Overflowing Blessings

Mike did  fantastic the entire day! Thank you so much for your prayers and Praise God again and again and again! He answered abundantly.

Wendell and Lynn arrived on Tuesday night and we all enjoyed a great meal at Hugh and Tracey's to celebrate Tracey's birthday. Wednesday morning, we headed over to Tucker arriving about 9:50am. There wasn't much paperwork to take care of and Mike soon came out ready to GO!  When he came out, I noticed that his left forearm was swollen. I asked the case manager and charge nurse about it and they both seemed surprised to see it.  I hesitated, thinking maybe we should have it x-rayed before we left and Mike said "You can't keep me here!" Picked up his suitcase and headed for the door. So we left.  As we drove down the road, I started looking through the papers that Tucker was sending to NeuroRestorative and there was a report saying that Mike's arm had been x-rayed on the 28th. There were no broken bones, just a bone spur, but no visible reason for the swelling.  As I read further, I came across another report saying Mike had fallen on June 24.  I had never heard a word about any of this. I had been there on the 28th, but Mike would not come out to see me and I had not been back until yesterday.

When we stopped, and I saw Mike walking more and his gait seemed different, plus his left leg was swollen. He was also a bit unsteady. So I called back over to Tucker and was able to speak with a nurse who knew what had happened. She said it wasn't actually a fall. Mike had put his hand on another patient's shoulder and that patient had pushed Mike, causing him to fall on the floor. She said Mike landed on his bottom, but seemed fine afterwards. The attending doctor noticed the swollen arm and ordered x-rays, but they do not think it was related to the fall.  Mike would bang on the nurses' station door, and the nurse thought that was the reason. He has some bruising on his hand which I can understand from the banging, but the arm looks like something internal, there is no bruising. I asked about his left hip, but they had not done an x-ray on that.
I wonder if the swelling could be due to some medication and if he's just sore from the fall so his gait is different. I would think the unsteadiness is due to medication.  I don't know, but pointed out all of this to the case manager, Lisa, and the nurse, Serg, at NR.

On the other hand, cognitively, he did terrific! He asked Lynn and Wendell about their children, let us know when he was cold, getting restless, and was hungry. Once we arrived at NR, he did not want to sit with me while I filled out paperwork, he wanted to have a tour. So one of the staff, also named Mike, took our Mike and showed him, L, & W around, unpacked Mike's stuff, made sure everything was labeled, and returned when I was just finishing up. It was pouring rain several times throughout the day and a couple of times while we were trying to unload and go between buildings.  NR has 2 buildings at this location. It kind of looks like a nursing home but is in a neighborhood of apartments, soccer fields, etc., only 1.5 miles away from the Va. Tech campus. There are common areas in both buildings, some exercise equipment, and a dining area.  Mike has his own room with a half bath, a TV, twin bed, chair, chest of drawers, and closet. The shower room is down the hall a few doors. Mike did very well throughout all of the admission process and was eating when we left. He had told me that I could come visit every Friday. I told him I probably wouldn't come every Friday. "Why not?" Because it's a 3+ hour drive. He didn't seem to see why that was a problem, but did not get upset.

Lisa sent me an e-mail today saying Mike had been up a couple of times during the night, became a little upset today when they didn't have certain foods he wanted, but was doing fairly well.  I just tried to call, but they are going to have him call me back when he finishes eating.

My very supportive cousin, Todd.
Thanks, Todd, for the wonderful meal and accommodations!

After we left last night, L, W & I drove over to Radford. My cousin, Todd, had fixed a great meal, and had his spare rooms ready. Instead of a B&B, it was a D&B! We enjoyed learning more about Todd and seeing his beautifully renovated home.  I remembered today to take pictures of all my wonderful support, but forgot to get a picture with Mike yesterday.  Will do that next time I go.

My wonderful driving companions, Wendell & Lynn
took us all out to breakfast this morning.

 On the way home today, we stopped and took a walking tour of the National D-day Memorial in Bedford. Wendell is a veteran and wanted to stop. I am so glad we did. It was very educational and highly recommended.  Happy Independence Day to you all and thank you to all our service men and women past and present. I am proud to be an American!