Friday, July 4, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA! We hope all of you are having a great Fourth. We have had a rather quiet day here. There was a group who came in from Central Command (for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) and served up barbecue, but Mark had a different plan in mind. I took him to the supermarket this morning for some supplies and he decided he wanted prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches for lunch. When I mentioned that they were not exactly all-American fare for the fourth, he commented that Columbus was Italian. Couldn't argue.

We have just kind of hung around the house today with our group of friends and their husbands/children. We have a new guest in the house and she decided to bake, so we also had lots of delicious oatmeal bars and sweet rolls. We will be heading up to the second floor breezeway here at the hospital to watch the fireworks from Busch Gardens, which is just down the road from us. That is if the good Lord doesn't put on his own show first, which is looking very likely.

Mark had a very interesting pool therapy yesterday. He was fitted on Wednesday with plastic braces for his legs which extend under his foot. We then put water shoes on over the brace and he was "walking" in the pool with weights on his ankles and holding on to a floating frame. He did really well. Naturally, the left leg did a little better, but the therapists were very happy with the result. They will have him use these every time he has pool now.

We do have a van this weekend and are planning to go out and about tomorrow and Sunday. Today was a little too warm for Mark to be outside for any extended length and tomorrow is supposed to be a little cooler. We thought we would head for the water again. Sunday we plan to see a movie. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Hello everyone! It's been a few days more or less, but I am back now after a brief week at home. It was good to sleep in my own bed and sit in my favorite chair. Mark and Jess did beautifully in my absence, but they seemed glad to have me back today.

They went to the Army Ball on Saturday night and had a ball! They enjoyed themselves very much. They said the food was delicious and they had lots of fun with our new friends and "family" here. Everyone who went, looked absolutely fabulous in their fancy dresses and tuxedos, but more importantly everyone had a great time.

I noticed changes in Mark after a week away. He gets from the wheelchair to the mat in therapy and is sitting very well. He now has a new physical therapist named Jim, as it was time for Lindsay to rotate out of the Poly Trauma unit. Mark likes him and sometimes a change is good for the progress. The therapists have to rotate around the entire hospital in six month increments and Lindsay had actually been on this rotation for a year. We'll keep you posted on the progress!