Update on Parents

I haven't really posted about Dad's progress lately, so I thought I would. :-) Dad is doing okay. He started cardiac therapy a couple of weeks ago, so hopefully we will see improvements with him physically. While he was at the Shepherd Center for his brain therapy, they didn't push him physically at all because they didn't really know what his heart would be able to take. However, his cardiac therapists are working him hard now. He's on bikes, dreadmills, stair climbers, etc. He had started getting weak because all of his muscles were gone, so I'm excited to see what this cardiac therapy will do for him.

As for his brain, it is still the same. He has no short-term memory. He can't remember some things day to day. He can remember if he went out to eat the night before, but he can't remember what he ate or anything like that. It is very interesting what he does remember though. For instance, yesterday mom got his cell phone charged and working again. She asked him if he remembered his cell phone number. He rattled off his pager number that he had about 20 freakin' years ago! Crazy.

I know this is gonna sound really selfish, but I was kind of having a sucky birthday week because I kept thinking of mema, and then I knew that dad didn't remember my bday, and he would not remember to call me to wish me a happy birthday like he always does. Well, mom keeps a dry erase board by his chair to remind him of things he has to do each day. She put "Christy's 28th Birthday" on the board that day. Well, guess what. Not only did I get one phone call from him that day, but I got about 50! He couldn't remember calling me 10 minutes prior! He called all day, and I'm telling you -- I LOVED it. It was so precious. It hit me hard that day that God knew how I felt that week, and He was taking care of things. :-)

Mom is doing very well. I never knew how strong she is. She takes care of everything now, and I mean everything. She cleans the house, pays bill, does all the outside work, takes trash out, cooks, grocery shops, works from home, takes care of dad, makes it to all her grandchildrens' activities with dad, takes dad to therapy almost daily, takes him to his doctors appointments, helps him with his homework (for his brain), makes sure he takes his medications 3 times a day at an exact time, keeps his blood sugar in check, and soooooooo much more! She is amazing and my role model. This Sunday she is turning 61, and I can't wait to celebrate her special day with her.