Finding Our New "Normal"

Tommy and I returned from our cruise Monday evening.  We had an enjoyable time, saw some beautiful sites and experienced some rough waters. ~smile~  I'll save further details for a later blog entry.

Dad's door plaque

I wish that I could tell you that Daddy had drastically improved when I saw him today.  But, drastic improvements are not the "norm" with this condition.  Small improvements are about as good as it gets and at times patients have declined or shown little to no improvement for a time.  Daddy had one of his best days last Friday and was encouraged, but has not had a good day since.  He feels as though he is declining, but from all that we read and know, this is normal during the recovery.  A bit discouraging, but not alarming.


Speaking of normal........we are all in the process of finding our "new normal."  Things have not been normal in about 6 weeks and they will likely not be for a long time, so we have to adjust.  It is a tough place to be, but we have to make the best of this situation.

 

This beautiful wreath, hanging on Dad's door, was a gift from a dear friend.

Dad's Physical Therapy begins at 9:00 AM each morning and goes for a couple of hours.  He is pretty much worn completely out when it is over  and usually has a nap afterwards before he eats lunch.  Around 1:00 PM he goes for more therapy which is concentrated on breathing exercises.  This is about 30 - 45 minutes.  He comes back to his room and rests of the remainder of the afternoon and evening. For the local folks, he does enjoy short visits and generally after 2:30 he has napped and recovered somewhat from his therapy and is able to visit for a brief time. 


His voice is still very weak and it takes a lot of effort for him to hold any length conversation.  This is most frustrating for him but it has improved and hopefully within the coming weeks it will get stronger.  He would be able to enjoy phone visits and visitors so much more.  It's almost impossible for him to talk on the phone right now. He is feeding himself much better now and we're hopeful that his appetite will increase in the coming days.  The Dr. did start him on B12 shots last week and he will get one a week.  We're hopeful this will help him regain some strength. I think I've overused the word "hopeful" but that seems to be the best word to describe where we are at this time.


We have a lot more questions than answers right now, but the one thing we do know is that God is in control.  We have to remind ourselves of that daily.  We thank each of you for your continued prayer support. We have felt your support and we know that it is what keeps all of us going during this time.  Often we find ourselves thinking way too much about Dad's future instead of just taking it one day at a time.  He told me today that when he is alone, his mind wanders and wanders and this causes discouragement to creep in. 


I am planning to get back with my regular blogging posts this next week but will plan to do a blog entry on Dad's progress once a week.  I'm not sure if that will be on  the same day each week, but that is my goal. Check back  in about a week and I will do my best to have a post concerning his progress and if you  want to email me, I will do my best to respond in a timely manner.


Again, your prayers are one of the sources of our strength during this difficult time.  Love to you all!