Thursday, September 8, 2022 7:24 PM

Welcome to today!

  Larry had another 45 minutes of dialysis to go, when I got there. The kidney doctor came by & said that, as Larry's urine output increases, his dialysis treatments will be less frequent. I said "And eventually not need it at all?" He said "That's what we're aiming for!" That is huge in the way of good news, where something as serious as kidney disease may one day not be a concern. Yeaaaah Larry!

  I was disappointed when "Not today!" was the answer from the physio, to inquiring if Larry would have a session today. But the disappointment didn't last long, as the Occupational Therapist came to work with Larry. Well, he wasn't having it! He had been expressing his doubts & concerns over the kind of neglect that was happening from the staff. Especially, when he wakes from sleeping, he is very confused & doesn't remember the 'whos & whens', if asked. For instance, he didn't remember the kidney doctor's visit. The O.T. & I did our best to reassure & encourage him. I wanted to say "Just do it!", but the O.T. was much more gentle & asked him to work with her tomorrow. He agreed.

There was a fair amount of that 'not fun' banter between us throughout the day. He'd get so annoyed at my explanations to try & defuse his suspicions. I keep going back to how he handled stubborn & frightened patients as a therapist. Hopefully tomorrow he'll be encouraged by how well he'll do by participating. It's just not enough, or soon enough for him. I pray that he adopts that very persevering & courageous mind-set that it takes to climb such a steep & tall mountain. I showed him the photo from yesterday's blog of him as a young therapist. He said "Blog, blog, blog all the time blog!" I said that because of it, hundreds of people that wouldn't otherwise know about his situation are actively praying for him & showing love & concern (& I named a few that he is always pleased when they respond with an email through the blog). "Oh!"

  I did some therapy with him, while in his wheelchair. He did sit-ups & 'knees up Mother Brown'. I'm hoping that the more he feels his muscles working, the more he'll want to do. The speech therapist gave some exercises to work on with Larry, e.g. Name days of the week. Well & asked Larry to name the month, according to the number of fingers I held up. With no hesitation he was great. Just in natural conversation, his memory is amazing. Yesterday I mentioned someone's name re: an email (because of he blog), he said "From Dallas!" This is one of the members of the association he belongs to & meets with once a year at a conference. I don't know that he had that kind of memory for names before, let alone where they were from. Also, re: swallowing, ice cubes have been introduced. Larry thinks it's ridiculous & that it's not even an exercise. However, he did start enjoying them following the 1st one. We had a little fun, when one slipped out of my hand down his night gown. A reminder of our playful ice cube drops down each other's shirt. He's always been way better at it than me.

 Super care from nurses again today, for Larry & for me, especially when I was upset about his refusal to do rehab. They showed so much love & concern for Larry's comfort & his dignity.

 Our dear friends after being away in NFLD for 3 weeks, came to see Larry. Geraldine is one of Larry's God Mothers & a retired O.T., who always does an assessment to make sure he's got the best. He was so happy to see her & Eric. I think what made him especially happy was to see how overjoyed they were at the progress he's made in the past few weeks. From barely speaking, raising a finger & squeezing a hand to chatting & answering questions, outstretching his arms for a hug & using his arms to reposition himself. When we were leaving Geraldine leaned in to him. Somehow her elbow was between them & Larry kissed it. Who would ever think a kiss on an elbow would bring so much joy.

 A few very special people will be coming to visit Larry for the first time over the next few days. I know it will lift Larry's spirit… & mine too! Tomorrow (Fri.) from 7:00 - 8:00 pm, we'll take part in a zoom meeting (Ultreya) for Cursillo. I am giving the witness talk. Larry has said "Yes!" to joining the group. I pray that the technology will suffer no glitches & that Larry will be able to participate, even if only long enough to see the faces of so many who love him & are dedicated to praying for him.

 We are so grateful for all the prayers being offered for Larry. At this time, Larry's biggest struggle is adjusting to his disabled state & having the courage & determination to cooperate & try his best without feelings of discouragemtn or hopelessness.  I tell him that we are loving him back to health. Thank you for being part of the village that it is taking to do just that. God bless you. xoxo