At the end of Three Weeks

Well it has been a busy week of hard work for Michel ending in a Statutory holiday weekend, Canada Day.

Michel was able to graduate to only needing one person's help on a chair/bed or bed/chair transfer.

He also lost another 5 lbs. and is down 105 lbs from his highest weight.

His biggest victory this week happened while I was on a client call on Friday. He walked across the physiotherapy room floor. He had help placing his right foot down each step but he made it. A huge milestone on the journey back to independence.

On the home front we have achieved air conditioning in our apartment.  Our son-in-law Joshua was a godsend and helped me get two portable upright conditioners bought and installed. The temperatures are creeping into the 30's C and regulating temperature will be important once Michel comes home at the end of July.

We are now three weeks down with four more weeks left.

Two weeks in Rehab

So tomorrow marks the two week point that Michel has been at the rehabilitation hospital.  He has made so much progress! He can move his forearm, hand and fingers.  He can lift his knee and foot and bear weight on his right.  He can stand for 5 minutes.  He no longer needs the lift to transfer from his bed to wheelchair and back.  He is becoming so much stronger.

I am so thankful for all of the staff that are so caring and motivating and are helping Michel get his life back.  I am posting a few pictures below.

This was our early celebration of father's day with Michel, before our daughter and her fiancée went on their honeymoon that they were unable to postpone.  Their wedding was supposed to be June 1st but they were able to postpone until August 17th so Michel would be there.

Michel is now able to stand and just hold onto the bed rail for stability. We were able to have an outing outside in the sunshine today and it was wonderful to sit together outside.

Life is awesome.  Be thankful for every blessing.

The day to day

Yesterday was one week that Michel has been at the Elizabeth Bruyere hospital in their Rehabilitation program.  I cannot say enough about the wonderful people who are working with Michel to help him regain functions and rewrite the parts of his brain that have been damaged.

I am so inspired by Michel's determination to come back from this. He is determined that he will be able to walk and use his right arm and leg again. Each day he sees a little bit more sensation and function return.  His biggest challenge at the moment is to be able to comfortably stay in his wheelchair for longer periods.  His stamina wears out at about 90 minutes currently.  They are working on trying to get a more comfortable chair setup for him and will rent a chair for him if necessary.

His return to home date is July 29th. Six weeks to go and 13 weeks from when the stroke happened. When it is closer to his return date we will need to have a look at his returned functions so that we can have things in place for him at home.  Until then we will take each day at a time and continue to work with the arm, hand, leg and foot and get them as close to "normal" function as we can.  My work is in supporting Michel, being with him as much as possible.  He has the toughest work ahead, rewriting his brain and pushing through the fatigue that hits him at multiple times during the day. He needs to continue the work needed to forge those new pathways to freedom from a wheelchair.

The goal is in Sight

So Michel has had a busy first three days in the rehab hospital. Today he was given his discharge date. He will be coming home on July 29th at 10:00 a.m.  I will be so happy to have him home again! It will be 19 days before Emilie's wedding day.  We will see what the next 46 days bring in his progress.

We will also have to come up with any necessary plans for getting our home ready to accommodate his needs.  Everything is doable.  I am feeling extremely thankful.

Moving forward

Michel was transferred to a local rehabilitation hospital yesterday.  The move went smoothly and has was given a private room. The care seems to be at a much higher level than when he was in the Transitional Care unit.  I need to go into work today so I won't be able to be with him until I finish work today. It feels weird knowing that I won't see him this morning.

Michel has already met the two doctors who will be overseeing his time at the hospital, his physiotherapist and one of his occupational therapists. He already has four appointments weekly for physio with many more to come. This really is what he has been waiting for.  Now the work he has to do to get back as close to his old normal begins.

The good news, according to his rehabilitation doctor, is that his brain is relatively young and will use neuroplasticity to rewrite damaged pathways. It will "rewire" itself to get the signals through to his right side again. We just don't know how long it will take or how much movement he will gain back. The therapists will also work with him to learn how to do every day activities again so that he can do them for himself. The goal is to help him have a full and productive life moving forward.

Life gets Interesting

It's been awhile since I have posted on my blog. Recently I have been dealing with an interesting life event. While out for a family supper on Saturday May 4th, my husband, Michel, mentioned that he felt a bit weird and then said his hand felt funny. I was looking at him when I noticed his face start to droop.  I knew he was having a stroke. A call to 911 was instantly made and while waiting I slowly watched my husband lose control of the right side of his whole body.  EMS personnel quickly arrived, got him loaded into an ambulance, and we headed to the The Ottawa Hospital - Civic Campus.

The whole month of May was spent at Michel's bedside supporting him through the biggest fight he has yet fought in his life. He has gone from fighting for every breath, intubated in the ICU, to fighting his way back to get on his feet. Throughout it all Michel has maintained a warrior's attitude. He is fighting his way back but is also letting the final outcome of complete mobility go, understanding that this is out of his control.

We are hoping that the next phase of the fight will begin today with his transfer to Elizabeth Bruyere's rehabilitation facility. If this doesn't happen today it should happen tomorrow. Then, as Michel has said, his work really begins.

IF you should live 3000 years, or as many as 10,000, yet remember this, that man can part with no life properly save with that little part of life which he now lives: and that which he lives is no other than that which at every instant he parts with. That life then which is longest of duration, and that which is shortest, come both to one effect. For although in regard to the life which is already past there may be some inequality, yet that time which is now present and in being is equal for all men. And that being the only time which we part with when we die, it manifestly appears that it can be but a moment of time that we then part with. For as for that which is either past or to come, a man cannot be said properly to part with it. For how should a man part with that which he does not have?

EPICTETUS. DISCOURSES. Book iv. §9. ¶2

Today's reading from our Words blog was for December 28th and spoke to something that I have been wrestling with over the past year or more.  The death of my niece, Rachel, at 34 and the death of my niece, Kyra, at 25, greatly impacted me.  The holiday season just serves to be a constant reminder of those who are no longer walking with us in this life.  The short lifespan of these two lovely nieces, one due to complications from recurrent lung issues, and one through a battle with recurring depression, seemed to illustrate the fleeting nature and leave me with a sense of unfairness at the brevity of their life times.

Today's reading, quoted above, hit me with a realization that if, as Stoics, we live in the present moment, the now, we are all given the same amount of time to live.  If we let go of living in the past and living in the future but truly embrace the moment of time that is now, we all have the same moment to live fully.  Instead of living with regret, or living in a constant feverish sense of hope for the future, but live deeply in the now, we are truly and fully living.

Now is enough. Now is full of love, wonder and light and needs to be fully embraced and explored in all of its depths. Now if full of memory, promise and also wonder.