Sea World

Monday, we went over to Sea World with Sarah and Eric. There is a new roller coaster there called "Manta" which is what's called a flying coaster. Eric and I are roller coaster fans, but I will say I'm not sure I will ride this one again. You enter the coaster and sit down and then you are lowered to a chest down position so when the coaster is moving, you are in a "flying position." I will say this, it was a very different experience. Dan and Sarah were smart - they stayed on the ground!!
Eric and I were in the front car with no one else in our row.

When you get off the ride, it takes a minute or so to reorient your body to a vertical position. As I said above, "been there, done that, not sure I want to do it again." The best way I can describe the ride is doing barrel rolls in a jet fighter plane (I've never been in a jet fighter, but it would seem this is what it might feel like).

After this ride, we were ready for a break from the park, so we headed over to Lake Buena Vista to Giordano's where we enjoyed our norm - a stuffed cheese and sausage pizza. After eating, we headed back to the park for the evening shows and fireworks. Sea World is open until 10 PM right now and have some special features during the eveing hours. We left the park about 10:30, getting us home about 12:30. It was a nice day and I was actually able to relax and have a few hours where I wasn't thinking about Aunti Vi.

Bible study finished tonight. It was a good study (Daniel), but it will be good to have 3 weeks "off." We're starting "Knowing God by Name" July 9th. It's a relatively short study - only 7 weeks. The ladies were cute tonight - they do not want to take 3 weeks off!!!

We leave for Tennessee and points north tomorrow. With the stress of the last 3 weeks, it will be good to get away!

The Latest Update

We moved Aunti Vi (or rather she was moved by Wheelchair Transport) to Westminster Towers skilled care facility today. As far as how she's doing, it's difficult to say. Sitting in the wheelchair or on the bed, you wouldn't be able to tell anything is wrong. However, when she tries to walk, she hardly moves her right leg at all. She is able to stand by herself and if she's in a chair with arms she is able to push herself to a standing position, but is not able to take any steps without a walker and then only very, very slowly. Her mind is still sharp although both Dan and I have noted some increasing mental impairment. Not to get too graphic, she is not always able to make it to the restroom in time resulting in having to wear protective underwear now.

The question now becomes will she be able to recover enough to make it to assisted living level? As of today, I would say no. As Dan says, she is now in the "bouncing ball" phase with each rebound a little lower.

We are leaving Friday for Tennessee and Ohio, so we will not see her again until Monday, June 29th at the earliest, so this will be my last update until then.

Another Update

Nothing much has changed. Aunti Vi is still in rehab. She was assessed last Tuesday and will be assessed again this Tuesday. She says she is getting weaker and the PT is beginning to take its toll. She says she is getting more and more tired and is having to come back to her room before she completes the 45 minutes PT. However, when I talk to the nurses, they say she is doing very well. When she entered rehab, I asked for a timeline and was told 2-3 weeks is the norm. As of Monday, she will have been in rehab for 2 weeks.

As far as discharge goes, there is no date. Also, will she be able to handle asisted living or will she need to go to skilled care? There are certain benchmarks for assisted and currently, I don't know if she can meet those benchmarks. Of one thing I am certain - she will not be able to live in the independent section any longer.

Nothing much more to update right now. We are obviously busy with our normal activities as well as now having to go down to Aunti Vi's apartment frequently to pick up her mail and also go to the hospital to pick up her laundry, bring it home, wash it and then take it back to her. I'm also trying to spend some time scrapbooking which helps relieve the stress.

Progress

Aunti Vi is doing well. She is in rehab and was assessed today. According to the assessment, she will be in rehab at least another week when they'll assess her again and make a decision on future direction at that time. Her current schedule includes 1-1/2 hours of occupational therapy per day and 1-1/2 hours of physical therapy per day. This is more activity than she's had in quite awhile, so of course she is getting very tired. As far as her tooth goes, her mouth is still tender from the extraction but is improving each day.

Update on Aunti Vi

We went to the hospital this afternoon and Aunti Vi was doing much better. She was sitting up in the chair and looking wonderful. She had walked from the bed to the sink using a walker. She was also being moved to rehab this afternoon. There is no estimate on how long she'll be there, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

After we left her, we went over to Sea World and had a lovely afternoon and evening. We enjoy Sea World - it is a beautiful park - very restful and a definite stress reliever!