Friday, Dec 23: Homecoming Day. There's no place like home.
Saturday, Dec 24: Christmas Eve. We had to forego our usual tradition of eating out and attending Christmas Eve Services. Instead we had a turkey, which was freshly smoked by our friends Ron and Kay Blythe. Trip's AF friend Ryan spent the night with us. He's from Florida and wasn't able to get home for the holidays. We enjoyed spending time with him.
Christmas: Wonderful, relaxing day with the family.
Tuesday, Dec 27: My Birthday. Bobby sent me out to have lunch with some friends, then shopping with Michael. My sister Lynne & Rick flew in from Tucson for the week. While Bobby was in the hospital, in the midst of his near incoherency, he was able to communicate to Trip that he wanted Corky's BBQ from Memphis for my birthday dinner. The Applings were able to accommodate that request, and we enjoyed some pulled pork, beans and coleslaw. I loved it.
Wednesday/Thursday: Slow progress with speech. There is still a lot of frustration when trying to communicate more than casual comments, and difficulty tracking TV shows and multiple dinner conversations. Some memory issues.
Friday, Dec 30: The awaited visit with Dr Fell was a bust. Turned out we only saw the nurse to remove the stitches. I told her that we thought he needed to get started on Speech Therapy and I'd wanted to visit with Dr Fell to discuss my concerns. She said we had to make another appointment, which of course wasn't available for several weeks. They are "squeezing us in" next Thursday. Dr Fell apparently doesn't think Speech Therapy is necessary, even though he hasn't examined Bobby from the standpoint of his speech. They seem to think we should be familiar with the ramifications of a brain bleed and surgery, and just "go with the flow." They may do this everyday, but this is our first time around this block, and we need some reassurance that comes with someone taking time to evaluate his speech and comprehension, so we'll know what's "normal."
Lynne & Rick were here to help with a birthday celebration Friday night for my Dad's 80th birthday. The party was really nice, but Bobby was only able to stay a few minutes. The noise was a bit rattling for him. Happy Birthday to my Daddy!
New Years Day: 2011 seemed like such a great year, until about two weeks ago. What a ride it has been. I remain hopeful that things will get back to normal, but to be honest, it still seems far off. The frustration and discouragement with the slow progress is a challenge right now. We are needing an extra measure of patience.
We continue to be encouraged by the care and concern of our family and friends. Thank you so much. We wish you all a Happy New Year!
Love, Juli
3 comments:
We are happy to get a report and to see that Bobby took good care of you on your birthday! We'll pray specifically that he can get into therapy asap, as we know he's not one to want to wait around. I'm confident he'll continue to amaze people with his progress. We love you and look forward to more good reports.
You are such a great blogger, Julie. Wonderful pics too. I have never even ventured near a blog in my life being techy challenged somewhat. Glad I ventured out! When God allows us to go through greater trials He also gives us the "greater grace" that is mentioned in the book of James. What you are walking through by faith is more valuable than even gold as 1 Peter 1:7 refers to. You are loved and surrounded. Blessings--Annette Novinger
Thank you for the update, Juli. I'm so glad your Christmas and birthday were joyful and that Bobby was feeling up to participating - even just a little. I'm praying -still praying- for that sweet guy. And for you too.
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