Monday, April 27

4/27/09 -- Down the Stairs He Comes


Yesterday I had my first chance to visit Dad since he left Sheltering Arms and moved in with Matt so that he could continue his rehab as an outpatient.  With me were my wife Patrice, daughter Melinda and son Jonathan.  Mom was also there, as were, of course, Matt and Karen.

We had just arrived and were chatting with Mom when here comes Dad, walking down the stairs!  It was a slow and painstaking process, but he did it on his own, with Matt prompting him on occasion.  From the bottom of the stairs, he walked across the living room (using a walker) and seated himself in his favorite chair, which Matt had brought from Millboro.  This is incredible progress from where Dad was only a few short weeks ago.

Equally impressive is Dad's voice, which does not in any way suggest that he had a severe stroke less than three months ago.  As Mom said, "he sounds just like Chuck."  Mentally, he is pretty sharp, and his memory remains sound.  

Physically, everything Dad has been through in the last months has left him weak (although he continues to get stronger) and very thin.  Oddly, given that for weeks he could not eat anything, Dad has very little appetite, even though he is now able to eat pretty much whatever he wants. 

As we sat there in Matt's living room, with Dad in his favorite chair, Mom sitting beside him and a half-dozen family members surrounding him, the scene felt eerily normal.  It was easy to imagine that it was just a small family get together on a random day before February 8. Unfortunately, that is not the case, but the mere fact that it could seem like it, even for a little while, shows just how far this tough, resilient man has come.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks again, Mark and Anne, for all the updates. We'll be up in Millboro again on the 14th of May. I hope your mother and father are both doing well. Much love, your cousin Charles.

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