Update on Grace, Tuesday, Aug 31

Tuesday. Latest update 9:00 PM.

8:00 PM - I apologize for this being the first entry of the day, but it's sure been a busy day, and this is really the first chance I've had to sit down and write this posting.

I spent most of the morning doing some website design work, then went to meet my friend Mike for lunch. After lunch, I went to visit Grace. Yes, I did feel a little guilty about waiting so long to visit her. But I did have to get the work done.

When I arrived there, Grace was in bed with the lights off.

I asked, "Did I wake you?"

And she responded, "Maybe a little."

I apologized for that, but I didn't leave, and she did seem to be happy for the company.

There didn't appear to be any food trays around, so I asked her if she'd had lunch yet. She waved her hand. "I think so," she said.

"Aww," I said. "Not a very memorable lunch."

"Not really," she said.

I could tell that lunch was not exactly a vivid memory for her, so I decided not to ask what the food was for lunch.

Then I told her some about my band rehearsal last night, about how the attendance was fairly low but the sound of the group was actually quite good.

We discussed some of the music we played at rehearsal last night, and how it ought to be a very good concert coming up on October 18.

We worried that she might not be mobile enough to come to the October concert, but agreed that we very much hoped she would be able to come to the Christmas concert on December 18.

Then I told Grace about the wonderful new Bible study tools I had just downloaded into my phone, and I showed her several examples of how I could read a verse in one version of the Bible, quickly switch to another version, then look up that very verse in any of several different reference works.

We agreed that technology is truly staggering in what it can do these days.

We mentioned that she will be leaving this hospital on Thursday, which is only two days away, and Grace asked how they would be transporting her to the new place. "Will they expect you to take me in your car?"

I answered, "No, Melissa, the case manager here, has already set up a wheelchair van for you. They'll bring in a wheelchair, let you ride in it to the van, get the chair up in the van and buckle it down, drive you to the new place, then give you a ride to your new room. You can ride like a queen!"

She smiled wryly and said, "I've done that before."

Then we talked about several other things until it was time for me to leave for my appointment.

The appointment was to sign some papers at the Nursing/Rehab facility where Grace will be going, and I joked with her that I was going to go "sign her commitment papers." She got a good laugh from that.

She mentioned she was a bit chilly, so I looked for an extra blanket. I couldn't find one in the room, so I spread her robe over her shoulders, and put her bright red sweater across her lap, and she was ready to take a nap.

I bid her to sleep well, and departed for the appointment.

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9:00 PM - After I left Grace, I did indeed go to the rehab facility and sign all the papers they needed.

I got home about 4:00 and had just brought in the mail (Grace got only junk mail today. Oh, well.) when Jan texted me that she was on the way home.

Oh, RIGHT! I'd forgotten, we had a meeting today at First Baptist downtown.

We got out of our meeting at 6:00, then stopped for dinner on the way to see Grace. By the way, the carrot soufflé at Picadilly really ought to be kept on their dessert table and not with the vegetables.

When I had seen Grace this afternoon, even though she was sleepy, she was happy and seemed content. When Jan and I arrived this evening, Grace was definitely glad to see us, but was a bit more out of sorts this evening.

We feel so bad for Grace; it's got to be a significant ordeal for her, there in the hospital, mostly restricted to staying in that bed. We did cheer her up some by telling her at the new place they want everyone to get up out of the bed for most of the day every day, and we thought that would help her recover much more quickly.

When I said that, she looked up at me, and I said, "And I KNOW you want to get home as quickly as possible!"

She smiled wistfully. "You've got that right," she said.

We asked her what she had for dinner, and she made a face. "Not too good?" Jan asked.

Grace said it might have been tuna casserole, but she didn't eat much of it.

Then Jan told her where we went for dinner and what we ate, and Grace listened politely, but we could tell she wasn't salivating over our descriptions.

But we really perked her up for a few minutes when we told her that last night we'd gotten an email from Shelley (our daughter in Tulsa), who had gotten her six-month ultrasound yesterday, and everything looked absolutely perfect. Not only that, the ultrasound photo she had sent us had absolutely amazing resolution!

I hope Grace will forgive us for this, but we didn't have a copy of the pictures with us to show her, so you are seeing the ultrasound picture even before Grace!

Can you BELIEVE that's an ultrasound photo? It looks more like a direct camera shot! I was amazed at how clear the picture is. But not amazed, of course, at how beautiful that little girl is.

Grace appeared to be getting tired, so we asked her if she'd like to watch NCIS and she nodded. NCIS is one of her favorite TV shows.

So we tuned in the correct channel, and were all disappointed to find an obnoxious political speech. So we muted the sound, leaving on the picture so Grace could see when the show came on.

Then we passed out hugs and made our departure.

Overall, we can detect improvements in Grace's condition day by day, even though they may be small. And we are so very thankful for all improvements.

We also are very much looking forward to Grace's going to the rehab facility. We know it will be another ordeal for her at first, but we think the change in venue, the increased activity level, the gently insistent and caring helpers there, and more interaction with other people will help Grace move into this next phase of her recovery, will help her recover more quickly, and will greatly lift her spirits. All of which are good things.

I'll be visiting Grace again just before lunch tomorrow, and I'll be back here after lunch to tell you about it. I hope you have all had a good week so far this week. Blessings to you all.

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