Lifetime Achievement and Little Steps

Happy family and friends celebrating with Mom at the Golden Gala.

 You'd think after many days of no blog updates, there should be much to say. Maybe there should, but the words aren't coming. So I have bullet points instead. I know many of you are wanting to know what's the latest with Mom, so here goes:

1.  On Thursday, May 3rd, Mom was honored by North Richland Middle School as their Teacher of the Year. (See the program guide here.) It was a wonderful evening for her, surrounded by friends and family, her first foray out of a non-sterile, hospital-like atmosphere since Feb 10th.  YEAH!  We are ever grateful to the Birdville Independent School District, as their spontaneous standing ovation for Mom was overwhelming.  It was as if Mom was receiving a "Lifetime Achievement Award" as one of her friends commented, because truly, Mom had taught many teachers in that room over her years working at NRMS.

2.  Mom's been slowly and steadily progressing with her physical therapy at Heartland Rehabilitation.  New favorite activity is standing up with a walker and taking a few little steps.  Michael, her physical therapist, has her working on balance with the walker. She stands and holds the walker with one hand, and tosses bean bags with the other. It's quite a workout, Mom says, and she is more confident each time she tries.

3.  Back in HEB hospital today for her 2nd Avastin treatment, Mom has a corner room for tonight. We expect she'll do well with this infusion and will be back in Heartland maybe tomorrow.  The corner room is nice and big.  I think as many nights as she's spent in HEB, she should have a suite in her name.  The nurses once again welcomed us by name as we stopped by to visit today.  Oncology nurses are wonderful people. If you have to have cancer, at least at HEB you've got a caring crowd around to help you.

4.  Mom's handwriting is improving, as are her reading skills.  If you want to send a personal note, it would be great if it were printed with large print, it's much easier for her to read, and she can practice copying the letters.

5.  Her verbal skills are up and down depending how tired she is, but she's getting quite good at stopping and taking a deep breath before going on when the words become salad-like.  On Saturday morning, she and Caroline had a lengthy discussion on To Kill a Mockingbird, and I'm pretty sure they have made a reading date for later. I love that this book transcends generations so that my mother and daughter can both dive deep into it.

Thanks for keeping up with the texts and emails and notes of support.  It's a long road, but Mom really enjoys hearing from all of you, and one day, hopefully soon, hopes to see you again!