Furry friends
Hi Friends,
Today I woke up still feeling somewhat ill, and I think my body is trying to get full-blown sick, but I took a whole bunch of vitamins and drank a whole bunch of water, so I think it's staying half at bay...I took a whole bunch of vitamins again tonight, and I plan to go to bed extra early, so hopefully I'll be able to stave it off altogether. I haven't felt that great all day though...but I kept going because I wanted to, damnit! :)
Got to RIC and thought I was going to meet with Dinh before lunch to go over some paperwork and talk more about discharge planning, but he ended up not being able to meet until the afternoon, so I got to be with mom during her PT session! :) She did AWESOME...Nick can attest to that, because he dropped by for a visit during the session, too! She was up walking when he arrived, and he hadn't yet seen her doing that, so he was needless to say amazed. She did 3 whole laps around the entire unit without a break, and she'd only ever done 2 before, so she set herself a new record! Then we went into the gym where she did some work in between the parallel bars...stepping over things forward and from side to side, and played catch while standing on a squishy mat to try to improve her balance...she did GREAT. She even tried to walk along a narrow beam (only about 3 inches off the ground), and her PT didn't really expect her to be able to do it without holding the bars, but she tried damn hard and was in excellent spirits the whole time, getting excited when she accomplished each task! :) Then Nick and I left right as mom was sitting down to lunch, and I went with Stef, Elvia and sweet little Aimee, and Suzi for a belated birthday lunch! :) We had a great time and a great lunch...I just wish I'd been feeling better, because I would have been more lively I think. Thanks, girls!
Then Suzi and I headed back over to RIC and she was sweet enough to sit down with me and go over some of the paperwork, which was a HUGE help...I tend to get bogged down in the paperwork, and just having someone help me go through it makes it less overwhelming and seem easier to tackle. We made a to-do list (I keep making those, and Lilly and my aunt Linda helped me make one too when Linda was here visiting, but I need them to be refreshed periodically) and she gave me a deadline of noon on Friday to get the paperwork in and done. I feel like I have a homework assignment, but it's GOOD! :) Mom got to bundle up and go outside for a little bit with Laura, her OT, while we were doing this...they ditched the wheelchair and walked all the way down to the lake, rested on a bench for a few minutes, and walked all the way back! :) She did A LOT of walking today! When she got done with OT, she was absolutely exhausted, and begged to get into bed, but she had music therapy scheduled about 30 minutes later, and we tried to keep her up, but she was too pitiful falling asleep in her chair, so I just got her back in bed. She immediately zonked out, and Suzi and I finished up going through stuff and then went to meet with Dinh. Suzi had to get home, so I sat with Dinh for a bit and discussed things, and I guess sort of accomplished some stuff.
When I was done with my meeting, mom was still napping, so I went and checked my email and did some things on the computer...I wanted to have dinner with her, so I didn't want to go all the way home. I let her sleep for about an hour...I think probably when they came to get her for music therapy, she was fast asleep and they didn't wake her, so she missed it. Next time, I guess. When I came back in the room, I went to cover her with a blanket, but she woke up so we chatted for about 15 minutes and then it was time for dinner. I had gotten clearance today from her PT to be able to walk with her in the hallways myself, so instead of wheeling to dinner in her chair, we walked! :) She did pretty great at dinner, and then at 6pm we went up to the 16th floor to see the Chenny (sp?) Group, the therapy dogs! Thank goodness we went tonight, because it was the last session until January, and obviously she won't be there anymore by then...she LOVED it! We got to work one-on-one with a little dog named Boots, and he sat on her lap while she brushed him, and then we taught her how to give him some commands to do tricks, and she got to give him treats. There were 5 or 6 dogs there total, big and small, and we both had a grand old time. We were both SO glad we went. When we got back down to her room, we got her ready for bed, and I left for the evening...we were both yawning up a storm. She did A LOT today, and I'm so proud of her...much of her therapy is geared toward building endurance for being up and doing activities, and she did GREAT. She was understandably exhausted.
Well folks, I've got to work tomorrow, and I must keep myself from getting full-blown sick, so I'm going to sign off. Please hope that tomorrow will be not too crazy at work, and thanks to all for your continued love and support.
Today I woke up still feeling somewhat ill, and I think my body is trying to get full-blown sick, but I took a whole bunch of vitamins and drank a whole bunch of water, so I think it's staying half at bay...I took a whole bunch of vitamins again tonight, and I plan to go to bed extra early, so hopefully I'll be able to stave it off altogether. I haven't felt that great all day though...but I kept going because I wanted to, damnit! :)
Got to RIC and thought I was going to meet with Dinh before lunch to go over some paperwork and talk more about discharge planning, but he ended up not being able to meet until the afternoon, so I got to be with mom during her PT session! :) She did AWESOME...Nick can attest to that, because he dropped by for a visit during the session, too! She was up walking when he arrived, and he hadn't yet seen her doing that, so he was needless to say amazed. She did 3 whole laps around the entire unit without a break, and she'd only ever done 2 before, so she set herself a new record! Then we went into the gym where she did some work in between the parallel bars...stepping over things forward and from side to side, and played catch while standing on a squishy mat to try to improve her balance...she did GREAT. She even tried to walk along a narrow beam (only about 3 inches off the ground), and her PT didn't really expect her to be able to do it without holding the bars, but she tried damn hard and was in excellent spirits the whole time, getting excited when she accomplished each task! :) Then Nick and I left right as mom was sitting down to lunch, and I went with Stef, Elvia and sweet little Aimee, and Suzi for a belated birthday lunch! :) We had a great time and a great lunch...I just wish I'd been feeling better, because I would have been more lively I think. Thanks, girls!
Then Suzi and I headed back over to RIC and she was sweet enough to sit down with me and go over some of the paperwork, which was a HUGE help...I tend to get bogged down in the paperwork, and just having someone help me go through it makes it less overwhelming and seem easier to tackle. We made a to-do list (I keep making those, and Lilly and my aunt Linda helped me make one too when Linda was here visiting, but I need them to be refreshed periodically) and she gave me a deadline of noon on Friday to get the paperwork in and done. I feel like I have a homework assignment, but it's GOOD! :) Mom got to bundle up and go outside for a little bit with Laura, her OT, while we were doing this...they ditched the wheelchair and walked all the way down to the lake, rested on a bench for a few minutes, and walked all the way back! :) She did A LOT of walking today! When she got done with OT, she was absolutely exhausted, and begged to get into bed, but she had music therapy scheduled about 30 minutes later, and we tried to keep her up, but she was too pitiful falling asleep in her chair, so I just got her back in bed. She immediately zonked out, and Suzi and I finished up going through stuff and then went to meet with Dinh. Suzi had to get home, so I sat with Dinh for a bit and discussed things, and I guess sort of accomplished some stuff.
When I was done with my meeting, mom was still napping, so I went and checked my email and did some things on the computer...I wanted to have dinner with her, so I didn't want to go all the way home. I let her sleep for about an hour...I think probably when they came to get her for music therapy, she was fast asleep and they didn't wake her, so she missed it. Next time, I guess. When I came back in the room, I went to cover her with a blanket, but she woke up so we chatted for about 15 minutes and then it was time for dinner. I had gotten clearance today from her PT to be able to walk with her in the hallways myself, so instead of wheeling to dinner in her chair, we walked! :) She did pretty great at dinner, and then at 6pm we went up to the 16th floor to see the Chenny (sp?) Group, the therapy dogs! Thank goodness we went tonight, because it was the last session until January, and obviously she won't be there anymore by then...she LOVED it! We got to work one-on-one with a little dog named Boots, and he sat on her lap while she brushed him, and then we taught her how to give him some commands to do tricks, and she got to give him treats. There were 5 or 6 dogs there total, big and small, and we both had a grand old time. We were both SO glad we went. When we got back down to her room, we got her ready for bed, and I left for the evening...we were both yawning up a storm. She did A LOT today, and I'm so proud of her...much of her therapy is geared toward building endurance for being up and doing activities, and she did GREAT. She was understandably exhausted.
Well folks, I've got to work tomorrow, and I must keep myself from getting full-blown sick, so I'm going to sign off. Please hope that tomorrow will be not too crazy at work, and thanks to all for your continued love and support.
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