Hi Everyone...I KNOW I just put a post on here about our "workerbees" but I wanted to take a second to brag on Mark and his continued progress. Last Thursday he was able to roll over and sit up and beg...no I'm kidding! Seriously, he rolled over by himself and was able to sit up by himself. This was a VERY BIG step in the right direction. He said it felt good to get those feet on the floor!
YESTERDAY, he was able to use the lightgait with the treadmill. (see previous post about lightgait). He walked for 13 min. in 3 to 4 min. intervals. He has to have help picking up his feet because his ankles are so week BUT he was able to use his upper legs to propel himself. This is the first step to MANY more milestones for him.
I am just tremendously proud of his determination. (just tell him he can't...have I mentioned that doing that is a really bad thing??) He is such a hard worker and just so amazing to me...thought I would share!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Anton and Kenny
I wanted to introduce you to Anton and Kenny. They are Bosnian and very nice men who work for the construction company. Anton can do just about anything that needs to be done. He is pretty talented and very handy. Kenny is the "go to guy" for just about any project. He is so funny and his english is really good so he makes "punny jokes" which frequently help to cut the tension!
There is evidentally a very large Bosnian community in Louisvilke which I wasn't aware of until Mark and I went to Oaklawn. There was a Physical Therapy Tech there that was Bosnian and became an American Citizen and then brought his wife and baby back to L'ville after 5 years apart. (and I complain about 3 and 1/2!!) Anyway, he would bring in the most amazing dishes and since Mark is such a foodie, he would always make sure we got to taste. Great stuff.
Back to Kenny and Anton who are working so hard to make our project a big success. They are the best! Right now they are working (very hard) on the tile and sinks. Kenny has cleaned the windows, gutters, patio and deck. These guys are such amazing worker bees...and they always are so kind. I just wanted to tell everyone about these men because they really have made a difference in our lives as part of this project. Never know where blessings will come from, do we?
I need to remember to ask them about where to find a Bosnian Bakery--which won't help my diet but I will enjoy all the same. Who knows, maybe I will even share! :)
There is evidentally a very large Bosnian community in Louisvilke which I wasn't aware of until Mark and I went to Oaklawn. There was a Physical Therapy Tech there that was Bosnian and became an American Citizen and then brought his wife and baby back to L'ville after 5 years apart. (and I complain about 3 and 1/2!!) Anyway, he would bring in the most amazing dishes and since Mark is such a foodie, he would always make sure we got to taste. Great stuff.
Back to Kenny and Anton who are working so hard to make our project a big success. They are the best! Right now they are working (very hard) on the tile and sinks. Kenny has cleaned the windows, gutters, patio and deck. These guys are such amazing worker bees...and they always are so kind. I just wanted to tell everyone about these men because they really have made a difference in our lives as part of this project. Never know where blessings will come from, do we?
I need to remember to ask them about where to find a Bosnian Bakery--which won't help my diet but I will enjoy all the same. Who knows, maybe I will even share! :)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Major Progress!
I think most of these pictures are self explanatory since you seen everything before. If you have any questions please let Laura or I know! All the sheetrock is now up and finished and have been primed and the first coat of paint is on. They're supposed to start installing tile on Monday! Also, the elevator should be here (we won't hold our breath).
Friday, September 25, 2009
Just for the record...
Hey everyone! I want to thank all of you for reading about us and our crazy life. As I look back at this, I kind of have to chuckle because I find myself realizing that we started out so optimistic and pie-eyed and then reality hit! Things weren't happening and we couldn't figure out how to MAKE them happen. Now, we have kind of found ourselves trying to go with the flow and pushing when we can.
It is very frustrating that the project is 6-8 weeks behind the original schedule. I HOPE Mark will get home by the end of October. I ALSO hope that we don't have to endure 'home health' (which means he can't go ANYWHERE except a physician's appt. for however long it lasts-- so--no Milestone, no workouts, no Bellarmine, no swimming--not good). This is a Medicare thing and we may HAVE to bite our tongues and deal with it. I am praying that someone with some sense (which won't be Medicare) will intervene on our behalf and let Mark come home and start our new life.
Meanwhile, I want you all to understand that Mark is doing this blog a la voice recognition. I am so proud of him for his perseverance and determination. He has to write and then use a grid created by the mouse and then narrow each movement down until the computer finds the correct area and then add or subtract or edit the text. It is time consuming and patience wearing. I am not sure that I could ever do that...but he just jumps in and does it. So, each of these posts is a demonstration of his "yes I can" attitude.
Because he won't tell you, I will...he is really doing very well in his structured therapy at Oaklawn and Bellarmine. The Bellarmine program is really testing his metal and making him "do tricks" that he didn't know he could do. I wish these clinical sessions were daily...he makes more progress in 3 hours a week there than he does in 5 at Oaklawn. Don't misunderstand--his therapy at Oaklawn is NOT a cakewalk....he works very hard in those sessions. They are just not set up to get him where he needs to be at this juncture in the game (and why we are finding ourselves ready to "move on"). He needs more work with his shoulders and upper arms and he isn't getting a lot of that anymore at Oaklawn, unfortunately. Alas...this too shall pass. Hopefully, moving home will allow him to receive more intense therapy that is tailored a little more toward his particular needs and move him closer to the goals at hand--feeding himself and walking! Big steps...one step at a time.
Thanks for the prayers and love and caring. We feel ourselves surrounded by all of them.
Laura
It is very frustrating that the project is 6-8 weeks behind the original schedule. I HOPE Mark will get home by the end of October. I ALSO hope that we don't have to endure 'home health' (which means he can't go ANYWHERE except a physician's appt. for however long it lasts-- so--no Milestone, no workouts, no Bellarmine, no swimming--not good). This is a Medicare thing and we may HAVE to bite our tongues and deal with it. I am praying that someone with some sense (which won't be Medicare) will intervene on our behalf and let Mark come home and start our new life.
Meanwhile, I want you all to understand that Mark is doing this blog a la voice recognition. I am so proud of him for his perseverance and determination. He has to write and then use a grid created by the mouse and then narrow each movement down until the computer finds the correct area and then add or subtract or edit the text. It is time consuming and patience wearing. I am not sure that I could ever do that...but he just jumps in and does it. So, each of these posts is a demonstration of his "yes I can" attitude.
Because he won't tell you, I will...he is really doing very well in his structured therapy at Oaklawn and Bellarmine. The Bellarmine program is really testing his metal and making him "do tricks" that he didn't know he could do. I wish these clinical sessions were daily...he makes more progress in 3 hours a week there than he does in 5 at Oaklawn. Don't misunderstand--his therapy at Oaklawn is NOT a cakewalk....he works very hard in those sessions. They are just not set up to get him where he needs to be at this juncture in the game (and why we are finding ourselves ready to "move on"). He needs more work with his shoulders and upper arms and he isn't getting a lot of that anymore at Oaklawn, unfortunately. Alas...this too shall pass. Hopefully, moving home will allow him to receive more intense therapy that is tailored a little more toward his particular needs and move him closer to the goals at hand--feeding himself and walking! Big steps...one step at a time.
Thanks for the prayers and love and caring. We feel ourselves surrounded by all of them.
Laura
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Things are moving rapidly
I apologize for not having published an update in the past couple of weeks. The room has been closed off to contain the dust so Laura has been unable to take any pictures. Our contractor has been taking some but had some trouble transferring them to us. He was finally able to transfer a few that I have attached to this post.
Work has been progressing quite rapidly the past couple of weeks. All of the rough in has been completed for everything and the closed cell foam insulation has been applied. We're anticipating this insulation to be a big help with the heating and cooling of the bathroom. At 2.5" of thickness it provides R23 insulation value and in addition because of how it expands the blocks of any air leakage. We actually decided to go ahead and replace the fiberglass insulation in the crawl space under our kitchen and breakfast area with it also because of its insulation efficiency.
Actually, all of the sheetrock have also been hung and finished and the painter primed it all today. We've picked out everything except the layout of the closet. Laura met with California closets today and is meeting with another closet company tomorrow, so we should have that finalized by early next week. I'm also still looking at emergency generator options of that is it not really part of the remodeling.
The project's decorator, Laura has picked out a very nice paint scheme for the bathroom and our bedroom. It will probably drive the painter a little crazy (if they aren't already) because she is using a total of 9 colors between the two rooms. It will really make the rooms look for a classy!
It looks like I will now be going home near the end of October, later than we had planned but at least I'm going home.
Looking from the bathroom to the bedroom, the elevator
The same area after the insulation was installed.
The ceiling of the garage with the new insulation,
those 2x12's to give you an idea how thick the foam is!
Bonus points for anybody who can identify with the red object is in the photo!
Work has been progressing quite rapidly the past couple of weeks. All of the rough in has been completed for everything and the closed cell foam insulation has been applied. We're anticipating this insulation to be a big help with the heating and cooling of the bathroom. At 2.5" of thickness it provides R23 insulation value and in addition because of how it expands the blocks of any air leakage. We actually decided to go ahead and replace the fiberglass insulation in the crawl space under our kitchen and breakfast area with it also because of its insulation efficiency.
Actually, all of the sheetrock have also been hung and finished and the painter primed it all today. We've picked out everything except the layout of the closet. Laura met with California closets today and is meeting with another closet company tomorrow, so we should have that finalized by early next week. I'm also still looking at emergency generator options of that is it not really part of the remodeling.
The project's decorator, Laura has picked out a very nice paint scheme for the bathroom and our bedroom. It will probably drive the painter a little crazy (if they aren't already) because she is using a total of 9 colors between the two rooms. It will really make the rooms look for a classy!
It looks like I will now be going home near the end of October, later than we had planned but at least I'm going home.
Here's a picture of the new window we put in over the bathtub, loss of life and ventilation.
Looking from the bathroom to the bedroom, the elevator will go in the framed the box on the left.
The same area after the insulation was installed.
The ceiling of the garage with the new insulation,those 2x12's to give you an idea how thick the foam is!
Bonus points for anybody who can identify with the red object is in the photo!
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