Family Gathering

Mom came home before noon on Thanksgiving Day. She sat in the living room for a little while and we brought Casey up to her. At first, he seemed confused about her, the unusual cast on her arm and her neck brace, but after several minutes his nose told him that his momma was home. Mom let him sit beside her right side on the sofa and he rolled over snuggling his nose toward her in his lap. This made my mom so happy to finally see her baby. She didn't worry about him hurting her at all, and Casey seemed to understand that she needed tender loving care. He's been very sweet. Mom carefully climbed the stairs and slept the first night in her own bed! John set up a homemade bell for her to call us, using the lid from a saucepan and a carabiner! It works well!

We didn't allow ourselves to feel pressure about preparing our Thanksgiving meal, waiting until Friday to sit down for it. We are very grateful to one of our neighbors who kindly fed Dean, John and me from their magnificent Thanksgiving spread on Thursday, and sent a plate home for Linda--she had a small taste of each thing.

I spent some time organizing the medications that have been prescribed into an Excel spreadsheet that I printed out. This will help us keep up with the time schedule. She's on at least ten medications, which may be changed after her surgery. I can easily make changes and reprint the list as needed. Before I had made the list, we had made a mistake the very first time we gave her a pill! Two medications began with the letters "lev," and we accidentally gave her the wrong one. It was her thyroid medication, and she had already been given it that morning by the nurses at Select. Oops. No harm was done, but it scared us, and made us study the instructions well so that we know what we're doing. I called a nurse to ask several questions too.

We prepared a wonderful feast on Friday with minimal stress, served buffet style, and using the regular china instead of dusting off the fine stuff. Mary provided the turkey, dressing, & gravy. Diane and I cooked side dishes, and Shannon baked the pumpkin pies, and Matthew set the table! Dean washed all of the dishes! It was quite a feast, enjoyed by all. Unfortunately, Mom was only able to nibble a little of it because she has had no appetite for a couple of days, but I'm sure it will return before the leftovers are all gone.

Sunday afternoon, Linda will be checked in to UAMS for orthopedic surgery on Monday, followed by one or two nights at UAMS. Today, a visiting nurse came to give us her orientation and next week, after returning home again, home health nurses and home health aids will begin regular visits to help us at home as needed. John and I can handle most of the hourly duties but bathing and woundcare help will be greatly appreciated for the skill of the professionals. We're just practicing at this.
~Mindy

Note from Linda:

Loving thanks to John, Diane, Mindy, Dean, Shannon, Matthew, and Mary for all your wonderful help. Even though I was upstairs, it was a joy to hear everyone together today in the house, and enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner that you made possible.

Love,
Linda