Week of July 13-19

**Updated below on Sunday, July 20, 10:10 AM.

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My sister flew down from Seattle to be with my parents during my dad's surgery. Sunday we drove down to Stockton to spend some family time. It was nice to see my sister, Shelley, whom we see only once or twice a year. My dad's surgery went fine, even though he is 85 and has had a serious of health issues that they've been dealing with.

Monday, Joanie did her exercises and rested up from Sunday's drive. The drive wipes her out.

Tuesday, Joanie had speech and OT. In OT, Kristin has decided to work less on range of motion and more on isometric exercises to strengthen the shoulder and arm muscles. The hope is that the pain will not worsen and yet she will make progress. Joanie is now at the point of taking a pain pill before OT.

My sister came up to visit us, which was a nice diversion. We met her in Sonora before Joanie had therapy and then she came up to the house for a short while.

Wednesday, Joanie has no scheduled therapies, but will be able to catch up with that tomorrow when she has all three!

**UPDATED HERE--**

Joanie has had a tough week. She has not slept too well this week. Wednesday morning, she awakened long enough to ask for a pain pill, and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. We are very careful with pain pills but she's having so much pain with her left shoulder and hand, that she often needs one during or after therapy.

Thursday, Joanie had all three therapies. She had OT in the morning with a two hour break. We went to school to look for something and had lunch. In the afternoon, Joanie had PT followed by Speech. In PT, Diane, commented that her gait is improving and her walking speed in increasing--both things that Diane is working on with her. Diane also commented that Joanie seems more aware of things on her left side as she walks. When Joanie went into Speech with Talitha, she was already worn out from her other therapies.

Following her third therapy of the day, I had Joanie sit down in the lobby while I spent the next 20 minutes working on making appointments for the month of August. Joanie was so tired that I had to wake her up when I was done so we could leave. Since I return to school in mid August, I was trying to schedule Joanie's appointments during times when two of our neighbors are already driving down to Sonora for exercise programs. We teach in Sonora, which is about 25-30 minutes from our home in Twain Harte. It's only 13 miles, but half of it is on windy, narrow, country roads. Once school starts, there is no way I can take her to and from therapy. Fortunately Nancy & Sheila drive down to Sonora four days a week and are willing to take Joanie. She should be able to get in one or two sessions while they are swimming.

Friday we drove to Sonora for PT and returned home. Later in the day, we returned to Sonora so Joanie could go to her ophthalmologist, Gerard. We were told to to see if she had any vision problems on the left side. She doesn't seem to! Gerard had come to the hospital to see Joanie while she was still in ICU two days after her stroke. When he saw her yesterday called her recovery "miraculous". We are grateful that her sight is not affected. It was such a good report and is an answer to all of your prayers! Thank you!

Today, Joanie is looking forward to a quiet, peaceful day with no therapies! Joanie slept much of the day, off & on. Every time she sat down in the recliner, the cat, Sophie, jumped up in her lap and fell asleep. Because it wasn't too hot, Joanie enjoyed very much.

"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Week of July 6-12

When I posted our last blog, I had no intention that it would not be updated for over a week! Last week was very hot and because of the fires a hundred miles north of us, we had too much smoke to open the windows at night to cool things down. We tended to stay up too late, sleep fitfully, and wake up too early because of the heat. We dragged around most days. It was also the week I chose to work on several projects around the home and spent very little time at the computer.

We went to visit my folks. My dad was scheduled for a knee replacement on July 14 and we wanted to be sure to see him before surgery. Joanie did fine on the drive but slept in a recliner at their apartment for a couple of hours after we arrived. We got home later than planned, which always happens.

During the week, Joanie had five therapy sessions and one OT session that was canceled because of intense pain in her left shoulder, left wrist and thumb. This is an ongoing problem. She saw Steve P, our friend who is an orthopedic surgeon. He took X-rays and examined her to find that her shoulder/humerus are separated and have very limited range of motion. She needs to continue moving it. She also has a torn ligament in her pointer finger that causes more discomfort.

We got in a couple of walks at the lake but the 100+ degrees took some of the fun out of the experience, as a matter of fact out of the entire week!

"being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience..."
Colossians 1:10-12