Momentum is not your friend.....

Mom continues to improve every day. She had her first physical therapy appointment on Tuesday and returns Friday for more. She had hoped to be given a cane, but the therapist said she was not quite ready. However, she is moving around the house without her walker and has increased her time walking outside (yes, it's very, very hot!) to 40 minutes. Sometimes, though, she goes too quickly and has to catch herself - a quick reminder that momentum is not yet her friend! I guess that is why she doesn't get the cane yet.

We had a weekend full of shopping, a trip to the farm, and games. Mom is great to play scrabble with because she has such a great vocabulary and can catch Mark when he tries to play words that are not really words. This works out best for me. Last night, Ben and Luke taught her to play Yatzee! This is a good recovery game because you have to roll the dice, count, use strategy and write small numbers....

Her hand eye coordination continues to improve on her right side - though I know this part is progressing more slowly than Mom would like. We are looking at Mom returning to CA either the weekend of September 14 or September 26. Our goal is for Mom to be able to live independently when she does return so she doesn't have to hire help in on a full, or even part time, basis. We will keep you posted!

Gustav.....

Here comes Gustav!

I have always told Mom that weather is more interesting here in Houston, TX than in California, and that I would much rather have Hurricanes to deal with than earthquakes and fires. As you may have heard, a hurricane is coming our way. You can track Gustav for yourself at our local news channel-http://www.click2houston.com/index.html Looks like we'll know more after the weekend is over. Could be interesting.

Mom is scheduled to start physical therapy on Tuesday. She continues to take a few steps here and there and took a big trip to Macy's yesterday to get some more "Texas Weather" clothes!

John Cash is in town on consulting business, and we're looking forward to having him over for dinner tonight. Mom has had fun thinking about the menu and even did the grocery shopping (with Ana's help, of course!) We continue to monitor her blood pressure (yes, mom is a proud owner of her very own cuff and machine), which has not yet fallen back down - so she requires blood pressure medicine two times/day. She has stopped taking the Ambien, though, and is sleeping, even napping, very well.

So besides barking dogs and a very whiny two year old (who is having a bit of trouble adjusting to her new school schedule), I think Mom is comfortable here for the moment. Getting stronger every day.

The Sugar Land Half Way House

Mom will have arrived a week ago tomorrow. It sure goes by quickly - sorry to have been slow in providing updates...So here goes:

Mom is doing GREAT!

She is moving around a lot better and is increasing the amount of walking she is doing (with the walker) each day. She is also taking more steps unassisted small distances. She is being diligent about completing her "homework" each day and is anxious to start physical therapy. She has been to the grocery store, the mall, Barnes and Noble (she is able to read again!), had a massage and a pedicure, and is enjoying real food again!

She continues to work on her fine motor skills - small tasks like eating with utensils and playing scrabble (those tiles are small), and is even beginning to get on the computer. She made our fruit salad for Sunday Brunch and is talking about planting flowers and herbs in my empty pots outside.

And we're having great late summer weather - and even have a hurricane approaching the gulf, so Mom might get a real taste of what it is like to go through a big storm.

All in all, it's good news.

FREEDOM!

We are here in the SFO President's Club waiting for our flight to Houston. The morning went smoothly, pack mom up, getting our family training from the OT, ST, and PT. The progress Mom has made over the last 10 days is impressive. She can maneuver stairs, walk long distances with her walked (a sweet ride,..), and get around her room independently. Her first car ride went smoothly and she even remarked that she did not feel dizzy while riding!

I have my assignments from all who have manged her recovery, and we're excited to have mom for 2-3 weeks - or longer if she wants to stay. The key will be to continue to keep her mind and body active in what I refer to as Mom's Sugar Land half way house!

The worst part so far is that our plane is delay 1.5 hours, so we're just sitting and waiting right now. So that is all for now. Pretty soon, we're going to turn over the blog to Mom to maintain!

We're Breaking Her Out!

Mom and I are busy preparing for her transfer to Sugar Land, TX on Wednesday. Our plan is to depart Herrick and head straight to SFO and get right on a 2:00 pm plane. It will be an exhausting day, but we figured it would be best to get the long, tiring transfer over in one day. Alissa and I will attend family training on Wednesday morning, and then she will be free to go!

Mom is already planning her routine, which is good, and Eliza is excited to know that Grandma's head is getting better. As you can imagine, the insurance companies are not jumping for joy at Mom's request to do her outpatient PT in Houston, but hopefully we will have an answer in a few days.

We'll keep you updated on her continued progress, but everyone should feel free to call Mom on her cell phone or at our house (281-240-6403).

A++

Just spent most of the day with mom. She is doing well. She has FINALLY gotten on board and has been doing her homework for the last few days. She is feeling less dizzy and is stronger. Herrick has confirmed that mom will be discharged on Wednesday (20th) and we are busy trying to coordinate and schedule her trip to Houston. She is going to stay with Gaylen until around Labor Day. This will give us a chance to get things set up for her at home. Tomorrow is a day of rest for her at Herrick and then will be back on the therapy routine Monday and Tuesday.

Two Steps Forward One Step Back

I went to see Mom Monday evening and she was feeling frustrated, tired and dizzy. She had a rough day at PT and continues to be annoyed by the constant dizziness. She was feeling so good after Gaylen's visit. Feeling like she had made really good progress toward the end of the week last week. She was starting to get a handle on her dizziness and I think was seeing the light at the end of her tunnel. Then Monday came and she felt like she had not made any progress and that the dizziness was worse again. A different kind of dizzy -- like a rolling boat but still dizzy! As we all know mom is not the most patient and she said last night she is waiting for the day that she wakes up and is not dizzy. We are all trying to remind her and encourage her to put in the hard work and stay focused on her end goal --it is those things that will help the dizziness go away. Please continue to encourage mom to do the things she knows she should be doing. Just like daughters don't listen to their mothers I am realizing that mothers don't really listen to their daughters either. I guess this is pay back. -alissa