The beginning of the end

Yesterday Dad's therapy team came over to the house to see how Dad could handle being home. They checked out how well he could get in and out of bed, use the bathroom, and get up from his La-Z-boy. :) It really tired Dad out, but it was so exciting to see how well he could manage the normal stuff of getting around the house. There are many challenges, to be sure, and Dad will need someone with him all the time for safety at first, but we know it will only get better from here on out.

Dad had SO many visitors today: my cousin and her daughter (who is 17 today and wanted to visit Dad for her birthday), another cousin (who's also celebrating a birthday today!) and her husband, yet another cousin and her sister-in-law, one of Dad's brothers, AND one of Mom's sisters and one of her daughters who are visiting from California (with another cousin to fly in tomorrow!). That doesn't include the immediate family. Crazy! But we are so appreciative of everyone's presence. We know how much Dad means to so many people.

On the health front, Dad's right hand has been bothering him the last couple of days, so his doctor checked him out and told us he has carpal tunnel! It's really frustrating to him to have so many things wrong at once. He is so amazing for being able to work through it all. His doctor also brought in an endocrinologist to check Dad out. They think some of his fatigue might be the result of a hormonal imbalance, so they have been running a variety of tests and plan to start Dad on hormone therapy soon.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days as we begin the transition from hospital to home. There will be many challenges and there is so much to be done. We have also grown quite attached to the rehab staff (we had to say goodbye to one of Dad's physical therapists today and it was bittersweet) and though we want to miss them, we will miss them. I'm not sure how things will all go. It feels like forever that the hospital experience has been our lives. Dad agreed the other day that it's like the end of a tour of duty with all its mixed emotions and I'm not sure how we'll adjust. But we welcome the change.

[While I generally want to keep the blog all about Dad and his experience, I do want to thank all of you who have expressed your love and concern for Mom. She is now settled in a care facility where she can receive the various therapies she needs. Please feel free to e-mail or leave a comment if you would like more details on her. Thanks as well for all your interest in me (a heartfelt thanks to those of you who offered sweet condolences over the passing of my cat) and Becky and our families. While this has been a difficult time in our lives, we feel the crises passing and a new chapter opening for all of us. Years ago we began planning to take Mom and Dad to Hawaii for their 50th anniversary and I think we are all looking forward to seeing the two of them happy and healthy and holding hands on the beach two years from now. We believe that can happen and ask for your prayers that that will become a reality.]

GUESS WHO'S COMING HOME!!!!

That's right, Dad is set to come home next Tuesday!!!! Joe and I will move into the house to give him the support he'll need as he keeps getting better, and he will be scheduled to do outpatient physical therapy, but he will finally be back home. We are so excited!

This has been such a tough, amazing, thrilling, miraculous journey. We would not have made it this far without the love, support, and prayers of all of you. I am daily amazed at the blessings that have been poured out at our feet. We have been given such a precious, precious gift.

There is still a bumpy road ahead, so please don't stop praying now. We will need that support as Dad continues to gain strength, as he deals with his vision deficits, as he struggles to regain fine motor skills (and as we transition Mom to a rehab facility where she can get stronger and come home herself).

Although we would not have willingly chosen this journey, but we are grateful for your company as we have walked (sometimes crawled!) each step. Thank you.

Free

We had a beautiful day with Dad today. We picked him up at the hospital at noon and first we were able to take him home. He wanted to see if he would be able to manage the stairs to get inside and he handled it almost perfectly (he had one little moment of weakness on the last stair going up, but no problem going down). What a wonderful moment it was to see him back at home for the first time since the beginning of December!

After lunch at the house, we took Dad to see Mom at the hospital. He was so anxious to be with her. (Because of her health issues, they haven't seen each other in nearly three weeks!) It was so touching to see them together. He couldn't stop kissing her hand.

It was an exhausting day for Dad, but I know it meant the world to him to be with Mom on their anniversary, let alone being able to leave the hospital and therapy behind for just a few hours. And this little taste of freedom is the first sign of how close we really are to having him home.