Tuesday- a time of reflection

This is Linda writing the blog today.  Next week marks the two year anniversary of Ceil's stroke.  During Ceil's stroke recovery in the nursing home, Rob and I would be there almost every evening.  We observed, we learned, and tried to make the most of her time of recovery.  Every evening we would brush her teeth, get her in her jammies, tuck her into bed, and every evening she would cry when we left.  Every day Rob and/or Doug would visit Ceil and every day they would find her either isolated in her room staring down at the floor or in the hallway staring at the floor.  Everyday they would see her meals filled with starch and unhealthy fats.  Fast forward to today...Ceil is out and about enjoying life...in the past year she has done wine tasting at a vineyard, ridden the light rail all over Minneapolis, taken a trip to San Antonio, spent 4th of Julys at David and Kathy's cabin, been shopping at the outlet malls, just to name a few.  We have had many people who read the blog tell us Ceil gets out more than they do. Most importantly though, Ceil has spent quality time with her family in HER home, not a nursing home.  Living at home has given Ceil so much more freedom than she would have had in a nursing home.  She has had the freedom to make choices, the freedom to enjoy her home, and the freedom to create a lasting bond with her first great grandchild.  She no longer dreads bedtime.  Ceil has fun in the bathroom getting her teeth brushed, often getting caught off-guard with one of our jokes and ends up spitting toothpaste all over the mirror from her laughing.  Ceil does not cry when she's tucked in at night, instead she's laughing and sticking her tongue out at us.  Rob and I are committed to giving Ceil the quality of life she deserves.  On our computer we have at least 2000 photos of Ceil enjoying life.  We also are VERY thankful and grateful to all who help us in giving Ceil the best life possible.

                                                                                 Nursing Home

Nursing home

Life at home: