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Monday, August 30, 2010

Well...

So my dad has had three weeks into therapy and at first hadn't seen much progress. Then one day June said she went to see him and was wiping his face and realized that he wanted to help her wipe his face and he let him guide her hand over his face to wipe it with the towel.
PROGRESS!
So I started going to his therapy sessions. Last week was my first week.I went up there twice. I asked him if he'd help me help him brush his teeth. He kind of fought me at first but kinda gave in towards the end and let me guide his hands up to his mouth with the toothbrush. I spoke to him told him i loved him and he had to cooperate and participate. The therapists were impressed with the progress made. :)
They asked me if I'd come again since he responded so well to me. of course i would. and when i came back i prayed over him told him i loved him and brought his glasses. i realized after a few tests that if he could see well enough he could read. he said he could. :)
Soon the therapist came in and we started with the toothbrush. i put it in his hand and guided his hand up to his face and mouth and after a little bit of time he started to make the quick tooth brushing movements! he even tried to bend his hand the other way to get the other side of his teeth... unfortunately he wasn't quite brushing his teeth... LOL but he was trying and understood the command and did it. my mom sits with him and they go over different body parts on her arm, knuckles, fingers, elbows, arms, and he can identify and touch each one on command.
My take is that he's completely frustrated and tired of this "hospital deal" he wants to go home. i think sometimes he's scared this is as good as it's gonna get for him sometimes. i also think that  he's been a little bit traumatized by all that's happened to him. he's not realizing the odds he's beating everyday. not to mention he's VERY STUBBORN! (i see to the extreme of where i get that from--lol) i just pray he will continue to submit himself to the process of recovery. he's been so active and so independent all his days and so this is really sucking for him i'm sure.
I actually feel better helping him and supporting him in therapy. i feel more useful and productive when i am there than just a visit. no that i don't want to just visit, but sometimes just sitting there looking at him s NOT helpful for me. and finally i am starting to feel at peace with everything. like internally. i don;t feel the inner turmoil i had at first. not granted i want everything back to normal i want my daddy better and at home, but in the meant time in this waiting process i am don't feel the same level of distress as i had felt before.
externally i (and the whole family) are very tired. the house is a mess (now granted i was never really much of  a neat freak) but there's hardly enough time in the day to clean. we all work all day come home and scrounge up something to eat and pretty much all retire to our beds/rooms to relax sometimes its like come home and relax? or, come home an do more work like cleaning, washing clothes, doing dishes, and many times relaxing wins out so we stumble around through the house cleaning when and where we can when we have the energy, but really we all need and extended vacation. this has been a grueling process, but the Lord has made sure we've had the energy. Because this is impossible. We go 7 days a week at least 14 hours nonstop coupled by being mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically involved in all aspects of everything. it just takes a lot. A LOT! and to be honest just our day to day life is very hectic and busy even without this situation going on, so imagine it now! so forgive us for slacking on the blog etc. we are trying and this is going into month 3! ugh! to be honest... just UGH! but we are keeping it moving! we are Armsteads lol. keep us in your prayers

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