Can It Really Be March Already?

It's been several months already since I came up with the idea for this blog and no sooner than I did, life quickly got out of control.

Most of our family and friends know that Mom & Dad had one awful holiday season in 2010. Mom fell in the parking lot of her church one week before Thanksgiving and broke her right hip and wrist. No sooner had we gotten Mom home from the rehabilitation hospital in December, Dad took a spill of his own and broke his left hip. Our family spent both holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, in the same rehabilitation hospital. Nothing can be worse than being in one of those places during those holidays.

But, Mom & Dad improved and came home before the start of 2011. They both had in-home health coming several times per week on their arrival at home. Mom's therapy ended during the first couple of weeks in February. Dad is still getting therapy 2 to 3 times per week. Both have made remarkable recoveries, so much so that it almost seems like that the events of November and December never happened.

With their arrival at home, it was necessary to find new furniture for their apartment. They had been sleeping in a full-size bed since they moved in. But, after both of them broke a hip, it became necessary to get them separate twin beds. We also got them new chairs and other accommodations to help them get around the apartment a little easier.

There have been plenty of challenges for our family throughout the past few months. Now that both of my parents have gotten better, it's become necessary to keep tabs on them. They're both eager to prove that they are doing better. Sometimes their desire to do so cause them to attempt things that are dangerous and unwise.

Mom likes to go on walks and is having to learn that she needs to let someone know if she decides to go anywhere. She's gone walking a couple of times without telling anyone and both times has gotten lost and has been brought home by strangers. Somehow we can't seem to convince her that Conroe is a bit more dangerous than Malakoff will ever be. She also doesn't seem to understand how important it is for someone to know where she is - in the event of some kind of emergency. We have to continually remind her of this fact and it may yet take some time to convince her.

Dad does not like using a walker and wants to get back to walking with his cane. His therapists have told him and us that Dad will likely never be able to walk with anything but a walker, due to his issues with Parkinson's Disease and equilibrium. Yet, despite these issues, he insists that he is capable of being able to push our lawnmower and mow our entire yard. He also was told recently that he is in the beginning stages of Macular Degeneration, a condition that may well cost him his eyesight - should he live long enough for it to become more of a problem for him.

I'm a little surprised that I was able to surmise the past 4 1/2 months in these few paragraphs.There have been so many challenges and our family has struggled under the weight of the responsibility for them. But, here we are, on the other side of the adversity we experienced and we're enjoying life again. It's a testimony to the resilience and tenacity of these fine people. As is often said, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." In the case of my parents, Mom & Dad simply refuse to give up.