Friday

Fatigue continues.  Yesterday Mom got some of her staples out, which reduced her pain when moving in and out of bed.  However we found out that she will essentially be wheelchair bound for the next 8 weeks.  She cannot put any weight on her leg or her arm, so not even a modified walker would work.  She got a new fancy black brace on her arm that color-coordinates with her halo.  Lovely.

I can't even imagine how hard it will be for my dad to help her 24/7 once they get home.  My mom wants to be "home by next Thursday", but realistically she will not be the one making that decision.  She has made a lot of progress but I will be surprised if it's that soon.  We still can't plan more than a day in advance as far as what she will need from us.  She can't eat, adjust her position in bed, telephone, or even read by herself.  She can't sit up in bed unassisted and certainly can't get out of bed or transfer to the potty or wheelchair alone.  She can't turn her head, so unless you're standing at the foot of the bed, she doesn't know where you are.  She hasn't even seen the rest of her room, except during transfers--and then that's not really what she's concentrating on!  She can use the remotes to raise and lower her bed, call the nurse, and turn on the TV.  This morning she picked up the phone by herself for the first time.  She won't eat more than a couple bites at each meal.  We are really whipped and Amy has spent the last two over-night shifts with her.  The longest she sleeps is an hour or two and she's up for the day at 4 am.  And when you add her panic attacks on top of this....you are starting to get the picture...