Ship’s clock set, Dad is now fully at home.  We picked him up this morning at RG, came home for lunch and then made our way over to see his cardiologist, who was totally impressed with his appearance and his vital statistics. Mom, Dad andI are having a celebratory roast beef dinner, and breathing a long sigh of relief!

Today was the day mom was to attend some training by the PT / OT team on assisting Dad.  It was pretty minimal, because Dad requires a minimum of assistance these days!   Dad walked using his walker to the elevator and then to the gym on the first floor, where he demonstrated his stair climbing and descending skills,  learned some new approaches for getting in and out of the car,  and also did 10 minutes on the contraption below.  After a brief rest, he walked back to his room.

He will be going home on Wednesday, October 19.  We are all thrilled with the progress he’s made, and looking forward to his return to 175 Danbury!

Mom Cheering Dad on to the Finish Line!

Dad has been making great strides, but the PT/OT team at Radford Green want to work with him for another week to build his endurance.  He would like to go home, but is on board with continuing his current work towards greater independent movement. They are also holding a training for mom on Friday morning for how to assist him.  I will accompany her and hope to learn a lot!

Today was Dad’s care planning meeting.  It was great to hear how much progress the OT and PT teams feel he is making.  Nursing reports that he is doing just fine on the medications they have tweaked a bit for him.  Even psychiatry thinks he makes sense!  (We know this, of course, but we have been fans of official validation ever since Jim had his head x-rayed years ago and they confirmed he has a brain in his head.)  He will be staying for a while longer, because he still has some strength to rebuild and some skills to learn.  Of course he is disappointed by this, but he continues to work hard towards the day we bust him out of there.  I continue to be BLOWN AWAY by how kind and helpful the staff is at Radford Green.  Nobody wants to have to spend extended time in a rehab facility, but wow, these people are great.

I’ve been downstate in Decatur for a few days but drove up today so that I can take mom to the care planning meeting tomorrow.  I stopped by Radford Green on the way up, and got to watch Dad with the OT guy (who is adorable – looks like a surfer dude!)   Dad is making excellent progress.  He no longer needs assistance transferring from the wheelchair to the walker, and can get himself from the wheelchair to the bed unassisted.  Here he is pumping iron for the benefit of his cheering section and West Coast Audience:

Dad is a little weary this morning after walking a marathon from his room down the hall to a window, resting, walking all the way down to the other end where the nurse’s station is, and then turning back to his room.  He still needs an assist to get up from the wheelchair to the walker, but is walking unaided.  There will be a group calisthenics session this morning at 11:30.  I’m going to pop out then, pick up some groceries with mom, and bring her back for a visit this afternoon.

Mom and I went to see Dad today.  He is in good spirits, reporting that the food is “much better than he would have expected.”   He likes the oatmeal with brown sugar in the morning, and had his first roast beef sandwich in a while for lunch today. (Roast beef was not permitted him at the hospital.)  He’s also able to actually use the bathroom (with assistance) which is a welcome bit of progress after the week being tied to the bed by all the monitoring.

Sheila and I went over to the rehab place on Friday morning.

For folks who want to write or call, he is

John Curran
Room 331
Radford-Green at Sedgebrook
960 Audubon Way
Lincolnshire, Illinois 60069

His room has a phone, the number is (847) 613-3931 

Dad looked great.  Funny, he had a better sleep without all the wires everywhere, and he declared the breakfast “excellent.”   He basically held court all morning with various care providers.  His PT and OT assessments went well.  He’s already much stronger than when he was assessed in the hospital, and the PT says “there is a lot of potential here!”

Mom and I went over again later in the afternoon.  He was in a bit of pain in his neck and shoulders.  We’re not sure whether that’s a recurrence of the mystery pain he had last Friday, or just the result of the workout he had for his assessments.

Mom, Sheila and I are taking some time to catch our respective breaths.  Mom has arranged rides to visit dad over the weekend.  I am in the city with Jim till some time Sunday afternoon, then I’ll go back to Mom’s.  Sheila has at last flown home from her rather extended HS reunion trip.

We just got word that Dad will be moving this afternoon to the rehabilitation wing of  RadfordGreen at Sedgebrook in Lincolnshire.  This is great – mom has friends who have been there, the place is a 15 minute drive from 175 Danbury, and it comes highly recommended by one of the lovely techs who have been helping Dad here at the hospital.

Those prayers we offered when the Chaplain came by and offered us all Holy Communion, and those of all of you lovely people, continue to help us along. Thanks for your love and support!

Sheila and I are at the hospital this morning, where Dad has improved markedly.  The rehab placement has not yet come through, but maybe today.  He is out of the bed, and in the chair  for his breakfast, literally “sitting up and taking nourishment” to use a favorite phrase of his.  Having decided that they have conspired to take all flavor out of eggs at this establishment, he has opted for oatmeal this morning.  The oatmeal comes with a cinnamon sugar topping, so there is hope.