How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Our days in the hospital are basically the same - eating, practicing speech and movement, radiation, and naps. Yesterday was an anomaly because of the approaching storm. It was kind of fun to watch the radar and guess when and where it would hit. We delivered extra snacks and dinner early to Mom and Dad and skedaddled home around 4 p.m., assuming the high winds and giant red spot on the radar meant the storm was near. It didn't hit until almost 6:30 pm, and it wasn't nearly as bad as we heard it would be, but it still brought a little excitement (and rain) into the day.

Practice, practice, practice

As of this morning we have only four more radiation treatments to go. Mom is having a pretty good day.  It helps that she is sleeping better these days, waking up only once or twice with discomfort. She can't roll over on her own, so once a nurse helps her to readjust she goes right back to sleep. The better sleep may be a result of lowering the dosage of IV steroids, or it may be because she's getting her strength back and is working hard at physical therapy during the day, so she tires herself out and earns a good night's sleep.

During physical therapy today, Mom's therapists (occupational and physical) helped her to stand for a little while with a cane. She was happy to wear shoes for the first time in over a month. Standing was extremely hard work; her right leg doesn't hold her weight, her muscles have atrophied some from disuse, and her balance is loopy. It felt good to stand for even a few seconds, though, and then she was able to move into a wheelchair and go for a short stroll, using her good left foot to nudge the wheelchair along.

When she returned from the stroll, she was red-faced, hot, tired and emotional. We were worried for a brief moment as she complained about chest pains, but her blood pressure was normal; it was just exhaustion, and ice water and a cool washcloth helped.

If the physical toll of pushing her muscles to respond is hard to bear, the emotional toll is even worse. She knows that she's lost a lot of function, even if only temporarily, and it's made more difficult by her foggy brain and short-term memory challenges; when she is tired, she gets teary and wonders why she can't get things to work as they should. We remind her that practice makes perfect, her strength will come back if she continues to work, and we're all here to help her.

Alicia found the perfect analogy. "Mom, do you give your students a final exam on the first day of school?"


"No."


"Right. They don't know enough yet, so they practice. And they don't know it the next day, or the tenth day, or in a month. But you teach them, and they practice, and one day they'll be ready. So you have to practice, too, and one day you'll get it. Okay?"

Our favorite teacher understood, smiled and nodded. She'll get there.