Friday, July 4

Tommy's son Steve is here for the weekend, so he and Irv are taking care of the dogs at home, allowing me to stay overnight in the room with Tommy. I slept on a "pull-out chair" that reminded me of those times in my teenage years when, for one reason or another of poor planning, I ended up sleeping in the backseat of a car. Kind of scrunched, but definitely better than dozing in a chair. Today Tommy has a cut-back schedule of his various therapies (physical, occupational and speech)--three hours in a group session in the mornings, in the large gadget-filled gym, so that the staff can get home to enjoy the holiday. Ditto for the weekend--a scaled-back schedule--which will give Tommy a chance to rest up after a rigorous three days of rehab work. Up until yesterday he was so groggy, even in his wheelchair, that he couldn't accomplish much in the rehab sessions. But yesterday was better, especially in the afternoon, when he perked up.
Since Tommy arrived here, all of his "transfers" (i.e., moving him from bed to wheelchair or vice versa) have been accomplished using a Hoyer lift; this wheeled contraption resembles a large white metal stork that hoists a hammock-hugged Tommy upward and over in its long beak. It takes two staff members to operate it, and is a demanding task; frankly, it constantly amazes me how much unremitting work the nurses do here all day (and night) long, as at Beebe Hospital. All the staff at both places are very good. Yesterday afternoon, in the gym, when Robin, one of the physical therapists, was having trouble getting Tommy to respond to her, she called over to the little windowed office, "I need Wendy." Out came a large, strong woman who joined Robin and proceeded to tickle, prod, cajole and otherwise force Tommy to react--if only to try to elbow her away with his good arm! Wendy is clearly the heavy hitter of the PT department. By the end of the session, Robin and Wendy had succeeded in getting Tommy from the chair onto a large bedlike platform, using only their own selves, a big accomplishment--and eventually they had him sitting up at the edge of that platform using his own back muscles--a huge accomplishment for all three of them.
Steve arrived later in the afternoon and accompanied Tommy to the dining room (where his diet is still "puree" and hand-fed), while I took a walk down the homey main street of Milton and located a little coffee shop with big stuffed chairs, always a good destination. Steve will visit again this afternoon.
I wish you all a happy Fourth of July and thank you again for the many expressions of support--don't forget to send some photos to put in the album we are putting together for Tommy to leaf through.