Catching Up

It seems that my life theme for the past couple of days has been "catching up", and that isn't really a bad thing. I had things like banking, cleaning and laundry to catch up on, but those are pretty mundane things, and really nothing worth writing about.

My friend Connie came out from California for the weekend. We did lots of catching up! We didn't do anything too exciting, just some shopping and driving around and visiting my dad, but mostly we just gabbed and giggled as one can only do with an old girlfriend.

Since my dad got back to Phoenix we have done lots of catching up. When he has been rested up he has had lots to talk about, and it's been great. He has had some catching up to do as well. There is a lot of adjustment involved in getting used to a new hospital and new caretakers. The flight exhausted him and he had to catch up on lots of rest. He has been settled into a new room, closer to the nurses station and with a roommate he can talk to, however, the roommate is out of the room most of the time. I brought in the little local newspaper today to try to catch him up on the local news. He likes the fact that it looks like the Cleveland Indians will be coming to Goodyear for Spring Training. Come to think of it, Brian and I like it as well since it will be within walking distance of our house!

OH!!!! I almost forgot! My dad aced his swallow test on Friday! The feeding tube is still in his nose, but he is able to eat! He is starting out really slow because he doesn't want to take any chances on getting sick again. He ate a meal on Friday night (just a few tablespoons) and 3 meals yesterday (just a few tablespoons each time) but he ate about 40% of his breakfast today. Hopefully the feeding tube will be removed in the next day or so. That will improve his breathing and his swallowing and I'm sure will give him such a boost. If your haven't sent him a postcard yet or posted a message to his care page in a while, please consider doing so. You have just no idea what boost to him these outpourings of support are. And please continue to pray for recovery and healing for him.

My mom has also been playing catch up. As you can imagine, being away from the house for a month has left lots of things to do. Can you visualize the pileup of mail? Ugh! Also remember that they hadn't really settled into the house yet either. There are still tons of boxes piled up and furniture to arrange and pictures to hang. Plus, she has catching up to do with friends and family who are all eager for news of my dad and to help. She also has tons to learn about living with and caring for someone with a spinal cord injury.

So as you can see, "catching up" has been the theme for all of us, and it really isn't a bad thing at all. I do look forward to catching up with many of you, so please don't hesitate to drop me a note or post a comment.