Sunday, December 7...Weekend Warrior

Dad has his war paint on and he is battling back!! Mom and I participated in his Saturday morning occupational therapy session and even though he wasn’t talking much, he did do what they asked of him. Mom stayed for his physical therapy session as well, and Dad was soo tired, that he dozed when they laid him down on the mat to work his legs! The therapist said she could tell he was trying to move that leg because she could feel the muscle tightening, so that is a positive sign. Terri, Jennifer and Emily drove down Saturday morning to stay with us for the weekend, so he had all of his favorite girls cheering him on! Terri stayed at the Rehab Center with Dad most of the afternoon while Dave put up some outside Christmas decorations for mom, and then we helped her assemble her new Christmas tree and Jennifer took her car for a much needed wash. Terri said that our neighbors, Bernie Kinnison and Jean Pollard, visited Dad and brought him a big, colorful get-well balloon bouquet and a “cuddle bear” which sure brightened up Dad’s room. Sunday started off GREAT; we arrived just as Dad was leaving a therapy session and we found out that he had STOOD (with the aid of one of their fancy machines) for 16 minutes!! The therapist was very pleased, and said Dad’s blood pressure was good the entire time too!! After all of that activity, Dad was hungry and he deserved something special, so I went to Fazoli’s and picked him up some spaghetti and meatballs. He was also talking quite a bit and looked really happy to see everyone back this morning; Hannah got a really big smile and a hug when she and David stopped by! He also had special, long-distance visitors this morning. Dad’s half-sister, Debi, and his half-brother, John, and his wife, Beverly, drove in from the Austin area to check on him. So, after a big morning in therapy, a good lunch and lots of visitors, he was ready for a much-deserved nap about 1:30 p.m. Mom and I and Grandma went back around 5:30 to take Dad dinner, and even though he did eat pretty well, he was still VERY tired. So, we thought it best to call it an early night, and let our “CHIEF” get back into bed and rest. The therapists will be tracking him down again early tomorrow morning!