24 July 2008

Goodbye Civic, Hello Home…

Today is Mom’s second day at home. She was released from the Civic yesterday morning at 9:00 a.m. Somewhat tearful and a bit reluctant, she said goodbye to fellow inmates and some of the wonderful nurses that cared for her over her stay in the rehabilitation ward. For all the dreadful hospital stories that you hear nowadays (Hello Ottawa General) the staff at the Civic Rehab Centre were quite helpful and compassionate.

So far life at home has been quite an adjustment. Everything is a bit of a trial and error process right now: getting out of bed, off the couch, reaching for things, using the bath and toilet, etc. We rented a few Godsend products from the Red Cross; they are bulky but seem to do the trick as she still can’t bend to sit on low objects…or get up from them for that matter. Everything has to be tweaked or modified so that it can accommodate new mobility issues. To be honest, it’s all a little topsy-turvy right now but I’m quickly learning that improvisation is key; once you find anything that works or facilitates life, no matter how strange it may look, stick with it! I am glad that my employer allows me to take five days of Family-Related-Leave, as this week will likely be the most chaotic while we try to work out how to accomplish day-to-day tasks. Hopefully by the time I return to work, Mom will be a little more independent. …fingers crossed.

I must be off now. It’s time to go for a run, if anything to preserve my own strength and mental health, and then it’s off to the kitchen to cook a good non-hospital-variety meal.

No comments: