Enjoyed the Park Ave Festival

Martha went to the Park Avenue Festival with Bronte, Linda and me this morning. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed herself. Any time she wanted to stop at a booth, all she had to do was put her foot down and that certainly would stop the wheelchair. For some time now we've thought she had lost her sense of smell, but she had absolutely no problem today locating the booth with crabcakes. She had part of a crabcake and saved room for some Abbott's ice cream as well. It's good to see her outside and enjoying herself.

Slowly but surely ...

I spent some time with Martha Sunday afternoon. We sat on the deck out back. Martha's more verbal than she has been, and I understand her taste in food has expanded to include baked potatoes and crackers. While we were on the deck, I stood up for a while and Martha got her point across that I should sit down and pull my chair closer to her. She also wheeled herself over to a small table that had a plate with grapes and crackers, picked up the plate and offered it to me. I've heard she's taken a liking to baseball. She and Dave attended a Red Wings game recently and Dave said she grinned the whole time. She'll find it on TV if it's on, but she's watching the Yankees! Sisterly affection only goes so far ...

Lunch and laughs with a few D&C friends

Karen Magnuson and I had a wonderful lunch visit with Martha today! Her face just lit up as we walked in with a special delivery ... and that would be Pizza from Guida's. In Martha fashion, believe it or not, she wasn't too thrilled with our food selection. We just blamed Bronte who was leaving for her college orientation trip. Martha was actually craving waffles with gobs of syrup. Chloe reminded us of her taste buds liking sweet foods and drinks. Speaking of drinks, Martha was sipping on a sweet tea on the rocks, and when I asked if it had vodka in it, I received a quick NO, but was told she snuck a gulp from somebody's beer last week. Custom Brew Crafters here we come. We did guilt her into having a slice of Pizza with us though. : ) Martha was in great spirits, and followed each one of our conversations pretty closely. Her speech and choice of words are becoming much clearer and we also noticed her right arm and hand much more relaxed. I guess the therapy at the Jewish Center is really paying off! Priceless: We asked Martha if she was gearing up for this coming NFL season and Sunday Funday Football and as clear as a bell Martha replied, PARTY!
Love ya, mean it... Karen and Jim-

Sense of humor still intact

Saturday I attended Bronte's graduation with the family and stayed for dinner afterwards. Martha was sitting in the kitchen with us, and I noticed she was fiddling with her right hand. I thought maybe it was bothering her. She pulled her jacket sleeve down over her hand and then looked at it in surprise and said very loud "Oh no!" as if her hand disappeared. Of course, that got everyone's attention, which made Martha laugh. When we realized what she'd done, we all laughed too, which made her laugh all the more. So she's playing the "made you look" game, and that's good.

Doctor's Visit Results

Mom had her appointment with her neurologist this morning. Again we were told how lucky we are and that even with the CT scans done recently Mom is doing amazing for how much damage was done.

As soon as the hematologist and cardiologist sign off on the surgery they will be putting her skull plate back in. They said as far as neuro-surgeries go this is fairly simple. At this point we're looking at late July for a surgery date. Sadface, I know.

At rehab tomorrow Fonte Surgical will be there to fit Mom for a new wheelchair - one not so low to the ground. They think it will help the muscles regain some of its function. Her physical therapist is also going to try using a walker with a platform on the right side with the hope that it will be more stable for Mom. This means she has to be able to do weight bearing on her right side. I haven't seen it done, but Bronte says Mom enjoyed it and they'll definitely be trying it again.

That's all for now folks!

Sunday morning entertainment at its best!

Drew and I dropped in on Auntie Martha to entertain her for a bit this morning. Drew can do that when he enters a room -- it immediately becomes a "Drewsaster" as crayons and remotes began flyin' all over the DeShong's living room. She was in great spirits from the moment we walked in and has really made some good progress with her time at the Jewish center. We shared stories, looked at pictures on my iphone, and had lots of laughs. She was moving her left hand so much you would of thought she was Italian. Martha actually lit up when she found out we brought her a chocolate covered, creme filled donut from DD. Her favorite!!! Btw: If you don't know, Kieran is now yuck! It seems like Martha can't be bothered with her these days. The cats rule! Martha also reccomends going to see the new Shrek movie -- she said, it's really cool. As we left, told her ... we love and miss you and in Martha fashion, she said, mean it!!!

Bronte said, if you're ever in the neighborhood, please don't hesitate to stop on bye!

Progress with speech

Linda and I visited with Martha for a bit this afternoon. She's looking good and the therapy at the Jewish Home is paying off. Martha has made what I think is great progress with speech and the key seems to be including a gesture. If you make a thumbs up, she says good. If you make a thumbs down, she says bad. She understands she has to raise her voice to call Chloe, Bronte or Dave from another room. So as we get more gestures figured out, her speech improves. I know she also does well if you start a phrase she recognizes. Today we had her in giggles when we said "Love you," she'd say "mean it!" She's also added waffles to the list of food she likes. Progress, slow but sure.