Sunday & Monday Update

August 3 & 4

by Judy and Dick

(Judy and Dick thought they could bypass me and submit a post without getting their picture attached. They forgot that I'm the administrator of this blog! - Clay)

On Sunday, Judy and Carl went to church in Manchester, Karen and the boys drove back to Kansas, and Linda and Lee brought a truckload of furniture from Illinois. The apartment at Timbercrest looks great with chairs, a bed, end tables, and pictures on the walls (among many other things), and Lee and Linda did a great job of moving it into the truck and then into the apartment by themselves and arranging it as if it looks like it was always there. The Kansas group made it home in great time, and the church experience was very satisfying and included visits with many friends.

After church, Carl and Judy headed to Progressive to see Doreen. She was drowsy when they arrived, but seemed to perk up when the rest of the family arrived. The goal was for her to be awake when her brother Jay and his wife Peg arrived. They arrived right on the dot at 1:30, the appointed time. Actually, Doreen was anticipating the visit anxiously. During the night, she had squirmed out of bed, ended up on the floor, and pulled out her PCC line in the process. She thought she was going to her computer so she could catch up on the details of the visit. (She told us that she understood there was a lot of informaiton on the computer about Jay coming.) So we are still dealing with some confusion between dreams and reality, but she really was excited to see her brother!

Jay came with his cell phone and connected Doreen with her cousin Dot and her childhood and college friend who is also a Dot. He also came bearing gifts--a can of mandarine oranges. He has been reading the blog!

We had a great visit, and Doreen stayed aleart and witty during most of the time. She and Jay are not likely to stay away from teasing very long. As Carl, Jay, Peg, and Judy went to supper, Jay expressed how pleased he was to see how well Doreen was doing. It was a good day!

On Monday, Judy had an appointment in Lafayette, but Carl went with the Buchers to see his future apartment. He was pleased to see his furniture and to see how well things fit. They also worked on trying to get a physical exam set up for Carl so that he could be approved to move in. They didn't make much progress. When Judy and Dick arrived, she and Carl worked on some other issues with prescriptions, and the three of them stopped by Timbercrest to see the apartment and to get a copy of the form that needs to be completed. Then they went to Progressive to find Doreen fairly drowsy.

Monday had seen some good sessions with OT and PT and a more modest session with speech therapy. Lee and Linda visited when they dropped off the moving truck in Ft. Wayne. Doreen had eaten well--maybe 15 bites a meal and much of her tea. By the time the family arrived, she was pretty tired. Supper was not as successful. The family shared photos of the apartment with her, though, and she seemed interested, but had a hard time picturing it from the photos. A little later, she seemed to be thinking and quiet. Judy asked what she was thinking about, and she said she was thinking about what she wanted to do with the apartment. So she seems to be getting used to the idea of the move.

We also were told this evening that the decision has been made to do the stomach tube for feeding. We will find out tomorrow when that will be done. It feels discouraging, but there could be some positives. It may mean that she will not need the insulin shots that are necessary when she is given the dextrose through IV. And it may help her get her stomach in shape for more food. And it will mean she is not tied to an IV. So we continue with the slow and steady progress--keeping in mind that, though it be slow, it is steady.