It has been six months since this horrible medical crisis started. In some ways it is hard to believe and in other ways it seems eons ago. The other day Gene read through all my blogs post and it helped him to fill in some gaps and to bring some mental clarity to what he endured. Last night I read through them. This Thanksgiving season I am so grateful to God for healing Gene and that we are soundly on this side of the ordeal. He is improving. As I read, I was reminded of how much I did not share, how close we came to losing him and some really tough and hard stuff he went through.
Gene continues to improve even though at times it seems slow. This is a journey and it is taking time. One of the things he can’t do yet is drive. Two weeks ago his doctor did give him his “learners permit” for the golf cart if he had an adult with him. He is doing therapy three days a week, still uses a walker although he will probably graduate from it soon, has become more stable on his feet, is gaining weight-25 lbs so far, taking his own showers, dressing himself and becoming more involved in the daily farm decision making. He has starting going to church again-just for the worship service but hey, that is an improvement. He is making his own coffee in the mornings and walking around the house more and has not fallen for several weeks which is a big deal! He had a real issue with stablilty and lack of core strength.
I do have a story….
Three weeks ago, he graduated himself to a cane (without therapy’s permission) and went on a little adventure. I was just ready to walk out of the house to go to work at our store when I heard the front door close. I went to look and there he went plodding across the yard, the cattle guard and down the drive in the pasture.
He was told to walk more but not like this! I went to the kitchen to do a quick thing and tried to decide what I was going to do. Do I let him go or do I go after him??? I went back to the front door and looked again and didn’t see him. I went outside on the walk and I could see him a good ways down the road on the ground.
I hopped on the golf cart and went to his rescue. He could not get up and had skined both knees, bloodied two fingers, split his forehead, bruised his shoulder and had a cut on his forearm. Now pray tell me, what would he have done if I hadn’t seen him go. He would have laid there until Tim fed hay to the cows or I had gone to the house to check on him an hour or so later. If he had left one minute later, I would have been gone and would not have known he wasn’t in the house. He did not tell me he was going nor did he have his cell phone with him. He said he started picking up speed as he walked and couldn’t slow himself down and lost his balance.
The next day his therapist was not happy, read him the riot act, and took his cane away. If he had broken a hip, he would have ended up back in the hospital, probably required surgery in the abdomen area which they said he just can not have again. With his age, all that he has been through and his still weakened condition, it probably would have done him in. It sobered him. Oh the trials of a caregiver!!!
Six months ago, we could hardly imagine where we are at now. The promise of his surgeon, “you will get better” is starting to feel within reach even though the goal post has moved several times: September, October, Christmas. Probably a more realistic goal is spring. He has a lot of muscle to rebuild.
