Cyndie Lou here. Apologies in advance- this is a long one as I am covering a few days here.
I arrived on Thursday straight from the airport to find mom and Chad getting some sunshine at the fountain by Maple Grove. It’s only been three weeks since I’ve seen her and I am continually amazed and impressed with the improvements she makes while I am away. I know she gets frustrated, as would I, because she wants everything to happen overnight. But I think she’s finally starting to see that these seemingly small things are collectively such an enormous thing – she’s inching closer and closer to her independence. And the huge thing today that made me do cartwheels I’ll have to save til the end. And it was a big one 🙂 But let me get backtrack to lead up to today.
When I first arrived on Thursday she was saying that she didn’t sleep yet again and that she feels she averages one good night of sleep for every two to three days of not sleeping at all. She gets so frustrated (who wouldn’t) and ends up lying awake all night which leads to being overtired the next day for her therapies. Fortunately, she did sleep really well this past Thursday night and had a great day on Friday…
I came in right when H was getting her ready for her occupational therapy in the morning. She was not dressed for her session as she should’ve been so H chose to use it as an opportunity to have mom work on getting herself dressed and ready for the day. She had PT immediately following OT and was tired but she powered through it. Her standing is getting stronger and stronger and is more definitive. It’s interesting from my perspective compared to Kim and Chad’s because I see a huge jump between the weeks I visit as opposed to the daily improvements they see. I probably am a little too jaw opened for her liking when she does something 🙂 The last time I was here she was only slightly moving her left arm and leg. This time she’s lifting her knee and pulling her arm in with such strength when I give her some resistance!
We actually went out for fresh air twice, happily upon her request. We ventured through the campus of the apartments and talked of the things she will have. New furniture, new activities, new friends. She then had speech therapy with K where she ate not one but two containers of applesauce without any issues! That was the most I had seen her eat so I was ecstatic. We sat outside for it and it was such a pleasant way for her to get her therapy. On our second venture we went to the lake and sat under the gazebo for a while and shared the space with another resident who looked about her age. Not that there is anything wrong with seeing fellow residents who are much older…but seeing said older residents clearly hasn’t been a morale boost for my mom. So when we’ve gone out and passed residents who are more my mother’s peers I think it gives her hope, comfort and optimism. In fact, when we headed back to Maple Grove she asked if I was going to buy an apartment on the campus so that I could live near her! I told her I was still a little too young for that..ha. I tucked her in and crossed my fingers and toes that she was in for a good night’s rest.
Unfortunately that did not happen. I arrived this morning (Saturday) to a very cranky mom. She told me that she did not sleep. At all. I was quite frustrated for her so I can only imagine how she must’ve felt. I tried to sugarcoat the mood by telling her that her best friend R was on her way which seemed to help a little bit. Once R arrived my mom sent me to Target to get her some things to make her feel more comfortable. She wanted a sun hat and some button down shirts so that she could feel a bit more fashionable when she goes out for fresh air or bingo.
When I came back later in the afternoon her mood seemed to take a turn for the worse. She was so exhausted that she just couldn’t maintain a good mood. She had OT while R was with her and said that it went pretty well. But after her session and sitting in her wheelchair for a while all she focused on was getting back in that bed. I knew there was supposed to be another speech therapy session but it was 5pm and I thought her window was closed. I was confused and annoyed so I went into the therapy room to look for anyone or a schedule, neither which I could find. So I went back to her room (my mom knew she was supposed to have it so she wanted me to see what was going on) and had to break it to her that it seemed like they had skipped her today. She said she was tired anyway so it was fine even though I could tell she was a little miffed. But then…low and behold…the speech therapist knocked on her door about ten minutes later- with SPLIT PEA SOUP!!! The therapist, L, had not seen my mom since she was first admitted three weeks ago and was sooo pleased to be able to offer her her first warm pureed soup for dinner. And it smelled DELICIOUS. She set it down and had my mom feed herself. I should actually clarify by saying she SCARFED it down with ZERO issues!!! All we heard from her was, “MMMMMMM.” She scraped every last bit out of the cup. Then L got up and said, “I’ll be right back. Let me see if I can find something else.” Then she came back with A BOWL OF MASHED POTATOES!! My mom stirred the thick pats of butter in as it cooled (which L said a little extra is good for so it helps go down the throat better. I joked that is exactly the reason why I put extra butter in everything which made my mom laugh). Then she scarfed that down, too, with no issues! She said it was soooo good. Then she said, “This is the first hot meal I’ve had since I had my stroke.” I was just beyond ecstatic. Food is so important to her. To not have the feeling of warm food in your mouth for two months is something that I obviously never even fathomed until today. So this means everything. She is on her way.
L also told us that since she (VERY!!!!) successfully ate a puree and mashed potatoes today (which is the step after a puree), they will try to continue that every time she is with a speech therapist. Then she will move on to eating in the dining area under supervision with a speech therapist, then eating in the dining area under general supervision (whether it be a therapist, nurse or care associate). I believe that hearing that gave my mom such a big boost that she ended her day in such a great mood. In fact, after she ate and was all tucked in to bed, she was so concerned about me cooking a good meal for Sam she wanted to send us home! We actually had to tell her that we wanted to spend more time with her 🙂 Once she was comfy cozy we gathered up our things and kissed and hugged her goodnight. On our way out she said to me, “Cook her a good meal.” That made me so happy. So now all I can hope is that as I’m writing this she has been sleeping soundly and that I will return to her in the morning having had a deep and restful night’s sleep. Until tomorrow…