This morning began very early for me, Jeff's mom, to fill in for Annette as she returned to her work at the HandMaiden for one day a week. The first bonus for arriving at 7:45 a.m. is the ease of finding a parking spot. Of course Jeff was awake, cooling off from the night's sleep and waiting for me to assist in eating his breakfast and get the day rolling.
Today went very smooth and on time, perhaps because he had his day nurse and 2 techs/CNA's to keep the day on track. Physical and occupational therapy alternated throughout the day until 3:00 p.m., lunch of course was in between. Jeff did exceptionally well with what was expected of him and beyond. His sister Roxane joined us for the day and we both enjoyed being a part of his therapy, helping and learning at the same time. Jeff's dad, Jay, came in time for lunch. He and Roxane had lunch in the cafeteria and brought my lunch up to Jeff's room. Jeff took his first little nap of the day, which was something different. One of his medications was stopped, and it proved to be the one that was making him drowsy.
The surprise of the day came when the rotation changed to occupational therapy. His therapist took him for an outing at the Best Buy located across the street. I could watch from his 12th floor window as Jeff motored in his power chair with Josh walking beside him. Jeff did all the button pushing from elevators to cross walks and checked out a few things in the store. Josh had him negotiate over a very bumpy part of cement with holes on one street crossing, giving him a challenge, which he met. He enjoyed the hour long outing. It was a very nice day to be outside.
I set up Jeff's computer to take care of business preparing invoices. He did quite well with a pair of unique styluses. The hardest part was trying to fit in the time between the day's routine to get it done.
Brad and Heidi Frost came in at 4:00 p.m. and visited with him for more than an hour. Roxane headed home about then. Annette arrived in time to see the Frosts and then assist Jeff with his dinner. We tried to get some more business taken care of, but so many routine interruptions gave us a challenge. Jeff's daughter Brandi and her girls, Kaisalyn and Sierra, arrived with some dinner for them and Annette. Jeff and I continued to work on the invoices.
Jeff is enjoying the new bed and instructing everyone on how to use the controls. I believe it came from Germany and Jeff is putting it on trial. He has to give a rating on it throughout the day. He has it down after 3 days, but he has to explain over and over again to all the staff. Jeff's brother Randy and his wife Tiffany came in to visit and that is when I put the computer to hibernate and headed for home. I enjoyed the day being with Jeff and trying to help him in small ways. It felt good to be with my son, sharing in his improvements and experiences, a successful day in many ways.
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