Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

The last four weeks or so have been a whirl wind of activity. As you know, I went into surgery on Oct 27th, spent four days recuperating and then almost threee weeks in rehab. THEN we went to Tenn for Thanksgiving. Got home late yesterday afternoon and I'm spending today resting.

The hospital stay was okay but boring. I had one and a half hours of both O.T and P.T every day (except Saturday and Sunday. Those days were only an hour of each). If it wasn't for the cards and visits. I would have broken out of there after the first couple of days. Thank you so much for coming to see me or sending cards and things or praying for me. It meant a lot to both Jim and me. We both are so grateful and thankful for good friemds!

And Tenn was great fun! We hadn't been there in over ten years. Got to see my new great nephew, visited a couple of yarn stores, a beading store, and went to the museum at Oak Ridge - one of the secret cities working on the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in WWII. We had a great time even though Jim had to push me around everywhere. I have pictures but haven't gotten around to putting them on the computer yet. Jim's sister Eileen is one of my favorite people. We have a lot in common, especially knitting. She and I got to spend considerable time just knitting and gabbing. Plus she's an awesome cook. As Jim said in the airport in Houston as we tried to eat a little lunch "This will be the last bad meal for at least a week" and he was right.

I haven't been slacking on the knitting either. In the hospital I made two fun fur chemo caps for a friend recently diagnosed with lung cancer; several baby hats for the charity knitting; finished my sister's scarf and fingerless mitt set and two hats that would need felting. In Tenn I made a pumpkin hat for my great nephew who is all of one month old; a ski cap for his half-sister and a blanket and three preemie caps for the guild charity.

Were the cats glad to see us when we got home? Two were but one wasn't sure she even knew who we were. Both Sugar and Rimsky started talking the minute we got in the house. Sugar was in my lap purring, snuggling and talking all at once. Rimsky was a little standoffish for about five minutes, then he decided being petted was better than pouting and he followed Jim around most of the evening. Blue finally stopped running for cover whenever she saw us and allowed both of us to pet her A LITTLE.

Sugar, of course. had to be a little bit different. Once we unpacked and I settled into my recliner, she would suddenly start meowing loudly, run over to my chair, hop up into my lap and snuggle for a couple of minutes, then go off to do cat things. She did this about every half hour all evening. Guess she just wanted to make sure I was still there. This morning I have all three of them on the bed with me but you-know-who is under one of my arms sleeping and has been since early this morning.

So here's the latest update healthwise - I am walking short distances using the walker, I have a limited amount of feeling in my left leg (whichI haven't felt since last Jan), I have limited movement in my left leg and foot which thrills me no end, and my eyesight still comes and goes with shadow words and people disappearing. The eyesight is probably the hardest thing to work around at the moment since not only do I not know exactly where my left foot is, I am unsure as to what I'm seeing. On the plus side, people are starting to look right again (for the last few weeks, no one looked the way they should. Sometimes I only knew who they were when I heard their voices. Very weird), I start out patient P.T and O.T. this week, and my incisions on my head are starting to feel sore (this is good because the right side of my head has been completely numb around them).

When I was in rehab, everyone was asking me what my goal was and at that time it was to be able to walk. Now when the theripists ask me what my goal is, I tell them "to dance!" I get some kind of funny looks but before all this started. Wayne and Kathy and Jim and I were taking dance lessons. It was so much fun I want to go back to it. Sothat's my mew goal...well seing where I'm stepping might be a good goal too.

So P.T. and O.T starting tomorrow, follow up MRI on Dec 6th and my parents come out to visit on Thursday - life in the fast lane.

Another Brief Update

Good things are happening, thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of Susan!

Yesterday, Susan was able to move and control her left knee and left ankle. This is something she has been unable to do since January. Walking is getting a little better (with the use of a walker,) but it's still very tiring. She says she has to think about every step -- it's like learning to walk all over again.

The best news, and the news that made her happiest, is the doctor has told her she will probably be released from Mercy on Saturday! We have plans to fly to my sister's home in Tennessee for the Thanksgiving holiday. Susan wouldn't have been too pleased to have missed that. She told the doctors if she had to crawl out the hospital on her hands and knees in the middle of the night, she would be on that plane!

Again, thanks for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, cards, and visits. They have been of great importance to Susan and to me.

Jim
"The once and future Yarn Roadie!"

Brief Update

Here's just a brief update on Susan's condition.

I'm sure you know she moved to the "rehab" floor last Wednesday. The therepists have been working her very hard for the past week, but she is making significant progress. She is beginning to have a small amount of control of the left leg. Her balance is still a problem, as in the fatigue, but she's determined to succeed! (You know Susan!! :)

The therepists think she should remain as an inpatient for 5 to 7 more days -- pending insurance company concurrance. We're still hoping she'll be able to travel and that we won't have to "engineer an escape" for her to go to Knoxville for Thanksgiving, but only time will tell.

Thanks for all your support! She really enjoyed the e-greetings sent to her at Mercy. She's in room 234. Visiting is best after 3PM because her 8 to 3 schedule is chock full of working on the leg!

Jim