What a Blessing it has been!

I guess it has been almost 6 weeks since we went to the hospital. What a great time it has been. Jan is happy, smiling, and is in constant gibberish mode. As I look at her each day all I can see is that she is happy and does not appear to be hurting in any way. Her walking continues and I have been able to get her into a rhythm of taking a nap in the early afternoon and I really feel like this is helping her get through the day. Unlike 60-75% of the residence of Autumn Leaves, she remains very mobile. I look upon that as a real plus verses being in a wheel chair.
This past weekend I took off for Lubbock and the annual Spring Game for my Red Raiders. We had a golf tournament on Friday along with Lunch and dinner at the Red Raider Athletic Facility. It was great. Saturday was the day of the scrimmage and also a baseball game against Nebraska. It was all great fun and Jan was in the hands of two very dear friends, Jenni New and Linda Letz. Through the science of text messaging I was able to keep up with her situation. I never got concerned about Jan. She was with Godly friends and family was close if needed. I really do appreciate them very much for allowing me to be away for 3 days. It was refreshing.

Four Good Weeks

I am happy to report that we continue to have good weeks for Jan. Except for the weight loss she has held her own. She has had visitors whom she recognizes and a visit from her special dog, Max, and he was great. He visited with everyone who wanted to pet the dog. One time Jan walked off and Max did not take his eyes off of her and as soon as I started to walking her went right after her and she was around the corner but he found her.
I think there are going to be problems at every place to some degree. They are not going to do it as well as I do. We are attempting to address the problems with the staff and hope we can get improvements in the problem areas. Jan presents a very specific set of problems. She is mobile, where most of the others are not very mobile. Jan cannot talk, most of the others can talk. Jan can't understand most things and cannot follow requests. She can't communicate if she is having problems or in pain. She cannot dress herself, brush her teeth, spit, or turn on the light. She can't find her room, won't sit down when she is being feed and easily distracted by any sound or problem in the dining room and wants to get up often while they are trying to feed her. She can't tell you she doesn't like the food. If she doesn't want to eat you can't make her. She can't participate in the activities, crafts, word games, but she does go into any office door that is open with people inside, so you can see she presents a unique set of problems for anyone. All of which is no excuse for being improperly cared for by the staff.

Losing Weight

While Jan has had three good weeks, we are very concerned with her weight loss. Lost 25 lbs in three months. Of course you have to realize that while at home she was eating more fast food and my cooking most of the time, which probably led to her gaining weight, plus she could not walk like she does now. She walks most of the day. It's very hard for her to sit for any length of time.
One of her best friends visited Thursday, Linda Letz. You would have thought she knew what she was saying, lots of gibberish and laughing. Jan loved every minute of her visit. I will post pictures soon.