We did not hear from UAB following Monday's meeting, so I called yesterday. What they told me was they were very impressed with how well Tom was doing and how his leg was healing. They want to see him again in a month and will assess him again at that time. I asked if they were looking for him to be able to do something specific . . . they just told me they wanted him to get stronger. I read between the lines that they wanted him walking - with very little or no assistance (i.e. cane). Tom disagrees and thinks a walker will be fine. I will ask that you pray for Tom, that he will get stronger and will be able to walk unassisted into UAB on September 12! We are disappointed though that they did not re-activate him. My devotions this week have been about control - God's and not mine. I'm trying to be faithful and trust God with Tom's care.
Other than that, we have been managing pretty well on our own. Tom had a fever on Monday so he started taking the Bactrim again. His temp was normal on Tuesday. I will continue to give him the Bactrim daily. He was also starting to accumulate fluid so he's taking Lasix again. We'll monitor that closely to keep him from getting dehydrated again. Home Health is supposed to come and do bloodwork early next week.
Tom has been getting Physical Therapy and has been doing a few things around the house. He needs to move around but he also needs to stay off his feet to keep them from getting too swollen. On Sunday he made the very best homemade pound cake I have ever tasted. It's working too because I've gained about 2 pounds this week! The contractor arranged for the dumpster to be picked up this week so we spent most of last weekend in the garage, tossing out a bunch of stuff. I also pulled "junk" down from the attic! It was a great feeling! The painter has been at the house every day this week and will hopefully wrap up soon - we still have lots of boxes to unpack! I still haven't shopped for a backsplash - I keep thinking I will have time on the weekend but I don't like leaving Tom alone for long periods of time (over an hour).
I'm excited that my parents are coming next week to help. Tom's caregivers are wonderful but they are expensive! They've done a great job taking care of Tom, cleaning the house, lining the new kitchen cabinets and Wednesday, Kim (our regular caregiver) cleaned the carpets upstairs!!! They don't like sitting idle. Sometimes it's hard for me to think of things for them to do! Kim doesn't like ironing so that's the only thing I've found so far that she wouldn't do. A caregiver will come Saturday morning so that I can go for a bike ride. I don't like having someone come on the weekend but I really need to ride. Tomorrow we are going to ride 50 miles. I know Tom would do OK but since I'm going to be out-of-touch, it's worth it for my peace of mind.
I'll wrap up for now. Thanks for checking the blog and praying for us!
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