Wednesday, October 5, 2022

8:03 PM

Hello, thank you for joining us.

  A quiet day today for Larry. I went in early to help settle any concerns or confusion that Larry's care givers may have, who are meeting him for the first time. The 'odd' question that his nurse kept pressing was about Larry needing a helmet to protect his missing bone flap. This is the first time, since Larry's first week following surgery that the need (or not) of a helmet has come up. Good for him for wanting the best in protecting Larry.

  We met the dietitian who was very interested to know what Larry's triggers have been, for throwing up from his tube feed & flush of extra fluid. We really felt that she heard us, as she repeated what we said, followed by how she plans to resolve the issues, relating her plan to his care team. 

 Larry did some swallowing exercises with a ball under his chin, with me. As I was putting the yellow ball in his drawer, the speech therapist walked in with her own yellow ball. She is very pleased and encouraging for Larry to repeat these exercises on his own 3 X a day. She's going to give us some work sheets for improving his speech. His mouth was frozen wide open for such a long time, when he was very ill & his jaw, lips & tongue don't always manage to form as they should to pronounce sounds properly, especially the B's P's & V's. But with just a few tries, there is marked improvement.

 The physio came, while the nurse was tending to Larry. She'll be back tomorrow to get him going with therapy. He hasn't had a chance to sit in his wheelchair with the magic cushion, so the O.T. will take care of the adjustments to maximize Larry's comfort & hopefully he can spend more than just the 90 minutes that he's been able to tolerate until now.

 The doctor for Larry's 6th day in a row, came by & expressed how pleased he is for Larry & hopeful for his near future for serious rehab.

  A great surprise for both Larry & I was a visit from 2 young friends. These brothers in their 20's were so delightful & put the biggest smile on Larry's face. We enjoyed their visit so much. It really lifted Larry's spirit. Other than their company & the drop in visit by therapists & doctor, Larry had his eyes closed most of the day. He did manage two 10- minute exercises with me, including his arms & hands. His coordination is very good & he is gaining strength each time.

  I did a first! I went to get my headlight replaced. It wasn't the very cheap quote my friend gave me from her experience. I decided to have only 1 installed & buy the other as a spare. The manager was very kind, they only charged me for the installation of one, even though they replaced both lights. $55 saved, I was so grateful for the kindness.

  I met 3 friends for dinner, to celebrate our dear Margaret's birthday. Before Covid, we used to meet once a week & share our faith-life journeys with each other.  We all love each other so much & were excited to catch up on how each other is doing.  We were named the WOW sisters, 'Women Of Wisdom', by the youngest member of the group who has now moved to Newfoundland. She of course was included in our 'catching up' with each other.

  Tomorrow looks like a fairly busy day for Larry, therapy wise. And if the recipe & schedule for his tube feed are just right, he should have a good day, un-interrupted by getting sick.

 God bless you. Take care!