Last night would have been when we would have gotten back from our trip to Texas. Before we were scheduled to leave, I put a hold on the mail and the newspaper in our absence. It is very easy to do this online, but I had no idea how to undo it. I honestly never remembered to try. So my poor husband who loves to sit on the patio having his coffee and reading the newspaper, sat and watched the desert instead. I offered to get it for him on his iPad, but he didn’t like that idea. Today all services resumed, he was happily reading the paper and having his coffee again, and we took another step toward normalcy.

At 7 a.m. mom called to let me know she would be leaving at 11. I am 5 minutes away. Okay, so I had a 4 hour heads up. I got to the hospital at 10, and got the best space in the lot, right next to the front door (that’s a big thing-this lot is full-always!). At 3:30, the transportation service came to get her. I could have pushed her down the street in a wheelchair about 20 or 30 times during that time period. There surely must be something discharge/payment wise that made that time period happen. Call me cynical.

I have fought long and hard to get her some good physical therapy, but seriously when we walked in to HealthSouth, I wanted to cry. She went from a room that was like a suite to a shared tiny room with the bed that was NOT near the window. She was clearly disappointed. As was I. I moved her clothes in to the dresser and got her settled and her caregivers began to arrive. I excused myself and told her to call me if she wanted company. After a couple hours, I called her to see how she was doing and to see if she met her roomie. She had, and she seemed okay with everything. I, on the other hand, did not feel good about the situation. So when I talked to her, I said I would call to see if we could pay extra for the single, and that if she was unhappy with the arrangement, I would get her out and work something out at home. She said, no, this would be fine, and by the way, the food is good. That’s saying a lot, and I will leave it alone. But, I will be watching this and ready for anything.

Fernando was already at work today and I think the house modifications are moving along nicely. He is a good guy, and really wants to help. I do not yet know what mom’s therapy schedule will be. She is in room 319, and if you are planning to visit, (and I do think she will love it) I highly recommend a quick call to see when she has down time. We don’t want to interrupt her schedule nor do we want to have to wait for her once there. If you want to bring her anything in the morning, she loves iced caramel macchiatos from Starbucks and anytime after that, she loves mineral water or fresh fruit. Instead of the fifteen feet of countertop space, she now is down to about three.

I understand her mailbox at home is full. I will try to get through it and make some room, but honestly, when I am there, it always seems to slip my mind. Feel free to message me here or email or call me if you have questions or messages. I do take cards to her every day and she loves getting them. I think most of the initial drama is over, so I may not update quite as often, but do promise to post news as it comes along.