“Praise be to God!”

Mike is doing fantastic! Vivian and I arrived at NR about 11:00 AM on Monday morning. I went to the case manager’s office to sign papers and get discharge instructions, while Viv waited in the car. When I came out, they already had the car packed.  The staff had packed all of Mike’s things and when he saw me arrive, he wasn’t going to waste any time! We were back on the road in less than an hour. Many of the staff were sad to see him leave, but Mike was anxious to “get out of this town”. He didn’t even want to eat around there. We drove to Christiansburg and ate at a Wendy’s.  He became a little bit anxious when we left Wendy’s because he thought we were returning to “the center”. Then a bit further down the road, he became quite insistent, perseverative, and agitated about getting some medicine for his cold. He was not appeased until we finally stopped and spoke with a pharmacist at Walgreens and he took the medicine. The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful.

We stopped in to see Mom and Dad, ate fruitcake, and then on over to our new home at Hugh and Tracey’s. Mike started to worry that his socks had not been packed and worry leads to agitation and perseveration, so Vivian and I started looking through all the boxes and bags until we found them. After unpacking almost everything, we both rested for a while. That night, Brittany fixed beef & barley soup and all of Hugh’s family, plus Mom, Dad & Vivian, came over for supper. Mike ate very well, and the evening passed pleasantly.

Praise God! Mike is taking care of all of his personal needs himself with minimal assistance. We’ve taken a couple of walks, gone to Wal-Mart, swept the floors, taken out the trash, he even helped me make chicken pot pie for supper Tuesday night by cutting the vegetables. Wednesday morning he was perseverative and hard to redirect, but got better as the morning progressed.  As at Christmas, rest and food are key. He is definitely still in denial about his abilities or some things that happen, but overall is so much better and I trust that awareness will come with time. Thankfully, he wants to do things for himself and I am encouraging that, as well, except when I feel his safety is at risk.

We went to the church fellowship supper last night and he conversed well with people there and greatly enjoyed it. This afternoon we are going to clean the calf barn and feed the calves after resting for a while.

This morning we were sitting at breakfast and he asked if any of his former co-workers had visited him when he was in the hospital. I told him yes, and that in a couple of months, I would like for us to go to Fayetteville and Raeford for a visit. I told him we might be able to stay with friends from our church there. Either Don & Jane or Christy and Calvin. He sat for a minute and then said “Sintic”? I was shocked!  This is the first time he has remembered anybody from West Fayetteville Baptist!! I was so excited! Then he said “Rome”.  I praised him highly and gave him a high five! Thank you, Lord, this is truly miraculous and very exciting!

Need to stop and get lunch. Thank you, thank you, for praying for us and please continue. God is answering prayers in amazing ways. Hallelujah!!