Night and Day
The past couple of days have been so incredibly encouraging, even from afar! Dad has been alert and coherent since Sunday morning, when he's awake, that is, and it sounds like he's also sleeping well at night. They took him off of one medication on Saturday at some point and that seems to have made all the difference. Talking with him then vs. now is truly like night and day. I've talked with him via FaceTime a couple of times since Sunday, and it's such a relief to feel like I'm talking to my dad again instead of a heavily medicated, groggy, confused and confusing version of him. That weird instinct to talk to him like he's a helpless little old man had kicked in while I was still in Toledo, and I didn't like it, but it was there. Now that has disappeared, and what a good feeling it is!
He's now able to ask questions and participate in his own care, push himself to work hard in therapy and eat even when he doesn't like the food because he knows it will help him get better, and he's now able to absorb his new reality. It's quite sobering to talk with him and ask how he's doing. The other day he told me he was "concerned about a lot of things." On the one hand, we're all so excited to have him back, but on the other hand, now he's also shouldering the emotional weight of what has happened, and there's really no way to avoid him bearing the brunt of it since it's his body and his life that is most affected. I can't help but wonder what kinds of thoughts he's pondering or what might be troubling him most as he takes this all in, but I'm also hesitant to ask because I don't want to poke at a metaphorical sore spot.
He saw and discussed the x-rays of his feet today. I'm not sure exactly how that went, but I know Mom asked him, "Do you want to know?" and he said yes, so the orthopedic nurse fetched his x-rays and sat with him to explain the extent of those injuries. He's scheduled for his next foot surgery on Thursday. It could have been tomorrow except that he's still on blood thinners, so they had to take him off of those temporarily and now will wait 48 hours until they're out of his system before operating. The surgery was on and off again multiple times yesterday and today, so this plan could change. But for now, they're planning to remove the external fixator and work internally on only his right foot on Thursday. His left foot is still quite swollen, so they want to wait. We're hoping he'll be able to complete both surgeries before moving to a rehab facility so that he doesn't have to be transported extra times. I can't imagine how that ride will feel for him, so we're really hoping to avoid replicating it!
In PT over the past couple of days he's been able to do some leg lifts. He's able to lift his left leg on his own but needs help with the right. Yet he can wiggle his right toes excellently, and had very little movement in his left toes the last that I saw; I'm not sure if that has changed. Today during PT they brought in a machine with a sling at the end of it and lifted him off of his bed and into a chair! He sat there for several hours of the afternoon, fed himself lunch, watched a World Cup soccer game, and discussed business and accounting matters with a few key people on the phone. The nurses must be wondering who this guy is who's suddenly getting work done and is up out of bed! One of the physical therapists who worked with Dad several times during his super loopy weeks said to me yesterday on the phone (I happened to call as she was leaving), "I finally got to meet him today!" I'm so glad she did!
Please pray that the foot surgery stays on the schedule and that the left foot also gets operated on before he moves to rehab. Better yet, pray that the swelling in the left foot goes away over the next two days and the surgeon decides to operate on both on Thursday!
Here's Dad getting moved out of bed and sitting up in a chair today!
He's now able to ask questions and participate in his own care, push himself to work hard in therapy and eat even when he doesn't like the food because he knows it will help him get better, and he's now able to absorb his new reality. It's quite sobering to talk with him and ask how he's doing. The other day he told me he was "concerned about a lot of things." On the one hand, we're all so excited to have him back, but on the other hand, now he's also shouldering the emotional weight of what has happened, and there's really no way to avoid him bearing the brunt of it since it's his body and his life that is most affected. I can't help but wonder what kinds of thoughts he's pondering or what might be troubling him most as he takes this all in, but I'm also hesitant to ask because I don't want to poke at a metaphorical sore spot.
He saw and discussed the x-rays of his feet today. I'm not sure exactly how that went, but I know Mom asked him, "Do you want to know?" and he said yes, so the orthopedic nurse fetched his x-rays and sat with him to explain the extent of those injuries. He's scheduled for his next foot surgery on Thursday. It could have been tomorrow except that he's still on blood thinners, so they had to take him off of those temporarily and now will wait 48 hours until they're out of his system before operating. The surgery was on and off again multiple times yesterday and today, so this plan could change. But for now, they're planning to remove the external fixator and work internally on only his right foot on Thursday. His left foot is still quite swollen, so they want to wait. We're hoping he'll be able to complete both surgeries before moving to a rehab facility so that he doesn't have to be transported extra times. I can't imagine how that ride will feel for him, so we're really hoping to avoid replicating it!
In PT over the past couple of days he's been able to do some leg lifts. He's able to lift his left leg on his own but needs help with the right. Yet he can wiggle his right toes excellently, and had very little movement in his left toes the last that I saw; I'm not sure if that has changed. Today during PT they brought in a machine with a sling at the end of it and lifted him off of his bed and into a chair! He sat there for several hours of the afternoon, fed himself lunch, watched a World Cup soccer game, and discussed business and accounting matters with a few key people on the phone. The nurses must be wondering who this guy is who's suddenly getting work done and is up out of bed! One of the physical therapists who worked with Dad several times during his super loopy weeks said to me yesterday on the phone (I happened to call as she was leaving), "I finally got to meet him today!" I'm so glad she did!
Please pray that the foot surgery stays on the schedule and that the left foot also gets operated on before he moves to rehab. Better yet, pray that the swelling in the left foot goes away over the next two days and the surgeon decides to operate on both on Thursday!
Here's Dad getting moved out of bed and sitting up in a chair today!
Tears in my eyes! Beyond exciting! Full of gratitude here in Kokomo!
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