John and Linda Fordyce

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We are so blessed to have a great family and so many, many good, loving friends who are concerned and praying for Linda when she needs it. Thank you!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Home by Thanksgiving!

There is now a real chance that Linda Fordyce will be discharged on Thanksgiving Day and allowed to go home! Today, she actually climbed stairs. Every day brings new possibilities! Little by little, she is getting stronger and stronger. We are thrilled! John is making the preparations with the case manager already, so that everything will be ready for her to come home next week. Physical therapists will make house calls, and she will be able to go to her follow-up appoinments as an outpatient. Hooray!!! M



Diane Here, I didn't want to post over that last bit of great news so I'm adding to the bottom of it. I'm so glad to hear we may be able to have family together with Mom at home for Thanksgiving. Here is a great photo, I just found, of Linda's grandkids all together with their Uncle Dan. Classic!

Mindy's family

I was telling Mom about how well my family are doing in Saipan with me here, and she was so amused by something I said that she suggested I put it in the blog. I had told her that I am usually Thom's human alarm clock, and that sometimes involves screaming and kicking!

Thom has done a great job. He's organized the household chores, shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc... He's getting Brooke to school on time and she now has ballet rehearsals about 5-6 times per week in preparation for Swan Lake on December 5th & 6th. Unfortunately, I can't be there. I usually am very involved backstage and have been the ballet's emcee for the past two years! Brooke is missing her Nana so much. They usually talk on the phone 3 to 4 times a week and are real pals! Garrett is homeschooled and Thom had already taken over his supervision this year since I started graduate school. Garrett has informed me several times that the house is often much cleaner and less cluttered since I've been away! I think Thom has proven his domestic superiority. I hope they don't mind the mess that I will bring home with me next month.

Mom's physical therapy continues to progress. She walked much further yesterday and is making the effort to get out of bed much more often. These workouts do still lead to fatigue and pain, mostly in the evenings, but she is bravely continuing. She frequently refers to how far she has come to remind herself that even though progress is slow, it is happening. Her positive attitude is serving her well.

Diane, Steve, Shannon, and Matthew are making plans to join us next week for Thanksgiving. Diane and I are making some very simple plans for a special meal. I can't remember the last time I was here for Thanksgiving! This will be my first Thanksgiving without my husband and children.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A much better day!

She fed herself breakfast using her fat-handled fork! She sat up on the side of her bed! She stood and sat in a wheelchair for nearly an hour! I washed and cut her hair (we broke the rules; they said we couldn't rinse but she leaned over a basin and it worked). How would you like to wait over a month before your hair was really washed? The only thing they had done was put foam in her hair and scrub it out with a wet washcloth. PT and OT (physical therapy and occupational therapy) came in and gave her some exercises. I was so proud of the way she pushed through the pain in her left arm and kept trying with determination. When it seemed like she was tempted to give up and get back to bed, she went ahead and stood up and used a walker to walk all the way out to the hallway and back, then she sat on a portable potty before returning to the bed. This is great because she looks forward to saying "goodbye bedpan!" She sat up again to eat her lunch and remained seated rather than reclining much of the afternoon. I am so proud of her. It is great to have her not lying flat on her back so much. What is really amazing is that she felt pretty good about all of this. I know we expect her to feel some fatigue later on, but these are major milestones! Linda even mentioned that she can envision herself being at home soon, as soon as she is finally able to get up and down by herself. She is so excited about this progress! She has come a long way since October 8.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Some days are tougher than others

Sunday was a pretty rough day. It may not be pleasant for you to read about this, but just try to imagine how unpleasant it has been for my mother. She has been confined to a bed for more than five and a half weeks, with barely any movement, and her digestive system is not functioning normally. We have reason to believe that the various medications interfere with normal bodily functions as well. She was absolutely miserable yesterday, since before sunrise until late in the evening, with urgency coming on but just never being able to feel like she was finished, and suffering severe abdominal cramping. She was also having that fear of the unknown wall of pain that I recall having when I was in labor with my first child.

Finally, by this morning, she was feeling a lot better and rested well for much of the day. She was even able to sit up in bed to exercise her arms and legs a bit with the physical therapists today. I pray that she may have more good days ahead of her, but some days truly feel like a setback to her. May she rest well tonight, please, God.