Good Progress

Diana is continuing to improve and is really enjoying being at home. One of her main challenges now is being able to evaluate what she has the strength and stamina to do - she is in her own, familiar environment now, so she feels like she should be able to do what she's used to doing. This is not to say that she's not being careful and cautious - its just frustrating to her to realize that, for instance, a ride in the car to visit my Grandmother is a big deal now.

I am relieved when she gets impatient though, or is frustrated by her relative lack of independance (compared to what she is used to) - that lets me know that she is absolutely returning to her old self. : )

Otherwise, she is doing very well. She had the dreaded wound vac dressing change yesterday, but it went very well and our home health care nurse was very gentle and very practical. The wound is healing very well, and Mom's nurse was pleased with how it was looking - and that was without the benefit of having seen it before it had progressed so well. So, Mom's apprehension about the pain and debilitating exhaustion that used to be associated with the wound vac change has been alleviated a bit.
Today, the nurse started teaching me how to change the dressings on Mom's two smaller wounds on her side. I did ok for the first time, I think - they aren't going to make me fly solo until I feel ready, but our nurse is a very good teacher, and dressing those wounds is nowhere near as complicated as the large wound with the wound vac on it (and that change is something that no one except a wound care nurse would do.)

Mom's other challenge remains eating enough and stimulating her appetite. Part of her lack of appetite stems from her illness and the way her body shut down a lot of its normal processes to direct energy to fighting her infection and healing her wounds and incisions, part of it is due to some of her medications, and part is just being so weak and tired all the time (which makes eating feel like a chore.) I hope my cooking doesn't contribute, but I can't promise that it doesn't - I freely admit that its not my best thing. : )

She is doing better every day though. Her ranges of motion, strength and mobility increase every day, and she is now no longer having any issues with fine motor skills. She does, ironically, have some vision issues, but we think they are largely the result of medication side effects and fatigue, as well as her body's recovery process from the trauma it went through with the general anesthesia, sedation and plethora of drugs. This is also improving though, and this morning she was able to read comfortably for a short time.

We are so grateful for the support, encouragement and love we've received from all of our friends and family. The offers of help and support are so very appreciated and valued.

Mom and I feel very fortunate - first because she is now recovering, and there was certainly a period of time when we weren't sure that would happen; and secondly because of the outpouring of positive and helpful energy and actions from every corner. For instance, I am so very grateful that my employers have been so generous in giving me the time to be here with my Mom and help her in her recovery. We know how lucky we are to have so much love and kindness in our lives. Thank you so much.

I will continue to update the blog, but my posts will likely be less frequent now, as she is doing so much better. In fact, I'll just let her read the comments now, instead of reading them to her - I know she'll really enjoy that. So, please be patient if I go a couple of days without an update - it just means she is doing so much better that we are busy!