It's a new day!

We had a great weekend and great start to the week! It's a new day for dad in his journey. . . and it feels really good. Over the weekend, dad enjoyed getting out for church and then a picnic dinner at my sisters later in the day. We were able to swing by after all-star practice to let the kids swim and visit him before they headed home from there.

Today we went to the Dorothy McCormick Center to get registered for and get evaluated for Outpatient Rehabilitation for dad. It was great. He is going to be seeing a PT who I grew up with and whom my mom used to babysit when were kids. His mother was one of my mom's best friends. What a small world. Dad had a good evaluation and we begin the real work on Thursday. Then they will begin him on a program of 3 days a week (M-W-F) starting next week and they are also going to try to add occupational therapy, in addition to his physical therapy - so that way they can concentrate on his left arm. Not only is this going to be great physical therapy for him, but man, what great social therapy for him too! We were there from about 1:15 to 2:30 and he saw no less than 15 people who knew him and stopped to talk to him and encourage him. I have always loved that about my dad- no matter where we go, someone always knows him and most of the time its more than half the people in the joint! That's just the coolest thing.

We decided to forgo the heart doctor appointment for dad on Thursday so that we can begin physical therapy that day- it was just a checkup and they are able to get us in next month. Mom's heart doctors appointment was also changed to later in the month, so we now can just look forward to therapy on Thursday, July 4th picnic Friday and All Star game on Saturday.

Dad's new private Aide will start tomorrow - she will be providing a full bath to dad two to three times a week and we just "bird - bathe" him in between. This really helps mom, because she is doing all of the other "hygiene" care. We'll post again after his first day of therapy and let you know how it goes. . . God Bless you ALL!

Discharged from Homebound!

We are getting discharged from Homebound Status today with Panhandle Home Health! Yippee! That means FREEDOM! We are excited to be able to come & go when dad feels like it! We are getting this safety locking system for his wheelchair in the van put in this afternoon in the "nick" of time! Then we were able to get his Physical Therapy evaluation setup for Monday afternoon at the Wellness Center Rehab facility - so God is just working things out (we just have to pray that dad's doctor will get the physician order to us by 1:30pm Monday so we can be seen). . .ugh I hate all that paper work we have to go thru!

So we are looking forward to the future and all it holds - next week will be busy! We have the Wellness Center appointment Monday, Mom goes to the doctors Wednesday for her final xray of her chest/heart. . . Dad goes to his heart doctor Thursday for a checkup for his A-fib condition and Friday it's the 4th of July and we are going to a family picnic at my Uncle Tommy Sowers house. Not to mention the boys are in the middle of all-stars and now dad can go see the games! Yipee! We are on the road again - thank you God!

Thanks to everyone who has been stopping by to visit with mom & dad - they have enjoyed everyone's company so much this week!

Great Weekend & great start to the week!

We had a very good weekend, seemed to go by fast. Dad was worn out on Saturday because he had such an active day on Friday. He rested most of the day Saturday. Sunday he enjoyed his weekly greeting post at the front door at church and as you can tell from this picture - he is surrounded by those who love him so dearly - the kids! This day is the one he looks forward to most through out the week. . . seeing his friends, worshiping God and being encouraged by the Word of God. It's always an uplifting day for dad. He is still on the "homebound" status, but we are working changing that when we get the outpatient therapy lined up and a private aide lined up to help with his bathing. We are looking forward to soon being able to take dad where-ever we want, whenever we want. He gets outside most every day now and enjoys watching the traffic go by. . . if you are in the neighborhood - be sure to look their way and stop by if you can to say hello! They love that! We are doing well overall. We are getting ready to celebrate a huge milestone for mom & dad. . . their 50th wedding anniversary is coming up July 12th! Pam and I are taking the van to Frederick Friday to have a "safety system" installed in it so that we can really keep dad more secured in the vehicle. . . the current situation is okay-but not good enough. We are still trying to make some head way on the bathroom. . . hoping to get that project started soon cause it will really help with dad's hygiene. We hope to see you all soon!

Getting Ready for Change & Moving Forward!

I just left mom & dad's after getting dad in his chair to enjoy the beautiful weather we are having today and we have determined that is is time for some change. . .on to bigger and better things! Dad is continuing to do excellent in his home care setting, however, he is "starving" for activity beyond what they can provide him thru in-home physical therapy. With that in mind, his home health nurse is planning to meet with his care team and determine when they can discharge him from home-bound status to outpatient status. When that happens, we lose all the in-home services, but at this point, all we will need to put into place is an aide maybe 3 times a week to help bathe him and then we can take him to the McCormick Center for his regular blood work. He will enjoy that! So we are hoping that when we make "the break" from homebound status - that he can begin a new therapy program nearby at the Wellness Center that will pick up where they left off at Heartland and we can move toward our ultimate goal for dad - which is to walk again one day. The dream and desire is still well alive in his heart and we will do anything to see that it happens or that we have tried every measure available. Never stop believin'! His home health nurse said today that we are doing a very good job of caring for dad and he is very fortunate to have the support of a family like ours to help him live such a good quality of life. Nothing but the best for our Shug!

Dad's spirits have been good, except when he thinks about some of the things he has been missing out on this past month. . . he was unable to attend the graduation ceremony and party for one of his grandchildren - he has never missed one before. It makes him break down in tears every time he thinks about missing my brother Tommy's daughter Kristin's high school graduation and family celebration afterward. So we are now trying to get his focus on is being excited about getting to go to our July 4th family picnic at my Aunt Becky & Uncle Tom's house. . . seeing all mom's family - it's always such an awesome time together. And we are thinking of trying to get him to some of the All-star games of his grandchildren. . . so now we have some things to look forward to.

Last night on the local news, he saw a news story about this new technology being tested in Washington County Hospital for stroke patients who are left with partial paralysis - and how it is helping them to walk again - of course he wants to see if he is a candidate for that type of technology cause the man just wants to walk again! Be in prayer with us for these goals of dad's- we truly believe it is a miracle that he is even alive, but we know that his best days are still ahead! We love you all! Stop in and see the folks - they love company!!!!

Week Three- here we go!

We had a great Fathers Day weekend. . . dad and mom got out to church and then we enjoyed a quiet day at home with lots of family visiting. Dad is doing well. . . he saw his doctor again yesterday and they feel he is doing very well. They made some medication adjustments but overall, we doing well with dad at home. His doctor feels like last week's trip to the ER was a result of Vertigo not the blood INR issue, but were are fixing that INR issue. Mom started her Cardiac Rehab yesterday and will be doing that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a couple of months now. She did really well the first time.

Dad has been a little sad the past few days. . . he was a huge fan of Tim Russert and since he has been watching all the coverage of his sudden death - it has really made dad very emotional. I also think that dad is really missing his regular therapy and at times feels a burden to our family for all we do to care for him. Being home in his own environment has made it more visible to dad of his old life and how much he can not do right now. We're working thru it with him to encourage and reinforce him.

Please stop by and see mom & dad if you can - they really do enjoy having company now. Please feel free to stop in!

Rounding out week 2 at home

Well as we approach the completion of the second week at home - things seem to be running smoothly. Right now I am sitting here watching my dad sleep - it's about 12:45 and he is actually snoring! ha ha. . . He had a busy morning - his aide came and bathed him and got him in his chair. . . then his nurse came and checked him over. . . they had to call in another person to draw his blood again because they couldn't get it the first time. . . he got worn out from all that and they ended up putting him back in bed and he is now sound asleep. He will get a visit from Brent - his occupational therapist at 3pm today. I know he is looking forward to that! Mom's plugging away, back to doing all her favorite things again. She got out her sewing stuff and crocheting stuff the other day -it's nice to see her feeling well enough to want to do the things she loves. Looking forward to a great weekend. . . heading out to church on Sunday and celebrating Father's Day with our awesome dad! Thank you God that we have the honor and privilege of celebrating this holiday with our dad this Sunday. . . there were moments in the past 8 months when it looked as if we may not be blessed to have him with us. . . but one things for sure - your plan for dad is not complete on this earth yet. . .there are still people to meet & influence. Thank God for that!

Things Are Good

Things have been quiet since our ER trip on Tuesday. Dad is doing much better - and we are back to our normal schedule. He even got a hair cut from Pam on Wednesday night. We are really hoping to get him transitioned to outpatient therapy soon - he is really missing that activity and exercise. Not much really to pass on at this time, just an invitation to all who used to visit at Heartland - you are more than welcome to visit dad at home now. He would love to see any of you since he cant really get out much right now. Thanks for checking and for keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers!