Changes are good!?!

Thanks Lauren for reminding me that it has been way too long since updating the blog. What has been happening with us?

In April, Jessica and Danny visited us for a few days. It was wonderful!!!
Jessianne graduated from BYU with her Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science.

In May, we got to go visit Lauren and Turner because she graduated with her Master's degree in Education. The week before that, on Jessianne's 22nd birthday to exact, we signed papers on a new house and moved in. We now live at 479 West 1810 North, Orem, UT 84057 with the same phone numbers. 4 days after we moved into our new house, Dad decided it was time for them to go home. I am so proud of him for going to blind school to learn how to manage and cope so he can take care of Mom. And Mom is making great progress!!! Together, they are figuring out how to manage on their own. What courage it takes to start a new life when most folks their age would give up and move into a home!

The camera got packed when we moved and I haven't discovered it yet. But unpacking is still happening so there is a chance I will find it soon :) Then I can post photos of the house.

I am liking the new house a lot! I am still adjusting and trying to find the right places to put things away. That is hard for me because my brain doesn't think in a very orderly way. But I am deciding where I want a few things, like some of the art and some of the photos.

The Sun is Shining

Mom's been home for 2 weeks now. We are falling into a nice routine. She gets a lot of therapy; physical, speech, occupational and an aid who comes in to do the shower stuff. I feel like Mom is making really good progress. Each day she is a little stronger.

Dad is continuing at the blind school. Last night as he was practicing his Braille, he said, "I feel like this is finally coming together." He is enjoying socializing with other blind people and seeing what they are accomplishing without sight. It has to be giving him confidence to try new things. He takes pride in coming home telling us what he has cooked at school.

My cat is huge! Miles weighs 10 pounds now! He is a big, lovable ball of soft fur. I love holding him. He is learning how to take naps with me. That is wonderful!

Meantime, spring will be here soon. And this morning the sun is shining!

My new motto is "One Day at a Time."

After 50 days in the hospital, I got to bring Mom home yesterday. I must admit that I was a little nervous about having both Mom and Dad here to take care of. Yesterday's discharge was a long, drawn-out process. But, it turned out to be a blessing because the very minute I was pulling out of the parking lot, my phone rang. It was the Moran Eye center calling and I was able to go pick up some documents I need for Dad that otherwise would have taken several more days to receive. Glad the timing worked out that I was able to pick up the documents while I was still at the hospital campus.

I know things will smooth out and I'll be able to figure out a routine with Mom and Dad once Dad is in school M-F and we know when home health will be coming. This morning it was 10:00 before I got my breakfast and 10:30 before I got my shower. But I did get Mom dressed, breakfasted, teeth brushed, toileted twice and up and down the stairs before then. Dad is really learning to be as independent as he can be and that will improve I know.

Another blessing is that the blind school arranged a ride for Dad back and forth to school until he gets trained to use the bus. That is a huge relief off my shoulders!

I am constantly praying for patience and long-suffering so that this can be as pleasant as possible for all of us.

One day at a time!

The wait is over. . . or is it?

Monday when Dad and I went to the hospital they moved Mom to rehab! What an interesting experience this is for me. I am learning so much about brains and how they work. I am amazed at how many processes are involved in eating. Picking up the spoon, rotating it in your hand properly, getting the spoon to the food, getting the food on the spoon, keeping the food on the spoon while you bring it to your mouth, getting the food into your mouth, closing your mouth on the spoon, pulling the spoon out and leaving the food in, then swallowing! Whew it makes me tired watching Mom re-learn all this. She has made incredible progress this week with rehab. She is awake most of the time and working hard to re-learn. She still has no short-term memory. I don't think she can read, although she can recognize letters. She repeats the same questions over and over. But she is walking with support and a walker.

This week I feel like the critical part is finally over and we are on the road to recovery! Finally! But she still has so much to learn. And so do I as care-giver. We have such a long road ahead of us. But another bit of good news. Dad is starting "blind school" this week as a day student. So, I will drop him off at 8:00 am and pick him up at 4:00 pm. While he is learning, I will go to the hospital and help mom with her therapy. We are going to have to re-figure this if Mom is released from rehab before Dad can get into the apartments and be a live-in student. But the sooner he is self-sufficient and independent, the sooner he can help me take care of Mom :)

I have a wonderful family! Lauren provided me with an opportunity to get away to play this weekend. Jessianne facilitated it. So, I went ice-climbing for the first time! In Ouray, Colorado. It was as hard as I thought it would be, but it was MUCH, MUCH funner than I thought. It was a really great weekend. Thanks girls! for giving me a respite! I love you!

Still Waiting

I keep wanting to wait to blog until I have news that Mom has been released from the hospital. But she hasn't. The doctors are keeping her, watching, hoping she will be strong enough to go right to rehab rather than a nursing facility and then rehab. In the mean time, she needs another surgery on Thursday to repair a small leak. Poor Mom!!!

Dad is staying with us for a while. This is all so up-in-the-air! We don't know how long Mom's recovery will take and we don't know what her abilities will be like when this is over. It's hard to make any plans. Still just taking it a day at a time. Still appreciating all the friends and family giving us so much love and support!

Emotional Rollercoaster

It has been a hard couple of days. But today we had a mixed bag. First of all, they took Mom off the ventilator to see how she could do on her own. So far, so good. She is working harder to breathe on her own, but her oxygen levels are staying good. Today she coughed, too. I learned that when you lay there the normal saliva your body makes and you swallow instinctively just stays there and goes into her air passage. One reason they had her on the ventilator was so they could easily suction out those fluids. But her ability to cough forces the fluids out of her lungs. The challenge now is that her swallow reflex isn"t working. So they suction out the back of her throat when she coughs and can"t clear her airway. That is a step in the right direction.

The hardest part of today was hearing the doctor tell us in concrete terms what to expect. Mom will be several weeks still in the hospital, then to a nursing facility until she is strong enough for rehab. Then a month of rehab to see what she will be able to do. Dad asked outright "will she ever be back to normal?" The doctor said, "I doubt it, but we hope she can get pretty close."

A good thing about today was that my brother, Chris, is here from Alaska and was able to be there at the hospital to hear all this. I am so glad he is here to see for himself what we are dealing with so he can have a better understanding of what is going on. It relieves me knowing that he knows exactly what we are going through. And with him here, I get to come home for a few days. :)

As I told Dad today, we just have to take this one day at a time and we"ll get through it!

Looking at Blessings in a Hard Time

As most know, Mom had a brain tumor removed Thursday, Jan 7, 2010. As of today, she still hasn't woken up. I first got a clue something wasn't quite right when Friday morning my phone woke me up. The doctor at the hospital called to get permission to put a drain in Mom's brain because she was building up fluid and pressure pretty fast. They drilled a hole in her skull and stuck in a tube to monitor pressure and drain off fluids. By Friday afternoon, they were asking permission for a second surgery to relieve pressure that had gotten to a critical level. The surgery removed part of her brain (an unused part) and bone so that the swelling wouldn't damage her brain stem. The surgery was successful and they didn't have to remove as much brain matter as they anticipated. Since then the swelling has gone up a bit but leveled off. Now we wait. That is so hard!

As of today, all her vitals are good. Her heart, lungs, kidneys, bowels, etc are functioning well. She's just asleep. She is showing a very small baby step toward improvement. She has begun opening her eyes a bit for a few seconds. She still can't follow commands, but because the swelling isn't worse, the doctors are hopeful that once her brain swelling begins to go down she will wake up more.

This experience shows me how many people love us. Mom and Dad have such great friends always calling to give Dad support, love and offers of help. My own friends have been great, too. Emails, texts, and phone calls offering love and support give me courage and strength to know that I am not alone! And then the family . . . . what would we do without you? Thank you all for giving us a shoulder to lean on when we need you!

Happy New Year!

Life really does evolve, doesn't it. The rhythm of my days has changed since Marin moved out. I miss her and her comings and goings. I have learned that I need to look outward and find more opportunities to serve. It doesn't come naturally to me, so I need to change that.

Here are my New Year's resolutions:
Blog more!
Journal more!
Temple more!
Scriptures more!
Pray better!

I am excited about my callings. I am really in love with my Primary class. I am learning so much from them! Mostly I am learning to be more patient and learning to develop more teaching skills. And I love the spirit that is in my home when the Temple Prep class is here. Those valiant young men preparing for the temple and their missions bring an amazing spirit with them. It uplifts me! And I am having fun preparing to teach classes at the Family History Center. I sure have great opportunities to rub shoulders with great people! Hoping their greatness rubs off on me!

Happy New Year!