WOW, can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last made an entry in my blog. This is almost like going to confession.....lol....it's been 2 weeks since my last blog
I can't say that there has been much of anything new since my last blog entry though. But we did have a "family meeting", the family consisting of me and Tony . Meeting with the physio-therapist, occupational therapist, the psychologist and the day nurse responsible for him.
They each went through their shtick, outlining the progress and what they can see happening. He is progressing well and everyone is happy with the results so far. He is walking better, but still using the hemi walker, the arm has a bit of movement, but not much on it's own, IE when using the tools at the rehab, he can manipulate some of it on his own, but when it comes to using the arm say, to wash himself, get dressed etc, he can't do that, and don't know if he ever will, it's still a question mark at this point. They have him doing some stairs now and working hard on his arm in the hope he will regain some mobility, but like I said, it's not clear at this point if this will happen.
He'll also be needing a wheelchair when we go out, shopping etc etc etc, not in the house, we are not wheelchair friendly here, doorways not wide enough, house not big enough and mostly all carpeted too, which makes it even harder tor anyone to use a wheelchair. He was fitted for a made to measure wheelchair last week, it takes 2 months to get delivery, by then he will be home, but I guess we won't be able to go out much until he gets the wheelchair, but just to have him at home will be great. When they have the home visit - sometime next week I think, they will also bring him here to see how he does around the house. I bet he will cry when he gets home, specially when he sees Tara (our dog) whom he hasn't seen since November 3rd. He misses her as much as she misses him. We will need to add lots of support bars in bathrooms and other areas and extra railings to help him get around the house and the local CLSC should be able to help with that (at least that is my understanding). We might even end up having to take out the carpet, and get the floors redone. The expenses just keep coming!!!
He should be in rehab another 4 weeks or so, and as the therapist said, nothing is written in stone, if he needs to stay another week or more, they will keep him, that is because they see the potential for recovery, because when they see a person has reached their maximum, they ship him/her back to where they came from (hospital) I have sen this twice these past couple of weeks. After that he will have to continue going twice a week as an outpatient for about 2-3 hours each time. He will have different therapists at that point as it is another department that does outpatients.
I have also bought him a brand new laptop, he loves it, but because I bought a large 17" screen laptop, it's a bit too heavy for him to manipulate on his own right now, so we use it on the week-end mostly to watch movies, because we don't have an internet connection (I know he has the card for it, but I don't know how to make that work......lol). It came with Vista (which I don't really like, but am getting used to it slowly). The main problem is that some software, such as Microsoft Office Professional that we had here doesn't work, as it's not compatible with Vista, that really ticked me off, but I bought another version, that will do, it's not the professional version, but will work fine. Once he's home we'll get a wireless router installed and get it working for him upstairs, because it will take a very long time before he can make his way down the basement stairs, as they are circular wrought iron stairs - covered with carpeting.
Last night we had someone come and give him a foot manicure, well not really a manicure, but cut his nails and fix some that were split. I'm not good at doing that, his nails are so hard and I'm too afraid of hurting him, so I'd rather pay someone who does it all the time. It worked out good and she also does home visits. She's actually a nurse and supplements her income by doing this.
Oh and about the MRSA, they stopped the medication on December 25th as I mentioned in my previous blog, but he still has the damn PICC line in his arm and they keep testing him for MRSA. The first test came out negative, the second test came back positive and the doctor asked the hospital to run the test again, and it came out negative, the doctor said probably the needle picked up something in the skin when doing the test. I asked when he would remove the PICC line (that was last week) he said they would remove it Friday, never happened and it's still there and you can never catch this doctor.......grrrrrrrrrrrr. So we're still waiting for that to be resolved and to get that thing out of him.
As for Tony, some days he's like his old self, laughing, wicked sense of humour and then there are days when he gets panic attacks over the littlest thing. The other day he was telling me he felt his mouth was crooked, but looking at him and the pictures we took at Christmas and New Years, there was no difference. He just over thinks sometimes and when he's by himself he makes a mountain out of a molehill, but I just can't be there all the time, I know that what he would like, but I just can't do it. But mostly he is pretty happy, but it's normal that he would get depressed sometimes, I know I would be!!
I had a doctor's appointment about 1-1/2 weeks ago, to get the results of the blood tests I had done, only to be told that everything was fine. But at the same time I told the doctor that I had a very painful knee - behind the knee, and he felt it and proclaimed that I had a cyst and he would give me a paper to get an ultrasound done to see exactly. The appointment for that is set for February 6th. When I got to his office, I had to put on these stupid little blue paper slippers over my boots, so we don't spread salt and snow on the carpet. There is no chair to sit to do that and in trying to put those on, I hurt my back, like I needed that. When I mentioned that to him, he just pokes me on the back and said it's only muscular, it will go away!!!! Well the pain is about gone now, but you'd think he could express more compassion, I hate that poking he does whenever I complain of a pain somewhere, I feel like a cattle!!!! OK enough complaining......lol
I think that's about all the news that's fit to print as they say and I better get going to see Tony at the rehab, right now he's in physio therapy and at 2pm he has speech therapy. He had occupational therapy this morning.
Wishing you all a great day/evening!
barb5t wrote on Jan 26, '08
You will both be busy figuring it all out. I wish you the very best that it can be.
Hugs, Barb
moscreations wrote on Jan 25, '08
Thanks Barb for the lovely story, sure is true!! Thanks for the prayers too. Today was a very good day for him!!! Have to do a short blog in a bit :) But there is still a lot to be done for him to get back to a sort of normalcy, though it will never be like it was. Hugs, Mo
barb5t wrote on Jan 25, '08
Hi Mo,
Thanks for the update. I was hoping all was going OK. I see there have been and will be many changes. Lots of work ahead. Lots to accept and move on from emotionally for both of you. I know, because of chronic illness, that all takes time. You and Tony have my continued prayers.
Here is something a friend in my pain group shared forward yesterday. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Hugs, Barb
"Happiness is not mostly pleasure; it is mostly victory." ~ Dale Carnegie
Just up the road is a field, with two horses in it.
From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing....
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind.
His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owners of these two horses, we are not thrown away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.
We are watched over and others are brought into our lives to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those places in our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their
Way....
Good friends are like that... You may not always see them, but you know they are always there.
Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
And remember... Be kinder than necessary . Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly....
And leave the rest.
~Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain~
moscreations wrote on Jan 24, '08
Thanks Jules, definitely I always think of him as he used to be, hard to realize that he is not like that now. He gets panic attacks easily, and for little things. But I know that will pass in time. YOU take care too
Hugs
Mo
moscreations wrote on Jan 24, '08
Thanks Kanda, and for the hugs too, I know that is not something you do in your country, so I appreciate it :)
hooverchild wrote on Jan 24, '08
Mo,
It sounds like things are progressing with Tony. Soon, he will be home, and so much happier, as will you, too. As with the emotions he has some days, that is is all part of the Neurological impact from the stroke. You would be surprised how many areas in the brain, control emotions and feelings. Hopefully, in time, he will start to feel more secure, and not feel so helpless. Just have faith, hun. I know that it is hard, and not like the Tony you use to know, but in time it will work out.
You, yourself, take care, hun. I am worried about your health through all of this. I am glad that you saw the doctor about your knee. And yes....doctors can be so crass and insensitive sometimes. That is for sure. My prayers are still with you all.
kandaphati wrote on Jan 23, '08
HUGS, Mo. Others have all expressed what is also in my mind. HUGSSSSS. We will be with you, Mo.
moscreations wrote on Jan 23, '08
The home visit will be sooner than expected too.....lol..they're coming this Friday!!! Have to do a very short blog about it :) Can't wait for him to be home - and comfy too :)
moscreations wrote on Jan 23, '08
Thanks Barbara. I hope he will regain movement in his arm, but I don't know if he ever will be back completely with his arm. I think the leg will, but the arm is another matter. It is tiring, but now I only go in the afternoon and evening and I rest in the morning, I do nothing at all, I eat my breakfast while watching programs I recorded and I sleep in between :)
moscreations wrote on Jan 23, '08
Thanks Mindy for the hugs and the prayers, one never has enough of those :) and I appreciate all of them. Thanks for the compliments on my tags, I wonder if I'll ever be able to get back into that, I've lost complete interest in it, but perhaps later, when Tony is better (I hope he will be) I might go back to it, the other reason is that my computer is out of commission and I have no time or interest in even looking into that. The good news is that I have 2 or 3 tags made already, but I can't access them right now....lol
moscreations wrote on Jan 23, '08
I can't imagine what he would do if I had to work Suz, he would be very depressed, so he is very lucky that I'm retired. His wheelchair is supposedly lightweight, however because he is tall and wide, the wheelchair has to accommodate his size, therefore it will be a heavy sucker, about 35-40 lbs and I'll have to handle that myself!!! Apparently the wheels can be removed easily - that remains to be seen!! I'll believe it when I see it. The PICC line he has in his arm can't be removed by anyone other than a doctor, the line goes all the way near his heart, so it has to be done by someone who knows what they're doing. That is pretty awful that nobody noticed when you took the one out of your mom's arm!!!
mistyshadows2u wrote on Jan 23, '08
I am just happy to hear things are improving with Tony. No worries on ya not blogging for a time. I totally understand how much this takes outta a person. You'll have a better idea after your home visit what all you will have to do and get. Time is flying and before long he will be home and comfy. xoxo
barbarab1313 wrote on Jan 23, '08
Sounds like things are coming along. It would be nice if Tony got more of his arm movement back, I guess time will tell. You must be exhausted going to the hospital everyday and I hope you are taking care of you. HUGS and Prayers and SMILES coming your way and Tony's, Hang in there I know it must be hard at times.
simplyonemindy wrote on Jan 23, '08
Hugs Mo...You seem like you could use a big hug! I know how it is to have a loved one in Rehab. I hope you are being good to yourself and allowing yourself to rest properly through all of this...I was thinking about you the other day....A few years ago when I started collecting your exquisite tags I wrote to you and asked if you would make an exception and make tags in both my real name and nickname...You so graciously agreed and still have most of the tags you made in the past few years...I so miss your artistic works...You are the BEST on the net. :) But I know that having Tony in the hospital really takes up so much of your time. I do hope he recovers completely, he seems as if he is working very hard to improve his condition. It also seems as if he has the best of health care. Even so Mo, you both are in my prayers. Keep smiling!!!
osuzana wrote on Jan 23, '08
It's so good you are home and can see to everything. It would be so hard if you worked too. They have really narrow wheelchairs now that are really light weight. I hope he gets one that isn't too heavy. Doctors probably see so many hypochondriacs they get desensitized to someone that has valid aches and pains. Glad he is doing so well. Getting him home will be so much better. I know mom had a needle taped in her arm forever. We kept asking and no one did anything. We finally took it out ourselves. No one even noticed. Nice huh?
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