Out on the town

Free at last! Free at LAST!

DAD WAS SPRUNG TODAY!

Woo-hoo! Yippee!! He is home! I just got back from Mom and Dad's house. Dad is settling in nicely to his bed in the living room. Mom came armed with a list of medicines and stuff to help with the remains of his healing and recovery.

Six months, one week and one day later... Wow - talk about the long way home from my house. I was just talking last night with one of my neighbors about this whole process. We had NO IDEA when he began feeling bad at my house that it was such a huge thing! She and I were saying that we stood outside laughing and joking as the emergency vehicles pulled up. Dad seemed mostly fine - how could we possibly know that he was in the middle of a very serious heart attack? I took his jacket with me to the hospital because I assumed he would coming home that night. No idea...

Anyway, he is home now - and happy to be there. Well, he was until Mom said that he gets yogurt and a sandwich for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. She hasn't been grocery shopping in a while. I can't belive this, but he is going to MISS the hospital food if she doesn't get shopping soon!! 8-)

It is amazing to see how much he has progressed in the last three months. We were rolling steadily downhill until Sarah finally put a stop to that in March. The doctors and hospital staff that we have met performed a miracle last December - but I don't think even their amazing skills would have done any good if Dad hadn't been so amazing himself. And - as we were discussing earlier - if we didn't all believe in the power of prayer before we sure do now! Thanks again to everyone for all of your support and prayers!

Amy

First Visit Home

Dad came home on Saturday for a brief visit--the nursing home would only let him stay away for about four hours. What should have been a big event was actually pretty low-key, which was nice. He came home, sat in "his" chair for a while and visited, toured his completely overgrown backyard, went upstairs to his bedroom for a while (with no problems on the 14 stairs at all), back down to the family room to read through the newspaper and re-start his stack of papers that drives Mom nuts (although I'm sure she was happy to see it again!), then lunch and back to the nursing home. The only difference from the usual routine was that Mom was the one who ran out to the grocery store for bread when we didn't have enough for lunch. I don't know, maybe it was a bigger deal to him than he was letting on, but he said the house didn't seem strange in any way. The fact that is wasn't a big deal means (to me) that he really is ready to be home. He still has problems getting up to a standing position from sitting down (he needs to build up more strength), and Mom has difficulties helping him because of her back, but if they both keep working out, they should be fine.

The nursing home recommends getting a hosptial bed to have at home, at least until his strength is back and he is better able to manage on his own. They say it is easier and better to have it and not need it and have to get rid of it than it is to need it, not have it, and have to get it. So they'll set that up in the family room (and Mom thinks a stack of newspapers looks bad?) where he'll have easy access to everything except a computer--and if they can get the wireless router working, he'll even be able to have THAT in the family room.

Almost home!

Today Dad's doctor checked the bedsore, and it's so much improved that the Wound Vac has been removed! Now Dad will be much more able to move around. He and Mom went for a walk with just the walker (no wheelchair trailing behind), and the therapist took Dad up and down a flight of stairs (up was easier than down). He did well, and the stairs at home will be easier because there are railings on both sides.

Dad gets to go home for a visit on Saturday morning. If all goes well we're hoping he'll be home permanently soon thereafter. Then maybe we can have Christmas on June 25 -- only six months late!

Long Time No Post!

Wow! It has been almost a month since any of us have updated the blog. I am SO sorry! Well, for those of you that are still diligently checking up on us here I am pleased to report that we are all diligently slogging ahead in re-hab. Well, Dad is doing most of the work.

It has been a quiet week (month) here at Lake Manor Care. Really quiet. But Dad is doing really well. Several weeks ago the staff set a possible date of Memorial Day for Dad to get sprung. We thought that was rather ambious - and we were right. What is holding Dad up now is NOT his health (he is - as I said - doing great!) but his darn bed sore.

They have had him on a pump to drain his wound for several weeks now. That seems to be doing the trick. The wound care specialist says it looks excellant and they hope they can remove the pump this weekend. This is good news because the pump (while doing a good job) has been a pain in the butt (pun intended) all along. It gets in the way of getting him up and moving him around. But we persist.

Dad is, I must say, one of the more energetic guests at re-hab. Instead of sitting in the hall in his wheel chair - you are more apt to see him cruising around on his walker, "running" laps on the second floor. (Or you will find him napping in bed having exhausted himself on his walker.) Today his therapist had him playing catch with Mom - and, more impressively, batting a balloon around while standing. He lost his balance once, but otherwise was standing on his own. He says he is feeling stronger and he has gained a good amount of weight (I think he is in the mid 150s now).

We hope he will be coming home soon. They practiced getting him in and out of a car today. In was easy, out was harder. They say he may be able to go home for a visit next weekend - and I hope for good shortly after that!

It has been a long haul, but we are getting there!