Monday, February 28, 2011

February 28, 2011: another weekend at the "home"


I have been busy trying to get the tax stuff together for Jim's business. It just started at the end of September and he made no money. Even so, there is tons of paperwork to sort through. Next, I have to start on our personal taxes.

Jim was in the gym when I arrived on Friday. He was working on balancing on the edge of the mat. The little old ladies in the gym love him. They told me how he is working so hard and what a good temperament he has.

Jim has been in positive spirits since this drama began. Yesterday was the first time Jim told me he was getting bored. It's too bad that there isn't any patient there for Jim to be friends with. The people there are really old and senile. Or, the younger patients have serious mental problems. Of course, he loves all the nurses and therapy staff but they're too busy.

I suggested that I bring him some books. He's not interested in that. I brought him a book on tape. He watches a lot of TVLand and PBS.

I've gotten him to go outside with me several times now. We take a bag of fritos out to the courtyard and feed the birds. There are a gazillion sparrows nesting in the bushes around the fountain. We watch the birds and I knit.

He gets leg spasms and I have to lift his leg up and move it for him. Jim can't move his legs at all during a spasm. Just moving it a little gives him a lot of relief.

I did some stretching exercises on his arms and legs. Mostly I work on his fingers. They are stiff and keep curling inward. The OT wanted me to work with his index finger especially. His thumbs work well but the nerves for them are located higher up the spinal cord. I stretch his fingers to try to loosen them up. Jim says he can feel the finger muscles firing but they are too stiff to respond.

His legs are getting much stronger. He can kick both his legs pretty high. He wants to walk again so badly. I told him that he needs to work on his arms more. He will need arm strength to walk with a walker.

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