Rehab Life

Dad had lots of visitors over the weekend, many of whom drove in from out of town. He/we all appreciated that.

He still doesn't have much of an appetite, which a friend told us is a common side effect of antibiotics, but he's making a concerted effort to eat anyway. My mom and sister, Gwen, have been scheming in the kitchen to discover things that taste good to him. So far a couple of winners have been a smoothie my mom made and mashed potatoes and gravy from Gwen. Other than the smoothie, they're still trying to find something high in protein that tastes good to him. A friend of mine who is a nurse mentioned that protein is important for healing wounds, which conjured up a vague memory of something someone told us in the hospital about getting protein into him.

 Dad was able to use a "slide board" to get into a wheelchair for the first time yesterday. Mom took him for a tour around the halls of the facility, and while he sat in the wheelchair in his room he gave his beard and hair a much needed trim. He's far less scraggly looking now :-D

 He is also doing a little more than just sitting up on the bed during physical therapy now. A couple of days ago he sent the family a video of him perched on the edge of his bed, feet dangling (that impressed me!), hitting a large balloon back and forth with one of the therapists. He was telling stories about playing volleyball with us kids when we were little while he and the therapist batted the balloon to each other.

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