MY BROTHER RUSS STOPPED BY ON HIS WAY UP TO PASO TO HOUSE-SIT AGAIN...JUST AS OUR BELOVED SBA FRIEND SHARON GARDNER CAME BY FOR A QUICK HELLO. ( Ironically, a reunion for Russ and Sharon, who'd met at the Alan Cohen Mastery Retreat in Sedona a few years back!)---------------------------------------------------------------------
Doesn't Michael look more like himself in his Michael jacket?
This is actually a rare moment today: Michael with his eyes open. He was one sleepy fella - but Occupational Therapist Doris was just starting to rouse him to take him to the therapy room when Sharon and Russ converged. Michael perked up to greet them instead of sinking back down into his drouse, thus allowing Doris to kidnap him before he changed his mode!
She wheeled Michael away in a flash and - well - I gratefully went out with Russ and Sharon for a nearby bite to eat and schmooze.
WHAT'S MICHAEL WEIGH? Oh, they weighed Michael yesterday in the wheelchair, then weighed the wheelchair without him, then did the math.
He and I bet $5 on the result. Michael thought he weighed 120; I figured he'd come in at 100. No one collected, as it turned out, because he came in at 110. (I was glad to be wrong.) That's about 24 pounds he could ill spare that he's lost since the Swine Flu first hit him. But I want to remind everyone that when he was 28, chemo took him down to 80 lbs - and he survived - so he'll get his fit and trim body back, I know.
The gang here had a team meeting this morning and compared notes on Michael. They all felt he'd need about a month here (that's what I thought, too). And they spoke to me today about the possibility of Michael spending some time at an interim facility after this - a SBA home-like environment of 8-10 people recovering from strokes, who get even more acclimated to going back to normal tasks and their former lives. He may - or may not - need this - too early to know. But not too early to alert the place - called Solutions - and the insurance company, so if it turns out to be a good idea, we're in position for it. (http://www.winwaysrehab.com/index.aspx)
I can tell you this: in spite of all the zzzz time, Michael has visibly done better with left leg and arm movement, with his brain connecting with his need to go to the bathroom, with his understanding of what's going on and what's gone on. If he can stay awake longer and work with the therapist who evaluates his swallowing (called a vocal therapist, though she's so much more than that), we can get him back to eating again. Normal's around the corner, folks - I feel it!
Today, I was showing Nurse Amy the blog on the laptop and how I learned to download photos (though I still can't from my Blackberry, grrr!), and she exclaimed, "Wow! You're so smart! You're brilliant!"
Suddenly, from the pile of blankets and pillows in the bed, came Michael's voice, "She is brilliant. She's always the most stimulating person in the room. I love being with her."
Oh, my God! Did I cry?
I'm still crying.
No comments:
Post a Comment