So, once she was full from lunch we thought it was time to get her to work. The first challenge we presented her with was a puzzle (the OT said to start with an easy one so she wouldn't get frustrated). Jess picked up a 24 piece Thomas the train puzzle. As we spread out the pieces it wasn't more than a few seconds before she already matched up two pieces of the face and figured out how to connect them together. It didn't take long before she completed the entire puzzle ALL BY HERSELF. My sister and I gave her a round of applause and she gave us a grin back. Onto the next activity...
When my sister did a Target run for the puzzle, she also picked up other activities that she thought would be good for my Mom, one of which was the game Jenga! While we weren't quite sure how this would go, she was willing to give it a shot (we did only use half the tower to get the game going). We had so much fun playing with Mom. We would all take turns trying to pull each piece out...as the tower would wobble;we would all smile and laugh. The game went on for quite a while, until I made it tumble...
After a little rest and before dinner we wanted to get Mom up and moving. We did her hall walk, played catch and did cone activities. The improvement on her throwing the ball is so great! We can't wait to show the PT on Monday!
Wow, we had quite the afternoon. After her exercise we rested until dinner. Right before dinner Aunt Joan arrived! How great it was for all of us to see another familiar face. Mom ate a good dinner, it was lasagna (not as good as mine of course, but I told her when we get home I'll make her the real good stuff :-)!
After dinner Joan showed us the bag of activities she brought for Mom. As Jess mentioned yesterday Joan is now a hand therapist, but practiced OT for 30+ years, so before heading here she went through all her old files and found some great information and things to work on with Mom. What a blessing to have her here (especially on the weekend when the hospital OT, PT and Speech Therapy are off). God is good!
One thing she brought down was puddy. For those of you who used to play with silly puddy, it's a lot like that' but a larger quantity and a little tougher to work with. It is great to strengthen her hands and great to help her use both of her hands together (a key part of therapy). Once Joan handed my Mom the puddy she went to town, she kept working with it for the next half hour or more, as we all sat and caught up/watched TV. Mom has figured out the TV remote and picks the shows she wants to watch. Just like before, she watches HGTV, TLC, the history channel, and even the night before she found the genealogy show! My sister left to get dinner for us all and Joan and I went on an evening hall walk with mom. We thought we were just going to go the normal two halls, turn around and walk back, but Mom had a different plan… She wanted to explore what was around the next corner and the next! We continued with her and ended up looping around the whole floor! Good exercise!
After we ate dinner my sister tried to get a hold of Laura, the lady who found Mom sitting in the laundry room and helped her after her stroke. She was only going to be in town through Sunday, and we really wanted to meet her. We got a hold of her and were able to make a trip over to her hotel to meet her as Joan stayed with Mom. Jess will update you more a bit later today about our meeting her. But she is a very nice lady who we know was Moms angel the night of her stroke!
Upon returning to the hospital, we found Joan quilting and mom fast asleep. Joan filled us in that they had a great night. They plated tic tac toe and Mom beat her TWICE! And we couldn't believe this, but they played RUMMY. Mom was making runs and straights- absolutely AMAZING.
Wow today was another great day. We still have a long way to go, but we are so pleased with Mom’s progress. All of the love and support is carrying us through. As I drove to the hospital this morning, the song "Strong Enough" by Matthew West came on. It brought a smile to my face as he sang about God being strong enough to help us through whatever we are going through, even when we don't feel strong enough. I encourage you to listen to the song. It is a great one :-)
Gordy, Courtney and Jessica
Where have you seen God's grace in your life today?