Yes, I left off the last post in the middle of our China trip. I’ve already started the posts for Tiananmen’s Square, The Forbidden City, and The Great Wall of China, but I need to upload photos of those to post, which unfortunately I haven’t had time to do lately. Here’s a couple sneak preview pics of The Wall of China though.
Anyway, after returning from China, I was in Hammond, Louisiana last week on business, which is about an hour outside of New Orleans.
I was supposed to be there all of last week and then again this week, but had to cut the work week short due to a family emergency. My 85 year old Mom had another bad fall at home, and was in the hospital for four days. I flew up to Virginia from New Orleans last Wednesday, and Steve (DOS) flew up from Sarasota, meeting me here in Roanoke. I got in late in the evening, so we stayed at the Hyatt Place by the airport the firs night, before going out the next day to see my parents.
Flash forward to Tuesday, nearly a week later, and Mom is out of the hospital after having broken her other hip (it was a year ago almost to the day she broke her other hip), and is now in the same Rehab Center as my Dad, who also had a bad fall about a month ago.
Mom and Dad are two doors down from each other, and this rehab center is the same one Mom was in this time last year, so at least she knows the staff fairly well.
I was going to take a couple weeks sick leave to care for them as our work plan allows that for a family member, but I had a bit of work to do, so offered to work remotely up here in Roanoke at least this week and maybe next week. My very understanding boss reassigned a Field Engineer for my New Orleans trip this week, and next week I was scheduled to work remotely anyway.
My brother Andy lives only five houses away from my parent’s home, and fortunately the rehab center is only a couple miles away. My sister Jenni was in town last weekend, and between the three of us siblings, DOS, and Andy’s partner Art, we have been visiting Mom and Dad at least a couple times of day, especially around meal times. Mom is doing notably much better today than yesterday, and was much more alert. We think she was just so heavily medicated it made her incoherent, but today she was able to eat on her own, with minimal assistance from us.
Dad on the other hand is stubborn Dad. He is doing much better now that he’s been there a month, but can’t seem to abide by the nurses and therapists rules to stay in his wheelchair when moving around! They actually put an alarm on the seat so it goes off if he gets up, and you can hear it all the way down the hall several times a day! It’s almost comical as he’s trying to figure ways to get out of the chair, but the nurses always have a ‘talking to him’, even as we try to get him seated again. Here my sister Jenni is lecturing Dad to stay in his wheelchair so he doesn’t fall again.
Anyway, will write more later, and definitely want to finish up the China blog posts as it was such as wonderful trip. Until then, I will write when I can from here in Roanoke. If you would, please keep my parents in your prayers as they are both recovering from serious falls. Thank you, and God Bless!
SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE ALL THERE TAKING CARE OF THEM. THEY ARE FORTUNATE TO GLAVE SUCH GREAT CHILDREN.