Friday April 22, 2011 : Mom's birthday
Those eyes are wide open, mostly in the afternoons and evenings. The huge hurdle of all the various therapies is meeting with Tals huge wall of resistance. UGH.
The strugegle continues and has been moving towards other challenges for Tal. "Therapy" of all types remains the biggest challenge and where he needs the most encouragement !
The opiates have finally worn off. Pop's eyes are wide open when you speak to him now. He jokingly describes 8AM as "dinnertime" and 8PM as "breakfast". He talks a blue streak as David Wagner will attest to.In fact you really can't get him to change the subject nor ask the person he is talking to, how THEY are doing! All very right side of the brain stroke from what I have read.
He still has some "all over aches" but hopefully his pain patch will take care of that!
He is feeding himself, and as he can "chew" now, eats what we call semi-solid food. Things like chunky chicken soup with pieces of carrots, potato and new peas! A chocolate chip cookie! Gone are the blobs of pureed this and that! Only the meat is cut into bite sized pieces! So all good there!
The speech, occupational and physical therapies remain things he says he wants to do but...but...he tries to talk his way out of them. So there is still an immense amount of denial. Only two days ago was he able to finally come out with the word "stroke" to describe what had happened to him.
As for the various therapies, we are SO disappointed with his unwillingness to participate! He will be asked to do something then spending an hour "discussing" with his therapists as to "why" he needs to do what he is being asked to do without him ever doing even the littlest thing! When they leave he reaches over and picks up the glass and takes a sip of water as if it were the easiest thing on earth to do! he is trying to learn a few simpler things tho. Rolling over in bed for instance.
But he has to WANT to do this therapy. We tell him doing these simple beginning steps would allow him to: go to the bathroom himself (this is a big incentive!), be more independant. I tell him "Pop I want to drive up to Stoneybrook and see you over at Margies swinging on the swingchair with her this August! But so far it is pretty discouraging.
Special visitors!
Ray and Barbara Rathert came up from Topeka for a visit after seeing Tal's show at the Beach. Tal loves listening to the CD the Ray left him of his excellent dance band: "The Kings Of Swing". They played together in the dance band along with Paul,Tal's father. Ray was the drummer some 50 years ago and continues the band today. Great pro's!
Ray and Barbara Rathert came up from Topeka for a visit after seeing Tal's show at the Beach. Tal loves listening to the CD the Ray left him of his excellent dance band: "The Kings Of Swing". They played together in the dance band along with Paul,Tal's father. Ray was the drummer some 50 years ago and continues the band today. Great pro's!
Next big thing: We have gotten permission to take him to the Beach Museum Monday! Jason his most trusted helper will accompany him there in the afternoon. So I will try to get an update in here before leaving for Wichita and Paris....on Tuesday. I so don't want to go.
Each day is such a roller coaster for Mom. We think we have made some improvement in one area, put out the fire as it were only to see the fire start somewhere else.
Today, Saturday, we are driving down to Topeka to see her brother Scott and his wife Evie, just out of the hospital after a fall! Mom will get to see her brothers little baby goats and I hope she will be able to get her mind on other things.
We also shared a birthday dinner for her here at the house with the wonderful Duncan clan. They have loaned us this house this past month so that we could be together, cook together...It has been such a godsend! Pat Duncan has also loaned us the computer that we are using up at Stoneybrook. That one is now hooked up to the television at the foot of his bed! So he sees (in some fashion) all of the pix that I have put there on the blog gallery.
Last thing: Please send me good high resolution pix of yourselves (a simple headshot) against a neutral backround that I can upload your portraits to his blog! A color shot would be best. B+W is okay too if you only have that.. Nothin' too complicated as he has such a hard time reading images! It is difficult for him to work out depth of field. Your help with these "portraits of friends" would be appreciated! It will become part of his visual therapy!
lissastreeter@yahoo.com
Happy Easter folks!
We, the Streeter Family send you our love
Lissa
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