whom as you can see above is delight by the lovely quilt given her by the Daily Kos community!
As I write this she is New Jersey for a nephew's first communion, having driven up with her brother-in-law on Friday evening.
Here's the good news: she called me last night and told me she was able to get Gregor, her back brace, on and off by herself. She was already able with Gregor off to undress herself for a shower. Yesterday she was able to completely dress herself. As she pointed out, that means she can now let me sleep through the night even when she needs to relieve herself.
If you take a look at the picture, besides the delighted expression on her face, to her right you can see a table on which we can put the most necessary items so she can reach them without getting out of bed or asking for my assistance. She will usually have Miss Lilypad (her I-pad, visible on the quilt) or her computer or both on the bed, as well as her I-phone.
We are seeing real progress 11 weeks since this adventure began.
A few more observations.
We went out to dinner two nights in a row. On Wednesday I took her to the National Democratic Club for the first time since this began. Several of the staff there are very fond of her and were delighted to see her. Thursday she was going to get together with a friend visiting from out of town for a meal at an Ethiopian restaurant who when I dropped her off for what I thought would be a girls' night out insisted I stay as well.
On both days, even after 7 to 9 hours of working, she still had some energy left.
We now feel comfortable about my looking for employment not merely for the Fall (the possibility of returning to the classroom) but even immediately should the right opportunity arise.
We still arrange for her not to be alone for the two occasions I will be going out of town to reunions. At the time of my 50th High School Reunion in June she is going to again be with the same sister and her family, and may by then be able to drive that far by herself. In May one of her sisters may come down and stay with her while I am at the 40th reunion of my final college class at Haverford.
Life is not "normal" - how can it be when one still deals with chemotherapy, a back brace, limited movement, and all that? But we have settled into patterns that are now relatively automatic.
Soon she will begin a regular practice of increasing how much she walks, as well as spending more time out of bed when she's home all day on Tuesdays (her telecommute day), Fridays (her day off because she works four ten-hour days) and weekends.
As an Orthodox Christian, she will celebfate Pascha on May 5. Holy Week leading up to that will be a bit of a test, as starting the day before Palm Sunday the services begin to get very long and intense. She may not go to every service, but looks forward to this time, as she does also to visiting with the neurosurgeon at the end of May.
There are down moments. There are times when she is tired. She apologizes that she is way behind on thank you notes for the many kindness she and I have received, for the ongoing support.
i have been doing these messages at least weekly. I do not wish to impose but it still seems the most effective way of keeping the many people who care informed. I will continue to offer a brief update each First Day / Sunday.
Thanks for your support.
Thanks for your kindness.
Thanks for your prayers and holding us both in the Light.
Thanks for your love.
We are ever grateful.
We love you back.
Peace.