Monday - Winding Down at the Plaza

Ceil was up before the sun this morning and ready for therapy at the plaza.  As with all things, including therapy.  There is a time when it will end.  Well, that is coming soon.  OT and speech have indicated that they will start the process within days, and PT will follow shortly thereafter.  Doug and I are looking into other programs, and I will continue in-home therapy as usual.  Linda has some really great ideas as well, so it will not be a bad thing.  Just a little bump in the road.  All things will work together for the good.  Ceil is at home, and that is the most important part of her recovery.

Ceil sharing a laugh with Jillian during therapy.

Sunday Morning with Kevin

Ceil is up and doing great today.  Kevin called and said that he will be coming up this morning to spend some time with Ceil.  Kevin also said that all are welcome to join them, he has Colleen's cell phone. Give him a call if you are interested.  Larry also called and brought some long-distance sunshine to Ceil.  It is so nice to watch Ceil talk with her children.  She has a big smile on her face the whole time.  Kevin and Karen came to visit Ceil.  They tried to go bowling, but one alley was closed, and the other had a league tournament.  So, it was off to Culver's for lunch.  A fun lunch with good conversation was had by all.  A nice end to the weekend for Ceil.  Now for a quiet Sunday evening.

Ceil and Kevin at Culver's

Karen and Ceil sharing lunch.

Yum!

Saturday Update

Ceil is doing really well this morning.  After a pancake breakfast, Linda went right to work coloring Ceil's hair.  Shortly thereafter, it was off to Great Clips for a hip new hair style.  After a nap, it was off to Levi's first birthday party.  It was fun and Ceil enjoyed the party a lot.

The stylist goes to work on Ceil's hair.

Blow dry...

 

A little hair spray...

Finished.  Beautiful!

Ceil at Levi's first birthday party

The robot

Levi got the first bite of his cake!

What a beautiful birthday cake!

Linda getting some goodies for Ceil.

Judy and Ceil enjoying the party

Friday Update

Ceil is up and doing great today. We will do in-home therapy this morning.

Ceil working on puzzles

Sorting and arranging her sock drawer is a great form of OT for Ceil

The finished product.  What a great job!

Thursday Therapy at the Plaza

Doug will be taking Ceil to the plaza this morning for a full three hours of therapy.  Ceil is up and enjoying her oatmeal and toast.  She is doing really good this morning, and is ready to work hard for the therapists.  Denise came over to visit and do Ceil's nails.  It was an evening of stories and laughter with Denise.  Ceil always enjoys when Denise visits, and she did such a beautiful job on Ceil's nails.

Wednesday Update

Ceil is doing very well this morning.  Brian called to let me know that he and Micki will be coming up to visit this morning.  Ceil was happy to hear the news!  Should be a nice morning for Ceil.

Ceil with Micki at Savers

Fester with his look-a-likes.

Doh!

Tuesday Update

Ceil will be seeing her primary care physician this morning.  Should be a quick in and out as things are going very well for Ceil since the seizure.  We will go visit Linda at the ING cafe afterward for a mid-morning snack.  The doctor visit went good.  No problems and everything was normal.  Ceil is a very healthy person!  Steve, Katie, and Christopher came by for a nice visit.  Ceil is enjoying a quiet evening watching man v food and AMC.  See you tomorrow.

Monday Plaza Update

Ceil was up before the sun and ready for a long morning of therapy at the plaza.  Ceil did really well today and worked very hard for the therapists.  They all commented on how much Ceil is learning and progressing, and that she is more engaged and interested in the therapy. That's a great thing to hear from the therapists.  During speech, Ceil was so fast at pointing out numbers, the therapist had a hard time keeping up!  A great morning at the plaza indeed.

Discussing ways to remove the right shoe.

Matching words and objects during speech.

Sunday Morning at the Mall

Ceil was up this morning with a smile on her face and ready for the day.  Linda had gone to work earlier and wanted to go for an outing when she came home.  We decided to go the mall for a walk.  While there, Linda thought it would be fun to buy a bag of donuts and get a cup of coffee, and then enjoy them in the mall.  We did, and it was enjoyable.  Larry called while we were gone.  Thanks for leaving a message Larry.  Please call again!  Later, Chris and Juanita stopped by on their way back up north, and stayed for dinner.  Great dinner and great conversation.  Ceil really enjoyed the moment.  A great ending to a nice day.

Ceil enjoying her coffee and donut at the mall this morning.

Saturday Visitors

Ceil was excited to find that she had visitors coming today.  Brian, Kevin, and Colleen came to spend the morning with Ceil.  She was ready to go when they arrived, and they were off to Crossroads for an outing and lunch.  On the way to Crossroads they stopped and picked up Denise to be a part of the fun.  Ceil had a great time and a wonderful lunch.  She was ready for a nap when she got back home.  Later, Ken, Judy, Steve, Katie, and baby Christopher stopped by for a birthday celebration.  What a nice time Ceil had.  A very eventful Saturday as well.

Fester, Kevin, Colleen, and Ceil before the outing.

Kevin brought Ceil some cool clothes protectors, made by a friend from his workplace.

We had a birthday celebration for Judy.  Ceil enjoyed a nice birthday party, dinner, and cake to boot!

Frozen Friday

Too cold outside to go anywhere today.  Ceil will be here, at home enjoying a quiet Friday morning.  We will do the in-home therapies today, along with some other activities to strengthen Ceil's organizational skills.  Steve, Katie, and Christopher came over to visit and have dinner with Ceil.  We had pizza and salad.  Ceil really enjoyed her dinner and visiting with Steve and Katie.  Ceil held Christopher, and you could see that she was so happy holding her great-grandson.  A very nice way to end the week for Ceil.

Steve and Katie with Ceil

Baby Christopher with his new hat.

A proud great-grandma.

Thursday Therapy at the Plaza

Doug will be taking Ceil to therapy this morning.  It should be a good morning for Ceil, as the side effects of the Tegretol have all but gone away now that she is at 200mg for the day, rather than 400mg.  Every little bit helps to keep Ceil on track with her recovery.
Doug reported that Ceil did really great at therapy today.  He said she took solid steps today and worked really hard for the PT, and all the therapists at the plaza.  After therapy, they went Panera Bakery for Lunch, where Ceil ate all of the soup in a bread bowl.  What a nice lunch for Ceil!  This is what it's all about.  Ceil, enjoying her life to the fullest!

PJs on and to all a good night.

Wednesday

Ceil is doing really good this morning.  After her healthy breakfast, she rested a while, and then it was on the recumbent bike for a 25 minute session.  Then, we did the EMPI for an hour.  A nice lunch is planned.  Not sure what the afternoon and evening will bring.  Stay tuned.

Cold Tuesday

Ceil is up and doing great today.  We will be doing the in-home therapies this morning, plus a couple of new things to make it interesting.  Brian called and he and Micki will be coming to spend the morning with Ceil.  What a nice surprise that will be for her!.

Ceil was on the recumbent bike this morning.

As Ceil peddled, her right hand began to grip the handle.  Very cool!

MLK Day

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!  Ceil was up before the sun this morning and ready for another three hour therapy session at the plaza.  However, today was special because Linda had the day off, as it is a bank holiday.  Ceil was happy to see Linda when she woke up this morning.  We had a nice breakfast together, and then it was off to the plaza.  It is always nice for Ceil to have Linda at her therapy sessions as Linda always encourages her mom to do well, and it really helps!  After therapy, we had lunch, (a nice sandwich from Walmart) right there at the plaza.  We pick a quiet table by the window and enjoyed a few nice minutes together eating and talking.  A nice morning for Ceil and Linda.

Linda cheering on Ceil during PT.

A lovely lunch at the plaza with Linda

Sunday

So far, nothing planned for today.  It will be a quiet Sunday for Ceil, with a couple in-home activities planned for the morning.  We will see what the rest of the day will hold for Ceil.  Well, Denise came by for a surprise visit, and Ceil was delighted to see her walk in the door.  They visited and caught up on family and work news and\ Denise stayed for lunch.  Denise brings such an upbeat and positive energy to the house, and Ceil is all smiles listening to her funny stories.  A very nice visit indeed.  Larry also called and talked with Ceil for a while.  So, all in all a nice afternoon for Ceil.

Saturday

Ceil is up and doing great this morning.  No plans for today, just watching cooking shows and relaxing for now.  Robbie will be coming over to have a farewell lunch before he moves to Green Bay for new and exciting opportunities. He wants to say goodbye to his grandma before he leaves.  We pray for Robbie's safety and success as he begins a new adventure and life away from Minnesota.
A deacon from the church came to the house and gave Ceil communion after Saturday Mass.

Robbie saying goodbye to grandma.  She was delighted to see him before he left.

Friday Update

It's been a great week for Ceil.  She has been doing really well at therapy, both at home and the plaza.  I spoke with Dr. L and was able to get the Tegratol dose reduced to 200mg/day.  I was noticing too many side effects from the prescribed dose, and it was also beginning to interfere with Ceil's daily routine and therapy.  Ceil is now sitting in her own chair for all meals.  This is a great thing, and Ceil is so proud and happy to have her meals with Linda and I, not sitting in the wheelchair.  Today will, in all likelihood be a quiet day for Ceil.  We will do the regular therapies, but I will also have her doing some other tasks to help build her organizational skills.  Nothing is planned for this evening as of yet.

Ceil putting the nativity set away.  This was a good OT session for her.

Thursday Therapy at the Plaza

Doug will be taking Ceil to the plaza for therapy this morning.  It is a full three hours of OT, PT, and speech.  I'll have a hearty breakfast for Ceil this morning, and a snack for later to keep her energy up.
Doug reported that Ceil did very well at the plaza this morning.  He said she worked really hard for the therapists and gave it her best effort.  Ceil began sitting in her regular chair for dinner this evening.  She was so excited and proud to be sitting in her chair instead of the wheelchair.  We will continue to do this from now on.  What a great thing to see!  More progress!                                         

Ceil was so happy to be having dinner in her regular chair.

Wednesday Update

Ceil is up and doing great this morning.  More in-home therapy today, along with some self-care skills building as directed by the OT.  A full morning ahead for Ceil.  Nothing else planned as of yet, but you never know...  Steve, Katie, and Christopher stopped for a visit this evening.  Ceil loves to see her great-grandson.

Ceil wired up and relaxing during her EMPI session this morning.  I was working the right shoulder and hand.

Ceil just lights up when she holds her great-grandson Christopher.

Tuesday Update

Ceil was working hard this morning on the recumbent bike.  She went for over 20 minutes and did really well.  She went an average of 3.5 mile per hour the whole time.  Not bad.  We then worked on muscle stimulation for the right hand.  A nice morning of therapy for Ceil.

Ceil peddling on the recumbent bike.

Monday Update

Ceil had another great day at therapy.  She did well in OT, Speech, and PT.  OT told me that Ceil is making small gains with every session.  A very good indicator that recovery is on-going and not plateaued.  Always good to hear those positive words from the professionals.  Ceil is very popular with the therapist too!

Ceil at the Dynavision board this morning.  She did really good!

Ceil, pushing herself in the wheelchair and finding the numbers.  She is doing very well at the plaza.

Sunday Visit

Ceil had a good morning with Brian, Mickie, Kevin, Colleen, and Karen.  They went shopping at Savers and then to Bonanza for lunch.  A good time was had by all.  See the photos below.

Ceil and her homies in the hood!

Saturday

Ceil is waking up so perky these days.  We do ROM every morning, and I think it is really helping Ceil move and function so much better now.  We are going out into the deep freeze this morning to Sam's club for some essential items.  It's not too bad if we have the van warmed up and ready to go for Ceil. While at Sam's we stopped and visited Doug, who was working at the optical center today.  Ceil was so happy to see Doug, and we had a nice visit.  When we came home, Robbie was waiting for us, so we all had lunch together.  Ceil was delighted to see Robbie.  Now we are enjoying afternoon tea with Ceil.  She enjoys her daily tea and treat.

Ceil is ready to go to Sam's Club.

                                         Dr. Gross with Ceil today at Sam's Optical.