Mom has had a really good last few days. Not to say that her days before that were particularly bad, but at least to say that they haven’t been as boring.
She had a visit from one of her great friends who also offered to take her to PT while I’m gone! Mom will still end missing a couple of sessions but this way she at least won’t miss an entire week. She had another friend visit on Sunday who she hadn’t seen in awhile and that was also a nice visit. Even if the visits are short, we’re thankful for the break – it gives her someone else to listen to and it is actually good speech therapy for her. When other people are here asking her questions she’s forced to talk!!
On Saturday we all went to the Big Apple Circus. Chad, Sam and I have attended that circus every year it’s been in town for as long as I can remember. It was great that we were able to take mom. She had a great time. I think the last time she was at a circus was also when we had taken her but it’s been so long I can’t remember exactly when that was! BAC did not disappoint. It was a great afternoon.
Mom’s therapy yesterday (Monday) was AWESOME. She did some strengthening and stretching to get all of her muscles fired up and working. After one pass down the hall holding onto the railing, she got to try out the cane! The therapist still provides a lot of support on one side but mom is actually doing a lot of the work. The cane is not stable like the railing since it moves, so mom must work hard to control her balance and be able to shift her weight enough to take those steps. You can’t lean as heavily on a cane like you can a walker or the railing. She did GREAT! It’s going to be awhile until she uses that as her method of walking but at least we know it’s something that she can handle with the therapist. That was a goal of hers – it is going to be such an amazing day when she is able to take those first steps with that cane unassisted.
Today is “moving day” for mom. It’s not a permanent move – she’s doing a 30 day respite stay at an assisted living facility in Leesburg. The other place she stayed was OK, but I think this one might be a better fit. The interesting thing is that the minimum stay here is a month. Although that might seem like a terribly long time, I think it will actually be better for her. It will give her more time to get used to the routine but more importantly (and hopefully) she’ll be able to make some new friends there. They have lots of activities going on each day and I’m hoping that will also keep her energy and spirits up. The social interaction will be key to her continuing to get better. Not seeing people often can really contribute to depression and she doesn’t move around as much. Hopefully this will help to “liven” her up a bit. When I’m in town this month I will be taking her to her therapies and other appointments. Although she’s staying somewhere else during this time, I’m trying to make sure that her therapies and other appointments aren’t affected. The last few days as we started getting ready for this hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be. Her attitude has been great and I think she’s a bit more open to the idea of a longer stay there. I wonder if maybe she is starting to get a tiny bit excited about new experiences. Also, she’ll definitely have more privacy than she does here. She’ll actually have a one bedroom apartment! Little living room where she can hang out and watch TV (with VISITORS!!) and a separate bedroom. She can choose to go out into the main areas to mingle, go down to the activity areas, dining hall, library, or just have her quiet time in her room (although I hope she doesn’t opt for the last one very often). Since I’ll be going back and forth at least a couple of times a week I can see how she’s doing but also give her time and space to become her own person again.
Please keep her in your prayers that she adjusts well, finds at least one person that she can bond with, and has a good experience there! Also, that she continues to keep her strength up and does her exercises so that she can get the most out of her PT sessions. Oh – one last bit of news. The occupational therapist is supposed to start at the end of the month so hopefully she’ll be on that schedule starting in a couple of weeks. Now that the botox has kicked in I would love to see more dedicated work on her hand/arm.