Well it has been awhile since I felt excitement in Bill's progress. He is getting stronger the last week or so. He's not talking as much....I find myself talking to myself. I told him if he would talk he could control the conversation....but if not he has to hear whatever I want to discuss with myself. So far he chooses to listen to me ramble on all day about nothing.
But that is not the good news...the good news is...starting on Monday the owner of the Rehab company. The head honcho will begin physical therapy with Bill three times a week. We got a real break because his regular lady is moving out of state. I am being told by the OT and the PT that is Bill will ever walk this is the guy to get him up and at it. So we are looking forward to Monday and the future with this guy.
We have had much trouble getting it going here with the insurance approving things that are needed. Well today we had a breakthrough with the same lady I have been having trouble with for 2 months. She made a conference call on our behalf to the state agency that aids seniors and people with disabilities. The state is sending a man out to do an evaluation on Bill's needs and let us know what help is available. The insurance lady is sending us two books with pages marked for agencies and companies that may be able to sell us items to help Bill be more comfortable at home with some home health aids. Since I don't really know what he needs she is now on our team. For now I am optimistic that she is going to help us.
Also, Bill's OT recommended a lady she knows that is a sitter. She came to the house to meet us....we talked for hours. Bill's OK with that I need to get some stuff done. The mesh in my right driver tire is showing so that will be first stop. She will come tomorrow for six hours. I will have my cell phone and Greg will be on standby he is only a half mile from our home.
I'm going to stick around for awhile to see how it goes making my list and getting addresses and phone number for where I need to go. Then after Bill gets comfortable I will hit the road. We made a deal on the days he stays home with the sitter and I go out I will bring home dinner. He is looking forward to that idea.
We shall see.......................
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
We are taking a new path in our life.
We are going to hire a sitter for 6 hours , two days a week to start. It goes against my original plan. I wanted to be 24/7 for Bill and be able to do it all without outside help. But my to do list is growing. I need a drivers license for Texas, inspection for the car, license plate, registration changed all things that have to be done during work hours for the kids. I don't need to be stopped by a policeman and spend a day in court. I need to go to the post office and mail a few things. I have RX to be picked up on a regular basis. Grocery............flu shots...........bla bla bla
Maybe even a hair cut for me.
I'm not happy nor is Bill about the idea of a complete stranger coming into our home. With him disabled and needing help and me out of the home feels vulnerable to us. But people do it every day and it is time for us to give it a try.
We are going to hire a sitter for 6 hours , two days a week to start. It goes against my original plan. I wanted to be 24/7 for Bill and be able to do it all without outside help. But my to do list is growing. I need a drivers license for Texas, inspection for the car, license plate, registration changed all things that have to be done during work hours for the kids. I don't need to be stopped by a policeman and spend a day in court. I need to go to the post office and mail a few things. I have RX to be picked up on a regular basis. Grocery............flu shots...........bla bla bla
Maybe even a hair cut for me.
I'm not happy nor is Bill about the idea of a complete stranger coming into our home. With him disabled and needing help and me out of the home feels vulnerable to us. But people do it every day and it is time for us to give it a try.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Bill is now getting therapy five times a week. Three times physical and twice occupational. I can see improvement in his legs. It took about six weeks to get the show on the road after we got here. During that time he lost strength in the legs. Now that he is getting professional help in that area it is showing.
He is still not back to walking on the walker with help. He is back to standing with the walker and help from the therapist.
He now has a exercise wheel chair pedal device that sits on the floor in front of the chair and he pedals with minimal help. The therapist said you use the same muscles to pedal as you do to walk.
So that is a huge step in the right direction. We are looking forward to attending one of our nieces wedding in December...I hope he can make up for lost time by then.
I fully expect to be dancing with Bill at that wedding.
He is still not back to walking on the walker with help. He is back to standing with the walker and help from the therapist.
He now has a exercise wheel chair pedal device that sits on the floor in front of the chair and he pedals with minimal help. The therapist said you use the same muscles to pedal as you do to walk.
So that is a huge step in the right direction. We are looking forward to attending one of our nieces wedding in December...I hope he can make up for lost time by then.
I fully expect to be dancing with Bill at that wedding.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Sorry I have not been motivated to blog....
Today I got an email asking for me to update and it motivated me. Thanks Tina for the little nudge...I guess I needed it.
So we are happy to be here. We are very happy to be together after a six month period of Bill living in a hospital environment and with little if any privacy. The house is coming along nicely and the unpacking is done except for Bill's stuff. Since he has so much I saved it for last. I'm not really in a hurry to get to it. I was hoping he would get better sooner and be able to help with the unpacking of his stuff.
The problem with blogging is I don't have much good news. The progress has slowed down a lot.
That is difficult for me to watch, I was hoping that when we got here he would get this sudden boost and be walking in no time. That did not happen. It is still very difficult to get Bill in the car, it is a two person job for sure. Sometimes we try and have to give up and go back in the house.
Bill is very sweet and happy. He dreams almost every night. I can't wait till morning to hear about his dreams. They are always happy dreams. Always have lots of people in them. Most are about crawfish boils in the future. He always has a crowd of people. His whole family and our children and grandchildren are all gathered here for a huge crawfish boil, of course he is the boil master and cook. The details of these dreams go on and on. Every ingredient of the boil is important, every guest at the table is happy, I cannot explain the joy that these dreams bring to Bill. Today he asked his PT if she will be working on Thanksgiving....I knew what was coming. He has invited every nurse, PT, DR, family member, friends when they call or came to the hospitals. This has been going on for months and Bill is just as excited now as the first time he talked about it.
One night he had a dream about going to lunch at Frostop on Nashville, we ate there every day when we went to Fortier High School. It was the same kind of dream very happy....very detailed a lot of our old friends from school.
It is frustrating also, when Bill gets confused. He still has some time when he does not know he cannot walk. He says things like....I feel like eating fried mushrooms form Mel's...you call the order in and I'll go get them. Tonight we went for a walk around the lake in Towne Lake. The breeze was blowing and the moon could not have been fuller. It was just delightful. We were just enjoying the moment when suddenly Bill opens his seat belt half way around the path. I stopped pushing the wheelchair and asked him what are you doing...you are not safe without the belt. His response was I want you to ride and I'll push you. I could have just cried.
He is so sweet and maybe it's better when he doesn't remember because he is so happy. I asked him one day what it feels like inside and he said he knows no aspect of his live will ever be the same. I hope he continues with his dreams and being happy. We need that to get through this rough time. Then we will have the biggest crawfish boil .......the special one from his dreams with everyone here laughing.
Today I got an email asking for me to update and it motivated me. Thanks Tina for the little nudge...I guess I needed it.
So we are happy to be here. We are very happy to be together after a six month period of Bill living in a hospital environment and with little if any privacy. The house is coming along nicely and the unpacking is done except for Bill's stuff. Since he has so much I saved it for last. I'm not really in a hurry to get to it. I was hoping he would get better sooner and be able to help with the unpacking of his stuff.
The problem with blogging is I don't have much good news. The progress has slowed down a lot.
That is difficult for me to watch, I was hoping that when we got here he would get this sudden boost and be walking in no time. That did not happen. It is still very difficult to get Bill in the car, it is a two person job for sure. Sometimes we try and have to give up and go back in the house.
Bill is very sweet and happy. He dreams almost every night. I can't wait till morning to hear about his dreams. They are always happy dreams. Always have lots of people in them. Most are about crawfish boils in the future. He always has a crowd of people. His whole family and our children and grandchildren are all gathered here for a huge crawfish boil, of course he is the boil master and cook. The details of these dreams go on and on. Every ingredient of the boil is important, every guest at the table is happy, I cannot explain the joy that these dreams bring to Bill. Today he asked his PT if she will be working on Thanksgiving....I knew what was coming. He has invited every nurse, PT, DR, family member, friends when they call or came to the hospitals. This has been going on for months and Bill is just as excited now as the first time he talked about it.
One night he had a dream about going to lunch at Frostop on Nashville, we ate there every day when we went to Fortier High School. It was the same kind of dream very happy....very detailed a lot of our old friends from school.
It is frustrating also, when Bill gets confused. He still has some time when he does not know he cannot walk. He says things like....I feel like eating fried mushrooms form Mel's...you call the order in and I'll go get them. Tonight we went for a walk around the lake in Towne Lake. The breeze was blowing and the moon could not have been fuller. It was just delightful. We were just enjoying the moment when suddenly Bill opens his seat belt half way around the path. I stopped pushing the wheelchair and asked him what are you doing...you are not safe without the belt. His response was I want you to ride and I'll push you. I could have just cried.
He is so sweet and maybe it's better when he doesn't remember because he is so happy. I asked him one day what it feels like inside and he said he knows no aspect of his live will ever be the same. I hope he continues with his dreams and being happy. We need that to get through this rough time. Then we will have the biggest crawfish boil .......the special one from his dreams with everyone here laughing.
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