Jake - Up Close; Happy Shabbos

I get email, regularly, from friends and relatives who have just heard about Mom's injuries, and about her ongoing recovery. One noted that all pictures of Jake were from a distance, and could I please include some closeups? Of course! No parent has to be asked twice! Above, Jake is framed in the right center background, holding his trombone. Below, he is ... lets see... on the right.

Most of the emails say something like: "How is she really doing?"

These emailers do not believe I am withholding important information - and I'm not. My Aunt Jane would kill me. Aunt June, too. My only break would be that Aunt Patsy doesn't use a computer. Rather, the emailers think I have forgotten to write about Mom's prognosis. I would love for that to be the case, because that would mean I knew her prognosis.

Physically: return of muscle, healing of broken hip, et al - things are looking really good. Mom is walking 400 feet each day. She also uses a wheelchair, but only b/c she is too fatigued to walk everywhere, all day. If things keep going as they are, the wheelchair will soon be thrown aside. Mom's physical strength is improving in leaps and bounds.

Her balance is still poor. Without her walker, she would probably fall every other time she attempted to walk. Even when using her walker, if she bumps it against something during a walk, she is a decent threat to go down.

Her taste buds/appetite have made a marked improvement, though she still doesn't eat the same portion sizes she did before. Nevertheless, I am hardly worried about this area.

Mom can maneuver a Wal-Mart go-cart like Danica Patrick.

Mom's long-term memory is not perfect, but it is good.

Her logic and reasoning is not perfect, but they are good.

Her short term memory is kinda, sorta, almost getting there - but it is not consistent yet. This is the area to watch. This is the area which stretches Mom's recovery from a few months, to maybe 8 - 12 months beyond her April 17 injury - or further. Brains often heal themselves, but it is a slow process. This area will determine whether Mom becomes an independent grandmother, who zooms her Yukon all over town; or an interesting, fun grandmother, who cannot go places without a friend.

What are the odds of the differing scenarios? It is unknowable. Mom's chances of making a full recovery are better than tiny, yet less than sure. That is a wide range, and that is where we are. No amount of pouting will change where we are - though I have tried. In Judaism, some things are said to be unknowable.
We are all Jews now.

La Chaim!



Shabbos - weekly day of rest in Judaism. It is observed, from before sundown on Friday until after nightfall on Saturday(Wikipedia).