One year ago today.....

One year ago today…..

I was at Dana-Farber with a friend for her first visit to an oncologist when I got a call from Mom saying Dad had been rushed to the hospital, just two weeks after they arrived in Florida to begin their next phase of life.  Kate, BJ, Heather and I all got to Cape Coral as quickly as we could, and there began the journey of the past year.  First, we didn't know if Dad would survive what they eventually told us was a massive hemorrhagic stroke.  Thankfully he did.  Then we were told that he probably wouldn't have use of his right side.  I’ll never forget the day in the hospital when he lifted up his right arm (because his left arm was tied down) in an attempt to pull out some of his tubes!  Two weeks after the stroke he was released from the ICU.  Two more weeks found him being discharged to a great rehabilitation hospital for a month where they helped him get his strength back and learn how to deal with some of the residual weakness in his right side.  After that he went to a different nursing/rehabilitation facility for another month in preparation to go home.  Finally, on January 26^th, 2013, he went home to their condo in Cape Coral.

That sounds like a nice end to the story, but it isn’t over.  We’re so glad Dad is still with us, but I’m not going to lie – it’s been a tough year.  It’s been hard on Mom, who has faithfully been there with him every step of the way.  The bulk of everything has been on her shoulders.  It’s been hard on us kids, knowing that we can’t always be there to help because we live so far away and can only take so much time off from work.  BJ and Heather were there A LOT of weekends through the winter and spring, which was great, but obviously they have jobs and other responsibilities.  

Dad still has some physical struggles, but mostly the problem lies with some memory and confusion issues.  He has had some great days – sometimes I talk to him and it’s pretty much a completely normal conversation.  Other times he asks the same questions over and over and seems a little “lost”.  Those days are hard.  He’s also been frustrated because he can’t drive and really wants his independence back.  Overall, most days he’s pretty happy, and he definitely still has that “big good lookin’ guy” personality, so we’re thankful for that. J     

Dad’s having some one year follow up appointments this week.  Based on his ophthalmologist appointment on Tuesday, it sounds like he’ll be having cataract surgery in the next couple of months.  That will be helpful, as his vision has been a challenge since the stroke.  We’re also hoping his other doctors may be able to figure out what’s happening with the confusion and maybe do something to help.  I've spent the past year praying for a 100% recovery.  It hasn't happened yet, but that doesn't mean it won’t, so I’ll keep on asking! 

So, one year later, life looks a little different for our family.  This isn't how any of us envisioned Mom and Dad’s retirement.  I’m so thankful that BJ and Heather are only a few hours’ drive away, and I know Mom appreciates having them around.  Kate is very busy with school (finishing her PhD!) and her business, so it’s tough for her to get away.  As for me - I’m praying about where I need to be.  Boston has been home for a long time (Woo hoo, way to go Red Sox!), but it’s possible a change may be coming.  I don’t know just yet, but the pull to be with the people I love - who also happen to need some help - is pretty strong.   And let’s face it – for a girl who hates the cold and snow, Florida in the winter is a whole lot nicer than Boston!  That doesn't hurt ;)

Mom and Dad would love to see people this winter, so if you’re thinking about a FL vacation, give them a call and stop by for a visit!

5/29 update

HI everyone -

Hope your spring is off to a great start!  I feel like I'm finally getting ahead of all the stuff I've needed to do around the house.  I'm not sure how it happens, but all of this mystery junk appears around the house and in the basement when I'm not looking and I seem to spend weeks getting rid of it all.

Dad is doing well.  He recently spent 2 weeks with Aunt Jean while Mom was up here on the Cape taking care of some business and getting their summer place in order.  Aunt Jean says Dad was great - he took care of the dog, and did his own laundry, etc. There were only a couple of occasions where he talked about things that didn't seem to make sense.  He has definitely come a long way in that area!  Names are still a struggle for him, but I think we can all deal with that pretty easily.  The two of them had a great time together.  Over the past few years Dad had been spending some of the winter down there with Aunt Jean, helping her out around the house, and basically escaping the winters up here, so I know they were glad to have the time together.  They also had a visit from Kate and Jason for the first weekend Mom was gone.  Sounds like they all had a nice visit!

Some other exciting news - it appears that BJ and Heather may be making a move down to the Fort Myers area for work.  Nothing's set in stone right now, but their company is relocating it's headquarters down that way, and right now it looks like they will most likely be transferred to that office.  It is awesome that they're already in Florida, but if this move does happen, they won't be 4 hours away anymore!

I don't know exactly when, but Mom and Dad will be making their way north soon for the summer months.  It's getting pretty hot in southwest Florida, and I know they're both looking forward to being "home" on the Cape, where they can enjoy the pond in Mashpee and see all of the friends they've been missing these last several months.  I know they are looking forward to seeing lots of you, who have been so wonderful through this process for all of us.  Hit them up toward the end of June.  I'm guessing they'll be here by then.  I know they'd love to have some visitors!

Right now, I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this blog.  It seems to have served it's purpose, in keeping everyone updated on Dad's progress.  He's doing so well now - I can't say he's entirely his "old self", but he is really, really close - that I don't know what else I would write.  Maybe I'll just post some pics over the summer, if I get any from them....that's a hint, by the way.  Mom is terrible about sending me pictures, so if you get a chance to visit them this summer, please take a picture and send it to me!  If you do, I'll put it on here. :)

Thank you all again for all of your love and support you've given to all of us and for all the prayers offered up for us over the last 7 months.  It's hard to believe how dire things looked all those months ago when we almost lost him.  Even though the images of him hooked up to all kinds of tubes and machines are fresh in my mind, it's almost like that was another person.  He truly is a walking miracle!

4/24 update

Hi all –

Sorry to be so long between updates.  Life has been pretty crazy lately.  I think I’m going to reduce my updates to once a month.  Dad’s made a lot of progress in the last (almost) 6 months, and things are pretty good at this point.  He continues to improve all the time.  I hear he’s been calling people on the phone a lot more.  BJ theorized that he’s starting to feel that he really is improving, and struggles less to find his words, so he’s more confident and is getting back to more normal activities.  He did see a doctor about his shoulder (not stroke related) in the last couple of weeks, and it looks like he will need a shoulder replacement if he wants to have any lasting improvement.  They gave him a cortisone shot and that has helped.  He’s still having PT for that and his hip.  Other than that, he no longer has any therapy appointments.  He supposedly does exercises in the pool, if you can call it that…..

Here’s a nice pic of Dad with Mom and Aunt Jean at a friend’s birthday celebration.  Everyone looks pretty good! 

On a sad note, yesterday BJ and Heather had to say goodbye to their little buddy Sam.  He was a sweet boy, and had been a faithful furry visitor to Mom and Dad’s these past several months.  He's been a member of the Hall family as long as Heather has; she and Sam were a package deal for BJ.  Even as his 16 year old little body was failing, he still had a lot of spunk and was always glad to see everyone.  Of course BJ and Heather are heartbroken and will miss him terribly.  The rest of us will too.  It’s so hard when they have to leave us..... 

That’s all for now.  I’ll shoot for the end of May for the next update unless something major happens.  If you want to know how he’s doing before then, give him a call!

4/9 update

Dad has been a busy guy over the last week or so.  Yesterday, I believe, was his last day of speech therapy.  He's doing well, but needs to keep working on remembering words.  That's the biggest problem at the moment.  Today he went to a doctor about his hip.  His physical therapist was concerned that he may be having an issue, but the good news is it's just a bit of arthritis.  It's been hard to tell exactly what's been going on, because the stroke did affect him on the right side, and he walks with a bit of a limp.  But, the limp was somewhat present before the stroke, so the PT wanted to get it checked out.  The doctor said everything looks good, and wants Dad to continue having PT to keep it loose and moving.  He needs to get better about doing his exercises in between.  Apparently that has not really been happening.

Tomorrow he sees the neurologist again, and on Thursday he will see yet another doctor about his shoulder. The shoulder has been a chronic problem, and is not stroke related.  He's already been seen for it so this is a follow up.  I'm guessing that doctor will also want Dad to continue with some PT to get that joint moving as well.  

I talked to Dad on Sunday morning for the first time in a while.  He hasn't really been interested in talking on the phone much, so I was a little surprised that he actually picked up.  It was a great talk - almost completely normal.  I was really pleased to hear how much better he sounded.  I think part of that was that it was morning rather than afternoon.  He seems to be able to find his words much better in the morning.  I think he's just too tired by the time 3 or 4 o'clock rolls around.  He did get stuck a couple of times.  Every once in a while he gets a word in his head and it pops in where it doesn't belong.  He asked me about church, which was appropriate, but then the word "church" kept coming up when we were talking about different subjects.  And as we were talking about different people, he called most of them Kristen, but would catch himself and know it wasn't right.  I gave him the correct names and he recognized them.

Overall, things seem to be going pretty well.  Dad is anxious to find out when/if he can drive, but he said he may wait until the fall to pursue that matter.  I think we are all relieved at that!  

I don't really have any good pictures of Dad.  Mom took one of him during Easter dinner at Aunt Jean's house, but he looks like he's half asleep.  So, here's one of Mom and Syd waiting for Dad outside his therapy appointment last week :)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope everyone has a great day celebrating with your family and friends tomorrow.  I'm not sure what plans Mom and Dad have, though I suspect dinner with Aunt Jean will be involved.

Last weekend Mom and Dad got away to see BJ and Heather for the weekend.  That was a nice change for everyone, since it's usually BJ and Heather who make the 4 hour drive to see Mom and Dad.  I hear they had a nice time, and got to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Bob before they headed back to Maine.

One thing they got to experience was the pottery studio BJ and Heather frequent.  They've both really gotten into making their own pottery pieces, and Mom and Dad went along and tried their hand at it as well.  Here are a couple of pics of them in action:

After their weekend adventure, Dad had an appointment with the neuro-opthalmologist to be evaluated for cataract surgery.  The really good news is that his double vision is improving on its own!  And the doctor says his cataracts aren't bad enough to warrant surgery yet, so they'll see him in 6 months to see how he's doing.  Dad has been continuing his physical and speech therapy at the local wellness center.  He is still very frustrated by his inability to remember names of things, and that seems to put a damper on him having conversations with people.  Even with me on the phone, he gets flustered and I have a hard time understanding what he's trying to say, and then he passes the phone to someone else.  He's such a talker, I can imagine how tough this has been for him.  But, we still have a long way to go in his recovery.  Tomorrow marks 5 months since the stroke, and he has come a long way since that day in October.  His PT is working on strengthening his legs, so he's walking better and better.  And the more he keeps with the speech therapy, the better his memory will get.

Again I want to thank everyone for their concern and prayers for Dad.  Please keep praying that he continues to make great strides in his recovery.  We all want to see him back to his old self!

3/22 update

Hi everyone -

Sorry for the late update. I actually don't have much to report. With all their company, it's been tough to talk to Mom or Dad these last two weeks.  I do know Dad likes his new speech and physical therapists, so that's going well.  Mom and Dad are currently on their way to BJ and Heather's for the weekend.  They'll also see Aunt Carol and Uncle Bob sometime over the course of the weekend since they're still in Cocoa Beach.  On Tuesday, Dad will be evaluated for cataract surgery, and I hear he's looking forward to it.

That's all I know at the moment. If I hear anything new, I'll post again.

Have a nice weekend!

3/8 update

Happy Friday all!

Well, I hope the weather where you are is better than it is here.  The local weather peeps said the Boston area wasn't going to get all that much snow, but the foot I shoveled when I got home from work sure felt like a lot!

Dad is having a good week.  I understand he had lunch with some of his cousins earlier this week.  And Mom's sister, Fran, arrived on Tuesday for a visit.  Sounds like everyone has been enjoying themselves so far.  Today Dad started outpatient speech and physical therapy at the local wellness center.  He seems to like the therapists he'll be seeing.  Some good news on the physical therapy front was that he had his left shoulder x-rayed, and they don't see any tear or damage to his rotator cuff.  He's had shoulder pain for a long time and tried to ignore it.  They started working on it when he had PT to help him get stronger walking, and thought he may have torn the rotator cuff in the past.  But it looks like it's just arthritis.  Good to know it's not really damaged, but I don't know how much they'll be able to do about the arthritis.  Maybe with some anti-inflammatories they can get it moving a little better.  It's been a bit of a problem since his right side does have some weakness, so he's been relying on his left arm and leg more.

For his speech therapy, Mom sat in and listened to his session to get an idea of how we can best help Dad when he's not at therapy.  I don't remember if I wrote it last time, but his neurologist says he has anomic aphasisa.  Here's a link to a wikipedia article about it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomic_aphasia

So, basically he can usually look at an item and tell you what it does or what it's used for, but he can't find the name.  It's seems to be similar with people.  He knows who people are, but he can't put the right name with the face.  The other day I heard him telling Mom that the dog wanted some mosquitoes.  I'm fairly certain he meant treats, but I have no idea where mosquitoes came from.  Sometimes it sort of makes sense; the word he comes up with can be related to what he's trying to say, but it's just a little off.  Other times, like the mosquito reference, he's way off.  He probably saw a mosquito and the word got stuck in his head.  Overall, he can usually get his point across, but sometimes he gets pretty frustrated.  I can only imagine how hard it must be to know what you want to say but not be able to say it.

Aunt Fran was nice enough to take a picture of Mom and Dad for you all.  This is from earlier today, while they were all enjoying an afternoon by the pool:

Wish I could have been there to take it myself instead of having to shovel!

Have a great weekend!