Let the countdown begin!

9 days and counting!

Mom will be released back to the real world on Sunday, July 5 (at least according to the schedule). She'll come here to the house until Thekla's (the grand-daughter) wedding in Fredericksberg on Friday.

She is now the poster child at Vista Ridge for all those needing a little inspiration. She gets to lead the counting during group exercises, and they have asked her to talk to people who have given up hope or lost their way getting back in therapy.

They are also doing more "coaching" with her now- reminding her not to do things alone, not to depend too much on the walker but know when to use the wheelchair, etc. They will provide her with quite a bit of equipment when she comes home to make the transition easier (as none of our houses are really wheel-chair or walker friendly). She's learning to walk sideways and backwards in the walker as parts of her final therapy sessions.

Remember the drop foot? The right foot was horribly bent. She has finally gotten a heel strike when she walks now with BOTH feet! Her therapists are ecstatic, because they NEVER thought she'd get a heel strike. (It still needs work, but it's getting there.) She's actually getting very close to walking "normally" (heel to toe forward, etc.).

One of our outings last week was to my father-in-law's 80th surprise birthday party- he was surprised, and Mom was the hit of the party! Everyone was glad to see her! We went to Cotton Patch before the party for steak fingers! The next day, Father's Day, Tamara came down from McKinney and all the girls (with Dad pushing the wheel chair) went dress shopping for the upcoming wedding. (Haven't found anything yet, so more shopping to come!)

And the countdown continues...

Still working hard

It's been a while since I posted, but not much has changed other than she continues to make progress towards July 5th- out of Vista Ridge. They are "fine tuning" the therapy now; she gets up and goes to the restroom (still with help, she's a little wobbly); she's also learning to "slide" left and right in the walker. It's amazing how much we take for granted that we do that she must re-learn...

We go out about once a week- last week it was Red Lobster (oh, those garlic biscuits...)

They are planning on staying with us here until Mom's next big appointment with her knee replacement doctor, which should be at the end of July. After that, they'll head back to Big Spring.

New picture, new year...

Exactly one year ago today, June 4, 2008, the plane left Big Spring around mid-morning and arrived at Love Field around mid-afternoon. Mom was rolled into Regency Hospital in Plano, in a medically-induced coma and on 100% breathing life support.

What a difference a year makes, and how blessed are we?!?!

The new picture is of Mom and Dad eating OUT at On The Border in Lewisville celebrating Dad's birthday (it's actually June 5th, but this is the day we could get everyone together). She has learned to get in and out of the car with assistance, and we wheeled her right into the restaurant. She enjoyed a huge meal (I think she had some enchiladas), including some birthday brownie/ice cream dessert. We got her back into the car and back to Vista Ridge, tired but thoroughly thrilled.

So this is huge progress. If she is able to get out and back and forth to the car, she is really on the road to "checking out" of Vista Ridge. All she needs to do is to continue to build her stamina.

We're hoping that she can come spend the night with us sometime next week...