February 18, 2011

Simply Amazing....The end of the tunnel is near! Mom is scheduled for surgery to repair the cartilage that has grown through her trach next Thursday. She will be in the burn unit recovering for a few days (exactly how many we can never tell in advance) and then FINALLY on the road home. With help of the wonderful technicians, nurses,  physical therapists, doctors, and most of all Dad, she is walking, crawling, scooting, riding stationary bikes, eating on her own and is incredibly self sufficient considering the time-frame that she has been there.

In the past week she did emergency training in the event that she would fall. She was able to get down to the ground, crawl, get back up on her knees, and in to her wheel chair without assistance. Thanks so weeks of help from the HealthSouth team (all of the Katie's of the world) Mom and several other people have regained the ability to walk and care for themselves once again. One of several patients that Mom has grown close to over the past few weeks was finally allowed to have his halo removed and was able to walk the length of the room despite having been told otherwise after a severe car accident. The patients and staff of HealthSouth are incredibly inspiring with all that they accomplish and we cannot thank them enough for helping Mom, literally, get back on her foot.Her regular Wednesday check-up went very well this past week. Her hand specialist Dr. Z was very impressed (which is not an easy accomplishment) with the range of motion that she has gained. They are very happy with her health, improvements, and the functionality of her entire body as a whole. 

We still have quite a long road of physical therapy and revision surgeries ahead but are looking beyond that on to the time we will have together. We spent Valentines weekend eating far too much cake and chocolate, playing cards, and racing wheel chairs. Saturday afternoon we were also where lucky enough to spend some time with fellow burn survivors Mr. and Mrs. Nielson (http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/) who have both been incredibly supportive to our family and also this blog.  Mom is quite the socialite throughout HealthSouth. She competes with fellow patients and is a constant source of motivation for all of us. Though this seems completely backward, she is the reason that we have all gotten through the last five months. Both of my parents have determination that reaches far beyond the boundaries of most humans. We have been to hell and back together and we're still running. Our lives will be altered by everything that has happened, but I have complete confidence in the fact that the changes will be for the better.