He's a Walking Man!

Okay. Sorry - so busy with the Bob and trying to get ready for his homecoming on Thursday, 5/28. We're fine-hanging in but I think we're both pretty tired out and ready for a normal life at home. YEAHHHHH! Really quickly though, . . . I have to get get going 'cuz Linda, Bob's "other sister out-law" is on the early shift and she just said that Bob walked 25 feet with a walker so I have to get going. Terri Taco was here for the past two weeks and was fabulous with Bob. Poor Lucky Bob is surrounded by educators so we're working his brain while the PTs and OTs work his body. Everything Bob does is a major exercise in aerobics. Yesterday he told Jeanie that he "will do whatever it takes" and later that "he just wants to pick up the pieces".

I'll add more later.

I'm back! YES! Bob walked with a walker today-twice! Jeanie and Linda witnessed the first walk and I got here just in time for the second walk. Wendi, his PT angel, taped his right foot and hand so that they would do their job since they're not quite working yet and then she warmed him up to walk by making him step up and down from a phone directory/block thing so that his hips and leg could remember what to do. Then, she coached Bob to walk incremental movement by movement. It was pretty incredible to witness.

So, anyway, the last 10 days have been pretty amazing to watch Bob grow and learn. Every few days, we see a new change in his strength and alertness. He's been kicking out his right leg and we saw him lift his knee, flex his foot, and move his toes while he's sleeping. (Today, when I asked him what he wanted to do after PT, he said, "I want to walk in my sleep", which is what I think he must be doing.)

I'm so very grateful to Bob's sister's-out-laws: Terry Taco and Linda B. They have been so kind and loving to both of us. It's no wonder the Bob loves them. He doesn't know yet that Norma, his dear mother-out-law, "crossed over" the week after his stroke but before she "went home", she told her daughters to go and be with Bob and to make sure that he knew that they love him very much. So, Terry flew down from Oregon following my desperate cry for help (while my family was in NYC )and oh my, how she spoiled me! She made me a full breakfast every morning, watered the gardens, walked the dog, did the laundry, vacuumed the house, and then went with me to the hospital to work with Bob every day that she was here. I cried when she left on Thursday, and then, lo and behold, her sister Linda showed up on Friday. The hardest part about being in rehab is the being on someone else's schedule and the waiting part. We're both so used to being in control and here we feel like we have none (OMG) but we can do this! I'm grateful to my family who have been ever so patient with me in spite of my grumpy, grouchiness. Thank you for loving me anyway.

Bob is gaining more self-confidence as the PTs have him up, standing and walking. He wants to stand with me, too, but the PTs tell him that we (Bob and I) have to do half-stands and shift so that he has balanced strength. He's not liking that so much but we definitely don't want him to fall or we'll be in megadoo-doo. Yesterday, he let me and the nurse know that he worries about me when he's standing because of his size so I told him not to worry because we'll come up with a plan that works for us.

Yesterday was Sunday, a light day, so we decided that it was Bob's "day of beauty". Jeanie gave him a leg, neck, and head massage. (For some reason, he wouldn't let her massage his arm or shoulder.) Then, later on the patio, I gave him a bubbling foot soak, foot massage, facial, washed his hair, AND shaved him (yes, Rick and Jeff, I did it! And Linda said it looked pretty good, too.)

New Bobbisms:

• Bob likes to play a mean game of War (thanks for teaching us, TT) and the Memory Game.
• He sang "My Bonnie Lives O'er the Ocean" to Bonnie D when she visited the other night.
• He read short passages to Terry T. Still working on comprehension.
• Knows right, left, straight, behind, back up
• He can do the sequencing cards (thanks Roberta and Karin) easily AND he's able to tell the story that goes with it (haltingly but in sequence, no less).
• He does his own hand, wrist, arm and elbow stretches now (20x each, thanks Terri and Jeff)
• He is able to locate a statement and read from his communication cards that Terry and I made for him when he wants to do something.
• He usually says my wife name accurately/consistently, although when he's really tired, it's pretty hit and miss. Last week, he told Terry that my name is Olivia Newton-John and Graham Nash (from Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young). Oh well, I'm no longer Naomi or whoever.
• I told Terry that I miss hearing Bob say, "hey, Babe" like he always did whenever I walked into the room, so she had him practice and guess what? He said, "Hey Babe" a couple of times. It was soooo very nice to hear!

Well, Bob's official discharge date is May 28 and then he moves to outpatient therapies 3 days a week. I've been told that rehab was to get Bob ready to live at home and outpatient is where they'll really kick out butts, so pray Jeff, Billy, Sonia and Chad have our downstairs looking shipshape with a new universal access bathroom (toilet and shower), hand rails and ramps throughout the house, and the new bedroom looks fabujus! We're getting there! Josh will be here on Wednesday for the first few weeks of June and then my twin should arrive. Hopefully, we'll have our routine down.