Blog at http://drpeg2003.blogspot.com/
May 30, 2006 (9:36pm)
I read some old emails to Gary today. He commented that he was touched at how many nice emails, cards, and letters he’d received from so many people since the accident.
My older sister called while he was trying to get down lunch (he’s been feeling nauseous today, and that chicken and rice just didn’t agree with him). I passed the phone to Gary, and he thanked her for finding out all the information on Shepherd she had. He said he really liked the people here, that they all seemed knowledgeable, and that the place was definitely more organized in terms of aftercare and starting him on rehab (oops, I automatically wrote “research” there!). While they were talking, the flap doc, wearing a bright blue bold-printed shirt and giving his usual hearty greeting, came in to check Gary’s surgical wound. We like this guy, him and his showboat streak. We liked him even better when he told Gary his wound was looking good.
Today they took off Gary’s pressure hose (not sure what their technical name is – maybe those are the ted hose) – the ones that wrap around his legs from ankle to mid-thigh and are plugged in to inflate and deflate, the aim being to prevent blood clots. Instead he goes back to getting shots of blood thinner in his belly.
Supporting his point about the rehab program here, after lunch the tech and OT came in to put him through his paces – arm and back exercises using dumbbells. We asked what his program should be – I knew from my weight training days that for strength one would do low reps and high weight, with at least a day’s rest between sessions, but for endurance one would use high reps and low weight, possibly more frequently. They want him to develop both, so want him to work out every day with three sets of each exercise using low reps (8) and high weight, meaning the last couple reps of the last set should definitely be an effort. (If he isn’t recovered by the next day, he can take that day off.) I left him to his workout and went back to the apartment to blend him another requested mango smoothie to make up for his not eating his lunch entree. When I got back he was on his stomach sweating out the last of his exercises. After the tech left I asked if they’d given him more exercises to do than the ones he’d been doing since his flap surgery. “No, they didn’t,” he replied. Then why was he sweating? I asked. He hadn’t been when he’d been doing the exercises over the weekend. “Because I didn’t realize that even on my side I can do all the exercises they’d given me before.” So it’s great that they came to his bedside and showed him how to adapt his exercises to his new state. At least I think it’s great – I’m not sure he does. (Just kidding – he again told them when they came in he wants to get as strong as possible.)
Since he was still on his stomach, I wasn’t sure how to get the smoothie into him. The stuff seemed to thick for a straw. I was going to find some juice and thin it, but he said to try a spoon on it. That actually worked quite well. Though he found it tiring to have to lift his head up for each bite, he said eating that way was actually easier than when I spooned the stuff into him while he’s lying on his side (particularly since the head of his bed is not allowed to be raised very much). He was no doubt thinking of lunch time when the peas kept ending up on the towel I’d put around his neck instead of in his mouth as the airplane entered the hanger from the side so that the peas wouldn’t go straight down his throat and choke him (my little friend from France might need the airplane reference explained). (I did learn it made a big difference if I put on the spoon only a few peas at a time.)
After that, I set up a tape of “Bob and Ray” and left one of “The Shadow” in Gary’s reaching distance while I went off to the chiropractor. I had been prepared not to like the chiropractor because neither massage therapist gave him a resounding recommendation. He did some testing no other chiropractor had done, but it seemed reasonable – range of motion, etc – and the adjustments were smooth, IMO, and I left with a good feeling toward him. I am going to see him again before making a final decision, but I feel I may stick with him.
Back in Gary’s room I discovered a ton of mail had finally caught up with us! Thanks to Norman and Margaret Groteluschen; Brad Bailey, who sent a bar of chocolate and offered to help Gary make some room in his office so a wheelchair can get in there (and if you’ve ever seen the stacks of papers all around Gary’s office you will know why a reorganization is necessary); J.P. and Pam Holmes, who sent a three-set DVD collection of mystery stories (that’s great – we love to watch mysteries); Ferenc Fodor, who scrounged Hungary for Sudoku books, couldn’t find any, so made a trip to Italy to get some (okay, he didn’t really make the trip just for that, but he did find three Sudoku books there for Gary); Mom Gruenhage, who sent along three more pics of Gary, all of these with Bob (I liked best the one with four-year-old Gary on the trike, three-year-old Bob next to him); Donne Leigh, who sent another DVD; Jerry and Theresa Vaughan, who sent more tapes (Jack Benny, Car Talk) – and the Car Talk tapes they first sent to Birmingham finally arrived as well!; a postcard from some of the attendents at the 2006 ASL Summer meeting (I’d list your names, but there are two I can’t make out and I forgot to ask Gary if he could); Marilyn and Steve Foreman; Lois Stavig.
Also arrived was email thru Shepherd’s setup from Dave Gauld, and two from Dimitrina Stavrova.
Also finally arriving from Birmingham were cards from Mom G, Mr. and Mrs. Muñoz, Dave Johnson. Sorry, little Laura – yours hasn’t arrived yet.
And today (Weds.) we got 18 long-stem roses from Judy Roitman and Steve Lombardo! (Gary and I are going to split them between “his” place and “mine.”)
Whew!
To finish up what should have been Tuesday’s entry:
To the person who looked at my ’79 picture and said I looked like a hippie wannabe . . . Hippie wannabe? Okay, there are certain aspects of me that could be used to support your contention (um, er, om, what could I mean?), but I was much too straight to seriously aspire to hippiedom. (Gary told me soon after we were together that I was the straightest person he knew). . . . I told Gary what you said, telling him I couldn’t see what about the picture might make you say that, and he said he could see how you might get that impression, what with the long hair and the wire rims. I pointed to myself, currently sporting long hair and wire rims. “You’re still a hippie wannabe,” he said.
Groovy.
(And by the way – your little printer mishap you blamed on me because you were discombobulated by seeing that picture has nothing to do with me. It was your own karma.)
May 30, 2006 (9:36pm)
I read some old emails to Gary today. He commented that he was touched at how many nice emails, cards, and letters he’d received from so many people since the accident.
My older sister called while he was trying to get down lunch (he’s been feeling nauseous today, and that chicken and rice just didn’t agree with him). I passed the phone to Gary, and he thanked her for finding out all the information on Shepherd she had. He said he really liked the people here, that they all seemed knowledgeable, and that the place was definitely more organized in terms of aftercare and starting him on rehab (oops, I automatically wrote “research” there!). While they were talking, the flap doc, wearing a bright blue bold-printed shirt and giving his usual hearty greeting, came in to check Gary’s surgical wound. We like this guy, him and his showboat streak. We liked him even better when he told Gary his wound was looking good.
Today they took off Gary’s pressure hose (not sure what their technical name is – maybe those are the ted hose) – the ones that wrap around his legs from ankle to mid-thigh and are plugged in to inflate and deflate, the aim being to prevent blood clots. Instead he goes back to getting shots of blood thinner in his belly.
Supporting his point about the rehab program here, after lunch the tech and OT came in to put him through his paces – arm and back exercises using dumbbells. We asked what his program should be – I knew from my weight training days that for strength one would do low reps and high weight, with at least a day’s rest between sessions, but for endurance one would use high reps and low weight, possibly more frequently. They want him to develop both, so want him to work out every day with three sets of each exercise using low reps (8) and high weight, meaning the last couple reps of the last set should definitely be an effort. (If he isn’t recovered by the next day, he can take that day off.) I left him to his workout and went back to the apartment to blend him another requested mango smoothie to make up for his not eating his lunch entree. When I got back he was on his stomach sweating out the last of his exercises. After the tech left I asked if they’d given him more exercises to do than the ones he’d been doing since his flap surgery. “No, they didn’t,” he replied. Then why was he sweating? I asked. He hadn’t been when he’d been doing the exercises over the weekend. “Because I didn’t realize that even on my side I can do all the exercises they’d given me before.” So it’s great that they came to his bedside and showed him how to adapt his exercises to his new state. At least I think it’s great – I’m not sure he does. (Just kidding – he again told them when they came in he wants to get as strong as possible.)
Since he was still on his stomach, I wasn’t sure how to get the smoothie into him. The stuff seemed to thick for a straw. I was going to find some juice and thin it, but he said to try a spoon on it. That actually worked quite well. Though he found it tiring to have to lift his head up for each bite, he said eating that way was actually easier than when I spooned the stuff into him while he’s lying on his side (particularly since the head of his bed is not allowed to be raised very much). He was no doubt thinking of lunch time when the peas kept ending up on the towel I’d put around his neck instead of in his mouth as the airplane entered the hanger from the side so that the peas wouldn’t go straight down his throat and choke him (my little friend from France might need the airplane reference explained). (I did learn it made a big difference if I put on the spoon only a few peas at a time.)
After that, I set up a tape of “Bob and Ray” and left one of “The Shadow” in Gary’s reaching distance while I went off to the chiropractor. I had been prepared not to like the chiropractor because neither massage therapist gave him a resounding recommendation. He did some testing no other chiropractor had done, but it seemed reasonable – range of motion, etc – and the adjustments were smooth, IMO, and I left with a good feeling toward him. I am going to see him again before making a final decision, but I feel I may stick with him.
Back in Gary’s room I discovered a ton of mail had finally caught up with us! Thanks to Norman and Margaret Groteluschen; Brad Bailey, who sent a bar of chocolate and offered to help Gary make some room in his office so a wheelchair can get in there (and if you’ve ever seen the stacks of papers all around Gary’s office you will know why a reorganization is necessary); J.P. and Pam Holmes, who sent a three-set DVD collection of mystery stories (that’s great – we love to watch mysteries); Ferenc Fodor, who scrounged Hungary for Sudoku books, couldn’t find any, so made a trip to Italy to get some (okay, he didn’t really make the trip just for that, but he did find three Sudoku books there for Gary); Mom Gruenhage, who sent along three more pics of Gary, all of these with Bob (I liked best the one with four-year-old Gary on the trike, three-year-old Bob next to him); Donne Leigh, who sent another DVD; Jerry and Theresa Vaughan, who sent more tapes (Jack Benny, Car Talk) – and the Car Talk tapes they first sent to Birmingham finally arrived as well!; a postcard from some of the attendents at the 2006 ASL Summer meeting (I’d list your names, but there are two I can’t make out and I forgot to ask Gary if he could); Marilyn and Steve Foreman; Lois Stavig.
Also arrived was email thru Shepherd’s setup from Dave Gauld, and two from Dimitrina Stavrova.
Also finally arriving from Birmingham were cards from Mom G, Mr. and Mrs. Muñoz, Dave Johnson. Sorry, little Laura – yours hasn’t arrived yet.
And today (Weds.) we got 18 long-stem roses from Judy Roitman and Steve Lombardo! (Gary and I are going to split them between “his” place and “mine.”)
Whew!
To finish up what should have been Tuesday’s entry:
To the person who looked at my ’79 picture and said I looked like a hippie wannabe . . . Hippie wannabe? Okay, there are certain aspects of me that could be used to support your contention (um, er, om, what could I mean?), but I was much too straight to seriously aspire to hippiedom. (Gary told me soon after we were together that I was the straightest person he knew). . . . I told Gary what you said, telling him I couldn’t see what about the picture might make you say that, and he said he could see how you might get that impression, what with the long hair and the wire rims. I pointed to myself, currently sporting long hair and wire rims. “You’re still a hippie wannabe,” he said.
Groovy.
(And by the way – your little printer mishap you blamed on me because you were discombobulated by seeing that picture has nothing to do with me. It was your own karma.)
posted by Peg Daniels at 4:16 PM
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