Day Sixty Nine

9:10 PM

Don had the CNA to get him up earlier than normal this morning. He had the CNA to put him in his wheelchair instead of his gerichair because he can maneuver himself in the wheelchair and he has to have someone to push him in the gerichair. I met him in the day room and his OT came in to talk. She said that she could get him earlier in the day if he was up to it and he said that was fine and he would meet her at 11:00. We went outside to sit in the sun and wait until time to go to OT. Donnie Lee came by with his pup and Don and Donnie enjoyed playing with him outside. At 11:00 we went to OT and Donnie Lee took the puppy with us. Don did his arm exercises and lifting his weights and then he had to use the hand peddled bike for 30 minutes. When he finished the peddling it was lunch time. My mom came and brought Don a sandwich from Arby's. It was a good thing because he didn't like the lunch that was served. He said he ate 4 eggs, livermush, bacon, grits, oatmeal, cereal and toast for breakfast. He was ready for lunch at 11:00. He only had the sandwich for lunch and then was back to OT for the e-stim. When he finished OT we went to PT and his parents came in. They again placed Don on the matted table to measure his legs and hips. He it appears that his left leg is somewhere between 1/2 to 1 inch longer. It is very hard for them to get a true measurement because Don is still so swollen on both sides of his hips and his left leg is about twice the size of his right leg. They could hardly find his "ASIS" - the hip bone area because of the swelling. After the assessment, they began to work on the scar tissue on the hip. They used Ultrasound to break down the scar tissue. After the Ultrasound, it was time for walking. Don walked out to the porch area and sat there for a few minutes to rest. He said he was very tired and wanted to walk back inside to the day room. He used the PT's arms to push off with on his left arm and he pushed off with his right hand and was able to stand up by himself for his last walk of the day. We sat in the day room for a while and his parents left about 4:30. Donnie Lee came back to the center and brought Don's wheelchair that was delivered to the house today. This wheelchair is very light weight and much smaller than the one he has been using at the center. Don requested it so that I could lift it into the trunk of the car. Donnie made some adjustments to the chair to better fit Don. Supper came and Don ate most of it. He also ate some of our leftovers. Kristi came by after work and Donnie Lee left. Don went back to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 and the CNA got his dressed for the night. Kristi set his oxygen about 8:15 and got his covers set for the night. We left about 8:30. Don has had some issues with kidney stones over the past few days and we think he was passing some blood due to the kidney stones today. He is very worried that this will keep him from going home on Friday. They took blood for lab work and a urine sample. Please pray that everything comes back OK. Tomorrow is a big day for Don. We will be bringing him home for a few hours so that OT & PT can do a home evaluation. They need to see how Don will operate in his wheelchair throughout the house. They will also see if there is any other equipment that he may need to be able to better function at home. Don had told me he didn't think that he would go back to the center since he would already be home on Wednesday. I told him he needed to go back. His PT came by earlier this morning and said he had been thinking last night that Don might not come back if he went home on Wednesday and I told the PT that he was exactly right. He told Don if he didn't come back that he would loose part of his benefits if he didn't come back and wait to be discharged. I am not sure if all this is true but it was enough to get Don to agree to come back to the center until Friday. Please keep Don in your prayers for tomorrow as this will be a busy and challenging day!