OT: waiting on a call... hoping for the best...

No worries about hijack... there is room for all our mothers in here.

Sorry to hear about the troubles... hopefully she will get good support and be on the mend very soon. The distance between you makes it difficult but at least you have relatives at the other end. It is a long drive... done that one a few times on the way to Vancouver that I used to call home.

My mom had her consultation with the surgeon last week. The report was excellent. They took an X-ray that she got to view. Surgeon tells her to walk but be careful. Surgeon also suggested it will be a year for all the healing to complete. Getting through the winter without an incident will be the challenge... fortunately she has had a couple of months already and will have at least another 2.5 months before we can expect any snow. Walking around inside isn't the challenge anymore... now getting used to walking around outside is the challenge... and she is handling that fine so far.

Getting through the winter without an incident will be the challenge

Just make sure she has those over sandals with the spikes - and that she takes them off before entering a mall - they can be deadly on those marble like floors!

My mother has had her shoulder partially replaced, they are going to take the staples and wires out next week. She will be moved to a convalescent place as soon as they get a space, hopefully the one across the road which is a few blocks from her home. They have said they will not let her out until they find out why she keeps falling on perfectly flat parking lots.

An update...

Mom has now been back at home for 2-weeks and doing very well. At the start she was walking around the house with a cane... now she walks around the house without the cane. She is still taking the cane with her when we go outside and she is still a little nervous walking around outside but I can see she is getting better with that. She was a little shaky yesterday morning but we had not been out for two days.

I'm not too concerned about her being nervous and a little shaky by times outside and here is why... she had almost 5 weeks of getting used to walking around inside on flat surfaces before coming home so she is well used to that. Walking outside is a whole different ballgame what with people buzzing around, cars and uneven surfaces. As a side commentary here... I am finding some people in the stores very rude with respect to giving mom her space when we walk around the stores. A trick we have learned... give mom the buggy to push and hold onto when in the stores. This gives her a buffer zone. The therapist thought this was an excellent idea.

I have fitting that bathroom all up... installed a hand-held shower head, rubber non-slip mat in the tub, a bath bench in the tub, two grab bars and a waterproof shower curtain on the inside of her cloth one. She just took a bath... I was out here holding my breathe... she emerged from the bathroom just fine. The Docs mentioned that she could remove the thin "plastic" bandage over her incision site when she took a bath... that happened this morning without incident. I'm actually glad that is finally off... surgery was 8 weeks ago and I was surprised to hear there was still something covering the incision site. Only one complain... she is not used to taking showers.

Around the house she is able to get meals but we are observing her movement restrictions. About another month to go with the "being very careful" phase of this... after that the restrictions drop although mom isn't about to start square-dancing the week the restrictions are theoretically gone.

I'm working from mom's place on a 5Mbit network connection that is working better than the connection I had at my own place. Suspect I will be here at the very least until the end of September... and likely into October. Depending on when my immigration comes through I may end here until after Christmas. Immigration and work visa papers seem to take forever to come through.

All in all... everything is going well.

Good to hear Paul, thanks for the update! Your story and that of the other Canadians' who've posted remain my rebuttal to the buttheads saying your healthcare system stinks; with some challenges, you guys threw the profit-driven insurance companies outta your healthcare system...we need to do that too 'cause we need those $ for actual healthcare. Something like $250M spent in a few months to derail change and most Americans now buy into their viewpoint...sad sad sad. Sorry 'bout the visa-papers but we gotta make sure you're not a terrorist in hiding and that just takes time

Wonderful news Paul. What a trooper your mum is. Lovely to hear it is all going so well.

Sounds like whilst she seems to be a definite fighter, she's also taking it sensibly and cautiously, which is also great to hear. You've not said above how you are feeling - are you getting enough rest, and do you feel easier now she's coping so well? Stress is also exhausting, not that you need to be told!

Hugs to you both! {{{{hugs}}}}

Paul, I think this is REMARKABLE progress!!! YAY!!!!!!

As for the buggy idea - DOH! I wish I'd told you that. Dad figured that out early on. Shopping with a blind-deaf guy is a nightmare for all. But he could see big things, and driving the buggy/cart made him feel useful and gave him a good buffer from other shoppers.

I was so shocked at how rude folks could be. One day, Dad inadvertently brushed against a woman in the hardware store. I was rushing to catch him up, and hollered "excuse us" over my shoulder. The woman tracked us down, and began dressing down my father to his face. Being very polite, he smiled and nodded at her. When I could get a word in edgewise, I explained he was blind and deaf, didn't mean to brush her, couldn't hear a word she was saying, and that I had indeed hollered excuse me. Painful for all of us.

Then I had to explain it all to Dad...

BIG HUGS TO YOU PAUL! You're doing so well!!!!!!
Barbara

An update...

Mom continues to do quite well. The end of this month will mark the end of her 3-month "be very careful" period. I cannot believe it has already been three months... I can still vividly remember the afternoon I got her "I'm on the floor..." call.

There was a bit of a scare about a month ago when she was moving around the kitchen and fell. Oh man, what a panic that was. Fortunately she fell on the non-operative side and the operated leg did not land at a strange angle. The reason for the fall? She was tired, the pot was going crazy on the stove and she made a dash for it. I told her that was a no-no... no rushing anywhere... I'm here for this... call me!

Ah yes, I've already changed the phone to ring 10 times before going to voice mail... unlike only 3 times as it was before when she would rush around to answer the phone. Now guess what happens... no one hangs around for 10 rings to leave voice mail. LOL

As for me...

I seem to have 3 jobs. Job one is helping mom, job two is working on the house and job three is my real job... providing support for web hosting, conferencing and video customers and doing accounting. I start jobs one & two at 8am in the morning. I start job three at 2:30pm and finish at 10:30pm. Then I head to zzz's land with my machine.

I want to quit job three and take up the Les Paul and start earning a living that way again... rock star style.

Not sure I can take mom on tour... not sure mom would be comfortable going on tour.

Still finding my way back from Woodstock... got lost somewhere along the way.

Thanks so much for the update Paul, was thinking of you both the other day. So pleased to hear your mum is doing so well despite your recent scare.

Unfortunately, you can tell us feisty old ladies to slow down & let you help until you are blue in the face, does not mean we'll listen....independence is hard to relinquish!

Sounds like you are still flat out .... keeps you off the streets, no doubt!!

Paul56 wrote: Ah yes, I've already changed the phone to ring 10 times before going to voice mail... unlike only 3 times as it was before when she would rush around to answer the phone. Now guess what happens... no one hangs around for 10 rings to leave voice mail. LOL

My mother found the same thing with her voice mail. People just assume there isn't voice mail if it rings that long. Have you considered an old fashioned answering machine? You can set it to pick up after 4 or 5 rings but you have the entire time of both your outgoing recording (make it long) and the caller's message to get to the phone to pick up.

Oh no... mom is leaving the nest for supper out this evening!

...and I'm not going because I have to work. She will be with friends and the lady who came to her rescue after the fall... she should be okay but y'know as children we worry about our parents.

Could be worse. Could be some young punk looking for Cougar Love. Just be grateful she's not DATING!

Hugs,
B.

Babs, how does Paul know she's not??!! The lady who came to her rescue could be her co-conspirator!!! Mums know just what to tell their kids to keep them quiet!

And also, who knows what lease of life this new turn could give her!!

Seriously Paul, she's very lucky to have you. What a sweetie you are. My kids'd be shoving me out the door, and locking it behind me!