One year later...

Susan is doing quite well. She is back on the bike, riding from her school to my work once or twice a week. On weekends she tries to ride with her father while I play the part of sag wagon. Afterwords we will go for breakfast to the River City Diner. Her life has be improved in so many ways after having the procedure done. I can not thank everyone enough for all the support and love they have shown to Susan and I during that tough time. We love you all!

Susan is back at work!

Susan is back at work, teaching first grade. She is back in her old classroom, and is doing well.

Update

Susan is doing better. She is now able to walk unaided, but if she over does it, she needs the crutches. Her muscles are still giving her issues, though it is improving.

It's been a while!

The recovery has been a slow process. The day to day routine doesn't change much. I make all Susan's meals, and she does PT twice a week. There have been a few setbacks with her knees acting up, and swollen ankles. I have to keep reminding Susan to take her time and to let me do things.
Susan is now on crutches, and can move around the house. She is still under movement restrictions, as well as fall risk. Doing something like taking a shower is a big ordeal, and is quite tiring for her. I have to do things that are below her knees for she can't reach. On the 29th, she is going to the doctor to be x-rayed to see how things are progressing.

Monday - resting at home

Susan is doing ok. She is using crutches to get around for it is easier than a walker. The only trouble is she says she can't carry anything. My retort is simple - thats why you have me!
She is still having trouble getting into and out of bed. I know she is looking forward to getting the staples on the right side out tomorrow.

Were home!

Friday afternoon we get moved up to the 5th floor. This is the Acute Rehab area. Last weekend when Susan was there she had an Occupational Therapy session for 30 minutes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is where they teach you how to do everyday things like get dressed. She also had a Physical Therapy session for and hour Saturday morning, another in the afternoon and one Sunday morning. So this was our expectation and the whole reason for us trying to get back up to the Rehab area. So, first thing Saturday morning the P.T gal stops by to do an evaluation. When Susan asks about when she would have P.T. that day, she is told that she may get a P.T. session that afternoon, and probably get a session on Sunday. This did not sit well with us. The whole reason we got on the 5th floor was to get intensive P.T. sessions so Susan would get stronger, and would be able to do things more on her own. Then the O.T. gal stops by for a chat and sees that Susan can already dress and take care of her hygiene needs. Seeing how she would be doing basically nothing for a couple of days, we didn't see the point of staying. Susan had had enough and was ready to come home, so we decided that it was time to get checked out. This was at 10:30am. By the time we finally left it was 2:30pm. But in the meantime Susan's cousins Michelle and Michael came by and helped us get ready to leave. Our many thanks goes to both Michelle and Michael for all the help they gave us.

Now to the trip home. We had Susan setup with the air mattress in the back of the van so she could lay down. Doesn't that sound like a nice idea? Unfortunately it was a lot trickier that it sounds. The air mattress has a felt top, so Susan stuck right to it. But once we put a blanket down we were able to SLOWLY lift her feet and skooch her in. Then it was a matter of getting her situated and comfortable. Finally, we leave the parking lot, make a quick stop a McDonald's and we are on are way for at least 30 minutes. Then we stop for gas. Well, as long as we were stopping, Susan decides this would be a good time to take a bathroom break. On a normal trip this would take maybe 5 minutes. For this occasion it took about 30. First we has to get her our of the back, then use the walker to get inside to the the bathroom. We had parked in a handicapped stop thinking this would make things easier, but it turned out that the bathroom was on the opposite side of the store from the handicap parking, so it was a very long way back and forth. Finally we managed to get back into the van and get on the road to Richmond. Susan soon falls asleep, so the next three hours are blissfully uneventful. We did make one last pit stop before home to get prescriptions filled and then we were finally home!

So, the big news is we are home!

Up on the 5th floor

We are now on the 5th floor Acute P.T. unit. We got the suite. It is bigger than the last place. The suite area is twice the size of the old one. Susan is getting a EKG done to check her heart. There was a issue with the CAT scan, and the doctor had Susan get a ultrasound of the thyroid area to check. It was a fluid cyst, so there is no need for alarm. The EKG was also just fine. She is scheduled for a PET (??) scan on Monday. I do not know how that scan works. More later...

-m

Doing OK.....

The test was fine. Susan's heart rate continues to drop. It is now in the low 90's, which is getting into the normal range. She is now in the P.T. gym working with Kate. Trish and Kate showed Susan how to get into bed by herself. Susan was able to do it using the leg lifter. I know Susan is happy about being able to do that. We are now waiting on Dr. Reinstein to clear Susan for the 5th floor.

Still downstairs on 3rd floor

Susan has a small setback and the doctor needed to run some test to see if everything is fine before she is moved to the 5th floor P.T. unit. Her heart rate is a little high for the last few days, and the thinking is it will come down soon. Due to the hematocrit level being low, the reasoning goes along the line of the heart was working faster to make up for the loss of oxygen in her blood stream. We should know by Friday morning the results of the testing. The last check of her heart rate was 104, which is better than the 120 it was running earlier. More info later...

-m

PT Gym

Susan got to go to the PT gym today, and is doing well. She is able to walk with a walker, and is now using the regular bathroom. more later...