Sep. 6, 2022
WOW (09.06.22)
Hello, welcome to the rollercoaster ride.
Larry was sleeping when I arrived. I kissed him hello & he kissed me back. Then he said he didn't trust me & mumblings about rubbing his back. Followed by "I love you!" For a while he spoke about not trusting anyone & contradicting himself about being under 24 hr watch.
It took a lot of reassuring him, to settle down. Physio came, inviting him to come for a session. Then said "It will have to be later!" as his wheelchair was trapped behind a dialysis machine that hadn't been taken away yet. He absorbed the info about him not being paraplegic & or losing his speech. Larry said "Its too early for rehab." I thought he meant time of day. He said, since his injury. I walked him through the last 9 weeks. "Oh!"
He told me he wasn't going to walk. "Not today!" I said, & tried to reassure him by reminding him of patients he worked with & how gradually strength & balance came back to them. He argued a bit, said silly things & stopped when I asked if he ever had an uncooperative patient,, being stubborn. He did not want to go to the gym, so Ava worked with him at his bed, with an assistant. They were both so pleased at his core strength & balance, as they'd hardly witnessed anything before because of Larry falling asleep each time. Today was about 2:00, I think a better chance than in the morning.
It was very emotional seeing him be so obedient & really trying. He ended up sitting strait up on the edge of his bed without any help. His feet were flat on the floor & he was just holding the edge of the mattress with his hands. He was very 'Please and Thank you !' through the session, & actually to each nurse attending to him afterward.
Later he told me he hadn't done well. I reassured him that the 2 physios were so surprised & excited. I told him that I was so proud of him & encouraged by the great effort he made. "I've got a long way to go!"..." Thank you Larry, for being a champion, by giving your best!' I'm so grateful for having witnessed it.
Larry got a visit from one of his friends (& wife) from his Wed. a.m. men's group. He was Mr. Congeniality. So gracious in greeting them." George, catch one for me!" They'd been talking about fishing.
They stayed only for a short time. Then I gave Larry a much needed haircut, taking advantage of him sitting in the chair. Sooo handsome he is !
We're still waiting to hear when that feed tube will be inserted into his stomach. When it is & there is no longer a tube in Larry's nose, he will have a swallowing assessment. Hopefully that will go well.
Thank you for your love & prayers. I'm blogging from hospital, so its hard to proof . Pls forgive any confusion. God bless you. xox