Closer To Home

Today was a good day,as Zach and I went to visit Rick.Zach had not seen Rick since we left for Dartmouth last Sunday,so he was very excited to see his Dad. Rick is at the VA in Manchester. He arrived there yesterday afternoon. They had mentioned different cities and rehabs,but he wound up in Manchester! I didn't realize they had any inpatients anymore. Manchester,up until around 2000,had been a full service hospital. Apparently,it was felt that there weren't enough vets to using all the services,so they scaled back. Then,9/11 happened, and well.....I think everyone knows what happened after that.

Rick is in a semi private room,and his roommate,Mark,was very nice.Since the therapy staff is not on during the weekend,they don't want Rick using his walker.He uses a wheelchair,but does his individual exercises,and they have his legs in the rotating machine for periods of time. He was able to freshen up today with a basin of water,and get out of the wheelchair and sit in bed by himself,though Zach held onto his arm the whole time. He also pushed Rick in the chair,thought Rick could handle it himself,and when lunch came,Zach set everything up for him,even putting salt on his veggies! What a help he is.He loves his Dad sooo much!

Rick showed us the main room,where the can all go to watch the big screen TV,have coffee,do ceramics,make models,or play Bingo. They also take them out bowling once a week ( those in wheelchairs use a stand that they place the bowling ball on,then push the ball off).They also have computers that they can send and receive emails from,go on Facebook,etc. While we were in this room,a friend of Rick's from his PTSD group came in. Rick didn't know he was there,so he was happy to see him.This gentleman is a Vietnam veteran,and about 7 weeks ago he was in a terrible head on collision on Rt 125,coming back from a VA appointment. The other driver died. He wound up with a broken left leg and hip,fractured right leg,broken arm,and caved in chest. I remarked how lucky he was to be alive. He agreed!

We are going back tomorrow to visit,and hopefully Rick will be able to come home by the end of the week.They said that it all depends on his progress,and he may be there upward of two weeks. The range of motion in his left leg is not where they would like it at this point,but that was his worst leg. It was affected by the arthritis first,so it's understandable that it would require a bit more work to get things right.Plus,he still needs to climb stairs. He has had a fever since the surgery,which in not uncommon in joint replacement cases.The body doesn't understand what this foreign substance is in his knees,so it's trying to adapt. His temp yesterday was 100.4 degrees,and now it's 99 degrees.He said he felt the best today that he has since the surgery,and he sounded good too.His face is a bit thinner-weight loss is expected because the appetite is lessened because of the pain.He even dressed today,though he did need a bit of help,but I expected that.

Monday I must weed the garden,and find homes for the blackberry and raspberry bushes. The weather is suppose to be nice,and I must tend to my outdoor chores. I am going to see if I can find enough posts for the cuke trellis,I may have to buy some. The lawn is also in desperate need of mowing and weed whacking. Brother B planned on doing it today,but is has rained for most of the day. Maybe tomorrow there will be a break in the weather. If not,I will do it on Monday.