Back in Columbus

We just got home to Columbus. Susan spent 11 days with my parents, and I was there for nearly 8. I am mentally and physically exhausted.

My father is in the rehab unit. For eleven days post-stroke, he’s doing remarkably well. He’s completely out of danger. For the first several days after the stroke, he was pretty much completely paralyzed on the right side. He’s gotten back movement in both his right arm and right leg. He can raise his arm, and he can point his index finger. He can bend his knee, flex his foot, and wiggle his toes. He still has a great deal of trouble finding words and communicating, but his speech is more clear than it was. The progress is really pretty remarkable.

At the same time, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Progress is measured in tiny steps, not giant leaps, and my mother is having a great deal of trouble dealing with that. We still have no idea whether he will ever be able to come home, or whether he will spend the rest of his days in a nursing home, which is what I suspect. He is extremely frustrated by his inability to communicate as he wants and he’s also frustrated by his inability to get his body to respond. He got very upset today when we left–he didn’t want us to go. Had doctors understood the concept of ADHD when my father was a child in the 1930’s, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind he would have been diagnosed as such. Even at 86, he still shows a lot of the major symptons of ADHD, and has never been able to sit still. He’s got to be going bonkers over not being able to come and go. Poor guy.

My mother is also having a tremendous amount of difficulty dealing with the concept of being alone after 48 years, which I can certainly appreciate. I’ve arranged for her to have someone help her, and we’re doing the best we can. Personally, I am exhausted, and I am dealing with a great deal of guilt at the moment about leaving.

We will be here until my father’s birthday, which is August 10. We will head back to Pennsylvania for his birthday, when he will be 87. For now, it’s back to our normal routine. Both of us have to earn some money, pure and simple.

Tomorrow, however, we’re going to enjoy a treat. Some of you might recall that Susan and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on June 27. We decided to do something fun and special for ourselves to celebrate our anniversary. Before our anniversary, I purchased two tickets for us to see The Police in Cleveland tomorrow night. I saw them in 1981, 1982, and 1983, and I’ve been waiting for nearly 25 years for another opportunity to see them. I wasn’t going to miss that chance when it presented itself, so we’re heading up there tomorrow night for the concert. That’s something just for us. I know I need it.

Tuesday night, I promise to get back to posting about things pertinent once again. I have a significant announcement to make and will do so on Tuesday.

And, I wanted to thank everyone who has posted kind words or kind wishes here, as well as for the numerous private e-mails I’ve received from you. You have no idea how much they’ve meant to me and to my family, especially as we struggled through these extremely difficult days. I also wanted to say a special thank you to old friend Brooks Simpson for the terrific hockey post he dedicated to me yesterday. Thanks, Brooks. I needed that.