Posted on 04/09/2006 2:48:53 PM PDT by trussell
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She's home!
Got to the hospital at 11, with "stairs training" set for 11:30. The device(s) had arrived, but there was an additional problem developing over a bench for the tub that would let her get a shower. She'd placed an order with one outfit and/or (I'm still not clear on what happened) another; whatever had happened the order disappeared from the system. This was causing a lot of upset and confusion, and delayed the "stairs training." Finally, I got her to drop the issue until training was done --- at which time she placed a new order but they had no drivers: we'd have to pick it up ourselves or wait until Monday.
"Stairs training" started off poorly -- the wingnut on one crutch broke. I got the other, then things went well; she'd already been through that with a member of our church who is a retired physical therapist. Once finished with the PT stairs we went to an actual stairwell and practiced, me right below her to re-balance her if needed.
On the way back to her room she surprised the physical therapist by speaking to her in Spanish. The PT is from Colombia, and very quickly LoM's Spanish accent shifted from Mexican to something further south (she's very good at this), and they went down the hall talking in Spanish.
We then got back to her room, went through the discharge paperwork, and then waited for a volunteer to arrive to wheel a cart with her stuff out (I'd be wheeling her in her nice new lightweight wheelchair).
After a while one of the nurses offered to help. It took a long time to make our way through the unit what with all the hugs and good-byes. Then down the hall to the elevator, down to the main floor and the long walk towards the entrance I'd been making each direction each day. Pointed out things like certain artiwork along the way, the elevators up to her first unit, the "Galleria" piano where our priest's wife played last week...
I brought the car, we loaded it with all her stuff, including crutches, walker and wheelchair.
The trip to the place that had the tub bench was interesting for her. As she put it, during the two and a half weeks she was in the hospital, spring arrived and it had become almost summer.
Once the bench was purchased and put into it into the overstuffed rear of the vehicle, we started the journey home, but we were hungry and stopped at a Denny's. An opportunity to practice the routine -- parked in the handicapped spot next to the entrance (now I really appreciate those spots -- and learned about parking with enough space for her to get out!), pulled out the walker, and we made our slow way in.
Met a fellow in there who also had just gotten out of the hospital -- and who had a nephew who was paralyzed up to his neck with this, on a respirator and a "heart machine." More recently, though, the nephew ran with the Olympic torch!
After lunch and more miles behind us it was a tour through our "local" supermarket (5 miles from home), with many chats and explanations of what happened with the staff as we passed through. (Rural groceries seem to be very different from urban groceries, much more pleasant.)
Then we were home.
Looking up at the stairs.
She got out of the car into her wheelchair. We're really fortunate to have SUVs (my little Suzuki-built Tracker counts) that are close to the right height for her.
I unloaded some stuff while she rested then, with the crutch below and the walked on the entry landing, we got her up the first flight. The wheelchair came up and she rested while I continued unloading. Then we repeated the process to get her on the "living floor" (second story).
Immediately I began moving things so she'd have access throughout the floor.
That done, I *finally* began packing for this week's business trip, which starts about 4:30 AM tomorrow. A close friend of hers will arrive later, to stay with her the week until I return Friday night.
She'll be getting PT three times a week for a month, then they will re-assess her situation.
Looking back over this, there were so many blessings today I've had to skip over just to keep this post from turning into a novel... It's not over yet, but another hurdle has been cleared.
And she is so happy just to be HOME!
Thank you for your prayers!
All, I am away for the week and will not be able to update things much.
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LibreOuMort continues to improve. Sunday she went down the stairs and I took her to church -- people were so happy to have her back! Afterwards we went to our favourite Mexican restaurant where they were shocked at her condition, but happy to see her again. (The conversations rather overran my limited Spanish.)
Yesterday she went up and down the stairs several times, including an outing to the grocery store with a friend. Slow progress with the one foot; that's the biggest issue at this point.
She's just about off all pain meds from the surgery (the first was a month ago tomorrow), and in great spirits.
Wonderful news. Thanks for the updates.
Over the weekend LoM reported the possibility of some "lift" in her right foot.
She's able to take care of herself more -- dressing herself, getting around, cooking, etc.
Great news!
She's more mobile than ever -- the crutch for getting up and down the stairs is now stored in the closet. The wheelchair is only for sitting in (this evening we'll be assembling a new chair for her in the computer room). And yesterday, at the suggestion of her physical therapist (PT), she started driving again.
However, the PT noted that there is a hint of drop foot in her left foot, and the drop foot in the right foot is not going away. The doctors warn that recovery could be slow, and not 100%.
She paid a visit back to the physical therapy ward yesterday (she was at the hospital for some tests). They all lit up when they saw her -- they still remember her fondly. One of the doctors there was amazed to see her walking in like that; a reminder that her recovery has been unusually quick.
update ping
Prayers up!
Progress has slowed down, but hardly stopped. She has been outfitted recently with a couple of special orthotically modified shoes which allow her to walk without the leg brace, but the cane is still usually close at hand.
The wheelchair is still for sitting at home, though a new chair (with arms) is now doing duty in the computer room. The walker is now history, having joined the crutches.
Long distances are still a little tiring and slow but doable.
She gets a couple of very intensive (and painful) physical therapy sessions a week, but notes that they're necessary to reach her target of 100% recovery. And she hopes to be back on the organ bench later this summer by the time our minister's wife (who has taken over in the interim) gives birth.
Progress continues. Long distances are still tiring and slow but doable; minor inclines up are now doable also. And over the weekend she demonstrated that she could walk without the shoes and any aid such as a cane.
The wheelchair is slated to go away soon, but we will have to get her a special chair for the dining room table; the chairs in this 400+ year old set are too high and have no arms. (This is an issue related to her back surgery, not Guillaume-Barre Syndrome.)
More progress. A couple evenings ago she went down the stairs so quickly I was almost running to keep up (I was carrying her suitcase for an overnight study on some sleep issues that got put on hold when all this took place). She's starting back on her old job as a merchandiser, which requires some walking.
This is very good news.
Did I mention she's losing weight too? They'd had her on some steroids last winter that were pretty bad, but it's coming off and she has more energy now.
Wheelchair is gone. She's back at her old job as merchandiser, and they're happy to have her back.
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