I can’t believe that today is mom’s 6 month anniversary since her stroke. None of ever thought we’d be in this situation. On one had it’s a sad that we are celebrating this today but since we know we cannot change anything, today is actually a happy day. Six months ago I didn’t know if we’d still have her here. I could look back at the posts from early on to see what was going on (I don’t think I want to just yet) and see just how far she’s come. I already know what a miracle she is. I don’t need to relive the past to understand that.
Mom’s stubbornness and feistiness is in tact. This is how I know she will be fine. I mentioned yesterday that the sleep study from the night before didn’t go well and she was super tired from not having slept. Yesterday afternoon I had some work going on in the house so when I took her up to rest, I closed her door so that it could be as quiet as possible for her. Time got away from me and I hadn’t heard her calling for me. I heard some knocking coming from somewhere, noticed the time, and ran up to check on her. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find mom sitting on the edge of the bed! She was a little cranky since she had called for me “120 times” and was stuck in that room by herself. She had somehow managed to pull a little bench right in front of her and that’s what she had banged on to get my (or anyone’s attention). I asked what she was planning on doing and she pointed to the wheelchair that was in the corner. She said that she was going to try and get in the chair.
Uh…. EXCUSE ME!!???!
I proceeded to lecture her about how dangerous that is and that even though I didn’t come to her rescue when she called me, she should not get out of bed on her own. I’m sure all she heard was “blah blah blah”. Because I was angry, I told her to show me what she was going to do. Get up and walk over there. Of course I knew that she couldn’t and that I was just being mean because I was mad. I took a breath and moved the wheelchair to the proper side to make it easier for her to get in. I explained to her why I was so upset. I told her that she can try as much as she wants without assistance, as long as someone is there to help her if she starts to fall. I asked her what she thought I’d do if I came in and found her in a heap on the floor. “Pick me back up”, she said. Well, she wasn’t wrong. But that wasn’t the point.
I told her if she was ready to get in the chair to go for it. I stood in front of her within arm’s reach but let her do it all. She took her time, stood up at the side of the bed holding onto the railing and looked over the wheelchair very carefully. I could tell that she was planning her next move. She pivoted her feet a little to make sure that her knees wouldn’t get tweaked and the angle was right. She made sure her posture and balance were good and she transferred her hand from the bed to the wheelchair. Another little turn and a nice, controlled landing into the wheelchair. SHE DID IT!
I could tell that she was very proud of herself when I saw the teeniest little grin appear. She didn’t say a word to me. Not “I told you so”, not “see, I knew I could do it”, nothing like that. I asked if she was happy and she just said “yes”.
It ended up being a very good day.
She just finished PT and had a great session. She did some exercises standing at the sink and incorporated more movement. She walked the farthest distance today and it didn’t take nearly as long as it did when she first started her home therapy. She’ll be having an OT session tomorrow and on Monday we will be getting her AFO (foot brace). I think we’ll see such a great improvement once she is able to use that. We’re looking forward to a very good weekend!