Watching Dad and Mom see each other again today was unforgettable. It was the first time since they had been transferred to their respective facilities. Aunt Kete (Mom’s sister), Yolanda (Mom’s neice), Uncle Danny (Dad’s brother), and I were there to witness it. Mom seemed very thankful that we all came.
I got to Dad’s room early this morning with his Tall Decaf and some oatmeal and yogurt. He was up and at ’em earlier than normal, because therapy was earlier than normal, so that he could go see Mom. After therapy, I helped Dad with a bath. He wanted to freshen up for Mom. His attire for the special occasion – Superman T and Mickey Mouse pants and hospital-grey socks. And underwear. Very important. A slide into his wheelchair, phone and sliding board sitting in his lap, and we were heading toward the elevator.
I pulled the car under the drop-off canopy and helped Dad slide into the car. Chair stored in the trunk, we took off across the river in my blue Honda Civic. I mention it only to give you a mental image of Dad sliding from a wheelchair, ducking his neck-collared head, and buckling up for the ride. Pretty amazing.
We stopped briefly to grab Mom some lip balm. Dad waited in the car. Once we arrived to the West Jeff campus, we found a parking place and headed in.
Mom had a busy morning. Kete and Yolanda were in town down from Houston, MS and arrived early. Mom’s doctors and nurses came by. Several therapists came by – both for breathing treatment and physical therapy. A friend from Orlando had suggested we ask them about giving Mom a “Passy Muir Valve” to help Mom wean off of her tracheotomy. We asked. They acted like that was a good idea and ordered it. Thanks, Stephanie (and Monica, Jen’s cousin’s wife, too – she affirmed the suggestion).
You are not going to believe what the physical therapists did! They moved all of Mom’s limbs for her, just to loosen them up. Mom moved her feet on command. Then, they SAT HER UP!!! Seriously! With a lot of help, of course. They supported her body and head. Amazing!
Needless to say, once we arrived, Mom was tuckered out.
I could tell Dad was a bit disappointed that Mom was asleep when we arrived. The wound care folks came in at that same time, too. So, we all stepped out into the hall to let them do their thing. While we did, Mom’s doctor came by to talk with us. We got to talk about her care plan and the eventual plans to move her back to Orlando.
When the wound care folks were done, we rolled back in, and Mom was awake! Dad smiled big. Mom did, too, once we lowered the bed enough to let her look over and see Dad at her bedside.
We visited for about an hour and a half. I could tell Dad was tired. So we told Mom bye and that we love her so much, and we headed back downstairs to slide into the Civic. We crossed the river and stopped to grab a burger. We ate it in the parking lot of Dad’s facility before sliding out and heading up.
I asked Dad, “What were your takeaways from seeing Mom?”
He affirmed that he was disappointed at first when we saw her asleep. He so wanted to interact with her. He was so thankful she was awake and alert after the wound care folks left. He was excited about how Mom recognized him and smiled at him. I asked her to wink at me just to see if she could. She did, and then winked at Dad, too!!! He smiled then, of course. He was afraid a bit of whether Mom would be alert and be remembering him. He hoped she would have clarity.
I asked Dad if, even though I had prepared him with a picture for how Mom looked, he was surprised by how sunken in the right side of her head was where that piece of her skull is missing. He said that he was taken back a bit. It is very pronounced now that Mom is missing that part of her head. The skin flap is healing back well. Hais is even beginning to grow back there. But it is tough to see at first if you haven’t seen it before.
He told Mom that he looked forward to the day when they could hang the art from the grandkids together in the same room. We look forward to that day, too.
I posted a few more pictures on my blog of Mom and Dad and the day. Click here to check them out.
Please keep praying. Great advancements this week for both Mom and Dad. This is going to be such a long haul, though, especially for Mom. Thanks for your continued support.
I will post at you tomorrow. Erik arrives tomorrow afternoon. It’s Jen’s birthday tomorrow, too. Remember her if you will. I look forward to taking her out Friday night when I fly back home for the weekend.
By the way – I mentioned Becky Mayberry’s Dad a few posts back. His cancer has returned. They were told yesterday it is Stage 4. Please pray for his healing and for his resolve and for the family to sense more fully than ever how near God is right now. Pray for Chris (Becky’s husband) to have wisdom as he comforts Bec and leads their beautiful family (3 kids) through this. Jen and I love them so much. Chris has meant a lot to Dad during all this time, too. He rode up with me all night to New Orleans the night of the accident, and he has been back one time already to be with me and help Dad. Thanks, bud. So thankful for yall. Hurt with you and am praying.
Thankful for all of you. More than we can say.
-jason
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