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Home, Sweet Home

Alyce’s 82nd birthday seems like a good time for a long overdue update.  

On July 14, Mom was discharged from the rehab center – her 100 Medicare days were up, and it was JUST TIME!  With Jeff and Brian’s help, we made some home modifications and installed a stair chair, which gently lifts Mom from the garage to a waiting wheelchair and into the house.  

It is beyond wonderful to have her home again. Dad would say that it feels like home again.  After a few weeks of working out all of the logistics and purchasing the necessary equipment and supplies, we’ve settled into something of a routine, although it seems we still learn something new every day.  

Although we expected something of a bounce back, or maybe just a bump, in Mom’s level of alertness and ability to communicate after being back in her familiar surroundings, that hasn’t really happened.  She certainly seems happy to be here, but continues to be very tired and speaks only rarely.  Therapies through home health have begun: occupational, physical, and speech. In fact, if we’re not careful, days become way too busy, and she doesn’t get the needed rest and relief from stimulation.  

Mom is not walking, so she needs to be repositioned every few hours during the day and night to keep her comfortable and avoid skin problems.  We have been fortunate to have found five lovely nurses/care providers with a lot of experience who work several nights a week so Val and Nancy can sleep and at least one day a week to help us focus on our work.  

Dad is in charge of hand-holding, which he is very good at.  You’ll often find the two of them holding hands in the living room or the back deck, looking out over the beautiful woods.  

We don’t have a clear idea of what is ahead, but are working hard to make each day happy and comfy for both Mom and Dad. No matter how tired and sad we might be, we always find something to laugh about.   

Thank you for your love and support.  

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Slow Hope

Thanks for patiently waiting for our post.

As Auntie Mae Rens says, this is a time of “slow hope.”  

Mom continues to make improvements in physical/occupational therapy, and her ability to hold her torso upright and balance herself while sitting is improving.  She occasionally stands with a standing chair and pulley system rigged to the ceiling, and it is heartening to see her upright!   The nurses, nursing aids, therapists, and other residents are kind and encouraging and supportive.  

For some reason, she has chosen to be more quiet for the past two weeks; we’re not sure why, but perhaps she’s conserving energy -- or just frustrated, which is understandable.  A recent MRI will tell us more, possibly later this week.  

Dad has almost completely recovered from his fall and is totally focused on being there for Mom.  They have a comfortable, quiet routine spending time together.  The Pavilions sits on the grounds of a restored Victorian mental asylum with gorgeous grounds, and we enjoy walks with Mom in the sunshine.  There are often dogs around to watch and pet.  

On May 30, Val arrives again, after returning home to New York for daughter Amy’s college graduation.  Dad, Mom, and I are super happy about that!  And Brian just booked a flight to return in June.  

Thank you so much for the comforting and cheerful river of cards and other messages.  We read each to her, and she nods and smiles.  

We send our love back. 

Good News

Thanks for being patient with us -– this update is definitely overdue.  But we have some exciting news!  Two days ago, Mom squeezed Nancy’s hand.  This is the first movement in her right extremities since her surgery and is hugely encouraging. Yesterday she flexed her new super powers by also wriggling her fingers, and therapists also noticed new tone in her right leg. We are all thrilled with this development, and it is consistent with Dr. Elisevich’s expectations, although she kept us in suspense a little too long.  

We needed the positive development, as things got a little hairy last week.  Dad, who apparently was itching to get closer to his sweetie, fell while running (yes, Mr. Slow and Steady Wins the Race ran across a street) and suffered a very small brain bleed, a nasty laceration over his eye, and many large bruises, the worst being his left knee.   It could have been much worse, though, and he came home after staying a few days in the hospital right next door to Mom.  The day of his discharge, Mom’s gastric tube was accidentally pulled out during a transfer from wheelchair to bed, so she the two of them met in the emergency room.  Oy!  

Things have returned to normal now, and we’re focused on encouraging Mom’s progress with her right side.  Her speech is also coming along (still some Spanish), and we’re working on her saying complete sentences and initiating speech versus answering questions.  

Fortunately, Val was able to extend her stay another 10 days, as she has a knack for assessing situations and diplomatically making the right things happen. She’s the type of person who makes everything better by her very presence.  It will be hard for her to leave (and sad for us!), but she will fly home on Tuesday.  Gordon and Laika have been really patient – thank you!  She plans to return after Amy's college graduation next month, and Brian is planning a return as well.  

It seems that each day we get more lovely cards from friends and family to read to Mom/Alyce, and sometimes she reads them aloud.  We’re collecting them in a scrapbook that she can thumb through when she feels like it.  

Continued gratefulness and thanks for your support.  

Mom sends her love to everyone.  

Sunny in Traverse City

The sun has come out in Northern Michigan, and the light is brighter in Mom's eyes.  

We remain happy with and grateful for the close attention and gentle care she is receiving at The Pavilions, where she was nicknamed "Miss Smiley" her first week.  It is especially sweet that the other residents of the rehab center watch out for one another, and Mom was immediately welcomed to the "Cool Table" in the dining room.  

Most encouraging right now is her speech:  She is answering questions more readily and consistently, and sometimes offering a few additional words.  The most interesting thing is that she has been speaking Spanish!  We don't think she's used it since her nursing days at Serra Memorial, but she is more apt to say "si" than "yes" and to call Rich "mi esposo."  (Jeff also spoke Spanish after coming out of his coma 30+ years ago.) Mom's crowning verbal achievement was coming up with "winklehockey," a term her grandmother used for three-sided fabric tears.

Lots of work yet to be done physically, as she still has no movement on the right side -- although she can feel them.  This deficit is due to the tumor having been primarily located on the left side of her brain.  Physical and occupational therapy 6 days a week will surely start to make an improvement, and Dr. Elisevich is optimistic that she can recover.

Brian returned to California this week but is keeping in close touch daily. Dad is doing well, despite a cute red nose, and his daughters often prescribe guilt-free naps. Jeff and Sandy will visit soon. Special thanks to Aunt Elsie who supplies us with homemade soup, hearty dinners, and other delicacies, and often visits Mom.

Thanks as always for checking back in with us.  We're going to plan to post weekly from here on out.  

Grand Traverse Pavilions – Mom's New Digs

Mom was discharged from Spectrum on the 5^th and transported via ambulance to her new digs: Grand Traverse Pavilions rehab facility in Traverse City – a more manageable 35 minutes from our Glen Arbor home.

We are all very pleased with the facility, including her room and therapy services. She has a nearly private room with the exception of sharing a bathroom. It has a big window next to the bed which looks out onto a courtyard where children under child-care play. It’s so nice to get her into her own clothes and surrounded by objects from home.

Four of those objects – Dad, Val, Nance, and myself  – have been a care-giving, need-fulfilling machine. We are together so infrequently that it’s kind of a thrill to be part of Team Peterson. Managing transportation, meals, visitation shifts, and fitting individual work time is like a Rubik’s Cube with ever-changing colors. Fortunately, we can all work remotely. Brother Jeff was a big help down in Grand Rapids and he hopes to make the 3 hour drive up to see Mom soon. Dad’s unrelenting vigilance of being at Mom’s side is awe-inspiring. On top of it all, he has been dealing with his own medical needs. He just completed a series of radiation treatments for cancer on his nose. Today, he’s off to get a blood transfusion to replenish his oxygen-starved blood cells.

Mom continues her steady but slow progress. She appears much more alert and for longer periods of the day. She loves to watch and listen to everyone and often appears to have something to say resting on the tip of her tongue. She has spoke single words several times now. More or less hugs and kisses? “More”. My eyes? “Blue”. Val’s hair? “Black”. Also, “Okay” and “Good Morning”. She enjoys listening to us tell stories about the family, smiling with her mouth and eyes.

She has begun both physical and speech therapy. It’s going to be a long process but we feel optimistic every day we see her.

Her room is too small for flowers, but cards are welcome! Pictures of familiar faces encouraged. Grand Traverse Pavilions, 1000 Pavilions Circle, Traverse City, MI 49684.

A big thank you for all the kind words and prayers!