April 25, 2017: Day +155

I have learned something this week, well maybe I knew this, but I relearned it.  Just because you make a plan does not mean that it will work out or last. Yesterday afternoon, I got a call and was told that our bath aide wouldn't be able to serve Doug anymore and a different person would be here this morning.  And so we had another person this morning, which meant it took me more time to show her where everything is and to introduce her to Doug.  And then this afternoon the other company we are contracting with brought another person by that will be here tomorrow morning, because the gal we have had the last 2 weeks won't be able to make it in the morning. The OT cancelled and rescheduled for 7:00 am on Monday morning. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the week goes.

Hoyer Lift

We have lots of equipment in our house to help Doug and I. I realized that I talk about the equipment but have never shared it on the blog. And when I was talking to my friend Ingrid the other day and she said she was wondering what our Hoyer Lift looks like and so today I thought I should share a picture.  While the Hoyer is not the easiest to use on carpet it is very handy for moving Doug especially at night when he is tired and when I am trying to transfer him between places of different heights.  Gravity is not our friend when Doug has to use the slider board to slide uphill. This requires me to do a lot of lifting of Doug because he is not strong enough through his legs to lift his body very far off the chair except for a few seconds.  The green sling, is what is wrapped around Doug.  The Hoyer is electronic and it allows me to move Doug  up and down. Then I able to push him from room to room in the sling or from wheelchair to bed, or from chair to chair.

Not all of out surprises today were challenging. Our friend Will made Doug  parallel bars so that he can practice standing and walking.  Will and our friend Walt delivered them tonight.  We are both really excited to have them.  They are not necessarily an attractive addition to our living room, however they add greatly to what my friend Scotti calls Eileen's Rehab.  Probably better named Doug's rehab because he is the one having to do the hard work.  We are so thankful for this help!

Let us pray:

Holy God, of all the Chances and Changes of this life, we give you thanks and praise for the help of others.  We give thanks for our friends who lighten our load. Today we are especially grateful for the work that Will has done to create and make these parallel bars so that Doug may walk again.  We give thanks for Walt for offering his truck and time to deliver them to us. And we are grateful for caregivers who lighten our load.  Be with as we learn to live with changing schedules and competing needs.  Give us patience to accept the things we don't control and cannot change. Sustain our hope as we look forward to continued healing.  In your name we ask it.  Amen.