Make Up

I am starting to realize all of the little things that I take for granted.  Things like—putting on my own make up!!

Last week I was over at Mom and Dad’s and we were talking about Sunday, and how the day was going to work.  Mom has a few friends who have been absolutely WONDERFUL to her.  They have worked out a schedule to make sure she gets to church every Sunday because Dad has meetings before hand.  The first couple of weeks I went over in the morning to help do her hair, get her make up on, and of course put nylons on because we don’t trust Dad to do that!!    Now since I wasn’t going to come over Sunday mornings anymore, we needed to work a few things out.  Like MAKE UP!! 

Mom was determined that she could do her own make up.  So, I got everything out and we did a trial run.  It was very interesting to watch.  Have you ever tried to open your mascara bottle with ONE HAND?  How about those little eye shadow containers?  Try it sometime…………

The first time through wasn’t bad.  I had to remind her to go all the way to the left, especially on her left eye, a few times.  It is amazing still to see the results of how her brain/eyes are working.  And make up application was a great example of that.

So Saturday night I set out all of her make up in reach at the table, a table mirror, and brushes.  And when she got to church she looked great (sorry no pictures for proof)!!  Way to go Mom!!

Wednesdays

We have all started to adjust to life “after Vallejo”.  Mom had a schedule with her in-home therapists pretty much very day of the week.  Some of them come in the afternoon, and some come in the evenings.  On Wednesday she comes to my (Sherrie’s) house.  This way she can get out of the house for awhile, and I can get a few things done at my house too.

Last Wednesday we made a batch of Banana Bars for my mutual activity that night.  Mom read the recipe to me (even though she could have probably done it from memory I made her read it to me—therapy moment!!), and I did the actual hands on stuff.  At one point she said, “I don’t remember there being any vinegar in this recipe.”  I said, “Scan left Mom.”  “Oh yeah, that says VANILLA,” she replied.

We’ll see what tomorrow holds!!

First week at Home

Sorry for the lack of posting. This first week at home has been a week of learning.

Learning for the family- how to care for mom's need with no help. Meeting new therapist that will now be coming to the house and learning what they want her to do. Figuring out schedules, Doctor appointments, and getting back into life for everyone involved.



We already posted that she went to church on Sunday, but on Saturday she also got out for a few minutes and went to Emma's soccer game. It was a but overwhelming, but good practice.



Mom has 3 different therapist who come to the house to work with her. A physical therapist, a speech therapist and a occupational therapist.



The physical therapist comes 3 times a week for about 45 minutes each time. They are working on gaining strength and walking. She told me the other day she had her standing at the end of her bed. She keeps saying she thinks this lady is trying to kill her. She has been really sore this week. They seem to be doing the same type of exercises she was doing in Vallejo, but more repetitions so it is making her a bit sore. When she told the therapist this in hopes she would ease up on her she was told NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!

Her speech therapist comes 2 times a week. The occupational therapist also comes 2 times a week.

She also had a check up with her new primary care doctor and was given the all clear for month.


Mom has also been trying to now feel her free time. She is use to being at the rehab center and having every minute of every day filled. Now she has down town and I think is getting a little bored. She still has trouble reading so can't enjoy her favorite past time, so this week she figured out how to dial the phone again(with her vision it takes some serious concentration) and now calls me daily with updates herself. It is nice to be able to chat again after 2 months of not talking.

This week she is going to be having a few friends come over to visit to also help with the down time.

Going to Church

Sherrie snapped this picture this morning on the way out the door to church. Mom was all dressed up for the first time, and she was ready to go. It was their ward conference today and she was NOT going to miss it.

The End of the Rehab Center

This post if just full of odds and ends about the Rehab Center. Sherrie finally had time to get everything off her camera and since we hope to put this into a book for Mom someday we had to go back and add all of these pictures.

This is Mom doing Wii bowling one day for Occupational therapy. Not only is this fun, it works on both her range of motion and also visual feedback. She has to follow through and see where her ball went and keep track of her score.

Here is mom making cookies with the Recreational Therapist. She found out that mom is a baker and enlisted her help to make cookies for the patient Valentines party. One day they made the dough, the next they cut out the cookies and then after they were baked she even helped frost them.

Here is Mom(red) playing Connect Four with Sherrie(black). Sherrie won the first few games until mom figured out that Sherrie was purposely putting her pieces on Moms bad side(left). Once she figured that out and remembered to look left it was game on!!

One day she got the treat of an ice rub down. They use the ice to help stimulate the muscles. They smaller muscles like the ankle that they are working with take the longest to come back so they like to keep them stimulated. Notice how nice her toes look? She got them done here in Arizona, before she went home. She has gotten so many comments on how nice her feet look we just had to include one picture of her feet.

 

Here is mom working with Gail and Elyse (another PT)  doing  facial exercises. 

With Gail they are in front of a mirror working on left recognition. She had her start at the top of her head and run her right hand all the way down her left side to her toes watching herself in the mirror. this is to help her make the mind body connection with the left side of her body.

With Elyse she is doing what is called Bulbar exercises. The Bulbar muscles are the one that are responsible for speech and swallowing. So they are working on strengthening these muscles.

 

Last but not least, this is the outdoor patio where Mom spent her break in between morning classes many times enjoying a few minutes of fresh air and sunshine.

Home Sweet Home

In anticipation of Mom coming home we had to make a few changes at the house to accommodate a wheelchair.

The biggest being a room downstairs for Mom. It still needs a few finishing touches, but we wanted Mom to have a say in that, so the finishing touches will be happening over the next week or so when she is home.

This room use to be Dad’s office.

Now his office is what use to be the dining room.

There is also now a wheelchair ramp in the garage.

Green Means GO!

Today Mom got her GREEN SHIRT. A green shirt means you are going home!!!



Today is mom's last full day at the Rehabilitation Center in Vallejo. Tomorrow she will be released. We still haven't heard what her outpatient therapy will entail yet, but we should know by the time they release her tomorrow.