Martha At Home Update

Hello everyone. This is Micki (or Monique). I am Martha's older sister (well I quess I am ANOTHER one of Martha's older sisters because most of you probably know Mel). I'm the sister that lives away from home in Indiana.

Anyway, I came home to visit Martha this past weekend. I haven't seen her since she was in the hospital just a few days after her stroke. My son, Danny, and I came up during the blizzard. Martha has made remarkable strides since this all first began. Regretfully I wasn't able to see all that she is able to do. My visit was too short and she was in "one of her moods" the one day I got to spend with her. She didn't want to take her meds, she didn't want to eat, she didn't want to do much of anything. Knowing Martha as we all do, Dave, Bronte and especially Chloe, have their work cut out for them. Fortunately, Chloe has her mother's stubborness and determination. And Martha has never been one to shrug anything off because it meant hard work. Hopefully she won't get discouraged with herself. But if she does, she definitely has a very strong support system surrounding her. At times it's hard to know exactly what all she is grasping. Before I left her Sunday afternoon, I looked at her straight in the eyes and told her she had a lot of work to do, but I wanted my sister back. She seemed to understand that. And when I went to give her a hug goodbye and told her that I would be driving back to Indiana the next day, she just hung her head. So I knew she understood me then.

I would like to express a special thanks to her friend, Kate, who stopped by Sunday afternoon. With Kate's encouragement, Martha's mood brightened up and she got cleaned up and took her meds. And Kate planned a "girl's day out" for herself, Chloe and Martha. Today, after Martha's doctor's appt, they planned to go see a movie. (Chloe - please let us know how that went).

I know this is not necessary, but I would like to ask her friends to continue to stop by and give Martha as much encouragement as possible.