Two Month Mark

Today marks two months since Daddy had his stroke. He (along with the rest of the family) have come a long way since then. Here are a few things we've learned along the way:

1. If an ex-pastor, school teacher, and all around socialite has a stroke and is admitted into the hospital, expect a lot (A LOT) of visitors. 
2. If you want to set up a spaghetti buffet in the hallway of the hospital for 10+, good luck. The nurses will shut you down!
3. If you want to get Daddy in the claw foot bathtub, make sure 3+ people are present. One of them being a large male.
4. If a nurse tells your pregnant sister (#1) that she isn't going to let Daddy sit up in a chair, she won't take no for an answer. "If you don't put him in that chair, I will." 
5. DO NOT, under any circumstances leave your phone charger at the hospital. They WILL lose it. (We are 2/2 on this at 2 different hospitals.)
6. If you want to buy your dad a Father's Day TV, be sure to measure their existing cabinet first. And re-measure it after your sister does because she probably got it wrong. (Ahem #2.)
7. Don't change the temperature on the thermostat, even 1 degree, Daddy will notice.
8. When taking apple pie out of the oven, use both hands.

We had our fair share of victories in the last two months and are looking forward to many more successes to come. Daddy is in independent mode these days. He enjoys being able to walk around the house with his cane and doesn't want anyone to "hover" over him. Mom obliges; so far, so good! Daddy is also trying to get back into his old routine. After his therapy sessions yesterday, he directed his brother (who had driven him to therapy) straight to the summer program that grandson 3.1 attends. It's always been Daddy's job to pick him up. 

Daddy attends therapy twice a week at Jane Phillips in Bartlesville. The therapists send him home with homework so he has plenty to do on his days off. Daddy's speech continues to improve. Just last night I got a couple new words out of him. "I'm full" after dinner, and "alright, sleep" once he was ready for bed. Simple phrases mean so much and make communicating and understanding one another so much easier. 

Daddy has a check up echo cardiogram on Wednesday along with an appointment with a dietitian. Of course we are only expecting good results from the echo, and are hoping that Daddy has gained back a few pounds so the dietitian will recommend that his PEG tube be removed, finally!

We encourage phone calls, it's good practice for Daddy and he's more likely to find his words during informal conversation. Mom really likes to put him on the spot. For now, he is usually at home when not at therapy or doctors appointments so feel free to drop by if you're in the neighborhood. He's staying up a little later in the evenings and taking less naps during the day so you're more likely to catch him awake!

On behalf of my mom, sisters and myself, we cannot thank everyone enough for the prayers, support, and hours that people have given these last couple of months. Please keep it up, we are excited to see what improvement the next two months bring!

#3