Steak n Shake

I checked Oz out of school to have lunch with me yesterday.  Cool Mom points= 100.

Austin Fenn- Safety Patrol

A New Fenn

This is Parker.  Parker was a rescue I found online from the Hope Rescues organization based out of Godfrey, Illinois.  He was described on their website as "a sad little man without a home."  My kind of pup, right?

I went to get him yesterday (Sunday) and brought him back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, by way of Mount Carmel, where he got to meet the folks.

He has some issues, but I knew that when I got him.  He was found in a park (hence the name they gave him - Parker) and was injured.  Turns out he had pins in both of his back legs meaning they were both broken at some point.  One of the pins was coming out of place and giving him a great deal of pain.  They removed that pin but left the other one in, as it is presumably functioning normally.  He is on three medications (he also got neutered this week) and I am taking him to my vet when I get back to the lake on Wednesday.

So far, he seems like a very sweet little guy.  He limps very badly and puts almost no weight on his bad leg.  He has trouble getting up and down steps but does it when needed.  He seems to be housebroken, so that's a definite plus.

Technically, this is not a done deal.  I have him now on a trial basis and if I decide I don't want to keep him I can return him to the rescue with no questions asked.  I can't imagine changing my mind, unless my vet tells me he is going to turn into a gremlin or something.

So this is Parker Bandito Schroeder Owen Fenn:

Sorry for the crappy photos but he seems a little camera shy.

Rehab is for Quitters

Happy June from Mount Carmel.

We are now at exactly two months since this whole thing began, and the turnaround is still nothing short of amazing.

Mom is herself again.  Yes, there are still obstacles to overcome.  She is not great on her feet yet, but we've gone from needing two people and a belt to get out of bed, to needing only one person - and they aren't even as necessary as mom thinks.  She hasn't had a step backward since she got here.  Another week means another seven days of consistent improvement.  She will be making big strides in the next few days - pun fully intended - and we expect to be talking next week about how close she is to coming home.  Every day of physical therapy this week included longer and longer walks, eventually without a wheelchair trailing behind her.  She even walked out of the rehab area and down to elevator and back.  It was 150 feet each way.  I got to witness some speech and occupational therapy as well.  I can tell you that she is a rock star here.  Compared to the problems of some of the other residents, she is doing spectacularly.

There is a "Care Plan Meeting" on Friday that dad and I will attend.  It is with her case worker, relevant physicians and/or therapists, and whoever else decides to show up.  They will be discussing her condition, progress, and prognosis.  We will definitely let you know what happens there.

In the meantime, she is as cheery as ever, and anxious to get back to "normal". 

You should know that both mom AND dad are eating better.  Mom has even gained four pounds back this week.

These are the flowers for this week:

Mom apologizes for the "fake" smile.  We had just gotten done eating Steak-n-Shake, so she should have been grinning from ear to ear.  While the food in the rehab is actually very good, it was nice for the three of us to dine together on actual food, fast and greasy though it may have been.  Also, she got to actually do something with her hair for the first time since she went in for the surgery.  She was very pleased.

Nathan's bday

Dave...you never posted the video of Nathan's gift opening mess.

posts

We still need pics and updates from Florida you know

Log jamb at bridge on north side of Adel going over Hwy. 169. Yep! We be flooding!!!

Welcome to Mount Carmel

So, we've now finished just a little over a week here in the rehab hospital.  It's not the clean and sterile environment we were used to at DePaul, but it feels a little less tense and a little more "homey".  The staff here is very nice and things are progressing extremely well.  When Mom got here, she was just off the hospital stay and could barely move herself.  Now she can sit up in bed almost effortlessly and is just a few physical therapy sessions away from being able to stand on her own.

She still requires help to get up and do most basic things, but it's simply a matter of strength and not a matter of will.  She has some combination of physical, occupational, and speech therapy almost every day.  She is about to graduate out of the speech therapy as the only thing that has not returned to complete normal is the pitch of her speech.  It's higher than it used to be, but the tone, inflections, and rhythm of her speech are as they were.

Here is the room...more like a hotel than a hospital.  Flowers, Grandpas and all...

Here is the physical rehab area on the bottom floor.  While we were there, she walked (with the walker) farther (over 100 feet in three separate sessions) than she ever had before.  I think she said the previous record was 33 feet.  Today she did a 44 and a 55 foot excursion, plus the last one, which I think went unmeasured.

This is the first walk she did...she came from around the corner on the left near where that man is standing..

A brief video of the last walk she did (it may or may not actually load):

Here's the bike-like apparatus that works both arm and leg strength.  You should also know that the woman riding next to Mom was a 97-year old woman named Helen, who was just as full of piss and vinegar as you might expect.  I overheard Helen talking to her nurse about the various cancers she has had, including breast cancer and a brain tumor. "I've got the hole in my head to prove it," she said.  It is worth noting that after explaining the host of complications Mom has had in the past several weeks, even Helen was impressed with her progress.

So, after just over a week, she has made what one therapist called "remarkable progress".  She's got several more weeks to go, but Grandpa and I both agree that the recovery from this point will be swift and complete.  Don't be afraid to give her a call during the day if you want to check in and say hello!

Mother's Day at De Paul

Here she is going on week five or something.  We are getting more and more frustrated with the waiting game. Mom thinks that they're going to come in tomorrow and tell her she's pregnant. My money's on lupus. It's just one thing after another. Nothing terribly serious, but they all seem like reasons to "wait and see".  Now she apparently has shingles, so there's that.  At any rate, we think she could get sprung sometime this week.  She's headed to Mount Carmel on First Capitol Drive.

Here are some pics from today...


The Mother's Day flowers.




Mom on the phone making deals.

More Progress

Now that she has transitioned to a regular hospital room, Mom is working on getting her strength and appetite back so they can send her to a physical rehab - hopefully someplace closer to home.  She is getting frustrated and annoyed with the holding pattern she is in, and I told her today that it was refreshing to hear her getting pissed about not moving forward.  It will be happening soon.

 She also wanted to thank the boys again for the beautiful "flowies".  She had me bring them home and put them on the table so they would be here when she returns.

What a Difference...

Here is how things look today. The tube came out this morning and her numbers have held strong all day. There is even a light at the end of the ICU tunnel. She may be able to transfer back to the step-down unit in a day or two. Baby steps...
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Location:De Paul Dr,Bridgeton,United States

Someone Wants to Say Hi!

It may not be the best quality, but when I told her that no one had posted in awhile, she wanted me to update you all.  As you can see, she has improved tremendously in the last week.  I'm going to bring her laptop in tomorrow so she can check her Facebook.  One step at a time...but she's well on her way.

Location:De Paul Dr,Bridgeton,United States

Birthday Baby!

New Ducks!

Fishing

Grandpa and Uncle Bobby bought fishing poles for the kids, and today we decided to take them for a spin.  The boys loved it - so much so that we're going back out tomorrow!

And...look at what Nate caught!

AJ opened his birthday box today, and here's the video.  We just got back from his birthday dinner at Red Robin.

crap...

We were supposed to get about 1 -2 inches yesterday, but the storm came up north farther than predicted.....we got about 10 so far with another 3 on the way today.....OK Old Man Winter.....go away!!  And they say our March should be snowier than normal, which is crap because March is supposed to be the snowiest month.   Can I come to Florida???

Schroeder (2004 - 2013)

Schroeder passed away this morning.  He had been sick for the last few days with a cough, some trouble breathing and other symptoms.  I took him to the vet yesterday and they couldn't find anything in particular wrong with him - good heart sounds - lungs clear, etc.  They gave me some medicine for some diarrhea he was having and that was it.  He had shallow, labored breathing most of the night.  This morning, he coughed up some foamy spit and suddenly lost consciousness.  I got him back for a few minutes as he coughed up some more foam, but he lost consciousness again and never woke up.  I am snowed in so I had a buddy of mine with a four-wheel drive truck come get me to take him to the animal hospital, but by the time he got here, Schroeder was gone.  We went anyway and the vets (who were also shaken up - they knew Schroeder pretty well by now) were great.  It really sucks, but as you all know, the good in all of this is that I got to give a sweet little guy a good life for as long as I could.

again....

Another 6 - 10 inches of snow coming in Thursday....and lots of wind.  I'll try and get pictures to post.

Valentine box

There is no link or anything on the Valentine box post.

Cooking Class at Whole Foods

Nate's Busted Face

Valentine's Box from Grandma and Pap

AJ at the Science Fair

AJ participated in the Hillsborough County regional science fair, as one of two third grade projects selected from Citrus Park.  His project was "Change in Solar Panel Voltage With Temperature."  He did a great job!

Friday Pizza and a Movie!

Dim Sum for New Year's

We celebrated Chinese New Year's by eating lots and lots of dim sum.  Danni joined us as well.

Sorry for neglecting...

I got lazy and I apologize.

AJ & Max