Morning Breaks at Home

We left the Oncology unit at 5:00pm last night.  Sherry was able to transfer from her bed into a wheelchair exhibiting stellar determination and courage in accomplishing that.  We used medical transport to get her home, and when we did Jes and I were able to safely get her into her new hospital bed in the front room.  Jes has been a huge help all all fronts.  I feel relieved and supported by his presence, and consider myself a very lucky dad. 


Soon after we got home the Panhandle Home Health nurse called and then came over to do intake and to check on Sherry.  I felt more confident in my decison to bring Sherry home as opposed to putting her in a rehab center after discussing care with the nurse.  Comfort Keepers will come over today to arrange for the caregiving services that Home Health does not provide.  I am going to start with 3 times a week to help with bed baths.  The frequency and duration of the visits can be adjusted according to Sherry's needs. 


A physical therapist from Panhandle came by this afternoon for the first of Sherry's physical therapy sessions.  We will work on getting Sherry to transfer out of bed into a wheelchair.  We are exploring getting a lift to use to ease transfers.  The goal of being able to transfer without it is primary.  We will also be doing occupational therapy at home.  The goal will be to support Sherry's efforts to be as independant as possible.

The one thing that was missing when we got home was the dust.  Joy had come over early Thursday morning and tackled the house with a dustcloth, broom, dustpan, and mop.  She kept telling me that I was doing a good job housekeeping, but her dust cloth kept coming up, well, dusty.  It's hard for me to accept the extreme kindness we are receiving from so many directions, far and near.  I have heard redundant concern expressed about me as a caregiver.  I appreciate the concern.  The fuel I am running on is love.  There is an abundance of that.  My only concern is that I can tap into enough of it to support community in the way we have been supported as a part of it.  

Sherry slept through the night measuring the hours with deep, regular breaths.  She woke up at 5:00am and we had tea and slices of banana bread, celebrating being home and having another day.  That called for Cat Stevens, so I played "Morning Has Broken" as I fixed Sherry her oatmeal and orange juice. 

The day unfolded unevenly.  Some moments were restful and comtemplative, and others were just downright hectic as several things began to happen all at the same time.  Lunchtime was the former with Sherry feeding herself toast and crab salad followed by a chocolate truffle Mary had left.  Hard work with the physical therapist fell into the latter category. 

Respite came in the afternoon as Sherry settled into a nap.  She is waking up now and I will begin dinner.