Days 50-52, Thursday-Sabbath

We finally got around to creating a spreadsheet of all Joanie's exercises and so Joanie worked her way through many of them Sabbath morning. We also got another walk in at the lake. Our subdivision has a small lake where we have a membership. When Troy was younger, we often took him down to swim, play in the sand or go boating. We have a paddle boat at the lake and for years kept a canoe down there also. Now, we never swim there but spend time walking around the lake. It is very peaceful and relaxing. Pre stroke, I would often walk to the lake, take a couple of laps and walk home. It took about an hour. These photos were taken the other day of Joanie resting on a bench, about a fourth of the way around the lake, while I completed a couple of circuits of the lake.

I often contemplate stopping this blog. Not much interesting is happening, it seems. The other day, I was talking to my folks and my mom mentioned that they don't call as often as they might because they read the blog and feel like they know what is happening. (Sorry, I stopped to eat. While I was eating Joanie got an email from Judy, her cousin in Norway, asking that we not stop the blog. She said she checks the blog each morning for an update. She claims it's a "public service". We also got an email from our principal, Emily. She is traveling in Tanzania, Africa, and mentioned that she reads the blog. She wrote of some great adventures she and Hector are having there.)

Joanie was pretty worn out on Friday and so we didn't do much. She did a few exercises and I dug a hole in my back yard. I'm not sure who had the most fun. Speaking of fun, I'm not really into this cooking thing. I can hardly be bothered. When Joanie's been gone in the past, I've had no problem eating the same thing several days in a row. Joanie prefers a little more variety. We're doing OK, thanks to Brenda's frozen entrees, but I continue to be a lazy cook. I figure it must be good for me!

Thursday, we went to the anti coagulation clinic where we discovered that her blood was too thin. It often takes several visits to the clinic to get the Coumadin dose regulated so the blood is thin enough to prevent clots, but not too thin. I then drove Joanie to get her hair cut. Tammy was amazed to see Joanie walk into her salon unaided. The last time Tammy had seen Joanie, Tammy had come to the TUC unit where Joanie was staying and cut her hair with Joanie sitting in a wheel chair!

By now it was after lunch time and I might have been getting cranky. Joanie hates to go to a restaurant and eat in public. She does fine, but the left side of the tongue has been know to cause her some problems. We finally stopped for a "healthy" snack at McDonald's. Joanie ordered her usual Big Mac, with no meat. I love the expressions on the counter person when I make that request. After dining like royalty, we returned to the hospital to pick up some printouts of OT exercises that Diane had assembled for us.

We finished off the day with a short walk at the lake. Our evening entertainment consists of watching an episode from a BBC TV production set in Scotland. Thanks Netflix!

"Character is what you have left when you've lost everything you can lose."
Evan Esar (1899 - 1995)