Welcome to the world of ice and snow...and minus temperatures! Cleveland has been in the deep freeze for several days now, and yesterday never made it out of the minus numbers, with -2 being the high! Now, why did I leave Florida?????
Mark called last night and told us it was chilly there too, but 40s and 50s seem downright balmy to us about now. We had not talked to him for two evenings because he was "too busy." Jess left on Tuesday and arrived back home in Sydney on Wednesday safe and sound. Mark misses everyone but is doing well. His therapies have been going well and his spirits are great. He has been spending a lot of time in the weight room at his little complex and since he is the only patient currently, he has the place to himself. They are expecting to add a couple of more patients this week. He is looking forward to some company, but admitted that he was perfectly content being the only one there with the nurses and therapists! He was planning on going to the park with the nurses today to do some sketching, if the temps warm up a bit. I guess he has a backload of laundry to do because the washer in the Transitional unit is on the blink, so his nurse was going to take him back to the fifth floor and help him use the washer there.
Rich is doing very well with the shoulder rehab. He had his first formal session with the physical therapist on Thursday and found out she had trained at the Tampa VA. Small world. He is not having any pain (in fact, it's much better than before the surgery) and is doing his exercises faithfully two to three times a day. He does not have to wear the sling in the house and with the exception of a particular movement because of the tendon repair, he can move his arm just about every way so far. The staples come out on Monday, so we will know more then.
We are hoping all continues to go well so that once he is done with rehab we can go to visit Mark. And enjoy some warmer weather!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Mark's week back went well. He had not lost too much without therapy for two weeks. He had been doing his exercises and had been walking with his walker around our first floor, so that helped. They have measured him for a new back brace, which they hope he will find more comfortable. He currently hates to wear the one he has, but really needs to in order to keep his muscles from tightening up and keeping his back straight.
He was weighed when he got back and he put on 13 (yes, 13) pounds while he was home. That means about a pound a day was gained eating Mom's home cooking, cookies, pie, wings, and just about anything else put in front of him! I was absolutely amazed. Rich kept saying it was probably about 10 pounds, but even though I knew he had gained some weight, I never expected quite that much. Of course, there was the fact that he did not have the intense therapy he gets at the hospital, which burns so many calories. Nevertheless, we were so happy to see him eat and recover a few more pounds that he lost on what he calls the "coma weight loss program." (Frankly, I think I need someone to just put me to sleep for a few weeks!)
Friday was a year that Mark has been in Tampa and fourteen months since the day of the crash. Even though that seems like such a long time, in terms of his recovery and what he has accomplished, it's really very short. We are very proud that his dedication and determination to be back to all he was before has never waivered and that he keeps on striving for bigger and better things. At a meeting this week to set goals, he told the therapist that his six month goal was to get back to climbing, maybe not on a mountain, but on a wall. She told him she would help him reach that. Quite a goal in my opinion.
We are currently in the midst of a big snow storm here in Cleveland, as is most of the Northeastern United States. Unfortunately, the timing is not good, since I have to pick up Richard at the hospital this afternoon. He had his partial shoulder replacement yesterday and they kept him overnight. He did very well but it was a long day. We were there at 9 a.m., his surgery was scheduled for 10:30 and I spoke to the doctor when it was over at 11:45 , but we had to wait until 4 p.m. before they put him in a room. Part of the drive home was a little slippery, but I made it just fine. Now I just have to wait until they plow our street and our plow driver does my driveway for the second time early this afternoon. The real work on this shoulder replacement will start next week when the therapy begins. It will continue for six to eight weeks so wish me luck dealing with my new patient, as well as Rich!
Who ever expected that two years in a row, January 9th would be the day I became a healthcare provider. It was the day I became a mom as Peter celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday. Unfortunately, he developed a bad cold and had to stay away from the hospital and us, so it wasn't much of a celebration. We plan to do something a little more festive when he can come over and not put Rich in danger of catching it.