Day Seventy One

10:18 PM

Well another busy day! Don only had one breakfast this morning and he had the CNA to get him up early. We went to the day room for a while and Don said that he was hungry and wanted me to get him a pimento cheese sandwich and a PB&J sandwich. After Don ate his sandwiches I decided to go back to his room and start taking down his cards and posters off the walls. While I was doing that Don's parents arrived. When I finished I went back to the day room. A few last minute items kept popping in our minds and I would have to go to the case manager and social worker at the center to check on things. Lunch arrived about 12:00 and Don only ate his chicken livers. He went to OT as usual and did his arm exercises and they through in a new item. He had to separate small metal balls from stick type magnets using only his left hand and especially his thumb that is still splinted. Don struggled with this exercise. He had to take his splint off and still he wasn't able to do much with it. They eventually moved on to his weight lifting and then he went to PT. PT had him to lay on the matted table and again they worked on range of motion with his left leg and breaking up the scar tissue from the incision on his left hip. This took most of the time in PT. His last event for PT was to walk around the entire nurse's station. This is 180'. Even though Don has walked further distances, this was something he had wanted to do for sometime. He also did it without sitting down to rest. After PT he went back to OT for his e-stim and biofreeze. After the work outs and especially the walking, Don's arms are worn out. His OT told him again today that he had no muscles in his arms. A friend from church stopped by while Don was in OT to give him some new "bent" eating utensils. When this round of OT was finished it was after 5:00. We attempted to go outside to the porch area but the wind was just to cold. We settled for the day room again. Don wanted me to warm his leftover Chinese food so I did and he ate that. Just after he finished that his supper tray came. He ate a hotdog from his tray but that's about it. Kristi arrived just as we were just about finished with supper. We had to have some more work done to our Bonneville so Kristi and I went to pick it up so that I could have it tomorrow to pick Don up. While we were out, we picked up some "Welcome Home" and birthday balloons and some poster board to make birthday signs. My Mom made some "Welcome Home" signs and we will put all the balloons and signs out tomorrow before I go to pick Don up. Kristi and I came back to the center and began packing up all of Don's remaining stuff in his room. We only left his clothes for tomorrow, his toiletries, a clock and his TV. Donnie Lee came by when he got off work. The kids left about 9:00 and I left a little after 9:00. Don wants me there after breakfast to pick him up.