Good to be home

I am finally home and free to get ready for Christmas!

Even though I am glad to have been to Chile and glad to have new stamps in my passport (that my parents don’t have yet!), I am so glad to be home!

I arrived home from Chile via Atlanta, Auburn and Haleyville today.  The flight was long and hot and uncomfortable and I would prefer to never repeat it in coach again (or at least without an exit row seat).

Grandaddy was also released from rehab today!  This calls for major praise and thanks for prayers on our family’s behalf.  I told him today that we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving now.  I am so thankful that I still have my sweet Grandaddy.  I just pray that 2010 is an easier year for him than 2009 was health-wise.  But we will take what we can get and cherish our time together as a family.

I want to post lots of Chile pictures, but all I have done is upload them into my computer.  It’s been about 42 hours since I have slept in a bed and I don’t think what little sleep I got on the plane actually counts, so I am going to bed.  Count on some pictures soon though.

PS—Even though the heat is on, I have never been so grateful to live in a land with functional air conditioning!  My hotel room was at least 26 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit) for the entire trip.  And even though I am always cold, when it was 80-92 degrees during the day that is too hot!  I will happily snuggle down in my bed tonight instead of sleeping on top of the covers!

Just a teaser…

 

To pack or not to pack

That is the question.

I have to pack for both my trip to Chile and my trip (however brief) to Florence.  Chile will be 80-90 degrees and Florence will most likely be below 50 degrees the entire time.

I can send almost unlimited things home, but I have a weight limit for my luggage going to Chile.  I also need about two outfits per day each day in Chile, so I have to pack wisely.

Thankfully, Mom, expert packer extraordinaire is coming tomorrow and can spend Sunday helping me to get things organized and paired down.  I’m an extreme packrat, so this is a job in itself.

But first, I have to wash clothes so I can actually have clothes to pack!

Long Journey Ahead

Grandaddy left the hospital today and went to the rehab facility.  It is called an “acute” facility and my definition of “acute” is that they don’t waste any time. 

The typical stay is two weeks (although some say only a week and it is possible to stay up to three weeks).  Unlike other rehabilitative facilities, the patients at J.W. Sommers spend about 8 hours in therapy Mondays through Fridays and 4 hours on Saturday.  They have about a hour for rest and a meal at lunch and are free after dinner.  In our experience, the patient is often too tired for family visits during this time and visitors often talk among themselves and don’t really interact much with the exhausted patient.

Another example of how they don’t waste time is that Grandaddy did upper arm workouts and walked some today after he arrived around 12:30.  Those people definitely make the most of the time they have and I’m sure Grandaddy will walk out, with the assistance of a cane, in just a few short weeks.

The biggest obstacle faced by patients at this facility is not physical limitations, but mental ones.  They have to want to work hard enough to get better.  Before, this was not a problem with Grandaddy.  I hope it will not be this time either.  He’s a fighter, as he proved this past week, and I know he will be better soon!

Prayers Answered!

Grandaddy should be going to a rehab facility tomorrow!  He will have been in the hospital for two weeks and three days without even one breath of fresh outdoor air, so I know he will enjoy the short trip across the river to J.W. Sommers.

Grandaddy spent about two weeks at J.W. Sommers earlier in the year as an inpatient and several more weeks as an outpatient.  Those people can work miracles!  I know that soon he will be doing much better and will be able to regain some semblance of independence. 

I am so thankful that we had such a good outcome from this surgery.  We were given such a scary outlook, but things went better than I dreamed they would.  A classmate buried her Grandmother yesterday and I thought how close we came to the same situation with Grandaddy.  I hurt for her because I was so afraid that was what we would be planning this week or next.

God is so good and protected our family this time.  I know that one day we all have to say goodbye, but I am thankful for every day longer that we each have together.  Family is everything!

Grateful

This Thanksgiving, I have so much to be thankful for.  First and foremost, I am grateful to still have my family intact. 

Grandaddy has had a horrible year and we came close to losing him this week.  He has had at least five hospitalizations this year, the shortest for about a week and the longest for over three weeks and then another two weeks in inpatient rehab.  Time will tell how long his most recent hospitalization will be.  He will be in the hospital for over two weeks before we consider discharge and we are hoping that he can go to J.W. Sommers again for heavy-duty rehab.

Earlier this week, we were faced with the decision of moving forward with a risky surgery or bringing him home.  Grams had her mind up for him to have the surgery, but we weren’t so sure after hearing how difficult the recovery would be.  Later last Monday, Grandaddy made the decision to have the surgery after discussion with his doctor.  We now know that this was the right decision because, while he is still very sick, he is so much better than he was.

Grandaddy is a fighter and still has so much fight left in him.  I can only hope I will be that strong and determined if I am lucky enough to make it to 90. 

For him and the opportunity to spend time with him, this year I am especially thankful.

Prayer Request

I know, I know.  I failed at NaBloPoMo.  I’m not surprised since I’m in Florence and with everything that’s going on.  Maybe next year.  Anyway, I am more in the habit of posting, so maybe I can continue this habit.

On to the subject of this post.  My sweet Grandaddy is having surgery tomorrow.  He made the decision to proceed and thankfully, this was the decision we had also reached as a family.  It’s going to be serious, especially due to his age.  It’s also going to be a difficult recover.

He is a fighter and this is what it takes to fight this illness.  Otherwise, we would have to concede defeat which is something that he, and we, are not willing to do at this point.

Please pray for him, and us, tomorrow.  The surgery should be mid to late morning.  We don’t really know how long it will last, but he will go straight to ICU from the OR.

Florence, Day 2

This morning, Daddy woke me up around 6:40 to help him with an errand before work.  After I got back home, I decided going back to sleep was pointless.  I decided, because it was a really foggy morning, to take Grams to her weekly salon appointment.

Once I decided this, I had less than 45 minutes to go get her and get her to the salon.  Luckily, we’re talking about Florence here and that was completely possible.  I was even able to get a shower and blow-dry my hair!

Once I dropped her off at the salon, I had to decide what to do with the next hour. 

First, I called the Lauderdale County Courthouse and checked on an issue with their property tax assessment.  Then I went to their house to get some paperwork I needed to pay the property taxes.  Finally, I was able to go to the Courthouse and pay the taxes along with taking care of some other business.

By the time I finished all of this, it was nearly time to pick up Grams.  I backtracked to get her, we went to her house to pick up some other papers I needed and then left for Muscle Shoals.

In Muscle Shoals, I had to go to Emma’s Vet to pick up some food for her.  That trip took longer to get there and back to Florence than it did to actually get the food.

After that, we went to an optician to get new glasses made for Grams.  That didn’t take so long, but getting her in and out of the store was difficult.

After that she asked to go to the mall for two items.  So, of course, we went.  After that trip, we went to pick up lunch and take it to the hospital. 

So with all of that, you get to where I am now: sitting at the hospital trying to take care of Grandaddy as best I can.  Mom has gone home to get some well-earned rest.  She’ll be back in a few hours and I’ll go home to sleep and begin the process again in the morning. 

I don’t know how Mom has made it this long.  It’s exhausting running around town by myself, but add Grams into the mix and it’s almost impossible.  Thank you, Mom!  I want you to know that I truly appreciate what you are doing for Grams and Grandaddy!