I'm forever amazed...

Bob made his first "real" decision today. Yes, he has made decisions about what he wanted to eat when we go out to eat at a restaurant, but today he decided not to ride along with me to pick up the kids three different times. One of the times, he knew he'd be at home for two hours by himself. Any other day, he would have ridden with me without thinking.

Yes, I said by himself. I tried to convince him to go with me; he insisted on staying home. I was very nervous about letting him home. I called on the cell phone continuously. He promised he was at the computer the entire time working on his client letter. I believe he was.

Bob is beginning to get his own medicine gathered with the rest of his morning routine. It's not perfect, and he needs supervision, but with repetition, he'll get it.

Two thumbs up for recovery...

Bob received two thumbs up from the neurosurgeon at the Portland VA. We do not need to make anymore visits 3 hours north of where we live. The doctor also said Bob doesn't need to have anymore CT Scans. Bob is all cleared to continue to recover.

Since we were in Portland, we went to the ICU in OHSU. (The VA hospital and OHSU are connected by the longest sky bridge in the world.) As we "rolled" down the hall, I gave my t a quick commentary of our time spent on that 7th floor. Let me tell you...the smells, the sounds, and the sights are not missed. As soon as we passed through the doors, I heard a nurse shouting, "Jim, can you open your eyes for me? Open your eyes!" What an all too familiar sound. Anyway, the nurses were so happy to see Bob. They said they don't usually get to see patients after they leave the ICU, which leaves them wondering what has happened to patients. One of the nurses who came to greet T said that he was one of her first patients.

Oh yes, there was a lot of crying. T was crying, listening to all of their stories about him, and they were crying because he was thanking them to no end. I was crying watching everyone. There were hugs given over and over again.

Thanks for your help...

Thank you everyone for your suggestions for helping Zachary with his allergies. He health is, no, has become so out of whack since he has been sick for so long. Many times he expresses his frustration by yelling or crying because he feels so lousy.

Tomorrow is appointment day at the VA in Portland with the neurosurgeons. Bob has had good CT Scans, so I'm hoping his doctor's visit is positive too.

Oh my goodness, I laughed so hard today, I cried. T got my wheelchair for me, while I tutored. There is a big difference in the size of his wheelchair compared to mine. Two of my wheelchairs will fit inside his one wheelchair. Picture this... instead of pushing my chair to me, Bob sat in my chair. Or, should I say, Bob squeezed in my chair. He almost wasn't able to get out of the chair; he stood up and the chair came with him.

We had no arguments today about where we live. However, at one point he asked if we were going to Chicago. When I said, "No", he said, "Oh, that's right. We live all the way over on the west coast in Oregon." YEAH! FINALLY! Now let's see if that response continues tomorrow.

Scaring the begeebers out of me...

OMG! I had the wits scared out of me this morning. I let Bob drive to church. He did great. He just took turns way too wide. I thought he was going to hit the curb several times. Also, we passed some roadwork that had quite a few cones set up. Bob came close to running over a few. Both of us were glad we arrived safely to church. Bob was glad , because my screaming was deafening to his ears and his manly pride.

Bob and I looked back at my blogs to see where he was medically last year at on this date. He just arrived at VIBRA. He had the trach, and was still attached to oxygen. He couldn't talk, and he couldn't swallow voluntarily. The speech therapist was reteaching him how to swallow by using ice cubes. Wow, what a difference one year makes. He has no problem eating his fair share of food now.

T and I exercised today. We did chair yoga. We laughed so hard several times. At one point, we were required to put our arms above our heads and raise one leg in the air. hahahaha... First you need to have enough strength to put your arms above your head without falling over; and then raise your leg. All I can say is, "Thank goodness we were sitting down! If I wasn't, I would have been on my butt." :-(

Zachary's health problems are still going. His eyes are swollen shut with allergies and he has a massive headache from clogged sinuses. Know any remedies? email me

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Only a loose battery...

All it was was the battery! Zachary announced this morning that he dropped my laptop. Now, it doesn't turn on. Crap! My laptop has "my life" on it. I have so much of my writing and classwork on my laptop. Frantically, we drove to Best Buy in Eugene, one hour north of Roseburg, to see if the Geek Squad could fix my computer. Believe this...He looked at the computer, turned it over, then took the battery out. Then, he plugged the battery back into the computer. It turned on! It wasn't broken! It was only a loose battery. That was the good news. The bad news was that we drove for one hour to see the Geek Squad for five minutes. I'll be positive...I got "my life-line" back.

Before this emergency, I had all intentions of doing a chair yoga tape for stretching with my t. It's another form of exercise we need to do. Even though I hid Bob's wheelchair for the day, he refuses to give it up totally. He'll use it part of the day. He says, "It's faster."

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One more step to recovery...

Bob, finally, got his brace to help with his drop foot. It has a print of dolphins all over it. He's styling! The brace makes a big difference in his stride.

Bob and I have a bet. He is positive he's going to win. He's going to show me on a map that Oregon is "dead center" in the middle of the United States, and I will do the same, but will prove Oregon is on the west coast. What ever am I going to do when he accepts the fact that Oregon is on the west coast...always?

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My cart was faster...

Bob and I are getting the venturing idea down to a science. We went to Wal-mart today. We walked in, then got two automatic carts. One of the attendants had to show Bob how to run his cart, because he never ran one before his aneurysm, so he didn't have familiar information stored in his brain to pull a "how to" strategy from. But he learned how instantly.

Bob headed out first, then as we started down the main isle; he in his cart, I in mine. My cart was faster, so I swerved out to the left of my t and left him in my dust. :-)

Even though my t's memory is improving, I'm not sure he'd be able to survive without assistance. He has his morning shower routine down, but can't remember to take his medicine. I set it out for him every morning and evening. He knows his computer password and everything about commodities, but can't remember where our bedroom and bathroom are located. He can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or get a bowl of cereal, but has difficulty with the microwave. I know the more "real" situations I can create, the more relearning Bob can do.

Bob used his wheelchair as little as possible today. His legs are becoming more fit; he says he recognizes the difference everyday.

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