26 November 2024
Gobsmacked is the word I'd use to describe how it feels to be surrounded by friends new and old who have stepped up to help Joyce and me in our hour of need. And when I think how much more than an hour it's been but days and weeks and now months, I know one word just can't cover it.
So while this might not look like much of a blessed Thanksgiving, let me assure you there will be tears of gratitude in these eyes.
But that can wait until Thursday.
I haven't been updating you recently for two reasons. First, it's become very difficult to type accurately. I"m a 90+ wpm touch typist. I make about five errors a word now (average word is five characters). Frustrating doesn't describe it.
But the more important reason is that Joyce hasn't improved. Which is putting it nicely.
After last week's victories standing up from the bed, she refused to even try on Sunday and Monday. She screamed at the therapists and demanded they lift her legs back on the bed.
And then refused to eat.
She did take a bite of a scone I baked and two bites of a piece of pizza I brought from home, things I know she likes.
But today Cassie the Occupational Therapist had planned to put her in the lift, get her out of bed and into the wheelchair. I reminded Joyce about that when I came in. She was having none of it. You must, I told her. I just want to die, she said.
Usually the therapists require consent to proceed but they are getting wise to Joyce. They got the sling under her, hooked it to the lift and she was airborne. Screaming at them. They weighed her at 138.4, about the same as last week. Then they lowered her into the chair.
I gave her a comb to go through her hair. She complained about the hair it pulled out. I told her it was because she hadn't been washing her hair, which would normally have rinsed it out.
I rolled her out of the room and into the hallway. We looked out at the patio, which was still wet from the storm but under blue skies now. Then we visited Christina, who had driven me over, for a few minutes. We spent some time looking at the fish tank before we took another tour of the hallways.
But the big attraction was the Christmas decorations being hung on the walls and from the ceiling. Plus the 7.5 foot flocked tree being assembled.
Christina trimmed Joyce's fingernails again. Little things like that are hard to get the staff to do when you need them.
I rolled her back to the room so she could have lunch. But again she ate next to nothing.
But she did say she enjoyed getting out of the room, doing a little grooming, seeing the blue sky and sitting up.
On the way home, Christina took me to Trader Joe's to get my weekly shopping done before the holiday rush tomorrow, making it a long day for her.
I'm gobsmacked all right.