Home Again

Don arrived home (finally) at about 5:30 tonight.  He had two PT sessions before he left and will continue with the crew at St. Mary's. 

I think the smile says it all!

Love to all!

Don's Day Four

Today the patient has been "unplugged".  No more IV solutions or medications and no more pain med pump.  He is getting Vicodyn pills instead of the Morphine.  He is also dressed in loungewear now, so he doesn't "moon" us anymore when walking to the bathroom :-)

Here is his new "zipper" and the 28 staples that are holding the incision together.  Lookin' good!

It's about 1:30 pm and Liz the therapist is here for his afternoon session.  She's working on his "in the bed or chair" stretching exercises.

He has had two walks in the halls today.  This was from a few minutes ago.  When Liz told him to remember he had to have enough stamina to return to his room, he reponded "If you're tired, we can go back".

And here's an action video that will rival the best that Hollywood has to offer!

Both the doctor and the therapist are very impressed with Don's progress.  Dr. Horwood expects that he will be discharged tomorrow afternoon, following a couple of therapy sessions.  So we hope tomorrow's update will include pictures from home.

Love to all!

Don's Day Three

This morning the nurses have removed the dressing from Don's knee and it looks good.  Don complimented his doctor on the straightness of the incision.  That's the vertical straight line visible under the bandage.

The patient is in good spirits and is dedicated to getting back on his feet sooner than the doctor expects.  He says the pain is less severe than he expected.  At rest the pain is almost nonexistent.  And the morphine button is available when the pain increases and he is encouraged to use it.

His therapists are working with him a couple of times a day.  This is Elizabeth who just put his knee through its paces.

She will return this afternoon to go through the exercises again.  He is now sitting in a chair until after lunch when Elizabeth will return and will help him back into the bed. 

Don thanks you all for your prayers and well-wishes.

Love to all!

Randy D joining in

Hello everyone,
This is my first post to  the all in the family blog so please bear with me.
I'm a newbie on the blogasphere & not quite sure of the proper etiquette.

Mom and Deb were here for an overnight this weekend.
The kids were excited to see them for an extended time.

Here are a couple of pictures of my kids from this Friday at the corn maze in Grand Haven.
Allison is now 7 1/2 yrs old & in the second grade @ Holmes  Elementary in Spring Lake

Sam is in the sixth grade @ Spring Lake middle school & will soon be 12 (11/13).

It's great to read about the goings on and I'll catch up on everyones postings.

Take care
Randy

Free Wood!!

Just finished dragging logs in from down our dirt side road.  A tree service was clearing the easement for the high tension power lines and the landowner said I could take the wood.  It took the better part of 5 days to get them all home using chains and towed by the tractor.  I think I know what I'll be doing when I return from Georgia!  Chain saw and wood splitter time......

This wood will come close to lasting me through the winter of 2011.  It will need time to season and I have other seasoned wood that I need to cut, split and stack for this year in another pile behind this one.  The fun never ends :-)

Love to all!

Our Sugar Plum Fairy

Here's a look at our little Sugar Plum Fairy on her first day of dance class.  She had a blast and is very much looking forward to next week.  She has an excellent teacher and I look forward to seeing her progress throughout the year.  She has her 2nd soccer practice tomorrow and will be starting swim lessons again on Saturday. 

Farewell to Summer in Michigan.........

With nightime temps in the 40s it's time to cover the pool.  Connie is not happy!!!!  The only good news is it's time for Spartan football!  And we will be visiting some of you in the next few weeks.  Something else to look forward to.

Love to all!