Day 28-30

I'm in a recliner with a laptop on my lap. The cat is on my lap between the computer and me. She has her head and right paw resting on my right arm. I move around quite a bit but she refuses to be disturbed.

Today we started our raking project. Actually, I started the project. Normally Joanie rakes and I haul oak leaves to a trailer. We fill up the trailer 2-3 times and haul them away. It is a nuisance to remove them but the fire hazard requires that they be removed. Now, she sits on the front porch and supervises. She said she was exhausted when I was done because she remembers what it is like! Joanie will be able to "supervise" many little projects around the house as I work on things that I can do and still have her near.

Sabbath was a very restful day. We sat around and talked, watched a little 3ABN TV (an Adventist network) with a great series on early Christians, and had visitors. Kathy and Elaine K were here for about 45 minutes. Elaine is Troy's "other grandmother" and Kathy considers Troy her nephew & Joanie her sister-in-law. While they are no relation, they are "family". They've been trying to get up here for several weeks. At one point they wanted to come and clean house, but I put them off. I might have been offended when they commented that guys don't really know how to clean! (OK, not really offended) Teri (of "let's finish off Joanie's paperwork and room fame") and Gary came by on their way home from a hike. They stayed about 20 minutes. Gary had to shake Joanie's left hand as he did most days when she was in the Transitional Care Unit. He's a PT and would stop during his lunch break and chat for 5 minutes.

Friday, Joanie had no therapy but had a visit from her nurse. The nurse comes to draw blood as they continually monitor her INR level. They then call to change her Coumadin levels. I finally got all my tasks completed at school and got home about 7:30 PM Friday evening. I'm glad to be checked out.

Thursday, Joanie had visits from her PT. Under Scot's direction, Joanie continued to work hard. She also had visits from her OT, and Speech Therapy. She took naps between visits in order to keep up her energy. I worked at school trying to complete my tasks to get checked out. Thanks to Brenda, Joanie's sister, I spent most of the day gone. It came to me that I needed run as many errands as I could before I Brenda left. All the tasks that I've been putting off, I have tried to complete. Meanwhile, Teri & Kathy, have been working in Joanie's classroom again and got her all checked out. They've also gone through the room and arranged and cleaned the room. Joanie is overwhelmed with gratitude for all the hours those two have spent in her room. Their help has allowed Joanie to concentrate on her therapy and not worry about school. Kathy told me that when she was substituting in Joanie's room the last couple of weeks, the kids would run laps. Sometimes Jason, or other students, would shout, "let's run one more lap for Mrs. Carle!"

Friday, I removed this quote from Joanie's classroom where she and her students had been memorizing it each monring.

Isaiah 41:10 (New Century Version)

So don't worry, because I am with you.
Don't be afraid, because I am your God.
I will make you strong and will help you;
I will support you with my right hand that saves you.