Blessed Night

This evening Jeremiah and Daniel gave Dad a blessing. It was a beautiful blessing that gave everyone there a feeling of peace and comfort. I won't write down what the blessing said. But afterward Joseph came up to me and said "Mom Heavenly Father said he would take the stroke out of Grandpa's body" (My kids have this belief that the stroke is like a bug still in Grandpa's body)
After Dad's blessing he helped give Joseph, Mom and me a blessing. Then he insisted on giving Jeremiah a blessing too. It was so sweet and wonderful to see he is still able to use his priesthood. After the events of yesterday this was such a spiritual uplift.

One year mark, What a bad way to mark it.

Today was one year since Dad had his stroke. Sadly it was the worst day he has had since his stroke.
This morning around 7:45 AM Dad had a seizure. I am not sure how massive it was. I do know all of his body was shaking from it. Mom had given him a shower and was helping him get dressed when it happened. He was in his shower chair still but had his legs out of the tub when it happened. Luckily Mom was right there and was able to make sure he didn't get hurt at all. My little Michael was awake early and was at the door when it happened. Mom sent him to get me. She told him "go get your mommy and tell her Grandpa is hurt". Michael woke me up and said "Mom Grandma wants you". So of course I didn't hurry up. I made a stop at the bathroom and was getting ready to head upstairs when I heard Mom scream for me. I ran upstairs and noticed the bathroom light on. I headed toward there and called out for Mom. She yelled for me to call 911. As I called I asked what had happened so I could let the operator know. I could heard Dad breathing really deep and weird almost like a snore with water in it. I was so scared. She told me she wasn't sure if he had another stroke or a seizure but that he was unconscious. The operator got the information they needed and a fire truck got there within 2 minutes of me calling. An ambulance got there a few minutes later. I good friend, Steph came and got the kids. I didn't want them to see Grandpa being wheeled out in the gurney. Plus I wanted to be of some help.
Mom was amazing. She was very calm and knew what to do. I was a mess. I am a crier as everyone knows. By the time they got Dad into the ambulance Dad was starting to come to. He wasn't responsive, but his eyes were open.
Daniel came and got Mom and me and we followed the ambulance to the hospital. Then it was the waiting game. We had to wait to be let into his room. We had to wait for him to wake up again. We had to wait for the doctor to give us information. We had to wait for the results of the blood work and cat scan. Luckily it seemed to go pretty quickly. Dad kept waking up and falling back to sleep quickly. Everything came back normal. So by 11:00 AM Dad was released from the hospital. He was given some seizure medicine and a prescription for more, which he will be taking twice a day. He did get a nasty cut on his tongue from biting it, but other than that, he is mostly just tired.
Dad slept most of the day. We were happy he joined us for dinner. Plus we are so happy he is still here. I was really scared for awhile that he wouldn't be.
The doctor informed us that the seizure was caused by the stroke. Some stroke victims have strokes and some don't. Unfortunately Dad was one who did. The weirdest part for all of us is that is was exactly one year since his stroke. I hope next year we can mark it a better way.

The Trickster

Today Dad and Mom got some Mexican food for lunch. I came up stairs after they had finished eating and Dad offered me some of the left over tortilla. After taking a piece and eating it Dad wanted me to try it with some of the two hot sauces that was left over. I opened one and tried had a few bites. I walked away to do something and came back. Dad had a silly grin on his face which I just dismissed. I went to dip another piece of tortilla in the hot sauce I had been using. As I dipped it in I realized the sauce looked a bit fuller and wasn't quite the same color. I looked over at the other hot sauce and realized it was the original one I had been using. I asked Dad "Did you switch sauces on me"? His reply was a lot of laughter. He was trying to get me to eat the hotter one. I tried the new "hotter" sauce. And found out it was the milder one. So I informed him it wasn't as hot. We had a good laugh. I guess the joke was on him.

Our new Daily trip

Dad has started using his walker on almost a daily basis. Today's trip was from his bed, into the living room, almost all the way around the kitchen (until we realized his walker wouldn't make it through one spot), and then back the same way he came. He was exhausted by the time he sat back do but proud of how far he went today.

Goals

Mom started making weekly goal for Dad to work on so he can become more independent. This weeks goal was for him to start pulling out his own clothing in the morning to get dressed.
This evening I was passing by his bedroom and saw him searching through his "closet" (a pantry cupboard thing of ours). I went in to see if I could help. He was searching for his shorts to wear tomorrow. I helped him find a pair and noticed he had the rest of his clothing in his arms. Mom soon came in when she heard all the commotion. When I told her he was getting all of his cloths ready for the next day a sweet grin came on her face. She told me of the goal she set for Dad. I could tell she was very proud of him to already accomplishing it. He is always very funny when he has done something he is proud of . He is almost shy about it but at the same time really glad we noticed.
We will see what next weeks goal is.

Watch out here he comes

The last two days of therapy, Mom and I got them to show us how to help Dad use a walker. They were a bit reluctant but still showed us. He did so good and was extremely proud of himself. The first day he did it he went 48 feet. Since then we have had him do it twice at home. The first time was from the living room into his bed. The next time he went from his bed to the bathroom and back. I believe he loves the new type of "freedom". Even though it takes two of us to help us. We are hoping to get him to the point where he can get back to his and Mom's bedroom and start sleeping back there again.

End of Therapy

Dad had his last day of OT and PT on Friday. I was able to go and watch about 4 times before he ended and Mom was able to come in the last 2 times. They showed me all the different stretches they do with him and helped me figure out the technique so I could do them at home. I was really glad I went as many times as I did because I didn't really feel like I knew what I was doing until the last 2 times. We took lots of pictures and notes to help us remember exactly how to do them. Dad has one more month of speech therapy. Mom and I have decided that I will do the stretching with Dad and she will work on the speech. Since Dad's arm and leg that I work with are limp, it is quite the work out to do his stretches. I am just glad he is letting me do them with him.