Tuesday February 16 – A Plan Is Forming

While walking Quinn to school, he said out of the blue “I don’t want to move.” Gosh, I thought, he has been thinking about this since our talk last night. We talk about the difference between a house and a home. “Who we live with is much more important then where we live.” I hope that if I can plant that seed with him then he can plant it with you. If we did have to move and you could see that the children like the idea then you would feel better about it. Maybe this will help you to embrace the idea.

At lunch today I called a lady who I know from work. She and her husband are both disabled but have the fortitude to continue to live independently in their own home. They are a fairly young couple who was recently married. She has had a lot of experience working with OT’s over the years. She knows a good one when she sees one. She had some names to pass onto me.

We talk at length about her experiences with home care and what has worked well for her and her husband. She is a wealth of knowledge. I take heaps of notes as I talk to her. I mention that changes to the house may be needed. She even had suggestions about who to get to do the work.

A plan is starting to form ... S always … a plan gives me energy.

The nightly call to you covered a lot of things. The OT has been suggesting ideas of what we could do to our house. Neither of us like the ideas. It seems to me, extensive renovations may be more then we will need. In all likelihood, your condition will get better. Not worse. Why plan for the worst? Not only are renovations expensive but they would make the house difficult to sell later. We wouldn’t redeem the cost. We need a better solutions then renovations or moving.

The home care coordinator was in to visit you. You were a little unsure what she discussed with you but you told the lady that she should talk to me about homecare.

Today, you got measured for a leg brace. This brace is discrete and will sit inside your running shoe. It will fix your ankle at 90 degrees. Once your ankle is stabilized, then your knee will be stronger for standing. You hope to have it by the end of the week so we can see it.

In PT, you did more practice with a four-point cane. You are starting to imagine what life will be like at home. "It may take me all day to make supper.” You say. “I don’t care, I am totally there to make you guys happy.”

Tonight after our call, I think about alternate ideas for our home more accessible for you. I start to do research for stair lifts. There are many options out there. I think if I can do some homework, then maybe I can sell the idea to your OT and the team. I recognized that a stair lift may be dangerous for you. The left neglect is a safety issue, but if you have home care then there will be a built in safety factor.

I spent the evening checking out good stair lifts and their special features.

A plan is forming ... You will be home soon and we have a plan!