Oscar’s chugging along in his recovery…spending his days moving from armchair to couch to bed to dining chair, and doing endless loops through the house during the transitions with a couple of bigger walks outside sprinkled in. We need to help him with everything while his spine is healing – all the hygiene stuff, and … Continue reading Twenty-four.
We escaped! Oscar’s first request, as he was rolled out of the hospital yesterday afternoon, was to submit his ballot. He transferred from the wheelchair to his walker and we wove our way through the hospital plaza and along the walkways over to the adjacent building where he slipped it in a drop box. He’s … Continue reading Home
Oscar’s up and moving even if his GI system is not. Yesterday we got permission to do a few loops in the interior octagonal hallways linking the four wings on the 7th floor. A nurse accompanied us for safety, and when that went well we were cleared to go to the 3rd floor gardens by ourselves. With … Continue reading Speed-Walker
We’ve spent the last couple of days trying to get things moving. Oscar’s GI system is sluggish as is, apparently, scheduling in the PT department in this otherwise efficient, kind, skilled, and beautiful hospital. But today we got movement – most importantly PT and OT arrived, fitted Oscar for his protective brace, and got him … Continue reading On The Move
Oscar finally got out of surgery around 9:45pm last night, about eight hours after he was wheeled off. Dr. Hu called bearing mostly good news – he’d tolerated the surgery well neurologically, she got a better than anticipated correction, and she saw no need for the thoracoplasty. (I haven’t seen the x-rays yet, but the … Continue reading Out!
Well, here we are again, back in the hospital again for spine surgery. Different coast, different hospital, different procedure, and yet the echoes are deafening. A quick catchup since I seem to only write when Oscar is in surgery/recovery as a way to keep everyone updated: Oscar is almost 24 years old now, and spent … Continue reading Here We Go Again, Again
We flew home early last Saturday morning, Oscar on tylenol and advil, me just on edge. Dr. C had gone way out of her way to see Oscar the day before and to check on his wound, which reassured me, but my mind was still spinning about the flight. Would he be comfortable? Could he manage … Continue reading Home! A’s! School!
GrandMary and I are getting a little punchy here. At times we feel like we're running a skilled nursing center: dispensing multiple meds up to three times per day, changing bandages, fitting in exercise, bathing, and healthy meals. Yesterday, we had Oscar sitting on the shower bench washing his underarms—left, right, left, right. I lost count, … Continue reading that healing feeling
Oscar finally got to check something big off his Summer List yesterday, post-surgery mini-golfing. He'd been eager to go ever since he'd gotten out of the hospital, begging us last Saturday, a mere two days post release. Dr. C, probably incredulous that we were considering it, said, "Maybe in a week." Paul and I were … Continue reading Mini-Golfing
It's been two weeks since Oscar's surgery and I alternate between feeling like he's having a record-breaking recovery and worrying that he won't be strong enough to fly home next Saturday as planned. Of course the truth lies in between. We're up in Connecticut now, at GrandMary and Grandpa's Lake House, having received the okay … Continue reading day 14
this boy 