Bettie continues to be troubled by abdominal pain, and it is definitely slowing her progress. We're not sure to what extant the pain is just from her gall bladder drain vs "other issues" she wouldn't want me to mention. Anyway, the net effect is she spends more time than I would like, lying on the family room couch.
When she is up and able, her walking is improving by the day. Many times I walk her to the bathroom, rather that wheeling her, and I can see definite progress. It's frustrating to have her down so much when I can see that with some concentrated work, her walking could improve vastly. Patience is the order here.
When she is down, we work on speech skills, word recognition, and small hand skills as she is able. We see progress there too. During "slow" times like these, it is good to keep in mind that from birth to death, the human body is engaged in a continuous effort to be well. Even while lying down, brain cells are working to restore function, re-make lost connections, etc.
Though the week was slow in terms of progress, she did have visits from all three therapists plus the home nurse. Tram, the nurse, suggested that we try to get the internist doctor visit moved up a week to look into the abdominal issue. We did that and will see that doctor on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the family continues to refine the routine here at home, adjusting to new duties and requirements. On the three days that I go into my office, I awaken Jordan to come into grandma's bed when I leave. I get home a little before noon to relieve her. When school starts, the schedule will have me, with the blessings of my supervisor at work, working from home most of the time. Two days a week, Veronica will take a long lunch and come home to assist with Bettie while I go into the office for meetings and to maintain a presence with my co-workers. It should work fine.
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