December 23-29

Day 317-323
Christmas is a season of the heart, and ours are a bit battered, but still able to celebrate the joy of living and giving. The kids all came on Christmas morning to open their gifts, although Santa was caught stuffing the stockings! Who thought they would get up before 10?
I'll be a bit sentimental here, in that my perspective for celebrating has undergone radical change this year. I wasn't too concerned about how much or whether we were on time, and the Christmas cards are still sitting in the box. We are together. We love each other and our lives are going forward, even if it isn't what or how we expected them to be. The way was prepared for us, and I see now that that was God's presence in our lives. How amazing to look back over these months and see it.
The New Year is fast approaching , and who knows what it will bring? We hope you all have a good and prosperous year. We will continue to go on the path we are on. Glenn continues to improve, and was busy setting up the new machines we received for Christmas. It is good exercise for him, he says his reading is getting better, although he doesn't think he can read a book yet. I am still amazed at how much stuff he knows about computers. He just types away and pokes the buttons, and lo and behold the thing fires up and away we go.
We are having a break from therapies next week, the therapists are on holiday, and that is OK by me. I seem to be able to sleep in without too much trouble. Colin and I worked on the tractor, and discovered the sediment bowl was 1/2 full of ice. We didn't think that was a good thing, so he took it in the house and cleaned it up. Guess what? The tractor started, and he was able to push the snow around a bit. Hopefully it will be good for the next time.
I got a power shovel from Chris, Aryn, Dale and Desi, so I was out blowing the snow off the decks and ramp. It will be nice to have the snow blown away instead of pushed over the sides. It is a bit like vacuuming (for me anyway), but I got a stiff neck, either from the 'flu or from the shovel. My neck is a bit better today, but crawling around hooking up gadgets yesterday was a painful ordeal, which I let Glenn know. I hope he felt a bit guilty, but I don't think so. His gadgets were hooked up and I survived. I also got a turntable which hooks up to the computer, (OK, it was really my gadget I was hooking up to the computer) which means we can now record my albums and burn them onto CDs. This was Colin's gift, as he was unpacking them at work and thought about us and our power point shows. It was a bit of a trick to get it working, but I think Glenn has it figured out. I bought Glenn an all in one printer-scanner-copier, which he has been playing with for the last couple of days. It's supposed to be wireless, and he was having trouble getting all the machines talking to each other. I think they do now, I haven't been able to get close to the computer! Jackie and Johnny got us a set of cordless phones, so I was busy setting those up too. I still haven't got the one in the basement plugged in, but I will get to it.
Yesterday I was trying to get through to the table again, and burned a couple bags of garbage. Christmas is hard on the environment, the packaging is tremendous. I hope I didn't burn any important instructions. I also tidied in the garage in an effort to catch up to the recycling. I made some progress there.
I'm rambling a bit, so I'll just cut myself off. Life is settling into routine, and I glad to be able to catch up on some of this stuff. I feel like I'm gaining a bit of control again.
Hey, my niece and her hubby are waiting for their baby to arrive, so say a pray for them, they are a few days overdue. Good luck to them and hopefully you'll have the New Years Baby! Wouldn't that be cool?
'Til next time,
Louise

December 16-22

Day 310-316
I take for granted that most people of our acquaintance know about Glenn, but there are a few who haven't heard, so I need to get in touch with them. It's kind of a hard thing to hear about in a Christmas card, but sometimes that is the only contact left. I haven't done them yet, they will be late arriving, but I will hopefully get a few out next week (after Christmas is over!)
Glenn's swallow assessment went well in that they have assigned him thickened liquids. I was hoping for more, but realize that these are still pretty careful steps we need to take. Liquids are hard for him to swallow, so I bought the thickener, and am glad that he has progressed past NPO (nothing by mouth). He continues to get steadier on his feet, although his right leg is still pretty unco-operative. We will have a bit of a break over the holidays, so I'll have to be sure to stand him at home, so he doesn't get too stiffened up. His sense of humour is intact, and he still gives me a hard time when I do things a bit silly, so life is getting easier. I am a little worried about the 'flu, but we'll cope with that if and when we have to.
My furnace fan motor seized up yesterday, so I had to learn a few things about replacing them. I was rescued by a neightbour who just happened to have a spare one on hand, so I was saved a trip into the city. What will be next to go is any one's guess, most of the things in my house are getting to be 30 years old. That's pretty old for appliances and machines, and Glenn's take on it is that his life was fixing one thing after another. I told him I really didn't appreciate that until now. Perhaps this is a sign.
The kids will be home for Christmas eve, and Colin is hoping that everyone can be there Christmas morning for gift opening. I didn't really think that would be possible, but it looks as though it will happen. We'll just graze on leftovers for lunch, then go to my Mom and Dad's for Grab Bag and family celebrations. It will depend on Glenn.
I had a big day on Thursday, got my hair done, and looked at a new residence for Shirley beside the regular therapy sessions. I was looking forward to making cabbage rolls on Friday, and getting a few other dishes started, but I was not in the drivers seat that day. We had a few people stop by for a visit, and it was my turn to clean the church, so Friday wasn't as productive as I had hoped it would be. I do have a warm house though, so you do what you have to do!
I haven't said thanks for your support and prayers in a while. Our Christmas cards bring a renewal of hopes and prayers to us. We are not at our destination yet, and the way is getting long and tiring. Knowing how many people wish us well is really uplifting. We are not alone!
On that note I will close. We wish you a Merry Christmas, enjoy family and friends, and keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
'Til next time,
Louise

December 9-15

Day 303-309
Wow, it's the middle of December already! Only a few days to go to the shortest day too. That always is a good feeling, knowing that the days are getting longer, and we are heading for spring.
We had our usual busy week, and Glenn is now booked in for a swallow assessment. He is eating, and the assessment will allow us to begin with a diet, to see how he manages. I don't know how long it will be before they remove the feeding tube, but we'll know more on Monday. (that is the day of the assessment)
He continues to move more successfully too. His power is returning, it's just hard to get things moving the way he wants. I could go into detail, but it is mostly about going to the bathroom, and I think Glenn would prefer that I not broadcast how that is going! Suffice it to say, we don't use the commode chair anymore, and are making use of a pole in the bathroom to stand and move to take care of business. It is another huge step toward independence, and he is working hard at that, believe me.
We were in for therapy on Thursday, and I forgot to take his feeding bag. What to do? We went to the lab for his blood work, which is located beside a KFC. I thought, and was right, that Glenn could handle the potatoes and gravy in one of their Chicken Bowls. He motored right through it and had a couple of the chicken nuggets too! He couldn't handle the corn, so I scooted it to the side for him. After he was done, he commented on how good that was. I was thrilled he managed it so well. We then went for massage therapy, and they surprised me with a complimentary massage! I guess I looked pretty tense or something. Anyway, I'm still feeling the effects of it, she found a few spots and worked out some major kinks. I think I'll go a bit more often, it should help me too.
Believe it or not, I fixed Glenn a bowl of oatmeal yesterday! (You may or may not know that I really don't like oatmeal... childhood memories!) Anyway, he managed to eat the whole bowl, and I commented that we would have to watch his calories! We are putting his pills into his fruit cups, so are already getting used to eating without the feed tube. I am anxious to have that removed. It is hard to take care of, and you have to watch it like a hawk in case it becomes infected. It always oozes a bit, so we keep it clean as possible. It reminds me a lot of baby belly buttons, and I really hated taking care of them too. All in good time, but I must admit to being impatient more often these days. Time for the holidays I guess.
Speaking of the holidays, I have good intentions of mailing out Christmas cards, so hopefully you'll be receiving one soon. Dale is in the process of moving, and I feel bad that I haven't been of more help to him and Desi, but I only have so much time. I have to find a new place for Glenn's mom too, so that is on my agenda for next week. Whew, how will I ever get done? One bite at a time, I know that, but it becomes quite overwhelming, and I have to remember to prioritize things. Oh well, things work out somehow.
'Til next time,
Louise

December 5-8

Day 299-302
Yeah, it's only been 4 days since my last blog post, but I have a few things to share. the weather is interesting, and so far I haven't had to get out the tractor to move snow around, but the next time it snows, we'll have to clear it. We're doing well with the ramp, it is easy to clean and I bought a snow pushing shovel, so I just scoot it through the railings.
The botox worked really fast this time, and we are going to keep going for massage and cranial sacral therapy. Glenn likes it and it may be helping with his swallowing. I say that because Glenn has been eating pudding, fruit cups, cheezies and the odd Pringle (he missed the junk food!) Last night I had pizza, and Glenn asked if I could put some in the blender. I didn't think that would work, then I remembered my food chopper. I took a small piece out of the center (that's the best!) and chopped it up. Glenn used a fork and managed to eat it all without too much bother. Half way through he stopped, looked at me, picked up his feeding tube and said he thought he would be able to get rid of that. He teared up and cried a bit at the thought. I guess he was sure he would have to be tube fed the rest of his life. Tears of joy are coming a bit more regularly these days as we clear the obstacles in front of us. His right leg is working a bit better, and he is making more effort than ever to become independent. We had a busy week, and yesterday did a few things around the house that needed doing. We had company last night, and Glenn really enjoyed visiting with his friend. He is getting easier to understand, and that helps people when they come. They are understanding more of what he says too, which I hope means they will come to visit more often. Glenn is enjoying some "alone" time this morning, Jackie and Johnny are coming to stay with him. He said he hasn't had any alone time in a long time, and feels easy enough to be alone for a while. I'm getting more confident that he is OK alone too, so we have come a long way in 3 months.
Glenn's other comment that caught my attention was a thought about doing a job. I don't know what he has in mind, but it is another indicator of his need to get on with things. That is so good, and so like Glenn that I almost cried. I don't know if the therapies are doing this, or if it is just time, but he is looking ahead at a productive future, and I think he had sort of written himself off. It is so encouraging to watch him take more interest, and exert even more effort into getting well. He agreed to more massage therapy, which surprised me, so I think he must have felt some benefit from it. At this point I'm happy with anything that helps.
'Til next time,
Louise

November 25- December 4

Day 288-298
Only 21 days to Christmas! How does that always come so fast? You put off a good lot of things, then 'all of a sudden' it's December, and the shopping sprees begin! We've done a good bit of shopping, so I'm not too panicked, although the kids are starting to get a bit anxious. It's nice to let them take on more of the responsibility of the holidays.
Glenn had a big week last week and we are reaping the rewards of the massage and the botox. His right leg is considerably easier to straighten, and he can do it himself when he is standing. That means he will be able to use it more and get some stability in standing. He just starts to laugh. On Sunday evening, he told me to look at his leg. Lo and behold it was straight, and he was putting weight on it. (We were standing at the sink at the time) Awesome! He was thrilled to say the least. I can't say if the massage did a lot of the loosening or if it was the botox, but at this point I don't care. I booked in for another massage this week, so we'll give it more time. It is a bit of a treat, and the therapist is also a farmer, so we were talking away about the state of farming, etc.
We also went to a wheel chair curling information meeting, and may join if time and weather allow. It would be good exercise, and Glenn has always liked to curl. The first day is a Tuesday, but the next week is a Wednesday, so we may go then.
I've been working on my recycling, and am finding my way to the walls in the garage. I take 3 bags at a time, and that seems to be working. I have not been interested in doing much of this kind of thing, so it has really piled up. It is time to get some order back into our lives, and the extra cash at Christmas will come in handy. I don't know what my next project will be, I'm sewing a few baby gifts, and there are a few more expected arrivals, I always manage to be busy. It's getting so I don't know how to sit still and watch TV. I don't know if that is a good thing, but it does make the clutter go away. I think this is a reaction to the whole situation, and I'm going to take it as far as I can. I'm definitely in a throw it away mood. Dale was home on the weekend, and was a bit panicked at what had happened in his room, but I went down with him, and we gathered another bag of garbage to throw out. He was finding things he had forgotten he had stuffed away, so it was OK after all. Jackie and Johnny brought out a couch which is now living in my tidier basement. They couldn't get it to go around a corner, so it will live on the farm until they find a new place for it. Funny how that works. I tidy up and throw stuff out, just to have the reclaimed room filled with more stuff. Oh well, that 's life I guess.
I must admit that the Rav4 is nice to drive on the not so nice roads. People told me it was a good feature, but you don't know until you actually drive them how well they do handle.
Well, I've rambled on a bit, and have probably forgotten some details. They will come to me sometime, and I may even remember to write them down! Middle age is kind of fun in that you always have an excuse!
'Til next time,
Louise