Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Hello and well wishes to those who have followed our blog regularly, from near and far.

Pat has come a long way. She has been home now (not just in Grand Rapids, but at our house) for about a month. We have been going in for some checkups and evaluations and drain adjustments, some med changes and prescriptions. The trend is gradual improvement, and every day I see Pat in better spirits, stronger, and more active. She is determined to get better, and she will.

Occupational therapy, physical therapy, and visiting nurses have come and been surprised at how well Pat is doing. They have now finished their visits and signed off.

Sunday (January 12) was a milestone for us. Pat and I went shopping at Sam's Club to get all the necessities we haven't gotten for several months. This was the first non-medical outing since September, and we had a lot of fun getting paper plates and laundry detergent and bottled water. Pat even tried out the motorized wheelchair, but I think she could have done most of it with her walker. At home now she rarely uses the walker and in general uses a cane or nothing at all to get around.

She is quite a lady. Right now her most pressing concern is making sure we deliver a boatload of coats (little people sizes) to Palmer School this week. Watch out, Sara, she'll be back in action before you know it.

When Pat was very ill, and could do very little, I would ask her "would you like me to read you comments from the blog?" and she would always nod her head. It was contact with friends and family, a link that kept her connected and encouraged. And it kept me aware of just how many lives she has touched through the years. I want to say, with heartfelt thanks, how much the replies meant to Pat when she was at the NIH and in rehab (that sounds so bad, doesn't it? "Uh, sorry, can't come, my wife is in rehab ...".) The replies also meant a lot to me, because I got to be the one to read them to her.

So, with this blog of today, we will sign off. I will not be sending any further blog posts, but will not actually close down the site. We are not sure if at some time Pat will be going back to the NIH for any further studies, evaluations or surgeries, but if we do we may start posting again.

You can always send Pat an e-mail at trowfamily@juno.com which is her e-mail that she checks regularly.

Best wishes to all for 2014

Greg