Every Four Days

"And do you feel scared, I do
But I won't stop and falter
And if we threw it all away
Things can only get better"

—Howard Jones

It seems like every four days we are suddenly in the position of having to adjust to living a slightly different version of our lives. Not radical changes (except the first day, which was a complete shock to the system) but subtle re-orientations to life.

Today we received an update from Jon's therapy team, and from their assessment, he should be ready to leave the hospital and come home on May 18, after exactly a 2-week stay in therapy, preceded by 3 days in the main neuro floor, and five days in the ICU. I think it will be great for him to be home, especially since he'll have been in the hospital for close to a month in total. Patients often will make better progress once they leave the hospital, too, because a hospital, even a really great one, is still not home, and can be an "unreal" environment over the long haul. (It's kind of like living in a casino, with lights all day long, people walking around from area to area, beeping machines, and oxygen! If only there were slot machines!)

He's made really great progress, and gets up on his own, which is somewhat alarming to the nursing staff since he seems to not realize (or not want) to wait for staff to help him. While it's a good sign of his physical abilities, it's also dangerous if he's attempting more than he can manage at the moment (impulse control, executive decision making). We'll be having a meeting with the doctors shortly to discuss post-discharge plans, and then we'll get ready for the next steps. 

And yes, there are hard things to plan for. There have been hard moments all along this process. Walkers, wheelchairs, belts, all types of assistive gear. Feeding tubes, shunts. It's hard to think of any and all things like this, but especially for someone who is not an elderly parent. Although 62 isn't exactly a spring chicken, it's nowhere near the age you expect to have an infirmity, even if it is (we hope, we believe, we make happen by sheer will into being) a temporary one.

I feel like we're through the worst of it, and every day there's progress, there's new light, and in many ways, a new us. I'm no longer afraid. We've made it this far, and like Howard Jones says, "Things can only get better."