Okay, it looks like this will be a quarterly update A lot of good things have happened since the last update. Mom has improved to the point where she is beginning to get out of the house some. She has been to church several times and we even went to visit Lewis last week in Woodstock, Ga. We can only credit mom's improvement to answered prayer and her occupational therapist, Lisa, who was able to convince her that the only thing limiting her was her "can't do" mentality. Mom had made so much progress that she no longer quilifies for home health care. We hated to see Lisa stop coming. She had gotten mom to even walk across the room with out her walker. She would strap on her magic belt and off she would go. Of course mom thought Lisa was right behind her holding the belt, but Lisa would be on the other side of the room. That is the reason we called it a magic belt. As long as the belt was on, she could walk without the walker. Lisa will be missed. Mom's caregivers are excellent and take extremely good care of her. We do have a standing joke about them having to take nerve pills to keep staying with her, but the truth is they are excellent help with mom. We are lucky to have them.
Lewis has been well enough to take several trips but his loss of appetite has caused him to be more feeble. He continues to be a fall risk and now uses a walker sometimes. He still has a great attitude and is now on steroids to increase his appetite. They seem to be working. He needs to gain some weight, and that is one of his goals. I am not sure I understand the thinking that drinking an Ensure counts as a meal, even though that is what they say. Each one is not but about 300 calories and drinking 3 would only provide less than 1000 calories a day. That is the amount most people would take in if they were trying to loose weight. Of course that thinking probably comes from my being 240 lbs and really overweight. I would gladly share some pounds with Lewis, but it doesn't work that way. Lewis's original prognosis was two years, which has now stretched to 4 and counting. Another answer to prayers. The results of his last scan were not as promising and he may have to go back to IV chemo after Christmas. He has been on oral chemo which has not been as strong as the other, but has had less side effects. We pray that his next scan will show improvement, and further delay the IV chemo.
Changes have been made around my house. Amy and I raked the top rocks in the front yard and I decided to put down sod to cover the remaining rocks. I estimated about 4000 square feet of grass would be needed. That came to nine pallets. So a couple of weeks ago I had them delivered. I don't know what I was thinking. I somehow failed to realize that I had to pick up each piece and set it in place. I knew I was in trouble after the 1st day when I had only put out one pallet. The race was on to get the rest out before all the grass died on the remaining 8 pallets. After a quick trip for a back brace and three days later I was done. I never want to see another pallet of grass, ever! In my mind I knew I was putting out some dead grass, but at least all the rocks are now covered and I will be able to use the lawnmower again this coming spring. I hope that the grass comes back to life in a couple of months, but for now even dead grass looks good. Of course most of it is growing, and it may need cutting before winter.
The pool is finally finished and I even got to swim in it a few times before the temperature started to drop. Another good thing is that I finished my physical therapy on my shoulder. I had mess it up when I hauled the 38 years of accumulated junk around the house to the landfill. Some of the things were quite heavy. I was able to load those things on the truck with my front end loader, but once I got to the dump, it was just me to get them off the truck. Every piece had to be lifted over a rail to get it into the dumpster. I thought it was a bad sprain, but it hurt like a broken arm. After a couple of months I finally went to the doctor, had two shots in the shoulder and then 5 weeks of physical therapy or should I say torture therapy. I was so glad when I was released from that ordeal. I will have to admit that it really helped though.
After working the 2000 piece mostly dark blue puzzle, the hardest one ever which took 6 months to finish, it would seem that I need a break from puzzles. But, I have started another one that is mostly green, but only half the number of pieces than the other one. It should be completed by the end of this month. I will try to post pictures and less writing for my next post. This week we are visiting Kinsley, Cooper, Katy, Scott, and Baxter in Chantilly, Virginia. Having a great time, but dreading the ride back home at the end of the week. That's all for now, will post again soon.
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