Driving Solo!

What a nice development!

Mom could've probably driven solo a couple of months ago, yet she played it safe. Now she is driving on her own; is blessedly independent; and is pleased as punch about it - as any of us would be.

I am also pleased as punch! I remember August of last year, when Mom's prognosis was still unknowable: link.

Mom and Dad at Denton Jazz Festival

Jake is in the red T-shirt.

February Update

Physical therapy for Mom's broken hip has ended. Henceforth, Mom will perform her own exercises, and allow time to work it's magic.

Blood pressure dosages, over the next three to four weeks, will be gradually cut in half. Mom's BP's have been very low, for many weeks - maybe for 10 to 12 weeks.

At the Dr's office, fully clothed - including shoes and piled-up hair, Mom weighed 117.5 lbs. She is 5'7" tall. She has been happily eating eating many desserts: ice cream, Wendy's Frosties, cheesecake, pie, cookies. Where would her weight be without those?!

Sense of Taste Improving

So Mom thinks. This is welcome news.

We were told Mom's recovery would span approximately one year's time. She is nine months out from the incident.

Terminator IV: The Exercise Machines

Mom started going to physical therapy at Baylor-All Saints. The first day, she stressed her lower back muscles on a machine, causing her to miss her second day of therapy, and to be in pain for several days.

Me: How did you hurt your back?

Mom: The therapist put me on a machine "for 10 minutes." Then, she walked away, got distracted, and left me on the machine for 15 minutes.

Me: Why didn't you turn the machine off?

Mom: I didn't know how. When she walked away, I just had to keep going.

Less Walking Cane

When she goes out, Mom is occasionally leaving her walking cane behind. This is new.

We had an excellent Christmas in Denham Springs. Hope you did, also. Having lost 25% of her body weight, Mom received new clothing for Christmas gifts. Such fun for her.

Mom greatly enjoyed the Christmas cards and the Christmas letters she received. She thanks everyone for those.

Bruce and Lisa are building a new house - to better accommodate their needs. The house is quite beautiful. We are all excited.

In Wisconsin, the almost fatal Barbies were hits as Christmas gifts.

2

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for checking in at The Nancy Update this year. We love you all.

Mom has recently enjoyed visiting with friends at Wedgwood Nursing Home. She has been on a furious Christmas shopping spree. She is prepping to visit Bruce & Lisa, Courtney & Baron, and Chaffee & Hoss, in Denham Springs, LA.

Mom is eating better, though most foods still do not taste as good to her as they once did. She still doesn't eat much - which is fine - because she is forming regular, more frequent eating habits.

In my opinion, Mom's balance has improved since she came home. She now makes natural movements, such as shifting weight to balance on one leg(to bend over), which she didn't make before. Her neurology has improved, incrementally, in all areas. I say "incrementally" because there's not much improvement remaining to be achieved. Mom's neurology is as solid as most anyone's who is walking and driving about. Her neurology is more solid than many in her age group. Mom still likes her environment to be orderly, and unchaotic. She is gaining strength all the time. She's still not a big math fan.

Me: I said I'd be ready to drive you at 7:00, but I won't be ready until 5 or 10 minutes after that. Still, there's almost zero chance we'll be late.

Mom: (semi-exasperated) Greg, don't make me deal with statistics!

PS: and a Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving

For a celebration at her nephew Frank's house, Mom is preparing cornbread dressing, and giblet gravy. Dad is preparing banana pudding.

Mom and Dad considered a visit to Kansas City for Thanksgiving - to the home of Kris' parents: Don and Mary, and a visit with Austin and Kacy. They finally decided it was just a bit too much distance, and a bit too much excitement, at this time.

I think of Mom as recovered. However, she is a recovered person who is still gaining strength, and still likes some quiet and orderliness in her environment. Certain levels of excitement remain a bit overwhelming, and are not optimal environments for her. She has lived in calm environments for several months. Mom won't be visiting Chuck E. Cheese anytime soon. Dad either, come to think of it.*

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!

*Not that Don and Mary's house resembles Chuck E. Cheese in any way - unless, you know, they were serving suboptimal pizza - and Don and Mary wouldn't do that!

Travelogue

Aunt Patsy's funeral - pre-planned by her to the nth degree - went off beautifully. The only hitch occurred when the Ruston cemetery's funeral home closed for lunch between 12:00-1:00 PM, even though the graveside service was scheduled for 1:00 PM. This meant that mourners, who had just driven an hour from Bossier City, had no bathroom facilities. The cemetery funeral home made the mistake of leaving an emergency phone number on their front door. Aunt Jane seized my cellphone, called, spoke direct animal talk to the Ruston people, and got the situation resolved.

A nice thing about revisiting Ruston is the smell of pine trees. The cemetery was covered in pine needles. The smell of those particular pine needles, aged in that particular humidity, cured in that particular sandy dirt, is immutably buried in the recesses of one's memory. Moreso, even, than seeing Ruston: smelling Ruston is a calming, soothing experience.

We drove by the city swimming pool. It endures as it ever did - an American classic. We drove by the old Post Motor Co. Mom says the basic structure of the building is still intact, though the building has been much expanded and changed. Hood's BBQ is long gone. The family farm is unrecognizable. The house had become a vet's office; then a BBQ shack. The last time there, I thought I saw stakes set up on the farmland, as markers for residential streets. This time, we saw no signs of that. There are businesses on Farmerville Rd, but we saw nothing much built deeper into the old farm. The property itself is unrecognizable(to me, at least). Landmarks are gone. Topography is changed. We could not orient ourselves very much at all.

Mom handled the traveling pretty well. She took 250 mile trips on consecutive days, and ended up in Denham Springs, to visit Bruce and Lisa and family, and Jefferson Baptist Church.

Bruce and Lisa are excellent. Courtney is doing fine at Southeastern Louisiana: majoring in Elementary Education, and in a boy named Jon. Baron's football season ended just short of making the playoffs. This meant he was able to take me golfing, where I could watch his 300 yard drives sailing either into the fairway, or 100 yards into the trees. Baron doesn't overly worry about where they go, so long as they go far.

Mom spoiled Hoss and Chaffie, feeding them people-food from the kitchen. These are very smart dogs. Mom noticed they were careful to make way for her, and to kind of run interference for her as she moved around, so she would not be tripped up and fall. Herding dogs are surely experts about body language. Chaffie is very motherly; very protective.

Jefferson Baptist Church - heavily pro-life, and pro-family - enjoyed a sermon about respectfully submitting oneself to the authority of one's elected officials. Done right(and it's mostly done right - contrary to Hollywood's hysterical interpretations), organized religion is a blessing for mankind. Over the last six months, Jefferson Baptist parishioners have sent many prayers out for Mom. We are grateful.

In addition to the dogs, Mom spoiled us, by cooking up a storm. Lisa hit upon the idea of having an early Thanksgiving celebration, so we did. Baron introduced us to the wonders of Cajun-spice injected turkey. Cooking is good therapy for Mom, ahem.

Mom usually walks through houses without using a cane. Her balance is improving, albeit slowly. When walking, Mom doesn't yet pick her feet up as well as she will. This is, I think, residue of the ongoing recovery from hip surgery. Mom has to walk carefully over uneven ground: a brick floor, uneven grass/dirt, uneven pavement, a ridge in a smooth floor, a rise of renegade tile.

Mom once had a problem with peripheral vision. This caused her to be in danger of catching her foot on chair legs, or table legs, or people feet. This problem has greatly dissipated.

Neurologically, Mom continues to be outstanding. She still tires more quickly than she one day will.

Mom has turned me into some type of Jewish (Italian?) mother: "Eat! Eat! Why aren't you eating?!" Tiny portions are perfectly wonderful by me. However, they should occur several times a day. Mom has no respect for the concept of eating throughout the day. Left on her own, she might consistently eat one small meal a day, sans vegetables. Her chosen meal might be one taco, and three tortilla chips. She would supplement this through the day with Coca-Cola, and coffee. Sigh. Maybe I'll look up the nutritional value of Coca-Cola. I know it has carbs.

P.S. This is the one year anniversary of the tragic death of my cousin: Donnie Van Meter. I wrote about his graveside service here.

Patsy Caggiola, RIP

Mom's eldest sister, Patsy, died in her sleep sometime around 5:00 am this morning. She leaves her devoted husband, Larry; and grieving children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and family and friends.

Aunt Patsy was a businesswoman before being a businesswoman was cool. She built Goins Beauty Schools up from the ground - by dint of iron will, and of business savvy. In those days, a woman in business had to be tough. She served as President, or as officer, of various State Beauty School agencies, and National Beauty School organizations.

Aunt Patsy believed in positive thinking. She was not one to criticize. Rather, she deliberately looked for positive aspects in every situation, and in every person.

Aunt Patsy believed in personal responsibility. She had this saying taped on every mirror in her home:

"This person is responsible for my happiness."

Aunt Patsy liked "The Greatest Salesman in the World", by Og Mandino. She loved "The Prophet," by Kahlil Gibran - sometimes she gave copies of it as gifts. She loved the "Left Behind" series of novels.

Aunt Patsy kept up a huge, and beautifully landscaped, backyard. Just two springs ago, local high school Seniors had their prom photos taken in her backyard. During the photo shoot, the street outside Patsy's house was lined with all manner of autos, trucks, and limos.

Aunt Patsy famously, and elaborately, decorated her home for Christmas each year. She had four complete sets of Christmas decorations - each with a different theme. She rotated decoration themes from year to year to year to year.

Aunt Patsy was able to visit Northern Europe this summer. She was recently able to attend the National Beauty School Convention, in Miami, to visit with some of her long-time friends. She was busily preparing for a visit from Mom, and from their other sister - Jane, during the days before her death.

We miss you, Aunt Patsy.