Monday, October 20th

I know it has been 10 days since my last post but there has not been much to report. Although we saw some improvements in Mom's condition, we seem to hit a plateau every once and a while. It is true that we were able to get her out of bed and practicing walking. Unfortunately, this is not without much assistance and we cannot get her to trust herself and therefore she is not making much progress on her own. She is getting out and about on the premises in a wheelchair and can be encouraged to participate in activities with some moderate encouragement. She does well with physical therapy when she has it but there are several hours a day and days at a time on the weekend where she is not seeing any therapists so it is harder to keep her motivated. She loves, loves, loves getting cards and reading letters from people and she is getting warmer to the idea of having visitors.

We are not sure what the future looks like but I promise to keep you updated if we find anything out!

Thanks for supporting us!
Jennifer & Family

Friday, October 10th

SHE WALKED!!!!!

My mom has been making GREAT progress this week! She has been working very intensely with all of her therapists this week and it seems to be paying off. When my dad went back today after running some errands, Mom was sitting in a wheelchair at the nurses' station. He asked what was going on and the nurse said Mom was just keeping her company.

And she has been getting ice chips this week and practicing swallowing. We are hoping this means she can have another swallow test soon. She has been craving burgers and Arby's sandwiches lately so will be happy if she can pass that hurdle soon.

And today, she not only took some steps on the parallel bars, she walked about 30 feet down the hall with her walker. This is HUGE. This is the first time since the fall that she has put any weight at all on her feet. And my sister said that she thinks this is the first time since this whole thing happened that my mom actually sees and feels her improvement and she has become empowered by that.

I don't have anything else to report. I think that is plenty to start off the weekend!

Enjoy and keep positive thoughts and most of all, KEEP IT MOVING!!!!!

Jennifer & Family

Monday, October 6th

I talked to her!!!!

This was a big milestone in my book. I was talking to my dad on the phone last night to check in on how the weekend went. He said she had a pretty good weekend despite not getting any therapy (I think it's crazy that physical therapists work banker hours!) and she was a alert and chatty. He was relaying information I was telling him about my daily life and finally just said, "Jo, would you like to talk to Jennifer?" and she said, "SURE!"

Although her voice was a little froggy, I could understand everything she said. She asked how work was going and what I was doing. She responded to my questions and I said she sounded really good and like she was really making improvements. She seemed a little annoyed as well that she had seen no therapists over the weekend but I made a point to stress that even if she didn't see a therapist, she could still practice the tools and exercises they give her and make herself stronger. And she responded with, "Oh, you think so, huh?" It was like music to my ears. My sarcastic, opinionated, wonderful mother. After all these months, hoping that she would get her voice back and get back on her feet, I finally feel like it is a possibility.

I know the road is still long and we have a lot of work to do, but I want to celebrate the victories we have. My dad has been amazing and even though my mom mentioned on the phone that she had to get better because dad was leaving there, with or without her, I know he will continue to stand by her side until she is able to get home. My sister Susie continues to spend all of her free time there, supporting my dad and Nancy is on her way back this weekend for another week. My brother and Kippy fill in when they can, which is so great.

I have taken the meal calendar down for now but we will still gladly accept any meals people would like to provide for my family. Just email me directly and we can get it arranged. jclapp1@yahoo.com

And again, always, thank you for keeping in touch and supporting us!
Jennifer & Family

Thursday, October 2nd

Just a quick note to let everyone know how we are doing. Mom has settled back into the Villages at Southern Hills and seems to be making some progress. She is awake and alert and is working on her physical therapy. She is also working hard with the speech therapist and had an assessment yesterday that sounded positive. The speech therapist said she seemed much stronger than just a couple of weeks ago. We are really holding out hope that this means she will be strong enough soon to pass a swallow test so that she can start eating and drinking again. She has been very desperate to have some tea and ice cream but so far has not been able to. My sister Nancy will be traveling back again this Saturday to help relieve our dad.

Mom has showed more interest in talking to people so I am hoping she feels up to calling me soon!

I will promise to keep this updated as much as I can. Please email me if you are anxious for updates or want to send along messages to Mom.

Thanks,
Jennifer & Family