Sunday

Talked to Mom tonight (we actually talk every night - kind of nice) and it sounds like Dad had lots of visitors today. Stephanie and Aunt Dolores, Chris and Aimee, Richard and Tammy and Aunt Florence and Pastor Carl. Since Dad doesn't have much time (if any) with therapists on weekends, I think it is a good that he has so many visitors - at least they help him think about his speech.

Stephanie told Dad today that she sees much improvement since she saw him two weeks ago. I think that encouraged him. Aimee told him and Mom that a PT at her gym told her that the body heals from the bottom up. That would explain why his leg seems to be working better than his arm/hand. God continues to answer prayers! Thank you for praying.

Doing well!

Sorry it had been so long since my last post. I have a few updates for you:

Byron's sister and her family are back in their home. Things smell a little smoky but are otherwise fine.

Lynne is home from the hospital but using a walker to keep weight off her leg. Three rattlers have been killed on their property, two on a neighbor's property and one has been seen by another neighbor. Please pray for safety of these families.

Dad is doing well. Mom was able to take Dad to a shop in the facility where he was able to get a haircut. He is going out of his room to the therapy room for some of his therapy. He is working hard with the OT to learn how to handle the tasks of everyday living. Mom is doing well, also. Some evenings Aimee comes to spend the night with her.

Guess that is all for now. Please continue to pray for both Dad and Mom as they go through this recovery process together.

Weird Day

It has been a weird day.

Last night Byron's sister and her family had to evacuate their home due to wild fires in the Flagstaff area. Last I heard their house is still standing, but they are not yet allowed to go home. Please pray for them and all the evacuees in the Flagstaff area.

Today, I found out that my former sister-in-law was bitten by a rattlesnake in her driveway. Please pray for her as she recovers in the hospital.

Dad is doing well. He is making it to the bathroom when the aides are able to answer his call light in time. He is communicating better by phone. Mom found out today that she is able to sign him out to take him to visit Florence and/or Harold and Virginia who live in the same building. The therapists answered Dad today when he asked how long his recover would take - two months or more. This gives Dad a time frame and he seemed encouraged.

Thank you again for all your prayers. I don't know what we would do without your prayers and God's help. He is good - all the time.

Home

Well, I am back with updates. Let me just say, I don't have a clue why anyone flies through Chicago in the summer. Due to thunderstorms, I didn't get home until 3:45 Saturday morning...and that was without my baggage.

Dad is continuing to make progress. Yesterday, Aunt Dolores got to see Dad standing in the hallway with the help of the hallway rail and his therapist. Today Dad was frustrated that he was able to spend so little time with his therapist - I will take that as a good sign.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please pray that Dad's frustration will not lead to depression. Also, I have an extra prayer request...Byron's sister and her family were evacuated tonight from their home near Flagstaff because of a wild fire. Please pray for their safety and the safety of their home. Thank you!

Last Blog from Iowa (til July)

This is my last night in Iowa for a while. There have been blessings piled on blessings since I got here 10 days ago. Dad is making wonderful progress. He is sitting longer unassisted, he is using his legs to help the aides stand him to transfer him from bed to wheelchair and back, he is doing his speech and pt homework and he is much more alert for long periods of the day.

Also, Mom has wonderful friends watching out for her to see how they can help. Last night when we got home, the lawn was mowed. Tonight when we got home, their garbage had been taken to the end of their 1/2 mile lane and the grass on the edges of their lane had been mowed. She has friends who will call her every night if they don't hear from her both to know she is safe and to hear how Dad is doing.

I keep repeating it, but knowing you are all praying for us is the biggest blessing. Here are our requests in a nutshell. For Dad: continued strengthening and determination; for Mom: the ability to understand and help when he needs and not help when he should be doing for himself; for me: safe flights tomorrow. THANK YOU!

Connections Are Still There

That is what the pt, Jill, said this morning. Dad is very lucky (read that as God truly provides) that the connection was never lost between the brain and the muscles in his leg and arm. Evidently that sometimes happens with strokes. Dad's muscles still "fire" when touched and he is making more progress daily in moving them on his own. Also encouraging to me was that Jill told Dad, "When you walk again you will need to remember this." I loved hearing the when.

On a totally different note, I was able to have lunch with my hs bf, Sandy. We spent three hours catching up on each others' families. It was a nice break and wonderful time.

Please continue to pray - the results are so evident! One thing I need to add to the prayer requests is that his blood pressure is high on occasion. Please pray that this does not get out of control. Thank you all so much for the love and good wishes you are sending our way.

Another Good Day

I hope you all don't get bored with all this good news, but Dad had another good day. He worked in the morning for about an hour with his pt. She was strict but encouraging. He sat on the side of the bed for about ten minutes. When he would lean she would encourage him to straighten up and he did. He also stood for a couple of minutes with the pt and Mom helping.

Later in the day the OT came in. She realized how tired he was from his morning session, but worked with him a while. When she had him sitting on the bed, she would ask him if he was leaning. He would say yes and straighten himself up...until the last time when he said, "NO". She let him lay back down then knowing he was legitimately tired. Dana also came up with a good solution to the weight being put on his shoulder because he is not able to use his right arm. They have ordered a special tape that they will use to support his shoulder. Things continue to look bright.

Lori was surprised tonight when Mom and I asked Dad to pull his leg up so we could help him scoot up on the bed. She had not yet seen the movement he has in his leg. It was fun watching her watch him!

Thank you again for the prayers. God is continuing to bless!!!

Praise God!!!

Today was another busy day with the therapists.

We got to Legacy Pointe between 7:00 and 7:30 and the OT already had dad up and dressed.

The speech therapist came in around 10:30. She was one he had never seen before so asked him basic questions - where he was, how many children he has, what are their names, etc. Some he got right, some he didn't. She explained to him (and us) that he has two problems with speech - one is finding the right word, the other is producing it once he has it. Some comes from Parkinson's, some from the strokes. She (and the therapist she job shares with) plans to give him the tools he needs to deal with both problems. We were encouraged by her visit.

The physical therapist came in around 11:00. She worked with Dad on his legs. He is gaining more control of his right leg every day. Then she had him sit up and lean over on his left arm and push himself up. That went OK. Next she had him lean over on his right arm and hold it. Then she asked him to push himself up into a sitting position. HE DID!!! When he started I thought he was being helped by the therapist - I looked at Mom and she indicated he was doing it himself. We were so happy we both had tears running our faces. And then he did it again! Progress indeed as we had seen very little motion in his right hand/arm before today.

He had lunch with the speech therapist and then more time with OT. When we left he was sitting in his wheelchair watching TV.

God is in this recovery! Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray that his desire to recover does not fail. Also pray for those around him that we would know when to encourage him and when to stand back. Thank you again for your prayers.

Sunday

Today was a good day. Only one therapist today - occupational. She said it went well except she is concerned that he is beginning to lose some strength in his shoulder because sometimes his arm is not well enough supported. She encouraged us to make sure he always has a pillow under his arm that keeps his shoulder from sagging. She also showed him how to use his left hand to exercise his right arm and he worked at it a couple of times today. There was another encouraging sign - he moved his pinkie finger on his right hand. It was the first time I had seen motion in his right hand although others had seen some movement earlier.

Mom and I didn't go in quite so early today. When we got there, he was sleeping after his morning workout. A good thing he was because he had many visitors after lunch. He tried to interact with all his visitors and succeeded quite often. He did doze off occasionally but then he did that last Thanksgiving, too. After supper he sat up and watched all of Celtic Woman with us before he got ready for bed. Progress for sure.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for peace and a good attitude for Dad. The answers to prayer are obvious when your see him.

Ups and Downs

Today was a day of ups and downs. Dad saw the OT at breakfast and possibly at lunch. I think things went well. He saw the PT after breakfast and tapped his toes on his right foot and lifted his heel on his right foot. His foot was moving really well.

The down came when the therapist was trying to get him to work with his right hand/arm. It just didn't work. Mom and I both think this was the first time he really got it that his right hand/arm was not working. He slept a lot after that - even through visitors. We think he may have been depressed. He is also having trouble communicating and gets frustrated when we don't understand him. Please pray that he will continue to improve and that he won't give up. Also pray that we will be able to understand quickly and know what to say to encourage him.

There was another up for Mom and I - she got her first Sonic meal. It was a good break at the end of the day (and she likes tater tots, too).

A Good Day

Today was a good day. The speech therapist was in before we got there at 8:30 this morning. When we talked to her later, she seemed to think Dad was making progress. We see progress with his speech - especially when he is agitated. He seems to speak the most precisely when he really needs/wants something. Other times he can get a little lazy. His mouth is drooping less as the days go by.

Physical therapy went well today. Ashley had him sit on the side of the bed for around eight minutes. Some of the time he was sitting without help, some of the time she helped. Part of the time he was practicing leaning on the right elbow and pulling himself up straight with his left hand. Part of the time he was practicing leaning on the left elbow and pushing himself up. He stood briefly (with help). The aides say he always helps them with his left leg when they transfer from bed to wheelchair and back.

Now for the BIG news. He lifted up his right knee. I was out for a couple of hours. When I got back Mom said, "Watch this!" Then she asked Dad to show me how he could lift up his knee and he did! She said he also wiggled the fingers on his right hand for Pastor Wayne.

Praise the Lord for His bountiful gifts.

He is Trying

Today was a little less stressful than yesterday. Only 1 physical therapist came in today as opposed to physical, occupation and speech yesterday. She was very impressed by how little movement Dad has lost from his left leg while lying in bed these past few days. His right leg is beginning to show signs of life - the muscles are flexing when he tries to move his leg. He sat up longer for the therapist today and leaned on his right arm then pulled himself up to sitting with his left hand using the bed support rail.

He is very adamant about getting up. He asked me today to move the foot supports on his wheelchair out from under his feet. Once he got both feet firmly planted on the floor, he held out his left hand and said, "Help me up". I told him I couldn't and said I would get in trouble when he asked why not. His response - "So...." Then I said I couldn't because he would get hurt and he gave up. Later he tried to get up by putting his left leg out of the bed and asking Mom to help him up. She said he needed to move his right leg over to get up and of course he couldn't. At least he is still trying!!!

God is good. We see many signs that seem to us to be positive. Please keep praying that Dad doesn't get discouraged and lose his drive to get home. For us, pray that we can refuse to do the things for him that shouldn't be done without quenching his desire to keep trying.