Happy Birthday!!

        Bruce's birthday! Bruce says he never paid much attention to birthdays. Now we are celebrating the fact he is alive and having a birthday! He got sung "happy birthday" to five times from family. 

     Bruce's whopper cake with curly candles. Rosala said she made one for Don, he liked whoppers too. 

   I ordered a wheel chair accessible garden table for Bruce's birthday. Edna from Eastern Oregon Nurseries said it would take two to three days to make once we gave her the dimensions we wanted. We called back with Bruce's size suggestions and it will be ready this week. If we like it we will order a second table. 

   I met with Kitchens by Terri to discuss redesigning the kitchen. Man, she is worth the money let me tell you! She knows her stuff. She did this three dimensional work up that was fun to behold. She is going to put in a touch faucet, leg room under the sink, a double oven gas stove with down ward vent (into out basement), the knobs will be in the front where he can reach them, plus the top oven he will be able to open and close himself, she wants to turn the French doors into a single wide wheelchair accessible glass door (I need to see out, some days I feel really isolated), for more cabinet space, a fingertip touch shelf that has replaced the old lazy Susan design, a place for the microwave that Bruce can reach, a side by side frig with accessible water for Bruce and pull out drawers so Bruce can reach the dishes. Ta dah Needless to say I am somewhat excited. I have been nagging, ahem, pestering Bruce to get the kitchen redone for years, I mean months. 

     Our oldest son Ben and his fam from Corvallis came for a visit. Three boys and two girls are growing up fast. They helped trim the evergreen out from and the the lilac tree. Ben and the two oldest boys returned on Thrusday. Duncan and Ben and the boys helped trim the hedge, mowed the grass and dug up some lilies and iris.

      OT they are focusing on standing, balance while sitting and rolling over.

PT is working on strength and range of motion from the hips down. He couldn't get his hips off the mat but he could decrease the pressure off the mat. Does that make sense? He could feel that not all the weight was on the mat.

   He stood three times for a total of nine minutes. 

   

     Sorry about the posts. I thought they had published. Will have to stay on page longer to make sure they do.

   Our friend Bertha brought over a delicious breakfast treat. Biscuits on the bottom with eggs, cheese and hash-browns for the mixture with her me made applesauce. Yummy!

     Rosala and Debbie continue to surprise with culinary delights every Wednesday. It is a welcome respite from cooking. The minestrone soup and hot me made rolls were a real treat. 

   Alas we have cooked up all the meals from Greenwood school. They were wonderful. Thank you Greenwood School for caring! I am back to cooking. It is not so bad. Sunday I do a crock pot roast, Wednesday Rosala and Debbie bring us a meal, Friday is pizza night so the week goes quickly. I will give Andrew and Duncan a night for meals. Andrew is finished with sports for the year, so we all have time. He needs to learn to cook for his mission.

   We have changed turning to once a night. Duncan comes in every night and does the turning. Yeah! I couldn't do this without him, family, all the school, community, church family and the home health providers and neighbors. This is not easy. In our women's conference this weekend the council was to face your trials with cheerfulness and patience. Bruce is doing that, I am struggling. This is harder than twins.

    Will take the shelves down in the kitchen, Andrew said he would help me and will move the frig today. 

     

Walking in the Pool

     Monday Teija brought over some homemade bread, still warm. That didn't last long.

   Tuesday Ellen brought over some egg, hash brown and cheese breakfast food with homemade bread and a cake with raspberry topping. Thank you for breakfast treats!

   Wednesday Rosala and Debbie brought dinner. Rosala brought homemade bread and I mentioned it was cold and she said it was fresh just an hour and a half out of the oven. I suppose we will still eat it. We are spoiled with warm homemade bread...  I was teasing, the meat loaf and baked taters were warm.

   Got a fun goody bag from GeorgAnna. It had chocolate m&ms (don't throw away the w's), nuts, books, a music cd, a book on cd and stories to read. Thank you for thinking of us! 

     Austin, Meg, Noah and Gus came over to trim the rest of the trees. Noah, Gus and I blew bubbles and tried to roast marshmallows on my giant candle. We succeeded in getting wax on the marshmallow. I suppose I will have to break down and get a chimney to roast marshmallows. Noah says they roast hot dogs so I will get some of those for the grandchildren next week.

   Bruce visited Central school for the end of the month assembly. The children were concerned when they heard a helicopter they thought it was him. He wanted to reassure them he was going to be okay. They gave him an air hug because he didn't have time to hug all of them (staff was concerned he would get mobbed) and we are concerned about him getting cooties I mean germs from the children. In the past he would have a snot line on his ties from the children giving him hugs at school.  

     In swimming Bruce was able to take steps. Sorry I missed it. I took time to go grocery shopping for the visit from the grandchildren. They moved Bruce to the deeper water, five and half feet, they put a pool noodle under his armpits and the floatie under his neck. He was able to pick his knees up and do the walking motion. Ta dah!

  

    

    

    Peach blossoms from pruning the tree.

He Stood for Two Minutes on His Own

     

    Tuesday morning a couple of friends came over to do some much needed yard work. We dug up the old carrots, and cleaned out the blueberry and strawberry patches. They told the children to not step on the green plants. I gave them some Otter Pops from last year that were left in the freezer. The children loved them. The adults politely declined.

    Tuesday afternoon Bruce went to visit central school to set up a time to visit. He figured there would be chaos if he just showed up one day so he met with the teachers to see how to arrange a visit. Central school sent some coupons for me, how thoughtful!

     

    Jean brought over a very nice lap quilt for Bruce. She and Teija made it as an easy first project sewing experience. I might snuggle with it when he doesn't.

     

    Bruce with his feet elevated showing off the beautiful lap quilt.

    Wednesday we went to Boise. Our friend Tony helped us drive. Our son Duncan had an orientation to become a registered have me health care provider. It took us three hours to get there. We had a rest stop on the way there. We met with Dr. Montalbano for ten minutes. He showed us the X-rays of the surgery. And explained the vertebrae were removed and a metal mesh was screwed into place. He asked us if Bruce was taking vitamin B6 (and we said no) and said Bruce should take it, it would help with nerve regrowth. He also said he would see us in eight months and he wanted Bruce to walk through the door. Well needless to say we liked that.

    We went to visit a friend, Del in SWIACH. A short visit and many hugs and smiles from the nurses. I think Del recognized Bruce.

    Then we went to Access Vans where we traded our Idaho license plates for another set of keys to the van. We mentioned we couldn't find a driver manual and they said did we look in both glove compartments? What? So guess what we found in the top glove compartment? I thought it was the air bag...

   Three hours later we made it home and headed for the church Spaghetti feed and dessert auction. Our friend Lynette bought us two desserts. Bruce likes pie and she bid on the lemon raspberry and got a maple bacon spice cake for Andrew. She wanted to do that for us.

    Thursday morning we were up early for pool time. Bruce was a little bit worn out from the trip so we were slow to get moving.

   Our friends came back to gather up the yard debris and to finish another corner of weeding and cleaning out flower, garden beds. Thank you! The children remembered the Otter Pops and I found them some more.

     

    Otter Pops and giant carrots. We put them in five gallon buckets to give to some horse friends.

   Friday Bruce had an hour and a half of OT and it wore him out. He did get to stand in the stander with no help for two minutes. That is without braces and standing on his feet and leaning on his elbows! The helpers were there within arm reach but they wanted him to see he was doing it on his own! That was the highlight of the week!

    On Saturday I escaped to a women's church meeting in Baker. It was fun, Bruce wanted to go and I told him I needed the time away. So he stayed home and rested. He is a church leader and was invited to come. We skipped the welfare project, cutting fleece into blankies although I did bring one has me to work on. We stopped at the quilt store in Baker for some retail therapy. 

   Our friend Sandra brought us a delicious meal to end the day!

   Thank you for the gifts, food and fun memories! We have a schedule now. It is still a very difficult thing we do. Some days are hard and some are harder.

     

Criss Cross Applesauce

    Monday was the monthly check up. Bruce improved in all measures of motion and strength.  When measuring they use a scale of zero to four with zero being nada and a four is normal motion and strength. His left leg is a two and his right leg is a one. When he left St Als four weeks ago they were both big fat zeros. 

    Pool time he improved in range of motion in arms, legs and torso. He was able to move his legs apart from two inches to six inches. And he was stronger pushing off the wall with his legs. 

    He is able to sit with his legs crossed. He needs help and he does it for five minutes on each leg. He said it feels so good to sit with his legs crossed. We have added the crossing of the ankle to the knee stretch to our morning and evening stretches. 

    PT gave him an exercise with a soccer ball (we have a few of those at our house, 5) he uses it for abdominal exercises. He can touch his toes while sitting in the chair and can sit back up again.  

 Our sweet neighbors brought us a pulled pork dinner! We use the same Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. Thank you!

    Ellen brought over breakfast burritos. They didn't last long.

    Central PTA brought over a candy bouquet with a couple of coupons to local businesses. That was a sweet surprise!

    Went to the chiropractor to work on my shoulder. Turning Bruce is wearing me out. Duncan has stepped in and he helps every other night. Thank you Duncan! 

   Carma and Carol took me to the movies. We saw McFarland, USA. It was a good show. Loved the cultural differences. Duncan and Andrew put Bruce to bed. Our regular guy was outta town and the sub was sick. They did an excellent job and Andrew only left the room once.

    Ellen brought over some homemade pumpkin, cinnamon bread. It was moist and most excellent. Thank you!

     I dug out my sewing machine and set it up in the living room to work on a few projects. Might have to purchase some fabric to finish a project. 

     

Four Weeks Home

     In OT they focused on standing. So they put Bruce in an easy stander and he was able to stand for five minutes. They are teaching him how to roll over. With help he brings his knees up and throws his arm out and over and twists at the torso. He could do it on a mat table. It is more difficult to turn in bed because of the blankets and he needs help moving his knees.

   In PT they focused on the step up machine. He is able to push both feet up and down. He said he loves the feeling of warmth and blood flowing in his veins.

   My friends took me to lunch at the Cock and Bull. It it's fun to get away. I was good and had a grilled chicken salad although the half sandwiches and soup looked mighty good too.

     My new glasses came this week. Duncan got a new pair after seven years.

Got the cap on my tooth fixed, wasn't as painful as I thought. Duncan got his teeth cleaned and no cavities after nine years... Is that my side of the family? The sweet dentist presented us with a water pick that attaches to the shower nozzle so Bruce can clean his teeth in the shower. Will have to figure out how to install it.

    Bruce had two bad days. He gets very tired and isn't able to do much but rest. He sits with his feet up. We watched an old Star Trek episode. Picard becomes a Borg. Pretty exciting stuff. Yes, we are Trekies. We live on the edge.

   Thursday was a great day. My friend brought me some pussy willows from her tree. 

Another friend brought over a delicious carrot cake with nuts on the frosting. Another friend brought over some eggs. Greenwood school sent over six homemade frozen meals. Thank you! I will try not to eat them all in one night...

    Here are the pussy willows and the the bowl.

   Bruce's friend made him a beautiful wooden bowl from a burl. The boys like the chocolate candy that was in the bowl.

   Another friend brought over some delicious raspberry banana muffins for Sunday breakfast. Yummy. Not many of those left.

   I am working on breakfast ideas. I bought some pre cooked sausage and microwaveable bacon. Bruce wants protein with breakfast. This really works as mornings are rushed with taking care of Bruce. I also found some good muffin mixes. Bruce's mom would not be happy as she made everything from scratch. So I scratched the muffin box... I brought a protein mix and will use it with breakfast smoothies.

    Bruce needs to drink more water and can't reach the faucet so we are using this despenser so he can get water when he needs it.  He has a problem with his left hand as it stiffens up but it worked just fine. 

   We are blessed with our friends and their caring thoughts and deeds. Thank you! It is what gets us through this ordeal.

    Our church family is still providing meals every other day. I asked for two more weeks. I am a weenie. I should be better at dealing with this.

      I am grateful for our son Duncan for being the family chauffeur. He also gets up every other night and helps me reposition his dad. I couldn't do this without him. My right shoulder hurts, I think it is from trying to do the turns by myself. Will be visiting the chiropractor later this week. I did figure it helps to cross Bruce's legs first and then do the rolling over. 

Thank you for your love and prayers.