Thursday, March 20...Special Deliveries!

Update by Cindy. UPS and FedEx better watch out; they have some real competition out there … our friends and family!! This past week has been full of “special deliveries” and it all started with my mom. George told my mom on Saturday that he was hungry for her homemade waffles, so first thing Sunday morning, our door bell rang and it was Mom standing there with her waffle iron and a bag full of ingredients coming to make George & I breakfast. Then, later on that day, Shirley Lucas called and said that she had just finished making a big pot of soup and she and Ike wanted to bring some over for us. Right around 5 p.m., Shirley and Ike arrived with a basket full of goodies … homemade shrimp and corn chowder (that was awesome!), a spinach & field green salad, hot HEB French bread, and dessert! On Monday night, a good friend of ours from Lindsay’s junior high days, JoAnn Young, brought over dinner for us too. It was a hearty casserole filled with chicken, green beans and water chestnuts, accompanied by hot rolls, cinnamon applesauce, and chocolate chunk ice cream for dessert … all very yummy!! JoAnn also brought three boxes and bags filled with goodies for the upcoming garage sale, and with all of the activity, I forgot to take a picture of her for the blog! So my apologies, JoAnn, but you’ll be back soon … we have a “wine” date, and we’ll take a picture then! On Tuesday, there was no food delivery, but George’s daughter, Terri and her husband, Paul, returned to the house to deliver the new bathroom door and door jam. Paul hung it up and taped and floated the bathroom walls that we tore the wallpaper off of, so this weekend we’ll need to finish what he started and get the walls sanded and painted so the new sink can be installed. And, speaking of the sink, or rather the “lavatory” (I always get corrected!) it was also delivered Wednesday night … by a very sweet couple, Brian & Karen Lewis. Brian works for Klare Plumbing, and was the official gift bearer; George and I can’t thank Marvin Klare enough for his kindness and generosity in purchasing the ADA lavatory, faucet, and all of the other necessary pieces that will help make life a whole lot easier for us! My apologies again, but no picture of their visit either. We were so busy visiting about the bathroom remodel, our look-a-like dogs, and Karen & I were comparing notes on massage therapists, that I forgot to pull out the camera. But I know they will be back very soon as well, perhaps even later this weekend to install the lavatory, so I will be sure to get a picture then! Tonight I was planning to have Dominoes deliver, but my brother and sister-in-law called and invited us down for dinner. David grilled steaks and they were soo good; it reminded me how much I miss having my husband behind the grill, but I’m sure he’ll be cooking before too long! George got some extra therapy tonight as well. Alex, my nephew, had George tossing his little Nerf football back and forth to him and George was using both hands!! Maybe I can hire the kids to come and play ball with George this summer!! Hopefully, we will get some pictures of George at Katy Rehab Out-Patient Therapy real soon. Everything seems to be going well, and I think George enjoys getting out of the house more. And speaking of getting well, we are soo thrilled that one of George’s “partners in crime”, Charles Lee Luker, is out of ICU in Victoria, TX after battling pneumonia and a staph infection. He sounded great when we spoke to him a few days ago, so we hope he is getting stronger every day … hunting season is only 8 months away! And our thoughts and prayers go out to the Bucic family, as Judy Bucic is in the hospital recovering from bacterial meningitis. Scary stuff, but we know she will be well soon and back to enjoying those grandbabies!!

Sunday, March 15...Extreme Home Makeover!

Well, actually, it's just a bathroom makeover but it is extremely messy, especially with all of the rain we had over the weekend! Greg got started early Saturday morning taking the existing door off the hinges along with the door frame and then when Paul arrived, they removed the old sink with the cabinet base and then Paul reinforced the wall for the new sink and cut the doorway wider to get ready for the new 36" inch door. Paul also had to move the light switch in the wall, and cut and lay some additional floor tile where the sink cabinet was before, so good thing he is a "jack of all trades!" He had to use the garage for all of the dirty work since the weather was so bad outside. When they finally called it a night, this is what the bathroom looked like!! Phase II will happen on Tuesday; Paul will come back and install the door jam and hang the new door, as well as grout the tile that he laid. Phase III, which will be the installation of the new ADA approved lavatory, will occur when it arrives at Klare Plumbing; they had to ship it from Austin.

While Greg & Paul were working hard on bathroom, Dad was busy entertaining all of his guests! Terri, Jennifer and Emily came in with Paul; Karen Bradford, with Klare Plumbing, and her son, Derek, came to visit, as well as Mom's brother, David. Of course, I was there, and Grandma too, so we had a houseful! Dad put on quite a show for everyone; he walked both along the kitchen counter and with his cane. Mom brought out the camera as everyone stood around cheering and rooting Dad on! Brady had a visitor too ... Molly, Emily's dog. They got along great; Brady didn't even mind her watching him eat because he knew she couldn't reach his bowl!!

Friday, March 13...Farewell Friday

Home Health Resources discharged Dad today from their care. All of the therapists agree that Dad is ready to go to out-patient therapy. So, starting on Monday, we will be heading to Katy Rehab Hospital three times a week for both physical and occupational therapy. Both Wendy and Cathy worked Dad hard today; there was no slacking around on his last day of therapy with them! Wendy continued to work with Dad on his pulley and they started the day with 1 lb. of weight helping him raise that right arm. He was doing so well, Wendy decided to see if he could raise his right arm over his head with no help from the pulley, so she used Mom's little wooden cross and told Dad to keep his "eye on the prize" and try to take that cross out of her hand. In the first try, he raised his arm and claimed his prize! Wendy was thrilled, so we had to do it again to capture the Kodak moment!! Cathy came after lunch and had Dad walk off his calories! He made 4 trips down the hall using the cane, and then she had him do his standing exercises at the sink, and then move to couch for his leg "kicks." He was pretty worn out after all of that, but not too tired to give Cathy a hug of thanks for helping him get moving again. We just can't say enough good things about Dad's therapy team and Home Health Resources. We will miss them and the loving care they provide ... and Brady will miss them too! Besides all of the extra attention he received from them, their blood pressure cuff fascinated him! He would hear them squeezing the bulb to inflate the cuff, and he just knew that there was a ball or toy there somewhere for him to play with ... Poor Brady never quite figured it out!