April 13, 2013

On the 13th day of the 4th month of the 13th year, day 111 since Dad's stroke, he returned home. I picked him up at 7am (I don't mess around). There was no nostalgia as we left Stillwater. While everyone there has gone on and on about him, what a pleasure he is to work with, how sweet and funny he is, what a great guy he is, Dad has just wanted to come home. I'm not going to lie, I've been slightly nervous, as I've been excited, for him to come home. Nervous, because let's face it, I'm not a trained professional and for four months, Dad has been watched over by trained professionals. 

I can report that as of this Sunday morning, everything is going great. Yesterday we ventured out to Reny's, a real Maine kind of store where they sell a little bit of everything, to get Velcro shoes for Dad. He did really well maneuvering throughout the store. He's slow, but steady right now. At the house I must have counted a dozen times he used the steps from the TV room to the rest of the house  (and yes I cannot help but monitor him for now). While I saw Dad every day at the Hospital or Rehab, none of us have been around him 24/7 in a longtime. So I, personally, wasn't quite sure how he would do with dressing himself, using the bathroom, etc. That was all in my mind, because other than everything just taking longer than usual, Dad has been fine. While it's still an obvious adjustment for all of us, I know he will be OK. I will post some photos later on tonight.