of fun and went off without a hitch (aside from some stragglers glued to the tube for American Idol just prior to LOST), and all in all it was a lovely evening. But as Dad suspected, he and Mom got quite sleepy at the midway point of the two-hour finale, so they flicked it in at a commercial break and we bid them good night.

So since we watched the rest of the finale when we got home, I taunted them a little with the fact that it's a real mindblower, and Dad was suitably (if playfully) miffed. Apparently one of the nurses also watched the finale and was taunting them just the same, so I'll definitely have to bring the tape of the show in this weekend so they can catch the rest of what happened.

Mom and Dad were remarking last night how interesting it was that everyone in the place knew they were going to be watching LOST with the family that evening, and they likened the environment to being in a small town. But in a similar way, Dad has made himself quite at home, and he apparently knows all the nursing and care staff (and several of the residents) by name. It's an amazing and unusual trait, and they're such outwardly friendly people that it must be really nice to have them around...even if they wish they weren't there.

Today was a lot of heavy physical therapy before the Wolfgang sisters arrived (with Garlic Jim's pizza, no less...NO FAIR!), and there was apparently also a "disaster drill" in conjunction with one going on at St. Mary's Academy, so there was a lot of fire preparedness and such going on which apparently made for some amusing chaos. Dad has noted some soreness in his right leg since the stroke, and he mentioned it to a nurse, who said it's a fairly common after-effect, and in some very very rare instances, can herald a full spontaneous recovery. Lets hope he qualifies for that.

I'm going to take Mom's hearing aid in for repair tomorrow since it apparently hasn't been working as well as it could, and I have a meeting with Stephen the social worker at 10:30 so I should know more tomorrow afternoon about how long they're going to be staying at Maryville.

Also have been talking with my friend Pat, whose parents use wheelchairs quite frequently. Pat gave me a good rule of thumb with respect to how large one should make a wheelchair ramp, so I'll be stopping at the homestead in the morning to pace off and mark some potential ramp renovations. I'm also going to try and move forward with some car removal, though I'm sure most of the people who would do it will be indisposed this weekend.

More news tomorrow!