Day 20 – She’s Been Sprung! – April 25

Kim posting an update…. sorry it’s so late – we had quite the day!

The morning started out pretty uneventful. I got to the hospital around 930. Mom was sleeping pretty soundly when I got there. Apparently she was a little restless last night. She didn’t end up falling asleep until 4 or 5AM. NOT GOOD! But she got her morning meds (including some caffeine) before I go there. I let her sleep in the hopes that she’d be ready when her therapists arrived.

First up – “K” is back! Mom had a great session with her. She counted, said the days of the week and she even remembered and said the birthdays for me, Cyndie, and Sam! She was approved to take a couple of ice chips – literally a couple. One to two every hour. It was nice to see her chew something.

Just as she was finishing up her speech therapy, the doctor came in. He came in smiley and just looked at me and said “I have no problems signing her papers today”. HUH???? Ok….. so WHEN I asked? TODAY! Yep… She ended up flying the coop around 4PM. YAHOO!

Before she left though, she did get another PT session (went well) and we had some time to talk about what was going on. I had to leave before transport got there because I had to take Sam to an appointment, but Chad showed up shortly thereafter. He had a chance to talk with mom too. She indicated that she didn’t want to go. I think she was so comfortable with everyone that’s been working with her and she bonded with a few of them. Who likes change?? Hardly anyone. But this is a GREAT change. Eventually she came around to understanding that rehab is where she needs to be.

We all met at her new place. It’s really nice. Very different from the hospital, but I am confident they will take good care of her. She has a busy day tomorrow. Assessments will start right around 7AM. The doctor will come in to check her out and then she’ll be evaluated by each of the therapy teams (speech, PT, OT). She will have one hour each of those therapies. Most likely split up during the day but totaling an hour for each. Three hours EVERY DAY! After seeing how well she progressed with 30-60 minutes a day, 3 hours is going to be amazing for her.

We’ll have some adjusting to do but I’m looking forward to seeing what they do for her. I was already told that she’ll be assigned a “dining group”. Even though she’s not eating, she’ll have an opportunity to socialize with other people. Her dining group will be others like her that are getting their nutrition through their PEG tube (or G-tube).

I was happy to see that mom got a nice room with a view. Hopefully she will learn to enjoy it there.