Sorry for no post last night.

Bill had a good day. He was up and dressed when I got there and in a very good mood. We talked to Michele, his physical therapist, about being more aggressive with his therapy. She said it's about as aggressive as it can be right now but she would change some of the exercises to some strengthening ones for his legs. He's been able to stand more without being supported as much which makes him feel more self sufficient. I asked if an order could be written for him to be walked on week-ends and she said yes, but since they cut staff some on week-ends I don't know if it will actually get one.

He did a lot of shoulder work with occupational therapy. They seemed quite sore and he sat with hot towels on his left one for quite awhile. Linda, the therapist, told us that we didn't have to wait for someone to come and help him get out of bed as long as I felt comfortable helping him. So, we practiced moving from the bed to the wheelchair and back. That will help him a lot, especially getting to the bathroom. He still can't do it alone, but we can do it ourselves now.

He got to eat a little more pudding in speech therapy and did his tongue and swallowing exercises. He said that the flavor was too strong so I think he actually got a melted magic cup. The Magic Cup is a frozen concoction that becomes the consistancy of pudding when it melts. It's a dietary supplement and he said they normally taste pretty good. He had them at Mayo when he had the LVAD implant and he had tried it here but it was too cold for his throat.

I wasn't at any of his therapies except for the end of the occupational therapy. I had an errand to run and left when Michele took him to physical and then was back for the end of the OT. But, I had a lunch date during the speech. A classmate from high school and his wife were visiting in Jacksonville for a family wedding and he called to see if we could get together. Our 40th class reunion was held over the week-end and we were both sorry to miss it. So, we had our own mini-reunion and we went to lunch. I hadn't seem them for 15 years and they both looked exactly the same and it was nice catching up with their lives and talking about other classmates. Her mother was there also and she went to high school with my mother and uncle so we were filled in some about them and the family friends I knew growing up.

As Bill and I were taking his morning walk, and waiting for my friends to arrive, he used his arms to propel his wheelchair instead of me pushing him. That was a first and he did pretty well! I keep telling him when I leave that there are to be no wild parties while I'm gone, including wheelchair races! He may not be minding!

I didn't get a chance to talk to Tammie yesterday. She was out most of the day. But, his meds were on time, actually a little early. So, maybe some  "comments" were overheard. It's hard to tell. Also, his nurse from Sunday told me that he did get the correct amount of Prednisone so the order did get entered into the computer. I'm hoping that Dr. Blatt's PA comes in today and we can ask her about the catheter. Bill says he's ready to try to doing that function on his own again. His mind was clear enough that he says he does remember what they have to do if he can't void, but he wants to try again.

His leg looks really good and the sponge is just sitting on top of the wound now because it's gotten very swallow. I'm sure Dr. Agnew will want to see it Thursday and know what the measurements are so maybe the vac will be gone before much longer also. The bandage was changed on his trach stoma and Saral, the nurse, said she thinks it has closed completely, so she didn't dress it again. We'll just keep it clean and watch it for a couple of days.

All in all a good day with progress made. Today will be lighter since there won't be a dressing change.