Dr. Heide: "Epic ... the word is Epic"

So there you have it folks ... she's making epic progress. Woo hoo!

So to celebrate, we went for a ride. At 6:00 this evening she checked out of Highline Medical Center and took a nice scenic drive down the valley to Auburn Regional Medical Center, with our son Steve riding shotgun.

I had arrived at Highline at five o'clock to help her with dinner, as usual, and pack up her stuff. My dinner "help" consisted of giving her two bites of squash, after which Steve said: "She's doing so well with her left hand now, why don't you give her the spoon?" And so I did.

So much for helping her with eating ... and I was just getting good at it. You'd almost think she was a natural lefty the way she mowed down the rest of the squash, most of the turkey and half the potato. After a few tries, she even got the hang of getting some drippy mushroom soup over the lips. By the time she got to the chocolate pudding, she was full...just as well I think. Total time to down dinner: 35 minutes.

Right after dinner, the cabulance (that's what they call a specially equipped van, that accommodates a wheel chair) arrived and they began readying her for the trip.

Dr. Heide put in a brief appearance and that's when I told him I needed a big doctor word to describe this: and I mimicked Bettie's latest right arm gymnastics. That's when he gave me his new adjective for her rate of recovery: "Epic".

So now she is sleeping in her new temporary home: Room 483 in Auburn Regional Medical Center. Her bed is by the window, with a view of Mt. Rainier. She's in the Acute Rehab Center, on the fourth floor. Take elevator "C".

(Watch for a post tomorrow afternoon when I'll have a better idea of her schedule and good times to drop by - when she not working out in the gym or with the speech therapist.)

If you compare the general tone of this post with the first one, ("The Day it Happened.") you will probably notice that this one is lighter, upbeat and more hopeful. If you perceive it that way, it is because ... it's true, I am.

Thanks to all of you for your part in that.

(My son Steve was a professional photojournalist for many years so he documented Bettie's recovery from the start. Here's the last video of her in Highline Medical Center, looking tired but on her way out the front door this evening. Yay!)


Going, going, gone!