Well we made it to December, with all of its amazing "Merry" aspects. Aside from the blessings of the Christmas holiday and the hopes of the New Year, it also marks the long awaited homecoming for Donna and the start of the next phase of our lives. Donna's departure from Galveston is still scheduled for December 19 and it struck me tonight as I brought her back, that I will bring her back only 2 more times. Whew.. We talk about it and are both very excited for home.
Donna is doing well. She had her doctor's appointment with the surgeon who operated on her leg this past week and his assessment is that she looks great. The leg is healing nicely and the range of motion is just that desired. His report was glowing and it left us feeling the same way. His recommendations were to stand on it and walk as much as possible. Thats where we go next. Donna now wears a brace which she'll use only till she walks more than sits. She got new training shoes to get a better fit also. It was a joy to see her walking better in these shoes late last week and hopefully the next few weeks will bring continuous improvement. Regardless, she is still at a very early stage of walking and her therapy in this area will continue well into the outpatient phase that will come in 2013.
Otherwise Donna starts her last two full weeks of the extensive therapy regime on Monday and her improvements in speech and her right arm are slow but steady.
This week also marked the end of my stay in the medical center. I moved home late last week and will be preparing for Donna's arrival soon. It was a happy but very clear reminder of the journey as I left the apartment. Lots of memories of TIRR including late night visits to the hospital and many fears came roaring back as I sorted through remnants in the apartment. The memories seem ages ago but help me recall the journey and amazingly how easily it slips behind us.
Two other things threw me back into past pain this week. One was when Donna started back with sweaty spells which had plagued her daily during her coma period. It was interesting that these sweaty spells, which have been absent for several months, seemed new to her now but very familiar to me as we passed a cool towel on her then regularly to try and give her relief. One of the first words she said to me coming out from coma was in one of these spells when she said "helps so much". Now the whole topics seems pretty minor :-)
The other throwback moment came on Saturday morning when circumstances caused us to be in a place where we either had to go well out of our way to avoid the accident location to get home or drive the road where it happened (Donna and I both in the car). I don't think Donna realized where we were but all of my emotions were in hyperdrive. In some ways it was good to face the situation but it brought it all racing back... Glad thats over.
Donna and I continued our baby steps into really living our lives by going out for coffee in Galveston Friday night and catching some street music, as well as, Donna attending an annual cookie exchange she enjoys very much at a nearby neighbors home. These were real life fun and were precursors to the plans we have when she gets home to fully live our lives regardless of the stage of Donna's improvement. Donna and I are both really looking forward to it.
Along those lines of moving on with our lives, this blog dedicated to Donna's recovery also will need to meet an end at some point. I've decided that the time for that end will be early January 2013 after we get a taste of the new life and see the the outpatient recovery regime we'll move into. That will give us 4-6 more posts and hopefully an opportunity to share with you how we get ourselves set in what will be our lives. As it gets closer, I'll share info on how people who want to know how we are doing can contact us. I know for some this will be a loss of good info but as we shift to a living, and not recovery, mode, it seems like the right time.
Lastly, Donna got a new roommate this week. She's a sweet young lady (only 17) who's parents are extremely nice and in Galveston also as their home is in Arkansas. Difficult. I haven't said much about Donna and roommates is quite a while but she has had 3 at TLC and all have been a joy. She has enjoyed their company and they hers. As Donna has become the unofficial mom of the the facility, she really makes the experience for all around her so much more pleasant and tolerable. Some things never change. Donna's roommate's parents told me tonight that they would like for their daughter to remember her math. Oh my.... I guess you can see what is coming next. It looks like the next phase of Donna's recovery may be tutoring. Some things really don't change.
Hope your preparations for Christmas are happy and joyous. Ours are.
Regards
Bob
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