Mar 14, 2006

The Weekend in Review

Well, it was a very quiet, slow weekend. And we took advantage of it. The hospital was empty. It was pretty much dead. Saturday morning we grabbed breakfast and ate with Roger. Then he had a session of PT or OT. I get them confused. And he finished the last 15 minutes of a spinal MRI. Other than that, he didn't have anything else to do except for vitals, blood draws, medicine, glucose count, etc. By the time we were all done with that he had lunch. Then we showered him and went on an adventure. Roger got permission on Friday to leave the floor and he and Cassie did explore a little. (We found out today that they weren’t supposed to go outside, but they did. Dr. Rosenbaum gave Roger a lecture and then said it was okay.) But we decided to take him as far as we could manage in that wheel chair. The reason I say that is because that old hospital in not wheel chair friendly, especially the grounds. There are so many "amenities" that are not accessible by wheel chair at all. Plus the curb ramps and sidewalks were deplorable. There was one sidewalk that should have been at least a ramp with handrails on both sides, but in all actuality, the terrain was way too steep for even that. That’s what we call in my line of work, site impracticality. You would get to the end of a sidewalk and it would end in stairs and we'd have to turn around. I almost bucked him out of the wheel chair a couple times. Needless to say, it was an adventure and Roger enjoyed getting out of the hospital into the fabulous weather even if he wasn't sure if he was going to make it. It was fun and tiring. But the weather was so beautiful.

Cassie and I did a monument marathon Sunday morning before church. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, reflecting pool, Vietnam Wall, World War II, District of Columbia World War Memorial and the Korean War Memorial in less than an hour. I didn’t want her to come all the way to the other end of the U.S. without seeing the sights. I wish we had more time to see more, but I didn’t think it would take that long to do what we did. We went to the second service at church. The music was uplifting and moving as usual. The message was about getting a grip on your finances. It’s the second part of a new series titled Money, Sex and Suffering. You can hear the messages on our church’s website, http://www.trygrace.org/. Then we received a call from Roger that he needed a few things. So we had to go back to the house and get them before we grabbed lunch and drove up to join Roger. We were a little disappointed with Roger when we arrived because his corpsman offered to help him shower that morning, but he declined and stated that we’d be there soon to do it. He quickly realized after a discussion with us that he should take advantage of the corpsman every time. But before we could do anything, he had us rush him to the bathroom. Since we didn’t get there until after 1:00 p.m., he had several urges to go to the bathroom, he was ready to go. He felt like he could do it this time. We put him on the toiler and left him alone while we ate our lunch so he could concentrate. It didn’t take long before we heard the cry of success. He was so happy, but not as happy as Cassie and I. No more enemas!! He’s been going strong ever since.

He had one visitor Saturday evening and a few on Sunday. It was just the right amount of people to not over stimulate and exhaust him. He did enjoy it a lot. As soon as he gets over to the rehab, he’ll be able to have more visitors. They’ll have designated times and if he goes to the one in DC, it’ll be on the red line and be easy to get to. You know all the details will be on this blog.

He’s being taken off more medications and procedures daily. They are preparing for his discharge. His blood is only being drawn every 12 hours. He’s very happy about that. He might even be able to sleep well tonight. He spoke with Dr. Rosenbaum about getting the sleep aid at 10:00 p.m. but not being tired yet. And Dr. R told him if he’s not tired, then don’t go to sleep yet. I know, such wisdom. So I left tonight at 10:00 p.m. after doing an hour or so of exercises with Roger. He was planning on doing a few things before he took the sleep aid or attempted to get to sleep.

He is gaining more and more movement in his leg. He started standing with assistance last Friday or so. It’s getting so much easier to help him get around. Tonight I had him try a few things completely by himself just to see if he could do it. And he was able to sit up on the edge of the bed from flat on his back and then stand up holding onto the arm of a chair and sit himself in it. He was astonished with himself. He couldn’t believe he did it. I was like, “duh...all you have to do is try.” I made him do it again so I could videotape it. And he did, but the camera was on the highest setting and now it’s too large to email to anyone. I’m trying to post it on Google video and if it gets approved, I’ll let you know how to view it.

His arm is coming along slowly. Tonight we did a sensation exercise the PT/OT chic does, but we did it a bunch more times than she usually does. Roger said the sensation in his hand to grab the towel was mind blowing. We’ll have to keep doing that one. Right now he’s worried that he’s not going to regain movement in his arm, but he was worried last week about not walking and he took three steps today with the help of the PT. I think once he gets to the rehab he’ll be walking in a week.

Everyday he sees enormous changes and he stays amazed at his progress. All the while knowing who is behind it all. We were talking tonight about how God put us in this place together and how he started working it out many years ago. It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures, Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. God put Cassie through all her experiences so she would be prepared to help us. God sent us on this adventure so we would be here together with access to a great hospital and staff. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Okay, it’s late and I need my beauty sleep. More later. Thanks for the prayers. They are being answered. Thanks for the encouraging and supportive words. You have no idea how much they mean to us and help us.

We love you all. God bless.

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