It’s hard to believe that it’s been just over 10 months since mom had her stroke and almost 6 months since she’s been home with us. We continue to struggle with this “new normal” and exactly what it means for everyone.
The good news is that mom seems to be healthy as ever. Her follow ups with the doctors have been unremarkable, meaning that there really isn’t anything to note. She’s basically in maintenance mode at this point, as most of us are. She’ll continue to be seen regularly by her neurologist, cardiologist, and primary doctor but so far each visit has ended with “everything looks great and normal”. Everything is great with mom, with the exception of her left arm/hand and leg. We are continuing to work on that through therapy.
Speaking of therapy, it looks like she’s about to be discharged from home health services. She’s done very, very well and although I think there is still some benefit to therapists coming to the house, she’s at the point where she can benefit more from an outpatient facility. It will be great for her to get on some machines and use her muscles in a different way than she has been these last few months. Hopefully it will be reminiscent of her days spent at the gym. I know that she misses her gym terribly. The change of scenery will be extra nice for her too. I am sure she’s tired of being stuck in this house. We don’t get out as much as I thought we would have. Mainly due to my busy/laziness. I know she gets really bored here. Her caregivers are here to help take care of her, but they haven’t bonded as friends yet. Not that they don’t chat and laugh, but it’s not the same. Thankfully she’s had a couple of visitors who have been out to the house, but she needs more.
Mom really is trying to get better and she’s trying to maintain a good attitude. She knows that this has been stressful on everyone, and for those of you that know her, this is the last thing she wants to do – add stress. We really appreciate the cards that she receives and the occasional visits. I realize that it’s not convenient for her friends from back home to come here to visit. It does mean a lot when they take the time to do so. She’s not a big phone talker so I know it’s easy for her to feel isolated. Please just keep her in your prayers. Pray that she will continue to get better, than she will make new friends to keep her company, that she’ll find something that she likes to do (she needs a hobby!!), that she accepts that this is her new life and that she needs to make the best of it. It’s one thing to be encouraging and optimistic about her recovery, but acknowledging the reality that this is who she is now is really difficult. She is no longer the person that can make the home visits to her friends. She can’t do things for herself or come and go as she pleases. Can you imagine how your life would change or how you would feel if this happened to you? She’s lost contact with a lot of her old “friends”… maybe some are offended that she hasn’t reached out to them. Who knows… All I know is, she’s doing the best she can. But I would love to see her ask to do more.
In the meantime, she’ll keep working everyday. I’m still keeping faith for that miracle breakthrough but in the meantime we have to be satisfied with what we have been given.