Lovely Rita The Rehabber, Alice the “T” and PT Patty

 

 

Ok- Where’s Alda?…(not to be confused with Where’s Waldo)-

Where’s Wally YOUTUBE video link below.  Click & find your inner groove.

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So Alda had to set up her own tray for breakfast and negotiated the items well. She had to cut her french toast, and clearly found that hard to do with one hand. Pulling off the syrup cover with her teeth proved just as hard. OT will work with her on strategies to help with these tactics.

 

The therapist asked her to take a sip of juice after every couple of bites. She would eat two bites then get ready to take another one, but then slowly put her fork down and take a sip of juice. She did that consistently. She has to really think about what she is doing, but she is getting better with her memory. Her therapist old her that and my Mom seemed pleased to hear that news. In the middle of eating, the fast counting began. The doctor, who had come in, asked if she was anxious. She said that she wasn’t, so he asked why she was counting, and she said that she was frustrated.

 

The speech therapist put in the Frank Sinatra cd and they sang to the music. That seemed to be calming for her. The therapist had her try to stay with the pace of the music as well. This is a good strategy to use going forward too. (Watch out American Idol- Here comes Alda!)

 

She is being weaned off her feeding tube and hopefully will be off it all together soon as she is doing really well eating most of her meals.

 

In PT today, she walked 36 feet with the help of the PT moving her right leg. Way to go Mom!!!! (Grace, is the song “Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you’ll be walking out the door….” On Youtube?)

 

The big doings of the day was the news that there will be a “garage sale” of items in the cafeteria on Friday. Patients are told to bring in 5 items they don’t use or need any more for the sale. This leads me to the following question” If these people are inpatient, how are they bringing in items?”- Maybe the outpatients are the real soldiers behind this operation. Lynel and I fear that our Aunt, who is a garage sale addict, may start rolling rehabbers out of the way to get to the goods first. NO EARLYBIRDS MARY!!

 

Later, Lynel and I met up and went on with our rehab rounds. We went to two facilities and got a flash into our futures. I personally think that I would be the lady making the huge flowers in the rec room with colored tissue paper, and Lynel will be the one in the dining room trying to steal sugar packets off the tables…. I digress…. We liked one of the facilities, but the other one caused us much anxiety. (I almost had to dip into Lynel’s pill stash). I referred to the lower level of the facility, (the basement, really) where the rehab section was, as “the bunker”. It was understood as we were going through our tour that we had absolutely no interest in using this facility- Lynel said she knew what I was thinking when I didn’t even take out my pen (as she and I have been like the OSHA reviewers walking the hallways jotting down notes on our pre-printed question sheet) – She commended me on saving the ink. The clincher of the visit was when the PT parade came down the hall. We moved out of the way to see Rita the Rehabber with her tennis ball walker lead the group, Alice the amputee in tow, Patty the PT (who looked like a rehabber herself), and then Dorris with her two small dogs (I kid you not), bringing it up the rear. We thanked our guide and tried to get out but couldn’t. You had to punch in a code of 223 to unlock the door, and in her haste, Lynel punched an extra number. After a few tries the maintenance man let us out. On the sidewalk, we decided that “223”  was now our new code for “Abort Mission”.

 

We have one more viewing session tomorrow and then will give the rehab out top choices. They will coordinate it from there.

 

My Mom told her therapists today that she only wants family to visit for now. So I hope nobody is offended, but therapy feels that being over stimulated may also be part of her anxiety issues right now- So since my Mom will be transferred next week, we’ll just keep it to a minimum and then re-evaluate when she is in her new rehab. Thanks for understanding.

 

So Go, Alda, Go! Eat your food, walk the line, you’ll be out of rehab in no time!!!!

One Foot In Front Of The Other YOUTUBE

Click link provided!  Today’s Pearls of Wisdom From The Chairman of Entertainment-Find your Inner Child!

 

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 Where’s Wally YOUTUBE    The Pearl of Wisdom Here is Find Your Inner Groove!

 

 

May 14, 2008 Getting Ready To JUMP

 

Week six of the stroke life…..When I got to the rehab, my Mom was finishing her PT. She was wearing one of the shirts that I gave her for Mother’s Day, and I said that she looked nice in her “old lady clothes”. She looked at me and said “you talked with one of my doctors yesterday?”. (Nothing like Big Brother watching! Even in her impaired state, she is in tune!)- I told her that I did- that I wanted to make sure that her meds were being effective- That when I was in two days ago, she told me that she was anxious, so I listened to her concern- and wanted to make sure that it was addressed. She was ok with that. I said “How did you know? Did the doctor tell you?”- She said “yes”. No such thing as Doctor/Patient’s child confidentiality!

 

She was brought back to her room and saw that there was an hour in her schedule which was slotted for “rest” . They got her into bed, and when the nurse left, I closed the door to minimize any distractions. I sat by her bed and held her hand and talked. I spoke slowly and talked about things related to my kids etc. Not much focus on her stuff- until I had to mention the next stop on the stroke tour. So I told her that she was doing so well that she was going to get thrown out of the rehab soon- She said “I have to be here for 2 more months”- I told her that she was scheduled to be there for about another week- That since she will still need more rehab, we are looking at places like Woodbriar for her to go to next. I was waiting for her to pull a One Flew Over the Cooko’s nest impression, but luckily for me, she didn’t do it. She was kind of ok with it- Certainly not jumping for joy, but also not giving me “the look”. I told her that there may be people in this week to talk with her from the various facilities- I told her which ones Lynel and I were looking at and having tours at. Then we started talking about a nurse that she used to work with who is at Woodbriar…she could recall the name of the nurse’s son, where she lived etc. It seems as though her long term memory is working fairly well.

 

I asked her if listening to a cd helped her feel more relaxed and she said that it did. I told her that I would speak with the nurses about having a cd on for her, especially at night. Then we talked about Frank Sinatra and the song “I get a kick out of you”. She actually sang a few of the lines quietly. I asked her what his nickname was, and she said “Chairman of the Board”. Then I said “Oh yeah, I forgot about that one- what is another one?”- She said “Rat Pack”. I said “I am thinking of one that starts with Old”- and she said ”Old Blue Eyes”- So if you need a Sinatra trivia partner, Alda’s your woman!

 

I was talking about my plans to go back to work part time, and she said “How can you work if I am still here?”- I told her that I would work around her- that I would only be working part time, so I’ll figure it out. I told her that she was my part time job now- and that my kids were the other part time job…How come none of these come with a paycheck, though??? I told her that her kids are always available 24 hours a day- That I bring my phone to bed with me so that if I get a call from the rehab in the middle of the night, I can get it. She said “will you still be available during the summer?”. I told her that won’t change just because the sun is shining.

 

The funniest thing that happened was one that would have had Lynel Calling a “Man Down”. Some random woman poked her head in and said “Did you fill that out yet?”- I had no clue what she was talking about, and said “fill what out?”- She said “the menu”. (For the record, I was never requested to perform the aforementioned task)- So looking at the clock, which read 12:25, and knowing that my kids get out of school at 12:45, I said “I’ll do it now”. I got up from the bedside, took off my glove, threw it away, got a pen out of my bag, put on a new glove and sat down just to be told “You are making me anxious”. I said “I’m sorry Mom, what is making you anxious?”- She said “Your movements”. I told her that I was seated for now- and started giving her the options of the Soft Food Buffet. We did well for a little while – hit a bump at cream of wheat where I thought I got an affirmative, but then realized through her look and tone, that Cream of Wheat is foe, not friend.-  We got to the drink selection and Rain Man started saying Coffee, Tea, Milk, Coffee, Tea, Milk, Coffee, Tea, Milk….So I was unsure if she wanted one two or three of those choices. So I said “Do you want coffee?”- She said “No coffee, no coffee, no coffee…..”- So I said “Tea?” To which she replied “No tea, no tea, no tea…..No milk, no milk, no milk”. So I said “Mom, I am confused. Are you sure you don’t want coffee?”- She looked at me with the “my head is going to spin around in a minute look”, and in an irritated tone and through gritted teeth said “no coffee, no coffee, no coffee, no coffee, no coffee, no coffee, no coffee……”.That was just the last straw. I started laughing hysterically and said “Ok, I get it “no coffee, no coffee, no coffee, no coffee, no coffee……” My Mom just started laughing so hard. The two of us were in hysterics and I said “Geez lady, this isn’t my *&%()& job! Cut me some slack!!!”- To which she laughed even harder.  When the speech therapist came in to serve her lunch, I happily handed over the form to her and told her to have a ball with that assignment! I told her what had transpired and how we were cracking up at it and she said that is wonderful that my Mom is in a place (at least for the moment), that she can laugh at her challenges. (For the record, that incident would have required at least 2 pills for Lynel)

 

The speech therapist said that my Mom thinks the coffee at the rehab is terrible- so we can bring her in some decaf Dunkin Donuts at any time. (Decaf with a little bit of Kaluah, is what I am thinking!)

 

So we plod along…Alda leading the charge and her dutiful servants behind her…..

 

XO

M

 

 Therepeudic tune of the day:  JUMP   by Madonna

 

Click on provide link below: 

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May 13, 2008 Strokes Suck

Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:56 PM

Subject: Alda’s day Tuesday 5-13

I just want to start this by saying what I said at the end of stroke school tonight. “Strokes Suck”. There. I feel a little better.

 

So today my Mom was still having her episodes of anxiousness. They are trying to get the right combination of sleep and medication in order to make her feel more relaxed. She definitely has a different demeanor these days due to all of this. She is more withdrawn when she isn’t having an episode of anxiety where she is fiddling around and either counting fast or saying her prayers quickly. We have been told that is common- that there can be periods of confusion/withdrawal through this process, especially when people have anxiety issues.

 

She is able to continue with her therapies, but I question how aggressively she is able to do them when she is in this state.

 

One therapy which is easier to gauge is her speech therapy- Basically what they have her working on is her eating. She is doing well, although this is a very slow process. She has to eat with her left hand; she is shaky and it is frustrating to her when she spills on herself. She has to really think about what steps she has to take in order to eat. Tonight, I had to prompt her to first put down the bowl of soup which she had picked up, then look at the three things on the tray (fork, spoon and knife), and tell me which one she needs to eat soup. She thought about it, then said “spoon”- She then picked it up and started eating.

 

We realized that there are too many things that are distracting her and she feels over stimulated. She actually told the nurse today that there was too much going on. So one of the things Lynel and I did was not talk with her too much during dinner. Rather we put on a Frank Sinatra cd and sat with her. Lynel, the germaphobe on a mission, wiped down the entire premises with alcohol wipes while my Mom dined. I barely swayed to Old Blue Eyes’ rendition of out“I get a kick  of you”  (I can’t help it, I was born with soul), but Mom gave me a look which said that she wasn’t in the mood for swaying. I made a mental note- No swaying allowed.  

 

Lynel, Joe and I then went to stroke school. We were given an overview by one of the nursing staff as well as a presentation by a speech therapist. These are the highlights of the type of stroke my Mom had- Since it was on the left side of her brain, it is classified as “Right Hemiplegia”. The problems that may be observed among individuals who have right hemiplegia are: paralysis or weakness on the right side of the body, Problems with mathematics- Inappropriate use of “yes” or “no”- Speech that is incoherent, full of jargon and contains word omissions or substitution errors- continual repetition of a word or sentence just spoken by another person- Inability to name objects even though it is understood how to use them-and difficulty reading or writing. The person who has right hemiplegia is often best able to learn by demonstration and imitation. Because speech and language problems are likely, right hemipeligic may be slow, cautious, disorganized in trying to figure out a problem or answer a question. In general, the tips that are useful in relating to an individual with right hemiplegia are: not to rush them-give immediate feedback so that they know they are on the right track- keep questions and comments simple- divide tasks into simple steps- check out comprehension as an individual may “act” as if they know what is going on to avoid embarrassment and to be “normal”- use simple gestures, facial expressions and examples to help them understand.

 

So we now have to be sensitive to the fact that there seems to be a lot going on in her world right now. The nurse suggested that we let people know that this is the phase she is at currently, so visits should be somewhat minimal right now.

 

So let’s hope that Love potion number 9 gets shaken (not stirred), and the solution is found for Alda. It is so hard to see her want to jump out of her own skin. She actually told the therapist today that her body feels like it is turned inside out. Poor thing. What she also doesn’t know is that through all of these episodes, Lynel is becoming an anxiety med addict and I am becoming two ton Tessie whose hair is falling out. Good thing there isn’t a roommate in room 304- Lynel and I may have to fight for that bed!

 

XO

M

 

Ps- Thanks to Grace for the Eye of the Tiger video. Maybe we should get Sly Stallone in there as her therapist. Alda may actually appreciate some decent eye candy!

 

******************************************************************************************************************************************

Dedicated to the one we love..ALDA!

 

CLICK ON THE LINKS AND HAVE FUN! 

 

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Dedicated to the Tully Kids………….

 

 

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Until tomorrow!

 

Peace!

 Chairman of Entertainment and Comic Relief

 

 

May 12, 2008 The Eye Of Alda’s Tiger

Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 9:20 PM

Subject: Alda’s day Monday 5-12

 

Ok, so a bit of an anxious day for my Mom. They found out that she has an infection for which she is on antibiotics. That explains the stomach issues from yesterday. Since it is contagious, all guests must wear a blue gown and gloves when they go see her to make sure that they don’t come into contact with any thing that may be contaminated. Blue is a good color on me, so I had no problem with it. (If the gown was of a yellow tone, then I may have had to break the rules and live dangerously). It kind of made me feel like I was on the set of Silkwood. 

 

When I got there tonight, she seemed to be only slightly anxious. She asked me if I found a blazer at the store yesterday as she remembered that I was going to hit up Marshall’s on the way home. I told her that she had great memory, and that I did- That I paid way too much for it- (She rolled her eyes a little)- then I described it to her while she listened to all of the details. She said that “I think the medicine makes me jittery”- but then she repeated the word “jittery” quite a few times. (I lovingly call her Rain Man). My cousin Justin came to visit, so I thought it might be a good idea to talk about “our stuff” rather than “her stuff” as she was getting increasingly anxious. So after he squeezed himself into the blue gown and gloves (those puppies almost had to be surgically removed over those sausage fingers of his), he talked to my Mom about his kids, his golf game etc. That seemed to help a little bit.

 

My mother has had this thing with Lynel where she gets irritated when Lynel says “ok”. So Lynel has taken to giving the thumbs up instead. So now it was my turn to get crap. When I said “ok?”, I was met with a pit bull stare and then I heard in an irritated tone : “Don’t say ok”- I’m not sure, but I may have said “ok, I won’t say it”- I’ll have to rewind the tape on that one. I tell you though, that woman had the eye of the tiger!

 

When we asked her about what she had for lunch, she gave us the soft food menu options that were on her tray. I just remember squash topping the list. I asked if she ate in the hall as was reported to me,  and she said “they put me in the hall so they could watch me slobber all over myself” . Justin wasted no time in saying “that’s good- take advantage of people who are here to clean it up while you can!”- Gotta love the glass is half full angle on that one!

 

My Mom would have moments of wanting to hold my hand, then moments where that was the most irritating thing I could be doing. I went with the flow. When she was having really bad flare-ups of anxiety, I would ask her if she wanted to hold my hand and again, the eye of the tiger…..that was all I needed to know- hand retracted.

 

The doctors feel that this confusion/anxiety is all part of the neurological implications- that pathways have to be restored and reconnected. So we will just hope that Alda feels more comfortable in her own skin soon so that Dr. Dimento doesn’t have to make a house call…….(on her family…that is!)

 

XO

M

                                         TEAM ALDA LOVERS…. 

Please click on the YouTube link below.  

Enjoy,

Chairman of Entertainment & Comic Relief   

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Mary Lewis Makes Light Of Life and Forwards Her Plump Pals the “Stress Diet”

---

Rumor has it that “Stroke Food” aka Meals On Wheels, has caused groans and moans for the Tully’s whenever they step on a scale… 

To prime the girls for the Cape this summer, Mary Lewis suggests the easy to follow diet posted below.

Mary, all I can say is Alda would LOVE this post !  Thanks for the injection of humor.

Subject: Fwd: stress diet

 

 

 This is a specially formulated diet designed to help women cope with the stress that builds during the day.

 

 Breakfast
       1 grapefruit
       1 slice whole wheat toast
       1 cup skim milk  

 

 Lunch
       1 small portion lean, steamed chicken
       1 cup spinach
         1 cup herbal tea
       1 Hershey’s kiss  Afternoon Tea

 

      The rest of the Hershey Kisses in the bag
      1 tub of Hagen-Daaz ice cream with chocolate chips  

 

 Dinner
      4 glasses of wine (red or white)
      2 loaves garlic bread
      1 family size supreme pizza
      3 Snickers Bars
 

 

 Late Night Snack
    1 whole Sarah Lee cheesecake (eaten directly from the freezer)  Remember:

 

 Stressed spelled backward is desserts.  Send
 this to four women and you will lose two pounds.  Send
 this to all the women you know (or ever knew) and you
 will lose 10 pounds.  If you delete this message, you will
 gain 10 pounds immediately.

 

 That’s why I had to pass this
 on, I didn’t want to risk it. 

 

May 11, 2008 Read Why Lynel is the Golden Child :)

So Happy Mother’s Day to Alda!

 

We all went to see my Mom today at various times. She was really tired again today. She hasn’t really been herself the past few days, rather has been really quiet, and a little bit withdrawn. I know it comes with the territory, however. They think that she may have a bit of a stomach bug as her stomach is off.- So we are unsure if this has something to do with her demeanor.

 

I told her that I know this isn’t how she planned on spending Mother’s Day, but that it isn’t an easy job to plan your life as life gets in the way. So let’s look at this is a blip on her radar screen- that next year, we will have a much better Mother’s Day planned.

 

Lynel brought her some outfits for Mother’s Day which I was told she liked. When I helped her pull the outfits that I got her out of the gift bag, she looked at them and said “Old Lady Clothes” . Nice!!!! Let me clarify that I bought her cotton type pants/shorts with an elastic waist so they would work well for her therapy. I am going to insist that they are stylish for elastic waisted cotton pants, but Alda seems to think differently!

 

Her speech therapist came in while we were there and she had lunch. As of now, she has to have her meals with a therapist in the room so they can asses how she is doing with chewing and swallowing. She halfheartedly ate half of a tuna sandwich and half of an es sandwich. She topped it off with pudding, but only a little. Now what fun is that? Her therapist said that she did really well. She is still on the feeding tube for supplementation, but is not on it round the clock, like she has been.

 

Other than that- not much to report today. We keep trying to get her to stay upbeat but sometimes that feels like trying to nail jello to a tree. We just keep plugging away, however.

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Moms out there!

 

XO

M

May 10, 2008 Amen Alda

       
Ok- so Today was the big First Communion Day. I am in the throws of the
after party, so I will just say that Mom enjoyed the visit from Mia today.
Before Mia’s First communion, Fr. Rock, our Pastor, told me that he had the
idea of me bringing my Mom communion today as I am a Eucharistic Minister.
So he put a host on the altar which was consecrated during the ceremony.
When Mia, my Mother in law, and I went to see my Mom, I brought a misslette
and read her the Gospel for tomorrow. We held hands and said the “Our
Father”- My Mom knew every word. Then I asked if she wanted to receive
communion in her hand or her mouth, She said “my mouth”. I reminded her that
she should say “Amen” after I say “The body of Christ”. It was very moving
to serve my Mother communion in that situation. I thank Father Rock for
having the insight to sharing Mia’s First Communion Day with my Mom in that
way. It was so special and something that will never leave my mind.

XO
M

May 9, 2008 Alda Is Bionic (sort of..)

Alda Rocks!!!!

 

Today Alda kicked butt. Kicking butt makes you very tired, however. As Lynel was lucky to experience, it also can make you crabby and take things out on your daughter. Times like these usually require Lynel to call a “Man Down” but I think she held her own today!

 

Firstly, my Mom had her OT, and did really well. She had to put her arm on a box and move it from the right to the left repeatedly. They do these movements on a platform initially to build up coordination, and then have the exercise moved off the box where gravity takes over, which makes it much more difficult. They used the Bioness machine on her arm, so it was stimulating her right hand to move- I just love the right sided movements!!!! I want to see her take off with those!

 

Her Speech Therapy today consisted of eating lunch. They brought her a tray of food for the first time, and she had to work to get all of the lids off the containers as well as feed herself. An egg salad sandwich was on the menu today (yucko, I say). The clincher was that it came in the form of two slices of bread and a cup of the egg salad. So in order to have the sandwich, my Mom had to first assemble it. She picked up the piece of bread and held it while she thought about what to do with it. (Maybe she was looking for a toaster???)- The therapist helped her think through the process and directed her to the cup of egg salad. (Ok, I have to start calling it ES, as my gag reflex is kicking in with the continuous mention of it)- She opened the es and then was unsure of what to do- Again, she was directed to squeeze it onto the bread. She did, then folded the bread and started eating it. She sampled the potatoes, soup, apple sauce and pudding- (Welcome to the Food Court of Soft Foods)- She really wanted the coffee (fortunately, the only item that didn’t have a lid was the hot coffee!)- She had to work to get the cream open and was advised to use her teeth. (This goes against everything our dentist taught us, but I’m assuming that the therapist knew what she was talking about!) – Once Mr. Coffee was prepared just right, Alda got to enjoy her first cup in over 5 weeks. Now that is a celebration!!!

 

Her PT was exhausting. She was continuing to practice her walking by using a small walker on her left side and having the therapist push her right leg forward when it needed to take a step. Today, my Mom was actually using a little of her own strength to help move her right leg. It was just enough that the therapist could feel her muscle in the back of her leg. So yeah for that!!!!

 

They fitted her with the Bioness for her right leg. So what that will do is stimulate the nerve to send the signal to her brain to move her foot. When they were testing it out, they used the keypad which is like a remote control. When it was on, her foot would flex up, and when they turned it off, it would flex down and fall to the ground. I told her that it is a good thing that my kids didn’t see that as they would all want to be the ones to “Drive Grammie”  with the remote control. Then that would lead to yelling about who got to drive Grammie longer, Why it wasn’t fair that they didn’t get to Drive Grammie first, then there would be some pushing amongst the yelling, the highly expensive remote would be dropped to the floor, shatter in pieces, then the chaos of the blame game would ensue as to whose fault it was that it dropped and was broken. The culmination of this would be an early discharge for Alda and a “No trespassing” sign up on the front door for the Lambroff’s!

 

My Aunt requested that the Bioness machine be placed on her head to stimulate some brain activity. That may be the best idea that she has had in weeks!!!!

 

I thought that it would be fun to assign theme songs to her various therapies- The Bioness machine produced “Hit me with your best shot”- The speech therapy “Don’t talk to strangers”, PT was  “Walk away, Walk away”- The overall theme song being “Stroke me” by Billy Squires (?) and my own theme song, and that of my family, Amy Winehouse’s “Going to Rehab” . I am seriously considering the purple satin cape with “Stroke Tour 2008” written on the back. Can anyone sew?

 

So Rock and Roll Alda!!!! I told her today to keep it up so we can merge into the fast lane!

 

XO

M

May 8, 2008 “Yahoo For Good Hygeine!” aka-not so stinky!

Hello Team Alda!

Back up writer and understudy, Lynel, reporting in this evening, (not
because Meredith is still at the bar at the ’99,  but rather she is taking
Brynn our for her birthday.)

Today was a huge day of “Firsts” for Alda.  The OT had Mom up and in the
shower today for her first shower in five weeks.  It was a whole lot of
work, but definitely worth it!  Needless to say, the OT student had to
change clothes after the event as there was water, water everywhere. The OT
prompted Mom to tell me what she did this morning, and I could see the
twinkle in Mom’s eye when she said, “I took a shower”.  Yahoo for good
hygiene!

When I arrived this afternoon, the Physical Therapist said, Alda, tell your
daughter what you just did.  Again, I saw the twinkle as Mom said, “I
walked.”.  The PT had her standing and “walking” using the parallel bars.
Mom put weight on her legs, as the PT advanced the right one, Mom moved the
left one.  She walked about 3 feet.  After that exercise, they did another
walking exercise using a small version of a walker which was placed in Mom’s
left hand.  Again, Mom successfully maneuvered about 3 feet, assisted by the
PT who was advancing the right leg.  The PT also told me that she felt Mom’s
right hip and ankle slightly contract, definitely good news as this could be
the beginning of something really beautiful….I’ll stop short there…..

The therapy continues to tire her out, which is to be expected.  Last
night’s “Stroke Class” was very insightful for the us.  A PT was the keynote
and shared with us that this process is very taxing on the patient and we
need to keep in mind that each person’s recovery is not predictable.  It
appears though, that Alda is an exemplary student, willing to give more than
100% consistently.  Alda was in good spirits today perhaps due to the
weather, but definitely due to her accomplishments.  So here’s to Alda and
to good ambulation and hygiene!

Again, thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Lynel

May 6, 2008 The Tully Kids Go To The Head The Class!

           
Hi All,

I won’t have an update until later tonight when I go see my Mom- The Rehab
holds what I call “stroke school” on Tuesday nights-  A therapist from each
modality leads a class on the rehab process, effects of brain injury, the
recovery process etc. So Lynel, Joe and I will go see my Mom before that
then take our seats at the head of the class. After stroke school, we will
take our notes and gold stars and hit the bar at the 99, conveniently
located near the rehab. I will update you tonight when I get back, if I am
in appropriate form to do so. Because by day, Alda is getting speech,
Occupational and Physical therapy- by night, the rest of us are getting
therapy by bottle. Mojito’s anyone???

But to not leave you empty handed- here are some pictures from Sunday- There
are a some where my Mom is giving Mia her cross necklace for First
Communion- Also some where Lynel and I said “Move over Rover” and tried to
be inpatients as well.

Let’s hope that the beautiful weather translates into beautiful things for
Alda..

Talk later
XO
M

   YOUTUBE VIDEO:    Go To The Head Of The Class

Click on provied link for a blast from the past

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Hi All,

I won’t have an update until later tonight when I go see my Mom- The Rehab
holds what I call “stroke school” on Tuesday nights-  A therapist from each
modality leads a class on the rehab process, effects of brain injury, the
recovery process etc. So Lynel, Joe and I will go see my Mom before that
then take our seats at the head of the class. After stroke school, we will
take our notes and gold stars and hit the bar at the 99, conveniently
located near the rehab. I will update you tonight when I get back, if I am
in appropriate form to do so. Because by day, Alda is getting speech,
Occupational and Physical therapy- by night, the rest of us are getting
therapy by bottle. Mojito’s anyone???

But to not leave you empty handed- here are some pictures from Sunday- There
are a some where my Mom is giving Mia her cross necklace for First
Communion- Also some where Lynel and I said “Move over Rover” and tried to
be inpatients as well.

Let’s hope that the beautiful weather translates into beautiful things for
Alda..

Talk later
XO
M

 

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