October 7 #2

Well, Mom continues to astound me. Or rather, God continues to astound me with how He is working in Mom. Today I heard her clearly say, "Good morning!" to the physical therapist, accompanied of course by her trademark smile. Sounds turned into single words, and single words are rapidly being replaced by short phrases. Later Cal Hayes stopped in (Thanks, Cal!) and asked Mom how she was doing, and she responded with, "I'm good, thank you!" So far more complex thoughts are a little too much for her--a couple of times she tried expressing herself to different people, and just couldn't seem to get the words out. Both times she sighed, shrugged a little, and said, "Anyway..." I know it's frustrating for her not to be able to communicate the way she wants to, but at the rate she's progressing, I don't think that day is too far into the future.

They took Mom on her first wheelchair ride this morning, which she seemed to enjoy. She went down to the "gym," or the rehab/physical therapy room. There she actually pulled herself to a standing position, holding onto the walking bars, and stood for about 20 seconds! Of course the physical therapist was holding onto her, but Mom was supporting her own weight with her legs and arms. WOW!! A second attempt a few minutes later didn't quite turn out so well; Mom was all tired out by that time. She couldn't quite make it to her feet. But she tried!

The nurse who is the care coordinator for Mom informed me that she is sending a formal referral to the Central Maine Medical Center today for Mom. She told me that once the ball gets rolling towards moving a patient into a rehab facility, things tend to move quickly. So it may be only two or three more days before Mom leaves Darmouth Hitchcock Med. Ctr. here in Lebanon, NH. When Mom heard that, she gave one of her biggest smiles yet!

We have been able to order new glasses for Mom, as her old ones seem to have been destroyed or at least lost in the car accident. She seemed quite enthusiastic at the thought of being able to see properly again. She has been spending a large amount of time with her eyes closed, possibly because things look all blurry to her and it is disconcerting. Today, though, a lot was going on. Between different therapy sessions (physical, occupational, and speech) and visitors (Dad came down with his friend George Melvin, and as I mentioned Cal Hayes stopped in too), Mom spent the majority of the morning and early afternoon with her eyes open. I think it was good for her!

Mom can hold a cup now and sip out of it, both with and without a straw. She also chewed a bite of cookie--her first piece of solid food since the accident! The therapist said she was going to request that Mom be put on a soft diet--soups, pureed foods, and the like. She said that although Mom can handle the chewing mechanism, her attention span is still not back to normal and she is afraid that Mom might take a bite of something hard and then get distracted, and the food would become a choking hazard.

I can tell that Mom has lost some weight--how much, I have not asked yet. Her hands are looking much thinner than they were. I tell her this is NOT the approved way to lose weight! She just smiles.

Thanks so very much for your continued prayers for us all. It is neat to see God answering! We are so grateful to Him and to you.