Mom handled my trip away great. No issues at all! I made it back yesterday afternoon in time to take her to bingo! Actually, when I arrived she was hanging out with her friend, H, watching a movie in one of the common areas. She was having a hard time getting into it (La La Land) so she asked me to take her down early to get a seat for Bingo. YAY! She didn’t win but I think she had fun.
This morning after PT I took her back upstairs where there was Music Therapy. It was mostly Fred Astaire songs. The therapist was great and everyone seemed to really like it – including mom! I saw her singing along a few times. 🙂
After a little rest, she left for her OT session. Mom had on her hoodie and I wanted her to take it off before she left since she is getting some work (e-stim) on her left arm. She had the jacket on backwards – just covering her front, so the therapist and I challenged her to take it off herself. SHE DID IT!! She figured out when to use her teeth to help pull. And when she had enough, she put some fabric in her left hand to hold it in place and was able to pull her arm out! This is HUGE!!
I am hoping that she will be tired enough to sleep later. She doesn’t like to nap during the day, although I think she needs it and it would be good for her. To be fair though, she does keep a fairly busy schedule. She has therapy during the week for 2-3 hours a day and now that she’s getting out more and participating in the activities (which I hope she continues to do) her days will be even busier. The no-nap is a trade off I’m willing to take if she’s being more social now.
I did tell her today that I’m going away next weekend for a few days but Cyndie will be her to stay with her. She was completely fine with it and actually said that I’m here a lot (too much?). She doesn’t like being alone but she’s handling it much better now. I told her that I need to start getting back to the gym and there will be times when I can’t be here because I’m helping Chad pack up her place and she will have some more “alone time”. She nodded her head in understanding. I don’t want to all of a sudden be gone a lot, but I think when I tell her where I have to go or why someone is unable to visit she understands and doesn’t get as upset as she used to. I would say that she’s finally starting to get comfortable here. She met her first friend here this morning (she’s a long-term resident). I hope that mom gets to know her a bit more and will talk to her sometime. I’d love for her to start making friends here. That will definitely be a game changer!