Bill managed to get himself out of bed again this morning and his CNA called me before 8. He was very upset but fine. He was not making much sense for a period of time today. Everyone tells me that this is due to the stroke, but all of the literature I have on his medications list this as a side effect of the anti-rejection meds. I talked to the speech pathologists today while Bill was having physical therapy and she explained that the part of his brain that was affected by the stroke is the part that reasons. This explains why he thinks that everyone is against him, but that can also be a result of the prednisone. It's a very fine line we're walking!

He did well with his therapies. He climbed a stair and backed down, first using his right leg to step up and then the left. He was steady enough that he shouldn't have any trouble getting on the table for the biopsy Monday. Speech did some cognitive tests today. He read at 100% and was about 80% with matching a word with the picture. That goes with the difficulty of word retrieval. We're going to play Uno and Dominoes this week-end to re-enforce the matching. He did lots of shoulder rehab in occupational therapy and his grip strength has increased on both hands from a week ago.

The wound dressing was changed and the wound is definitely smaller. The muscle is almost at the top of the wound and the length and width have both decreased. We don't know how long it still will take to fully close but everyone has been impressed with the rate of closure.

I talked to the insurance person today and she told me that between Medicare and Tricare his stay will be covered 100%. Although I was not overly concerned, it was still a relief to know.

We're going to try, at least with physical and speech therapy, to do it without me to see how he does. He did well this morning. This gave me a little free time. They were done back to back so I actuallly had about 1 1/2 hours to myself. I sat in the lobby and had a cup of coffee, and watched him through the window for PT without him knowing I was there. If he can do this without me, I can take this time to run errands or take a walk. I'm needed more when he has nothing going on to keep him occupied and out of trouble! Linda, the OT therapist, wants me to continue working with them because we are to do these same exercises in his off time. He's to wear a splint on his left hand while he's sleeping to keep the hand open. He's keeping it clenched and it's getting very difficult for him to open the hand and straighten his fingers. He took it off after I left last night and may not leave it on tonight, so we'll see in the morning.

All for tonight. Don and Shirley made it home and I'm assuming that Jalena and Phillis have made it also, unless they decided to spend another day in Biloxi. I've got Bill's laundry going and I'm going to doctor my sunburned legs again and go to bed early. Hopefully tomorrow will be an uneventful but good day!