An "All-Star" Day!

We had an "all-star" day today! We got dad ready and headed over to Martinsburg Little League complex with dad. We were able to drive him right up and Robby got him out and over to a tented area right by third base. He was a trooper - the game lasted almost 3 hours and dad stayed for it all. He really enjoyed being able to be out and see old friends and cheer on one of his grandsons. My dad gave our son Brady the nickname "BB" back before his stroke. So it was such a pleasure to sit there and here my dad yelling for "BB". Those are things you miss - things that you took for granted before. Now I enjoy every thing my dad is able to be a part of - because I am more appreciative of his presence in our lives now more than ever! Brady's team won so we will have another game at 1pm tomorrow. . . right after church, so dad is hoping he feels up to stopping by for a bit of that game too! After dad got home, we got him all settled in for the evening and he took a nap. It's so nice to be able to take him with us places now! Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend! Blessings!

Blessed on the 4th

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.”- Psalm 33:12

What an awesome July 4th we had with dad! As we celebrated our freedom - we felt blessed in so many ways. . . blessed to live in a free country and blessed to be alive. Our way of life has certainly changed over the past eight months, but what a blessing it is to still have our dad still alive able to still be a part of our lives.

Most of mom's family gathered over at my mom's brother's house for the annual "Sowers" get together. Most everyone from mom's family was there. . .and dad really enjoyed the day visiting and cracking jokes with everyone. ABOVE LEFT Dad is hanging out with my oldest brother Dave (at right with the shades on his head) and at left behind him is my other brother Timmy, and on dad's lap is his great-grandson Barham (we call him Bear). In the picture RIGHT ABOVE, dad is enjoying some time with mom's younger sister Patty and her daughter Shelly. As you can see dad was all smiles. . . being with your family is good medicine. Dad also really enjoyed talking to my cousin Nate Sowers about the upcoming WVU football season. . . my boys were happy to get an "insider's report" on what we might expect this fall season. Dad spent the afternoon watching the kids swim, eating lots of yummy food and catching up on life with everyone! We were able to stay from about 12 noon til 3:30 and then dad got tired and it started to rain so we headed home. Needless to say, he took a long nap! Tomorrow we are going to head to the baseball field if the game doesn't get rained out. We know we'll see tons of local folks he hasn't gotten to see in so long, but we are also gonna have our eyes out for any folks from Pendleton County who we will be playing. . . dad had a route over there and has a bunch of friends out that way so we are wondering if any have 9/10 year old all-stars who are traveling might be friends of dads? We'll let you all know!

Thanks for taking time to check in - have a safe and blessed July 4th weekend! (P.S. Dick Harmison. . .if you are still reading this blog.. . give my dad a call at 304.263.5843. . . my uncle Tommy was telling him about you visiting him at Winchester Rehab and his memory is not good from that time during his stroke recovery period. . .He would love to hear from you!)

Great Day of Therapy!

Dad had his first day of Physical Therapy at the Wellness Center Rehab facility on the WVUH-East campus today. It went great. I saw them help him stand to his feet up at the parallel bars and work on his balance of standing there. Having been out of this kind of therapy for a month, he was a bit shaky but he enjoyed every minute of being on his feet again. He asked me afterward when is his next appointment cause he really likes working out like this. He was a bit nervous going there - unsure of what these therapists would be like or what they would work with him on. . . but now the mystery is solved and he feels relieved and excited about the future of working out there among people he knows. Again, we saw all kinds of folks we know and grew up with - one of his old friends was there having therapy too. It's really a great place for him to be. I feel good about use being there. We went back and had lunch together at their house. Now he is looking forward to the picnic tomorrow at Uncle Tommy & Aunt Becky Sowers house. . . hopefully he will have a good day and be able to stay in his chair a long time and enjoy his family. Then Saturday we are taking him to a baseball game at the Little League field and then Sunday we'll be off to church - so we have 3 full days ahead of us and then therapy again on Monday! Looking forward to a great weekend - happy 4th of July to you all! (P.S. Mom & Dad will be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary Saturday, July 12th - if you get a chance, send them a card this week!)

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!!!!