Tuesday, November 25

What a crazy day yesterday, but everything came out fine. Everything, in this case, being Tommy's four remaining teeth, which were front and center in the bottom half. The day-long saga began at 8 in the morning, when we went to Dr. James, who is my dentist. Tommy hasn't had a dentist in living memory, so it was very fortunate that she would see him on such short notice. (There was an air of immediacy because one of the teeth was wiggling loose, and Dr. Raj was concerned that if it came out while he was lying down in bed, he could choke on it.) After a careful examination and an X ray, Dr. James concluded that Tommy needed to see an oral surgeon for the teeth-pulling, because there was a risk of greater than normal bleeding. While we were still in her office, she arranged for Tommy to see an oral surgeon in Lewes later in the day; so, at three o'clock, with me holding his hand to provide moral support (but not doing such a good job--I was trying not to pass out), Tommy sat in a small operating room where he endured numerous needle-stickings by the surgeon and, ten minutes later, the extraction of his four teeth with the use of a formidable pair of pliers. I was only able to watch at the very end, when the surgeon was sewing up the newly naked gums. Tommy has been eating soft foods while his mouth heals, which will take a couple of weeks. Then, he'll go back to Dr. James, who will make him a new set of choppers, top and bottom. He's pretty excited about it, because, in his words, "Then I can eat steak."

Sunday, November 23

All is going well. Tommy is getting more showers now than he ever did before his stroke. He loves his new pedal exerciser (officially called a "Restorator" by Sammons-Preston). Tomorrow morning he goes to the dentist, who will pull his two loose bottom teeth and then begin the process of making a new bottom plate for him. I'm sure he'll be happy when that's over. Me, too.

Wednesday, November 19

Following two weeks of ceaseless rain and wind, sunny fall weather has finally arrived. Tommy and I both enjoy sitting on the sun-bathed back porch in the morning and pitching the ball out into the run for Penny. Tommy also watches the occasional passing fishing boat heading out to the inlet, as well as the construction of the weirdly painted town houses that are going up across the creek (so far, we have pink, powder blue, purple and (for the creekside poolhouse) lime green. The builder seems to have a fixation on Key West.
Tommy continues to progress, although since yesterday he has been dealing with ye olde problem of constipation. He was uncomfortable yesterday, but this morning, with several doses of Milk of Magnesia under his belt, plus lots of prunes, broccoli and warm green tea, he's feeling better. Yesterday, when we realized there was a problem, I got good guidance by phone from a Beebe home health nurse; and today, Tommy's visiting nurse, Linda, is coming around 11, and she will guide me further on the best strategy. This afternoon, Stephanie (occupational therapy) will be here, and I will give Tommy a shower under her watchful eye. I am so glad I have the help of the Beebe home-health people, especially since the visit that Gaie scheduled in late September to help me when Tommy came home ended up happening early because his rehab stay was extended (nevertheless, Gaie gave me invaluable help when she was here, plus we had lots of good Scrabble games). My sister, Trudy, is due tomorrow (flying into Philly & driving down) for a couple of weeks' and my brother, Marshall, will join us for Thanksgiving. Tommy's sister and her husband are also coming to visit pretty soon. Tommy is still getting lots of calls and cards from family and friends, so he is getting a lot of warm attention (me, too '-). Irv is going on his annual hunting trip to West Virginia for a couple of weeks starting this weekend...I always like knowing he's in town, but he has promised to bring venison for us, as he does every year. He and I are going to make up a huge batch of venison stew and freeze a bunch of portions. With apologies to Rachael Ray, I can only say Yum-o.

Sunday, November 16

It's been two weeks and a day since Tommy came home and everything goes well. But it's been busy--there is always a long list of things to get done, and never enough time. It's been raining nearly nonstop since Tommy's return, but finally today we had ample sunshine and blue skies among the high winds and scudding clouds. Very relaxing. Tomorrow Tommy must buckle down for another week of various therapy sessions.

Wednesday, November 12

Everything is going along well. The Beebe home health folks are coming in various combinations each day; today Tommy worked with Paul and Stephanie (physical therapy and occupational therapy). He keeps getting stronger and more chipper. Yesterday's visit to Dr. Raj went very well. Tommy was happy to see Dr. Raj coming out of his office to shake his hand and tell him that he was looking good--I think that Tommy realizes that a handshake from Dr. Raj means that things are getting back to normal.

Saturday, November 8

One week with Tommy home, and what a week it's been. Very steep learning curve for both of us. The team that is taking care of him--from the Beebe Home Health Agency--is outstanding. (This agency is affiliated with Beebe Hospital in Lewes, where Tommy was taken when he had his stroke; and Beebe took such good care of him that I figured the home health agency would be very good, too.) Tommy's physical therapist, Paul, has had him walking across the living room using the walker; Paul is also working with Tommy a lot on transfers, because Tommy still has that bad habit of trying to sit down before he has completely finished pivoting. The rest of the team is Stephanie (occupational therapist), Gail (nurse and sometimes aide), Jill (speech pathologist) and Reva (aide). In one week, there have been a total of twelve visits by these folks. A typical day was yesterday: Gail came first thing in the morning and took Tommy's vital signs (all fine); Paul came at 11; then Stephanie and Reva came together after lunch to give Tommy a shower (he did very well). So, all systems are go. Today is a day of rest for both of us. It's odd not to be hanging out with our friends at Renaissance rehab--we miss so many of the staff, patients and patients' families that we got to know there. There are several with whom we now stay in touch--we all hope we'll be able to get together before too long.
The last couple of days, Tommy and I have finally begun to relax a little. Late yesterday afternoon, Tommy was napping and I was on the porch playing with Penny when I heard him call. I went to the bedroom and said, "You okay?" "Yeah," he mumbled sleepily, "I was having a dream." "Was it a good dream?" I asked. "Mm-hmm," he said. "What were you dreaming about?" I asked. "Eatin' ribs," he finally mumbled, as he dozed back off to continue the feast.

Wednesday, November 5

It's still crazy around here, with so many different health-care workers coming to work with Tommy, and with Tommy and me figuring out our new routine; but it's all good. It's almost five o'clock, and it's the first chance I've had today to sit down and tap out even these few sentences. More to come when I get caught up.
Yesterday was an exciting day, because it was Tommy's birthday--he turned 73--and he received cards from lots of family and friends and got happy-birthday calls from his kids and his sisters. And cake and ice cream for dessert, of course.

Monday, November 3

I think Tommy is enormously relieved to be home. Every once in a while at Ren, I got him to talk about his feelings, and deep down he was worried about a lot of things, even though he didn't show it much. Steve, Irv and I got him settled at home around noon on Saturday, and, so far, having him home has been manageable but difficult. A temporary setback is to be expected, because each time Tommy has been moved from one facility to another, it has taken him a couple of days to recover from the huge physical and emotional strain. So I expect he'll be more focused and relaxed in a day or two. I have to keep a very close eye on him, because even though he knows he's not supposed to try to get up by himself, he has those confusion issues and sometimes--especially right after he wakes up from a nap and his briefs are wet--he thinks he has to get in to the john by himself. So far, I have caught him early, i.e., while he's trying to inch his feet over the side of the bed, but it's unnerving.
For Tommy's meds, I bought a giant week-at-a-time pill box at Happy Harry's that looks like a Scrabble board, it has so many compartments. It took Steve and me about an hour to figure out how to organize the pills and get the right ones into the right places, but it'll be a lot easier from now on. Steve also installed the grab bars in the bathroom, with Tommy assisting (he held the box of screws, which he handed to Steve as needed). For Tommy's first evening home, I told him I'd make him a welcome-home dinner of his choice, and of course he asked for steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli and a salad. With his loose bottom teeth (which will have to be pulled soon and replaced by a new plate), he can't chew solid meat; so I got filet mignon, which Steve seasoned, grilled and sliced into very thin, small bites. Tommy was in heaven.
Yesterday morning, Steve headed home, taking Sandy with him for a visit; Sandy is a bit too rambunctious to be underfoot while Tommy regains his walking chops. Later, the visiting nurse, Jennifer, came over to assess Tommy's situation and fill us in on the schedule of nurses, therapists and aides we can expect. There will be someone coming here almost every day. Tommy's Medicare/medigap coverage will cover all of it for two months, at which time the degree of his "progress" will be assessed; if he's still progressing, he'll get coverage for another two months.
Last night, too tired to cook a meal, I gave Tommy homemade fish chowder--one of the many frozen meals Gaie made up for him while she was here. I told him, "Last night was your welcome-home meal from Steve and me, and tonight it's Gaie's welcome-home meal." He said, "This is so good. I wish I could thank Gaie personally." I said, well, maybe you can. So I dialed Gaie and Rich's number and gave Tommy the phone, and Gaie answered, and he said, "I wanted to thank you personally for this seafood chowder." It was a wonderful moment. I am so glad to have him home.

Saturday, November 1

Great Halloween party at Ren on Thursday evening. At least a hundred little kids and their parents came through to trick or treat, and there was a fabulous "haunted house" at the far end of the facility with mummies moving on guywires overhead and scary witches' cackles (although none of those cackles match therapy-assistant Pearl's cackle). Tommy wore a shark mask, and as I wheeled him through the rehab and long-term wings, he drew lots of laughs with his scary "Rr-rr-rr-rr" shark growl (do sharks growl?--who cares). This morning, he's coming home. Steve and I are getting ready to head up there right now. Yay. Stay tuned.