Brain Recovery

Been home from the hospital for two weeks now.

This morning virtually all the kids left for a marvelous family reunion.  It's just Gary and me at home.  Doctors said I couldn't make the trip.  My body confirms the fact that I am grounded.  Bummers.


However, ...

Yesterday my physical therapist lifted my restriction of needing 24-hour supervision.
And she told me that, most of the time, I should not be using the walker.
And she told me I could use the stairs.  (I saw the basement today for the first time post-crash.  It was still there, and thanks to Maggie's hard work, the laundry was done.)

Hair has grown to maybe a half-inch.  I still think I'm bald, but Gary thinks he's the one who's actually bald.

I'm off all the narcotics.  Boy, withdrawal is nasty.  I guess I can see why people might want to keep taking the medicine when they don't need it ... if it relieves the withdrawal symptoms.  But to dive into taking these pills for "fun"??  [shudder]

I finally approached the stove.  I cooked a fried egg yesterday and heated some soup today.  Nothing exploded or caught fire.  But for the most part, dear friends and church-members are preparing most of our meals.

Maggie and I planted two tomatoes in the raised bed I had prepped the day before my crash.  Because of the prior physical labor, it wasn't hard to get some tomato plants in the dirt, especially with Mag's help.  And, oh!!, the wondiferous smell of tomato leaves!  Also, the strawberries have just begun to turn red.  Alia ate the first one yesterday and highly approved.  Gary picked four today.  Mmmmm.

I'm yearning for a bottle of kombucha or a beer.  And it's four whole weeks more until I see the neurologist and can even ask about moving in that direction.

Wedding Registry

This may be tacky, but here we go ...

Because people have asked about Andrew & Olivia's wedding registry, I'm announcing that they are registered at Kohl's and at Target. 

However, those are ideas, suggestions.  If you see something on one of those lists, and can find a better deal, or have a nice hand-me-down, or would prefer to give something similar but not what's on the registry, please do not be confined to The List. 

Personally, I often stick to what's listed on a registry because I know the purchase will knock that item off the list, making it less likely for the couple to receive duplicates.  So here's my suggestion:  If you find something on clearance at Bed, Bath and Beyond, or if you find something at Walmart for half-price, or if you're sewing hand-made kitchen towels, let me know.  I will tell Olivia and Andrew to adjust their registry, taking the item off their wish-list. 

End of advertisement.

Brain Surgery

Two weeks in ICU.  A few more days in the regular part of the hospital.  And some time at home trying to recuperate and get back to quasi-functional.

Brain aneurysm decided to bleed.  I'm still trying to piece together the stories I heard.  Ambulance trip to the local hospital.  Transferred to the big teaching hospital. 

Everybody was there with me for Mother's Day.  That's pretty cool.

Pastors who come to visit in the hospital are wonderful.  Especially when they talk like pastors, and pray psalms and sing hymns and bring God's word to bear on the situation!

Thank God for a resident who went home one night and studied and read and studied some more.  She figured out the weirdo side effect I was experiencing and helped figure out the root causes of the debilitating, excruciating pain.  Not that the pain is gone yet, but it's certainly improving.

Head is shaved.  Didn't know what else to do with the bald patch from the surgery.  Everybody tells me it's growing so fast.  Alia and I still think it looks like boy-hair.

Spent today catching up on paying bills and then sorting through other paperwork.  In those piles, I found oh-so-many cards and notes from loved ones.  Presumably I saw all of these earlier, but many of them were completely new to me.  (There was a lot of stuff people told me during the hospital stay that is completely lost.)  It was heart-warming to read through all those messages, cards, and notes this afternoon!

Still puzzling about my job.  They're willing to hold my spot open.  But I don't know how long it will be before I'm capable, and I keep wondering if it would be better to tell them to replace me and then rehire me at some unspecified time "later."  Then there's also the problem of how long it will be before I'm allowed to drive again.  It's hard to have a job when you can't get yourself there. 

Still pondering how to respond to those who tell me I was so lucky that the collapse happened when I was in a place to be caught immediately, about a block from the fire station (where the ambulances live).  I don't think that going to be with Jesus would've been that bad a thing.  However, if it had happened to Gary or the kids, I'd certainly be thankful if they had pulled through a normally-fatal medical emergency.

Overwhelmed by the dinners brought to us, the flowers, the cheery balloons, the cards. The assistance with mowing the yard.  The garden-tending.  The housecleaning. 

Going back to church is the best!

Tomorrow I begin outpatient therapy.

Probably more to tell.  But I had no nap today, and thus it's bedtime.