Sylvia's Journal

All is looking well on the dishwasher front… my best friend Valerie Doyon (whose family owns Doyon’s TV and Home Appliances) and her father have offered to give us a great deal on a great dishwasher, which is unbelievably generous and grately appreciated, our only problem now is that we need a plumber to come install it for us (due to the fact that the old one is 14 yrs old and all the hook-ups are completely out dated). We are trying to find a plumber who can come install our new toy. If anyone knows any good plumbers (with reasonable rates) in this area, please let us know so that we can get this old one out of here and the new one set up.
Dad is doing well (very excited about the new dishwasher) and working his butt off in rehab. Today he is attacking the stairs (a full flight!), and he has been set loose in the halls of the 3rd floor to roam when he pleases. He’s also standing up and peeing by himself, putting his turtle shell brace on, washing himself, and zipping through the latest Harry Potter book.
Sita and I are trying to figure out sleeping arrangments for mom and dad upon dads arrival home (next week!), and mom has proven that she can move up and down the stairs on her bum with ease (although we’ll see how sore she is tomorrow from the intense physical exertion). But things are moving along and looking good.
My continued thanks to everyone for all of your love, support, cards, flowers, food, and gifts.
-tessa

An interesting night tonight after a good day full of great food and guests. Steve and I came home from a little lawn mowing gig in Manchester (thanks again Catherine!), ate some dinner, put mom to bed, installed a grab bar for her in the bathroom (she’s taking showers at home now), and were settling down for the night when I noticed a strange sound coming from the dishwasher, I looked at the ground and saw a little water, it was only a bit, so I threw some towels down and began preparing mom’s breakfast. I turned to the sink to toss a knife in, and stepped in water spewing from the angry dishwasher. I turned the dial off, but still water continued to rush forth, I then opened it up to see water pouring from the inside of the washer out onto the floor. I ran and grabbed steve who went downstairs to find a water shut-off after checking for one upstairs, bad news… the water was pouring down into the basement and there was water everywhere. I started seriously freaking out and woke up mom, which only freaked her out (bad approach on my part). I then ran next door to see if Ted or Charlie knew where the water shut off was. It was late, but thank goodness Charlie was up watching t.v. So Charlie woke up Ted, who came stumbling into the house, mom rolled out eyes wide with panic, and Steve amazingly got dad on the phone, and calmly and quickly performed all the actions dad instructed him to do from across the bridge in Salem. phew what a night. The water stopped and the dishwasher was cleaned out (somebody has been putting paper labels in the there), and things soon settled back down. Sita and Jim missed quite the Saturday night in Lobster Cove.
t.

Things are going really well, on Wednesday dad got his neck brace taken off, and he now only has to wear his back brace when he is sitting fully upright , and he is learning how to put it on himself. Sita and I bought him a pirate hat and hook to celebrate the good news… the pictures (which are amazing) should be up on her flickr account.
Thanks to all of Joe and Sita’s amazing organizational skills we are beginning to fall into a nice system, aided by the new nurses station that Sita set up in the foyer of the house.
Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about finding Steve a job, unfortunately though, after a long internal debate then longer external discussion, it has been decided that the amount of stuff that has to be taken care of in Canada is greater than the few things that can be taken care of down here. No one (including Steve) is very happy about this, but it makes the most sense given his situation. He will stick around for another week to help finish off some minor household projects that need to be completed and then take a bus back home.
Thank you again to everyone for all of your love, support, kindness and generosity, it truly touching, and greatly appreciated.
-tessa

Things are going really well. I just came back from Salem with Mom, we had a great visit with Dad and got to see him take some steps on his own (with the aid of a walker), then sit down into a wheelchair. It was quite a thrill to see it all happen, I took some pictures, but cannot post them until Sita returns, but they will be posted soon. It is great having Dad so much closer, and it is even greater to see the amazing progress he is making. Tomorrow is his 61st birthday. We have scheduled a few visits already but don’t want the day to get too hectic as he will be busy with physical therapy as well. However if you would like to call and wish him a happy day he has his cell phone by his side, the number in case you don’t have it is: 1(978)902-0824. He is in great spirits and feeling good about his major accomplishments today. Things are looking up!

Today was another great day with dad. He started off his day with an MRI at 2am that apparently went really well (he again slept soundly up until that point). He was not freaked out or anxious or uncomfortable which is great. then in the early morning hours he was told he would be going down for surgery soon, but he was told quickly after that, that he had been bumped to second place as there was an emergency with a child who needed surgery. he was totally fine with this and was quickly occupied by the psych team who spent a good amount of time interviewing him and talking to him about his experiences in the hospital and his meds. dad seemed very happy about this, asking lots of questions and giving some great axel answers. it was quite interesting and entertaining to listen in. around 12 we were brought down to the OR for his surgery (the metal pin put into his humorous to help set the bone), by 1pm he was wheeled into the anesthesiologist, and i think around 2pm they began the surgery. at 4pm he was in post-op recovery and at 5pm steve and i got a phonecall in his room saying he was asking if we were around and that he would be up in an hour. 3 hours after that he finally rolled back into his ‘own private nook’ (tubes back in but only temporarily) in great spirits and looking good. his arm is in a sling but looks quite a bit more comfortable than before. So he’s in good spirits, one giant step closer to getting home (discussion about post-hospital arrangements and his MRI first, and some issues to straighten out with his vision still, then onto the active rehab fun). so things are feeling good and moving along (his scar on his forehead is really healing amazingly). oh yeah and sita told me to say that mom got a tour of two showering facilities one on either side of our house at Jackie Hoopers and at the Kneisel household as well, which is quite exciting.

What a great day with Dad!!! things to be straightened out with the meds and he is doing well. His surgery is back on for tomorrow sometime in the morning (he asks that everyone hold him in the light) which is great. He unfortunately has to have an MRI at 2:00 am which he is not looking forward to (his first MRI was not a fun experience due to some crazy hallucinations), but seems to be much less freaked out about it than he was when he heard the idea yesterday. He was busy all day… occupational therapy for his hand, a great visit with Gary, a long visit with mom and Sita, 2 chapters in the new Harry Potter, more smoothies, and a bunch of great phone calls as well that really made him incredibly happy.

Thanks to everyone for all the Love and support, Dad was getting weepy (but joyful and grateful weepy) for all of the Love that has been surrounding him. He says he feels it all, and would not be doing well if he didn’t know he had so many people rooting for him.

Dad had a tough day at the hospital (starting early early in the morning). His surgery was postponed (as mom already wrote) until he has another MRI and the neurological team figures out some medication and/or injury issues. Sita, Steve and I were there today (Sita drove out because I was having a tough time seeing dad so uncomfortable and confused). He had visits from the neurological and psychology crews, and later on in the day Steve went with him down to get a CT scan. By afternoon he woke up from an intense and restless sleep, we began to sort out some things with him and talk some of his wild and crazy dreams, he now understands they were not real, but is trying to sort out why and how they felt so real. We managed to keep him awake and hopefully entertained by eating some more smoothies (I tried to make some Gazpacho with the Magic Bullet blender today but definitely need to tweak the recipe), watched some tv and just talked. He was back to his regular condition (talking, joking around and just being Axel) by around 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon which was a huge relief.

Some awesome news today that dad was very excited about… he’s now officially a hospital pirate, he got an eyepatch today that is pretty cool (to help with some double vision problems…ooh that double vision).

Please keep holding dad in the light, especially at nights (his ‘witching hour’ as he calls it is from 12pm-6 or 7am, when he wakes up disoriented and confused and I think sometimes half in dreamland and half in reality). He was snoring soundly when i left (thank goodness he still doesn’t have a roommate), and looked to be actually resting.

I’m sure there is more I missed… it was a tough day but things seem to be back on track, hopefully the night is going smoothly (he’s got an awesome team looking after him tonight).

signing off for tonight
-tessa

From Tessa last night, who has been camped out at the hospital…
‘Dad was doing well today… he had another difficult night last night but we think we may have straightened out his difficulties by eliminating some unnecessary medication, so hopefully he sleeps well tonight. His surgery has been moved to 11:30 am tomorrow (it was originally 7:30) which he is not too happy about as he is anxious to get the surgery done with (one step closer to getting home). He is doing well though, eating lots of fresh fruit smoothies, drinking plenty of liquids, and using his ‘thunder box’ as he calls it (the bed pan). He has more movement in his thumb today but seems to have back tracked a bit on the finger movement, but he’s working hard and doing well. He talked on the phone a bunch today which was tough work but really seemed to help boost morale. His room phone is working (Steve switched the broken one today), but he probably won’t be in his room until late in the afternoon tomorrow and will need to rest from the surgery. Things are looking good though, it was much easier saying goodnight than yesterday. Steve and I are staying in a hotel down the street (originally to be there early for his surgery, but since that changed we just stayed with him until he was passed out around 11:45 (we watched the Bourne Supremacy and Ocean’s 11, he’s following story lines and doing well). Things are looking good, the love and prayers are really helping in his recovery, so keep ’em coming!!!’
– Tessa

I will begin tonight’s entry by apologizing to everyone for this unexciting entry. Sita has been doing a phenomenal job keeping everyone updated with her humorous and touching writing. I however, am exhausted (recovering from the cross country voyage) and still absorbing all of the facts, so I will make this short and simple.

When I first arrived in the morning I set dad up with a Poirot DVD which he watched with Jim and really seemed to enjoy. I also gave him a milkshake that our incredibly kind neighbors the Hinds’ (Thank You Debbie!!!) set me us with. The smile on his face was priceless… he loved the taste and was so excited to not be eating his purée hospital diet. Tomorrow I will bring some fresh fruit to mix up for him in a smoothie, and maybe some Gazpacho too. He had a tough night last night, emotionally he is really struggling, but today he seemed to have balanced out. He is aware of what has happened and is trying to come to terms with it all. He said today that he understands the position he is in, he does not want to be in it, but he knows now that all he can do is get better. This was good to hear. Also today he had a couple of other triumphs. He sat up on his own (only for a few seconds after he was lifted up) but on his own none the less. He was very happy with this and I think felt finally like there was progress to be made and he could do it. Also he is able to touch his index finger to his thumb on his left hand (the one with the radial nerve damage), which is a huge improvement from yesterday. He can wiggle his fingers and move them up and down (which he also could not do yesterday). He still cannot bend his thumb up and down (down a little but not up), but he is getting better every day. The therapist said that usually movement comes back from the fingers first and moves its way down so eventually he will be able to move his wrist up and down again… so he’s on his way and is getting better fast. Also his catheter was removed today (something he was not too happy about because now he has to pee into a weird water bottle type thingy), but still he’s making progress and on his way. The last of the sutures were taken out from his head and most of the staples are out.. the rest should come out tomorrow.
Mom got the staples taken out of her stomach (i think it was 23 or 24 in total). I also washed mom’s hair this morning (a real wash non of that no-rinse stuff). She was very happy to have actually clean hair. She is now home and sleeping comfortably in the bedroom that Steve and Sita set up for her in her office, it is quite cozy and she has all of her necessary gear (walker, wheelchair, and the all-important commode). She had a tough time leaving dad in the hospital today, but she got to stand up next to him and give him a shower of kisses. The ride home went pretty smoothly and the people at CVS got her pain killer RX as quickly as possible.

So thats the major stuff for today. Again I apologize for the quick unexciting prose, but alas, I’m pooped and promised dad I would be in the hospital to see him as early as possible (it was one of the most difficult things i’ve experience telling him that mom was going home but he had to stay, he looked hurt and sad and pretty upset) needless to say it was tough saying goodbye, Jim offered to hang out with him but he told him to go home and do what he needed to do. Dad continues, despite his condition to be constantly worrying about everyone else and making sure that everyone is ok and taking care of themselves.

Thank you a million times over to everyone, your love and support is so greatly appreciated and is surely helping with their recoveries.

Sita posted all of today’s photographs on her flickr site which you can reach under the ‘links’ link above.

-Tessa