But she didn't stop there. No way!
She played a round of Wii bowling with my dad and Caroline. She had to push herself up out of a regular chair, stand at her walker, get the WiiMote ready, and then bowl. There were times she was free-standing with no hands on the walker as she fiddled with the WiiMote, figuring it out. She didn't even realize she was standing there on her own until I told her once she got back to her room. 
The word in the rehab center is that she'll be released to go home in two to three weeks, this week being week one.But wait....there's more!
We're having a birthday celebration for Dad at my parents' home on Saturday. I inquired of the nurse if it's possible for Mom to have a Day Pass to join us. SHE SAID 'YES'! I've had the head nurse put in a formal request to Mom's doctor - just a formality, I'm told - and once she approves, we are set.
As I write, Mom's therapist is teaching my older sister and my dad how to get Mom into and out a car safely. So exciting! Mom's first taste of her normal life - her beloved van!
I wish you could have seen her face when she heard that she'd get to go home for a day! Such joy, excitement, motivation. The nurses told my dad and I that it'll do her a 'world of good'. They've seen people go home for a few hours and come back positively inspired to get their rehab done quickly so they can return. Mom hasn't been home since May 1st. She joked, "I probably won't even recognize the place."
My family and I are very excited about Saturday.
Very excited.
The first photo is Mom bowling on the Wii while Caroline, the therapist, and Dad watch. The second is Mom doing her thing, notice the Wii Mote in her left hand as her right shoulder has been 'bum' for years. She wears a belt around her waist as a precaution, a place to grip her if she totters. Also, she's wearing a very bulky back brace under her jacket which she'll wear as she recuperates from the surgery. It supports her until her muscles are strong enough to support themselves. The last photo is Mom and Dad saying grace for the turkey meal they shared in her room just before therapy.
17 comments:
That's the best birthday gift your Dad could ask for!
So great to see her progress. Enjoy the birthday party!
Thanks you two!
It's been a flurry of activity as we prepare the way for Mom's day visit and soon final return. Everything is falling into place. Mom has learned to walk up steps again - no prob! She's learned how to enter and exit her van. Again, no prob!
Brothers and sisters scrambling to pull together a potluck. Red tape to bust through - done.
And before all of that takes place, we're having a bbq here at our own home, something that was in the works before Mom fell ill. Oh my. AND, well, just all sorts of STUFF.
Whew. Did I say I love the simple life? Where did it go???
;D
LOL, I HEAR ya!
Sometimes it's hard work maintaining the simple life we love. ;)
Yeah, Tshs, ironic, isn't it. I knew you'd understand. Thanks.
Way to go, "Mom" & family!
Thanks, Ann. I've been thinking of you and all that you did for your dad. It helps me keep going, knowing how kind and generous you were with him, and how well you cared for him.
Oh Cherie this is great news. Your mom will be so excited to be home. Perhaps she'll try even harder knowing that she'll be going back in a week.
I think you are right, Sandy, that perhaps she'll try even harder so she can get back to home sweet home. We shall see tomorrow!
Thanks!
Oh Cherie, this is just delightful to read! I'm so pleased for all of you!
Take your mother care. Mother are so special woman. I missed my mother in 1996.
Thanks for being pleased with me, Cecily. I am so happy to have such good news to share. I'll post again after Dad's birthday party. As I wrote, I'm quite excited to get to see Mom back in her home, if only for a day.
Luiz, you are a kind and compassionate man. Sorry about your Mama. It's a hard hard thing and you are right, Mother's are special women.
So glad to read through your blog and hear that your mom's surgury went so well, and that she is recovering so quickly. Have a wonderful day and Happy Birthday to your daddy..Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Stacey! I'll pass your birthday greetings on to Dad tomorrow.
Great news. Re-hab sux!! No matter how nice they are, the extra effort is definitely worth it if going home earlier is the goal. Happy belated birthday to your dad:)
Egad, learning to walk again does not inspire me to have "the" surgery - your mom is my hero!
Mike, Mom doesn't like the therapy but she LOVES the rehab center. Seems like she's even afraid to go home now as she will have to leave the world of pampering and return to reality - where she is still pampered, but not to the same degree. Life is throwing us curveballs all the time....oy.
Gardenia - I think I've given you the wrong impression about Mom and her physical state. She was walking with a cane long before she came ill - was in atrophy as she refused to exercise AT ALL all those years. (She's 79.) The sepsis in April and May took everything out of her - she was flat on her back and completely weak. The surgery gave her her mobility back as the pain was erased. BUT the results of atrophy all the years plus the exhaustion of the sepsis are what she's having to fight now. She's doing pretty well. The surgery isn't what has rendered her 'walkless'. It relieved the pain of seven years so she ill willing to try to get strong again.
You, on the other hand, would probably arise from surgery and RUN, SKIP, and DANCE your way home. You're in great shape, Miss Walks Three Miles a Day.
YOU are MY hero!
Yay!
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