Day 21 – First Full Day in the New Digs – April 26

Mom had a really busy first day. I got there in the morning and I have to admit, things started out a little rocky. I think most of the issues are mine (Kim speaking). I was expecting to see that mom had a bath and was all cleaned up this morning, only to find out that wasn’t the case. There actually ended up being good reason for that.

Her first session this morning was with OT. During this assessment, the therapist wanted to see how much mom could do. That included taking care of herself (bathing, getting dressed, etc). Obviously mom isn’t capable of that right now but they need to establish a baseline. The therapist was very patient and worked with mom to help her get dressed! She got to spend the day NOT in a hospital gown. I hadn’t brought her own clothes there yet so she got to wear scrubs all day. Right after OT, her speech therapist arrived. That visit went really well. It was the most that I had heard her speak. The only disappointment that came out of this session is that we have to hold off on the ice for awhile. No issues with her swallowing but she has developed a case of “thrush”. It’s really common with people that have feeding tubes. We want to wait until it’s cleared up a bit before we start having her continue with the ice.

I left right after this to head to her house to pick up workout clothes. She needs them for working in the gym – which she did with PT!! They got her in a wheelchair and took her into the gym for some work. I was told that she actually tried to roll herself! When I made it back to the center, she was still sitting in her wheelchair. It was quite impressive. She had been sitting in the recliner in the hospital and the back was high enough to always support her head. The wheelchair has a lower back so she had to support her head the entire time. She must have been in that chair a good two hours. I know she was really tired – she was asking to go back to bed. But the sun came out and I asked the nurse if we could show her around the facility. We actually rolled her through the courtyard! Although she was really tired, I think that little bit of fresh air helped her spirits. I know how much she enjoys being outside.

Before she got back in bed I wanted to make sure we got a good picture. I think her smile looks awesome! And the guy standing next to her isn’t half bad either. 😉

All in all, it ended up being a very good day. She was pretty tired when Chad and I left. I’m hoping that it was enough to tire her out so she sleeps well tonight. She’s back at again tomorrow. First session is at 10!