Today is not the day I had hoped it would be. Ya, it's still Thursday like I thought it was, and Survivor is still on tonight for me to watch tonight after work, but I thought today might be a turning point for Patrick's recovery. Nothing went as I had hoped.
His first appointment of the day was at a different rehab facility with a therapist who is certified in the Saeboflex. We got there as scheduled, filled out the 8 pages of forms when his name was called. The woman told us to follow her
I know I should probably blog all the "ups" seperately and raise the percentage of positive blogs vs."down" blogs, but that wouldn't be as much fun as this "whole bunch of ups". So here is a list from the past week or so:
1. Brandon competed in a soap box derby race (St. Jude fundraiser) this weekend. It lightly rained all morning, so they had to cut the number of runs for each racer from 3 to 2, but he didn't mind a bit. He ended up winning 1st place in his weight class! Way to go, Brandon
Why do I only blog (99% of the time) the things that are bothering me? I must seem like a total mess...I really need to start blogging some of the ups...
Anyway, in keeping with tradition, here is the latest news to get me in a tizzy.
Patrick came home with an updated therapy schedule effective tomorrow. The therapists have reduced his therapy from 4-5 days of OT,PT, ST a week to 3 days a week. Not only are they reducing the sessions per week, but OT & PT are being reduced every se
I have been trying to decide whether or not to blog about this, because I know what I saw can hit close to home with many of our members here. The thing is, it has been like a shadow of sadness on me since it happened Tuesday, and I hope by blogging it, I can let it go.
I realize that I have been putting in more time at work (I just started going back full time) and the extra day of work happenes to have started at the same time school starts (which ALWAYS means we are short staffed for a
Finally, something cool to blog about.
My mom has been named a finalist (One of 10 overall, one of five in her catergory) for the Sutter Home Build A Better Burger Contest. YEAH MOM!!!
She is a finalist in the "alternative burger" catagory, which means at least 75% of the burger must contain a meat other than beef. The grand prize is $10,000 so those are pretty good odds. She has already won the trip to Napa for 2 nights so she can compete in the cook-off, plus I think all the runners
Patrick and I have always disliked those "family newsletters" you get with an obligatory christmas card every year. It's not that we don't enjoy knowing how our loved ones are doing, it's just that they always sound like life is "so perfect" that they end up sounding like a Walgreens commercial. Unfortunately, my sister's are the worst. (LOVE YOU THOUGH, SIS!) We would truly just rather have a signature on the card and save the update for something one on one at their convenience and when we can
Thursday marks the first day of school for Brandon- Let the games begin!
School is always a challange for Brandon. He is ADD so following through on homework is just this side of impossible for him, and etremely frustrating for Patrick and me.
Patrick had his stroke in Feb and I was in a daze the last days of this past school year, consumed by helping Patrick to recover. Now that school is upon us again, I am really nervous. I remember the beginning of last year, Brandon had a leaf proje
I am so excited! A server from my work asked if she could be our homemaker assistant!
I was talking to a few of the servers at close one night, just chit chat, and talked about trying to find someone to help with Patrick and Brandon this school year. I had asked her if she would be able to put up a notice at her school, and she started asking me about what I needed. She said she was interested in it, and after talking about the hours and pay she decided yesterday she wanted to do it.
We have a manager at work who has been with the company about 5 months, three months as a manager trainee, two as a manager. He has about 15-20 yeas experience as a restaurant manager. I think he might come up missing soon and I will have to plea the 5th.
He is an "old school' manager who does not care what the crew thinks or feels, speaks to them in a way to intimidate them, has a 'it's my way or the highway' mentality and is generally out to get my hosts, who average the age of 17. 17 ye
I am tired and cranky due to my work schedule this weekend (I got 4hrs sleep last night) so I apologize for the "Pity, party of 1" tonight. But I gotta say this cuz it's buggin me. Mostly, it's a continuation on Jean's thread, but I knew it was inappropriate to say this there, even though I am sure more people would actually read it there. (1/2 empty glass, today)
I am frustrated that most of my husband's family do not talk to me or ask if I'm home when they call to speak with Patrick. I
I was sleeping on the bed when Patrick's stroke occurred. In my sleeping haze, I remember hearing shuffling going on in our room which I interpreted to being Patrick changing out of his workout clothes. But remembering this is almost more of a feeling than a memory-I was sleeping pretty good.
The next thing I remember is hearing shampoo bottles falling in the bathtub. I was annoyed by the sudden sound, but thought very little of it and resumed my slumber. I don't know how much time passed
It's funny how you can remember certain things so easily and block out other things without ever knowing. I have been trying to remember the events of Patrick's stroke, and sometimes it all seems like such blurr. The early memories surrounding the aftermaths of his stroke play in my mind like watching a movie in super fast motion with an occasional second or two in normal play- maybe only remembering the faces of those around me, a word or two, or how the daylight lit a room. I guess my brain w
I want to pack my sh*t and leave right now. I want to take my husband...I guess the 13 year old can tag along too . I live in a town with no relatives within an hour and a half's drive, and no real friends. The friends Patrick had pre-stroke have pretty much disappeared, I guess seeing him this way is probably uncomfortable for them. Most people our age deal with parents and grandparents having a stroke, not a peer or spouse. I don't think they know how to relate. Patrick was the guy who consta
Today is a day to mark on the calendars. It's a boy!!!
I haven't talked about it here until now because I didn't want to jinx it, but today, my husband adopted my son. He is 13 years old. Patrick and I have been together since my son was 18mos old, living together since he was 3, and married since he was 8. Patrick is the only "father" he's ever had. It's nice now to be able to drop the quotation marks. Patrick is his father, and that is that. I don't honestly think it will change the relati
Even the the full moon, no crack, my raging hormones and going back to work after my "vacation"(went by too quick, and I am thoroughly convinced I could be perfectly happy never working another day, but such is not my fate) Patrick had a good week.
I will start with the crack. He ate my crack and I was not at all happy about it. Crack is the name Patrick gave the candy I made last summer. I made it for a family function and he told everyone I brought crack because it is so addictive.Now ev
I have been questioning today, how do you know when to it's time to stop saying "no" and when to start letting him try again? What I am thinking about is, when Patrick was released from the rehab center, I was given "recommendations" of what Patrick should and shouldn't do. For instance, he shouldn't shave with a razor, he shouldn't walk up and down stairs unattended, he needs to use a cane, he needs to wear this leg brace, he shouldn't use the stove or the oven. They did tell me to let him do t
Outward appearances can be very deceiving. Patrick knows this, and always has been able to see beyond it. Don't get me wrong- he's not so open that he would ignore the signal a person sends out and put himself in danger. He just has a way of knowing when the person is different than what they appear to be.
Patrick himself, can be a victim of pre-judgement from time to time. He is just under 6 feet tall and has a natural muscular build. When he worked out, he was downright cut. (see his ph
Patrick is an amazing man. One of the things I love most about him is his compassion.
There was a story published in a Chicago paper about seven years ago about a little girl who had been attacked in her apartment complex. She was a pre-teen (can't remember exactly,9-12 years old) African-American girl living in a tough neighborhood. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and left for dead. The details of the attack were in the paper, and they were beyond comprehension. They appeared in
Patrick has always been a bit of a homebody. I have never minded too much because Patrick and I always enjoy each other's company, so having an evening watching our favorite shows together is usually what we are doing when I am not at work. But because of the stroke, Patrick is watching way too much tv. He changes the channel to MacGiver at 2:00pm. This is scaring the hell out of me..
All of the hobbies he had pre-stroke he has not been able to do. He spent alot of time downloading music
But I dig "supernatural" topics. No UFO's... ghosts, ESP, and stuff like that. I have never had an experience that I believed to be from the other side, but I enjoy reading stories and watching shows on the topic from time to time . My sweet husband humored me on our last anniversary with my interest.
We have started a tradition of staying an overnight trip on our anniversary. Ususally, I plan the trip by looking for interesting places within a few hours drive and we plan it from there. I
I need an attitude adjustment. I know it, and I can't blame it on hormones; genetics maybe. The women on my mother's side of the family talk about us all having "the streak". They say the streak has been passed down for many years, and they all referred to it long before I was around. The women in my family are usually polite to a fault. You can push your luck quite far before we snap, but when we are pushed too far, the streak comes out and watch out. You will probably have no idea what the he
While Patrick was staying at the rehab facility in Carbondale, I would drive the 4 hours to see him whenever I could. He would check himself out of the facility, and we would spend the day seeing what trouble we could get into to, usually going out to eat, walking the mall and such.
On one visit, we went into a store in the mall that sold very touristy/new age items, like incense, oils, paper lanterns, dragon statues, and all kinds of funky feng shui junk (misspelled, I'm sure) and also
Patrick and I have been together for 12 years, and married for five. I met him for the first time at a 24 hr diner at about 2 o' clock in the morning. He was my server. My friend, and the man I was seeing on a casual basis, and I went in after a night on the town to have some breakfast. My date had left the table to use the bathroom, when I nudged my best friend and made a comment about our server being kind of cute. Before she could respond I said, "Awe, he's not my type."
Several weeks
I have worked for a casual dining restaurant for 13 years now. Thought I'd share a few amusimg stories from when I was a server.
We have an entree that is cooked and served in a buttered parchment bag. I always offer to open the bag for the guest when I served it. This guest declined. I checked on them periodically, but I hadn't noticed until I went to remove their plates that the gentleman had eaten his bag too! I didn't want to embarrass him, so I didn't say anything, besides, everyone
Today we had a person from the Department of Human Services come visit us to determine if Patrick was eligable to have someone come in for a few hours while I was at work. They will make sure he takes his pm meds, make his dinner, and stay for a bit. They approved us for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. That is good news for me, a little less stress on preparing meals. I hope this service proves to be helpful. I can hire someone myself to do it if I want, unfortunately, I don't have many friends in
