Hi Everyone,
Corey and I both had a good weekend. Many of you noticed there wasn’t an update Saturday night. I took a day trip with a friend to Washington, DC. I started the day feeling very nervous. The last time I went more than an hour from home, I was called back because of a complication with Corey’s feeding tube. Although I was only 2 hours away, the drive home felt like an eternity. I’ve been very hesitant to go more than 45 minutes to an hour away but decided to take the opportunity to “get away”. I must tell you that the short time away on Saturday felt like a week’s vacation!
Last week I met with the kids in Philly. Part of our visit was to discuss our family moving forward. We had a long talk. Prior to the accident, we used to have “date nights”. I would go out with each of the kids individually but then we would plan date night for all four of us. Now that we’ve hit the One Year mark, it’s time to get back to “normal”…learning to live our “new normal” and that includes date nights. It also includes daytrips that may have a distance beyond 45 minutes!
It’s easy to update you on the daily therapy sessions but it’s extremely difficult to express what our emotional day is like. Most days are filled with laughter and excitement to see Corey’s progress. Within seconds that can change to concern, worry, fear, panic and doubt. This can apply to all of us, not just families dealing with a major illness. The focus has to be smiles, excitement and gratitude. Our staying home waiting for the “other shoe to drop” will damage mind, spirit, personal growth and the ability to enjoy living fully. So keep tuned and don’t worry if there’s a random weekend without an update.
We are very excited for tomorrow. Monday is cooking day. Corey and I went through some recipes this weekend that she would like to prepare. Brittany informed us of very good news. She found a special cutting board and knives that enables Corey to prepare our ingredients with one hand! She also found a mixing bowl that is fixed to a stand. The stand locks the bowl in place so Corey only needs one hand to stir. It then tilts to a vertical position so she can use her spatulas to scrap the ingredients into the baking dishes.
After looking at the potential recipes that Corey would like to make, there is no way I will be able to eat all the food we prepare (my nurses are already complaining that I feed them too much). We came up with a perfect solution; something we used to do together prior to the accident. Corey is going to cook for the community. We put a call out to the local churches that deliver food to homebound families that may need meals. Corey is going to be one of the meal angels. Each week whatever she prepares will be distributed to families that need assistance.
We had another first today. Corey had a low key morning and by mid day I asked her what she’d like to do. She literally spoke the word, “MALL”. Corey doesn’t want to speak but I told her that if she tells me what she want’s, she’ll get it…I’m true to my word…off we went. She had some birthday money to spend!
She handled the experience well. The noise and certain store lighting bothered her a bit, but she loved picking out her own clothes. Typical Corey, when I asked her if she was bothered by the above she admitted that yes it did; but when I asked her if she was ready to leave, she said no! She was able to tolerate an hour. Not bad for the first time back!
Side note; Karissa is finally improving. She was moved from the ICU to the step down unit at Christiana. Kevin reported that Karissa was sitting in a chair for 4 hours today and asked to play a game. She’s bored and that’s a great sign! She also asked to get on facebook. Discharge may be this week to a rehab hospital; they are hoping to be readmitted to Bryn Mawr. Thank you for keeping our friends in your prayers. xoxo