I have been babysitting the grandchildren, and we had a small mishap last night. Nate and Heather had called to talk to their kids, and I went out in the back yard to get Riley so she could talk to Mom and Dad – well Gentry (the youngest – almost 2 now) came running over and tripped and fell right into the cement step on her chin. So here I am talking to the parents and the child gets hurt! Oh-- that is your daughter screaming – oh, she is bleeding all over... I think I better go.... not the kind of words you want to hear about your child when you are half a world away!
Gentry is fine, but she is a tough little girl. She had to have four stitches in her chin – Grandma Carol took her down to the after hours care center and got her all taken care of. (Since I was the Grandma on duty when the accident happened, it is only fair the other Grandma has to take her in to get fixed up-- right?!) Grandma Carol is a registered nurse and knows all the ins and outs of patient care – so she was best prepared to handle the crisis. I guess Gentry really put up a fight when she was strapped into the papoose board – she got her hand and her foot loose – I wonder where all that fighting spirit comes from..? I think her Grandpa Dan has a little of that in him, and I know I can be a little feisty (...if needed ;-))
Here is an update from Heather J (our wonderful daughter-in-law!)
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They sure keep Dan busy here. They run a tight schedule. He's in PT right now and we love his therapists-they are very funny but sure make him work hard. But we agree we really like Lily the best. We've been very impressed with the hospital staff, they are very good. He got a new IV when we came out on Sunday and then his IV went bad on Monday as well as yesterday and they had to start another one this morning - which only took 2 pokes-Dan was grateful of that. I really wanted to start one when they were having trouble but the nurses here are great and they finally got it.
I don't know if Dan sent you the new pictures of him with his acupuncture. It's quite interesting when they put the needles in his head. Today's needles looked like horns sticking out of his head. If you haven't gotten them yet-I'm sure he will be sending them to you.
There's not much going on here-I think it's the same old thing. Nate and Dan did take cold showers this morning - it was quite funny listening to them while showering. We do think when Dan concentrates on his speech and takes it slow-we are impressed with how clear it sounds. He is also seems to have slightly improved on his range of motion with his left arm. He can take his left hand across his body and touch his right ear. We feel he is doing better-he sure is a jokester and has a good attitude. It's fun to be apart of this and watch him work so hard.
The nurses love the curtain we put up-Wendy and Kotan came and asked if they could take a picture of it. Maybe you're starting a new trend.
There is a brother and sister that arrived here 2 nights ago and we took the sister RaNae shopping at Walmart - it was quite funny. The brother has an accelerated form of Parkinson's and is from Florida. The sister is from California and they are in the room next door. We stopped at KFC to get Dan some American food but when we entered we realized everything was in Chinese - we didn't quite know what we were getting but pointed at some pictures. Anyways we sure enjoyed what we got. I don't know if Dan or Nate were more excited for American Food. We have realized that we are definitely American and not Chinese. We wouldn't really recommend the Chinese breakfast - but it was fun just the same.
We want to take Dan out tonight but don't really know where to go. We may try to find a restaurant since we think the forbidden city closes at 5:00pm. We will see what Dan wants to do.
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So – a little background info here – I had Nate and Heather bring a shower curtain over with one of those spring loaded rods so we could hang it up in front of the bathroom area. This allows for more privacy when the boys are helping to care for Dan. Apparently it is a bit hit...
Also – please note that when I talked to Nate and Heather I warned them that the water would be cold! It is always cold from about 6 am to 9 am – so we decided to start showering at night. Can't say I didn't warn them about it!
Did you know they had snowmen in China?
Another Chinese breakfast -- some of you have asked what is in a Chinese breakfast, and we really don't know. But I will try to explain it! It contains a dinner roll that is dense rather than fluffy and has been steamed rather than baked - so it really white and kind of sticky. Then they have another roll that they put stuff in the middle of it - kind of like cabbage and carrots. Sometimes they are filled with a brown bean paste - I actually like those type a little better. Then there is the boiled egg, that is somewhat normal, but they are always brown shelled eggs over there and sometimes the shell is cracked and so when you peel it, you have a brown egg white as well! (and no salt and pepper on the egg!) Then there is rice soup - it is either white or brown rice in a broth, rather tasteless. To top it off you usually get cut up cucumbers that have been soaked in vinegar or something else that is sour, and some shredded stuff (it might have started out as a potato) that is brown now and it is sour as well. Sorry, no fruit and cream, no french toast and pancakes... but in the long run, perhaps it is healthy because all the Chinese people I met are slender! Eat up!
Here is Nate checking out the center of that roll and wondering 'What is this stuff?'
Some new therapy shots with Dan--
Occupational therapy with a paddle...
Speech therapy - he is scaring me with that tongue!
Nathan happy to be shopping at Wal-Mart (getting food to eat--)
Check out this escalator - you can take the carts on it!
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