Today began with a call from the hospital social worker who left me message that Oxford Insurance was going to stop paying for David’s hospital stay on Tuesday of next week.  He said that while they were going to try to extend the stay, we needed to be prepared to move if we had to.  I called him back and told him what our preferences were, and then I ran into him at the hospital later.  He said that the entire team knew about this, and were going to do whatever they could to keep David at HJD for another week.

His therapies went well today, and the pain is less than it has been, which makes it easier.  He still experiences a little, but can work through it more easily.  He had a full schedule today with two hours of PT, 1.5 of ST and 1 of OT – they have fewer patients on the floor, so are able to increase the time they spend with David, which is great, but makes him very tired by the end of the day.  We sang again in speech therapy, which was good, and while he isn’t getting all the words, they seem to come out more easily.  He also is stringing more words together, so little by little it is coming back.  Valerie and Roy met me at the hospital, and had a nice visit with Liat and they talked about South Africa – Liat is from there and Roy and Valerie live there most of the year.  Then the three of us headed off to the 9/11 Memorial, which was quite impressive, I thought.  Afterwards, I went back to the hospital just in time to eat dinner with David.
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Our last visitors were Lynn and Richard Kutner.  Richard was a UNIS, but retired this past June.  We had a great visit, and they also remarked at how much more David is saying, which is so great.  I stayed for a while, and decided to leave when both David and I were drifting off.  I actually began to dream sitting up in the chair.

OK, well, I am officially exhausted, so this will be a relatively short and early post.  This morning I got up and went out to Queens to visit Park Terrace, and it was not a terrible trek, but it was over an hour, which is a lot.  The facility was fine, and they look like they do good work, but I have to weigh the distance.

After the visit, I went straight to the hospital, and David was just finishing up his first 1/2 hour of Speech Therapy. He had already had one hour each of PT and OT, and had another hour each of ST and PT in another hour.  We did some singing in ST, which was great.  He is able to get more worlds out when singing than speaking, which was great to see, and after some of that work, we went up to the cafeteria to sit outside in the sun on the terrace.  It was lovely, and I am sure David was glad to get a little color!  Immediately after that, we head off to the gym with York to do some more PT.  He does very well with standing, some stepping and balancing.  Improvements all around.  While in the gym, Geralynn and Hannah Lobel stop by to say Hi before heading back to Washington.  We also had a nice long visit with Susie Tanenbaum, UNIS alum.  We then had a bit of time to ourselves and unfortunately, had another “I will remember this” moment, when he was trying to tell me some things, and it took a long time for me to figure out what he was trying to say.

Then we had a whole bunch of people arrive – Roy and Valerie from London/South Africa, Marjorie and ___________ (God, I’m sorry, but I just can’t remember the name) from UNIS and then Hilary, came for another visit.  David is getting more words out, which is great, and seems to be more willing to try, even if he is frustrated when unsuccessful.  He just has to keep trying.  His spirits were much better with all the visitors, and I think that is going to weigh heavily on where he goes for the next phase of his recovery.

Anyway, I said it would be short, but it isn’t.  I won’t go back and check for typos – I am sure you will forgive me any errors, and sorry about the name that I missed, but, well, sorry.  Good-Night!

Last night David didn’t sleep well because he is experiencing pain on his right side, particularly his arm.  When I arrived he was just finishing up Physical Therapy, but York said that he didn’t do much because of the extreme pain he was experiencing.  Later in the morning, the pain specialist came by to talk to David, and he believes that his brain is sending pain signals to the right side, and makes his skin very sensitive to any touch.  He is prescribing Lyrica, and he had his first dose at 1pm.  He was able to have his Speech Therapy followed by Occupational Therapy, where Amanda worked to get his arm desensitized to the pain.  She put a sleeve on him, and it seemed to make a difference.  At least the frequency of pain seemed to be diminished.

We had visits from Jackie and Susan from UNIS and Geralyn and Hannah Lobel from Burke.  Great to see everyone.  I have to say, he gets lots of encouragement and energy from his visitors.

David also said the first full sentence, which would be a great thing, except for what he said.  When we got back to the room and he was in bed after PT in the morning, he was trying to tell me about someone who had stopped by to see him, and I was not being very successful in figuring out who he was talking about, after many attempts, he looked very angry, and paused and said, “I will remember this.”  My response was appropriate, I think.  I said “Don’t worry, I am not afraid of your remembering.”

After dinner with David, we got a surprise visit from Liz McHenry.  It was great to see her for a short visit, and hear a bit about their summer.  More visits to come and more stories.  We walked out together, and I met Roy and Valerie Zeff, our friends who are visiting from London, and we went out for a lovely dinner.  Tomorrow, I am heading to Queens to look at Park Terrace.

This morning I arrived and David was working with his OT, Amanda, and stood at the sink and brushed his teeth, combed his hair (no jokes, please), washed his hands, shaved and washed his face.  I do have to admit that he looks at the comb with a very puzzled look, but never really used one as long as I have known him.  He gets very tired and dizzy when standing for long periods, and for some reason, he doesn’t like to sit up at all, and almost immediately starts asking to be put back in bed.  After he was up for about 2 hours, they conceded and let him get back into bed.

I left, once he was in bed, to check our Village Care Rehab Facility on Houston Street, and was very pleased with what I saw.  One of the nice aspects of Village Care is that it is not a long term facility, so all the patients are there just to get physical or occupational therapy.  The age range is pretty wide, and the facility itself is less than two years old, so it is very light and clean and a pleasant place to be.  And the staff was very welcoming.  For instance, both of the places that I went to last week, I had to ask for help from the folks at the front desk, but here, both folks at the desk, jumped up to ask if they could help me.  The woman behind the desk actually took me on the tour, and I met with the admission officer when we were done.  I am going on Wednesday morning to Park Terrace in Queens and after the visit, I will have a better idea of what to do.

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After waiting the almost three hours to be seen, I headed back to the hospital, where David let me know that he had quite a busy day, and that Liat had given him quite a workout during his speech therapy.  No walking today, but York said he was going to work on the building blocks for walking to build up his strength.  We had visits from UNIS folks who brought a book for us to begin getting through – The History of the World through 100 Objects.  I hear it is an interesting book, and we will begin working our way through it and the history of the world.

This morning I arrived at the hospital, and David and Joy Rizzo were sharing some treats.  We had a very nice visit and were soon joined by Sheila Desmond, who brought some delicious choux.  Afterwards, we had a little lunch and rest, then Patrick Rona stopped by followed by Phyllis Murray and Sydney Allen.  It was an afternoon with lots of UNIS folks, culminating by a wonderful dinner that UNIS parent, Gwen Lipsky, which she served and David devoured.  Dinner included a wonderful polenta with mushrooms and sausage with two types of salad featuring heirloom tomatoes.  The dinner was topped off with Steve’s Ice Cream.

Otherwise, the day was pretty uneventful.  David was more talkative today than he has been.  Not too many new words, but he was using them more than he has up until now.  Again, more progress.  Tomorrow is Monday, and back to the three hours a day!

Today was very quiet.  David had a visitor (a UNIS family) before I got to the hospital – thanks for the pajamas! We had a PT/OT session and his therapist said she wanted him to sit up for 1.5 hours, and getting him to sit for 1.25 hours was like pulling teeth.  Karen Lerner, the Head of the Music Department from UNIS stopped by with gifts in hand, and I am guessing that David must have told her about his obsession with the 2000 Year Old Man, because she brought the CD of this classic Mel Brooks/Carl Reiner series of albums, if not – great choice Karen.  Since I have know David, he has quoted stories from this album, and I can’t wait to sit and listen with him.

After lunch, I took a short break and he took a nap, and when I got back we had two friends from UNIS – Hilary and Marjorie.  Marjorie is a regular visitor, and I haven’t seen Hilary since visiting Rosalind years ago.  Both were very nice visits, Hilary brought some beautiful sunflowers and peaches, that David had for dessert with the Chicken Provençal that I made for his dinner.  Marjorie brought a nice piece of halva, which we look forward to trying tomorrow.  I also got an order of cookies from Vermont Moonlight Cookies (the place that provided dessert for our wedding) yesterday, and David had some of the ginger chews and the nurses were thrilled to have a variety of other cookies!

Weekends are proving to be difficult because it falls to me to fill in the work that isn’t being done by his regular therapists.  He only gets 1/2 hour per day as opposed to the 3 hours per day he gets from Monday through Friday.  We did some reading work and some work with his leg – stretching and strength work.  I am afraid I am not as inspiring or more importantly, as intimidating as York, Amanda, Liat or Steph, so I don’t get an hour out of David.  In the old days, he could talk me into going out to get ice cream at ungodly hours when I knew it was not good for him or me, and now he can get me to let him rest and relax, rather than work, even though he needs to.  He is very charming, even without his speech.

Well, it was an exciting day at Fifth Ave and 33rd Street, and I am glad that I was not there!  Fortunately, I had left early for the hospital, so missed the commotion and started getting calls just as the news broke.

We had our own bit of excitement at the HJD!  You can see for yourself.  The video is short, but David walked across the gym space and out the door into the hall, then needed to sit for a well deserved rest.  Here is the video – the picture is on its side, but the video plays properly, couldn’t figure our how to turn it around, and quite honestly, was too tired to make myself crazy!

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Before PT he had something almost as exciting as walking happen – the barber came and gave him a haircut.  It took about three hours for David to forgive me for making him sit up in the chair for the additional half hour to get his hair cut, but by the time I left, all was forgiven (I think).

We had another visit from Chrissie McHenry, then in the afternoon some folks from UNIS including Stephen Roache and Sal Uy as well as Burke Alum Mackenzie Kruvant.  Mackenzie brought some beautiful sunflowers from the Union Square Farmers Market.  We also got an arrangement that was designed by Vera Wang, which is lovely.  Thanks Ziad and Sandra!

Today we had the family conference with all the therapists, the case worker and Dr. Qu.  Alex called in and participated, and we got basically a rundown of what has been happening since David arrived at HJD.  It was good to hear all the progress that David has made, but daunting to think about how far there is still to go.  Liat mentioned having to use some sort of speaking aide, which I hope will be a step to getting his full voice back, but any help will be great.  David’s physical recovery is moving along nicely, it is the speech that seems to be just out of his grasp, but hopefully in time.  I told him that we have to remember that with all the detours – 8 days in Albany, 5 days in the SCU, he has really only been in rehab for about two weeks, and his progress has been amazing.  He is getting a little impatient with the forward movement he has made, and isn’t nearly as impressed by himself as he should be.

At the end of the meeting, David let me know that I should tell Alex that he loved him, and I began to tear up, followed by the therapists, followed by David and as Alex told his Dad he loved him too, he sounded a little choked up.  Sorry Alex, not the best way to start working with fifth graders.

Soon after the meeting, I finally got in touch with someone at Amsterdam Nursing home, and they have tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1pm, so I took a chance and called the Jewish Home Lifecare and set up a time to meet someone at 2pm, so off I went to the 1 train, and the trip uptown. I was sad to be missing David’s second day of walking, but I needed to start looking at the possibilities for the subacute chapter of his recovery.

As I walked up Amsterdam Ave from W 103rd St, I was filled with dread from what I imagined these “Nursing Homes” would be, and was not so shocked.  Maybe I expected much worse, but they are not so bad.  I think that the Jewish Home has better rehab facilities, not as good as HJD, but clean and filled with activity.  Amsterdam, not so much, and nobody was working.  Amsterdam also says that each patient gets 1/2 hour of OT, PT and ST each day for five days a week, and Jewish Home has 1-1.5 hours, 5-6 days a week, depending not the patient’s needs.  They also have the option to get a private room for $38 a day, which seems very reasonable, Amsterdam has private rooms, but it all depends on what bed is available.  I still have an appointment to see Park Terrace in Queens and will continue to try to see Village Care on W Houston St.

When I got back, David wanted to tell me about three people who had come to see him.  After much hand signaling, I figured out that it wasn’t anyone from UNIS, not from Burke and not from Fieldston.  I then got that it was one man and two women and that there was a couple and the single woman was related somehow to the man.  It finally came to me and with much eye rolling and many “come on”‘s from Davie.  It was his brother Harvey, his wife Madeleine and his sister Judy.  He said they had a nice visit.

They sent him for another CT scan because of the headaches that won’t seem to go away.  The Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist said that his sinuses looked OK, so that is ruled out.  It is a mystery and we continue to battle.  While he was getting his scan, I ran out to get some Lasagna from Bruno’s Ravioli around the corner, and when I came back, David practically devoured it!  He still has a very healthy appetite.

The final treat for the evening was a visit from UNIS alum, Burke parent and all around great friend, Chrissie McHenry.  She regaled us with stories of the families trip to London for the olympics, and visits to Italy, Provence and Nantucket for the summer.  It was great to see her, and after David began dozing off, we headed off to dinner, and had a great evening talking.  Thanks Chrissie!

Tomorrow, I WILL NOT miss the walking.  I may even bring the video camera!

Today I arrived at about 9:30am, and they threw me a curveball by starting PT at 9am.  Normally, it has been at 10, with a few exceptions, and today was one of them.  I decided to wait on the 9th floor for them to come back from the gym and not disturb their work.  When the got back, I found out that David had actually taken some steps, and I missed it!!  I am sure that he will do it again tomorrow, but Amanda the Occupational Therapist told York, the PT that she thought it was unkind of him to have David walk for the one session that I miss.  I say, it doesn’t matter, as long as he took the steps!

I think one of my favorite moments of the day was when David convinced Meliss the nursing assistant to put him back in bed, and York came in and insisted that he get back in the chair for another 45 minutes.  He was probably the most vocal he has been since the stroke trying to convince York that he had stayed up for long enough, but he would have none of it, and David gave in, but watched the clock like a hawk.  At the stroke of 11:15, he had better be moved back into bed, or there would be hell to pay!

We had another visit from Steve O’Keefe with eclairs and cannoli, which he saved for after dinner and ate one of the cannoli with Judy O’Keefe.  We also had visits from UNIS folks at different times through the day, and the group at 6pm had a little concert, which was fun!

I am looking forward to some more steps tomorrow!

This morning Monica and I went to Physical Therapy with David. He is still having a problem with his vision and dizziness. Dr Blum has order an evaluation by an eye doctor as well a a nose an throat specialist. After PT York told David he had done really well, but he rolled his eyes, and really thought he had not made any strides, which is not the case, but no amount of convincing would work. At both his PT session and his OT session he worked on stepping, and we all know where that leads – Walking! He is just being too hard on himself and is thrown by the headaches and dizziness.
Monica and I went to Eataly to pick up some goodies for David while he napped, and we had a lovely lunch in Madison Square Park, although, even in good health, I had trouble getting my body upright after sitting on the grass!
When we got back to HJD, Julie Halston was just leaving after a short visit, and Judy and Steve O’Keefe were with David. Judy and Steve shared lots of pointers and stories about Steve’s recovery this past Winter, and David and I were both inspired by Steve’s progress with Judy’s help, love and support. I hope we can do you proud!
On Thursday, we will have a meeting with the whole team – Doctors, Therapists and Case Worker. My entry should be chock full of information on Thursday night!!n

Today was a weird day. There were moments of eagerness followed by moments of fatigue, but David pushed through the Occupational Therapy with Amanda and Physical Therapy with York, where he did mostly sitting exercises. He is still complaining of headaches and dizziness. They did some scans of his brain, and we should hear the results tomorrow. Dr. Qu thinks that it may be sinus issues, which would be my guess.

We had visits from Marjorie Ellenbogen who brought David an audiobook – some mystery/spy thing but she also brought me an audio book as well – Florence Henderson’s Life is not a Stage. I asked, how did she know, am I that transparent (not to mention shallow)?? I can’t wait to hear what she says about her date with Greg Brady!

After Ot and PT and a little rest, he did well with Speech Therapy. Afterwards, Monica Miracky came to visit, and when David was ready to take a nap, we headed uptown and I had a great visit. It is great to have people to talk to who are supportive and loving. She is staying over and will visit again tomorrow morning.

I went back to HJD for an evening visit, and David had eaten dinner, and told me about his visit from Andrew Brust. He was almost ready for sleep, so it was a short visit. I think that my visits in the evening are the best, when there is a sense of calm and I can tell him about how I am doing, and what I am thinking and hoping. Dr. Karp came by and said he was doing well, and the headaches had seemed to have subsided, I think that is a good sign for tomorrow!

Today was a quiet day, but David still worked hard.  When I arrived he was beginning Physical Therapy and was using his right arm to support himself on the bed, he then was able to help more than I had seen so far to transfer from the bed to the wheelchair.  Joy came to visit, and the highlight of the afternoon was the meatball that Joy had brought with her – he certainly hasn’t lost his appetite!!  We then did some reading exercises.  He did very well with recognizing words and matching them to the pictures, but still has trouble speaking the words.  We left at about 1pm, and I did some shopping for our big meal.  I made pasta for dinner for David and me to eat tonight.  While at home cooking, Richard Olderman had a short visit, but David was tired from his morning.

When I got back to the hospital, he was complaining of a headache, and the nurse had just given him some dilaudid, but it hadn’t helped.  She had to wait until 5pm to give him something else, and while he didn’t like it, he waited, and was distracted by visits from Jackie and then by Sheila.  He really enjoyed talking about UNIS business with Jackie, and it took his mind off the headache.  We then had words of encouragement from Sheila, who suggested that we go on a short vacation as soon as possible.  David loved that idea, and I also thought it was a great, and as soon as possible, we will head somewhere that is green.  By the time we began eating the pasta, his headache was gone and he started to doze off.

Last night I found this article in the New York Times in my searching the internet on information. I think that we will continue to try to get David to sing.  I am also beginning to see if we need to supplement his speech therapy when he gets transferred.  One of the questions was how many days of speech therapy he will get once he goes to a subacute care facility, and I am looking to weigh the difference between the location of the facility and if they will allow, and how much it would cost to get a private speech therapist in.  If anyone reading this has any contacts or leads that I could talk to, that would be terrific!

Today David had a combination of Physical and Occupational Therapy, which was great.  One of the exercises that he was doing was reaching and throwing small bean bag frogs, which had special meaning, as many of you are aware.  He did very well, and was up for a while and earned an early afternoon nap.  I also did some spelling/reading exercises on the iPad, and he seems to be able to find the answers better with spoken words more than with visual cues, and is getting better at saying the words that he sees written.

He has many hills to climb and bridges to cross, but with help and the will, I am confident that he will be able to make it.  Also, last night, like St George, I killed my own private dragon, and I feel very relieved.  David let me know he knew what I had done, and he gave me the thumbs up with vigor, which made me feel even better.  Sometimes I have to use my energy to take care of myself.  Cryptic, I know, but lets just say there were victories all around!

So, it was another day.  David had a great Physical Therapy with his new PT York (Steph has gone on vacation to SE Asia – good for Steph and I asked her to bring back food!)   Fortunately she left our David in York’s capable, kind, strong hands!  He made David work, and work hard.  He did one exercise that made me start to think of dancing, which was fun.  Step, touch, etc – no turn – but. . . .  He also had Speech Therapy with Liat, and he is doing OK, but not as well as I might like, however at his afternoon’s session with Liat, she upgraded him to clear liquids, which was great news.  Sometimes he looked like he was having an orgasm when he would drink water, so it is a welcome relief for that to be allowed now.  Sip as much as you like, I say!  I just want to hear his stories.  I see a lot in his smile, but it takes so long, and I could never, even pre-stroke, tell his stories the way he would.  Today, it took quite a while to get this one out:

When we arrived this morning the guard at the front desk asked me, “who is this David Shapiro that so many people come to see?  I think I will need to go upstairs and see him”.  I told him that he was a celebrity at the front desk because he got so many visitors, and what the guard said.  When I came back from having lunch, he wanted me to find the nurse to tell me something that had happened, and I had the nurse paged so he could tell me what happened while I was gone that David thought was very funny.  Finally Carson, his nurse, came in and I asked what had happened.  He looked puzzled and said, “he ate lunch?”  An impatient David said “come on!!” (one of his favorite phrases), and Carson remembered, a guard from downstairs came up to meet the famous David Shapiro who EVERYONE wanted to visit.  So it was true, even in his current state, he is the most popular person in the building.  He certainly is for me.

Many of you have seen this, but want to share this picture from our wedding.  My favorite now.

Today was the first day back in the Neuro Rehab Unit, and it was great to see all the familiar faces – the Nurses, the Assistants and the Therapists. His leg is getting stronger every day, which is great, and I predict that he will be walking, albeit with help from two people, by the end of next week. Anyone wanna bet against me??!! Julie Halston came to visit, and as aways lifts the spirits of the both the patient and the other visitors – particularly me. Thanks Julie! Had a nice chat with Alex too, which was very calming – Thanks Alex!!

I was in for the morning and early afternoon, but ran out to have my new headshots done – yes, I need a distraction too – and returned to have a really lovely, quiet two hours alone with David after he had dinner. We weren’t really alone but with Mr. and Mrs. Lei (his roommate and his wife). Mrs. Lei and I don’t really talk much, mostly because she only speaks Cantonese, and my Mandarin wouldn’t pass the muster, but I think we have bonded. I can tell by the way we look at each other.

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I read some new cards to David and I put some of his cards back up – the ones that I had hung last Friday before he was rushed up to the SCU (the ICU that they call the Special Care Unit). Also got a gift – see picture – that was very sweet. Anyway, I am tired and heading to bed early. Good Night!

Success!!  Today, after numerous calls and hounding, the insurance company approved the transfer that the Doctor assured me he had approved.  It would have been nice to have had it done two days ago, but glad that it happened today.  We worked on some reading games that I downloaded onto the iPad.  TherAppy is the name of the program, and it is pretty good.  David was resistant to speaking, but when pushed, he did.  He also had a workout with PT before he was transferred and, I am proud to announce that he is now moved onto soft solid foods and ate a tuna salad sandwich with such vigor, I was slightly scared!!  Hooray for Liat his Speech Therapist.  She thinks that he may be able to move on to clear liquids soon as well!!  He looked like he was in heaven when he drank some sips of ice water – the simple joys!!

A group of faculty and staff from UNIS stopped by and brought cookies for the nursing staff, and to the folks who have been asking what they can give to David, I suggest food stuff for the staff on the 9th floor neuro-rehab.  One request was to include some sugar-free treats!  They work very hard with and for David, and I can’t begin to tell you how happy he is to be back on the 9th floor!

Lynne Miller spent the day with us, a UNIS Alum stopped by and Joy Rizzo also came by at the end of the afternoon.  It is hard for me, but I am reminded by Lynne not to be too easy on David and to make him work on the exercises that he is given even if he doesn’t want to do them.

David is still on the 11th floor, and not in the Neuro-rehab unit, but I have gotten a somewhat reasonable answer. Yesterday, he was ready to go, but the insurance company was dragging their feet, and last night, his doctor was concerned about his ability to empty his bladder, so they are now waiting to run some tests. Hopefully tomorrow.

The great news is the Physical and Speech Therapy continue, they just come up to him on the 11th floor. There is also the extra added benefit of his having a private room. I keep telling him not to get too used to it.

He had visits from a number of UNIS folks – Andrew and Miles Brust, Stephane Dujarric, Susan Ensler and crew. All great, and liven his spirits, thanks!

Well, today David was supposed to go back to rehab, and not sure which answer was right, but either there wasn’t a bed or the insurance company wants some more T’s crossed and i’s dotted before they approve paying for it.  I asked to speak to a social worker at about 2pm, but never saw one.  The nurse said there wasn’t a bed, but the Doctor who visited the room where he was moved from SCU blamed it on the insurance company, but at that point, it was too late to do anything, and he said he thought it would happen tomorrow morning.

My bet is on the insurance company.  Any roadblocks they can put in the way to wear you down – that’s their master plan.  And the repulsive republicans rant about death panels, as if they don’t already exist and profit is their only goal.

Anyway, tomorrow, he will be moved to the rehab floor, or I will become Shirley MacLaine again, and nobody wants to see that.  Well, maybe some people do, but. . .

David continues to be more upbeat that the world deserves, and tells me  at a certain point that I should leave and have a drink!  He did have PT and was a trooper and even sat up in the chair for 45 minutes, but while he is not in the rehab unit, he does’t get the full regimen of therapys.  So tomorrow morning, I get up early, call me Charity and think of my brother as Warren Beatty!!

I keep trying to figure out a way to count the days, but there isn’t really a good way. Do I count from the day of the stroke or the day he started rehab? Do I count any setbacks? From now on, it will just be the day and date, so I can keep it straight.

We had visitors – David Sislen and Pamela Kahn stopped by again today, and then a visit from Maggie who works with David at UNIS, and while I was home baking chicken (don’t ask, it’s my own special therapy – David will lose weight, and I will gain it even though I walk the 20 minutes back and forth, sometimes twice, from home to the hospital) he had a visit from Joanne Hurt, which he told me he enjoyed. I use the word told liberally, as he never said anything, but I figured it out and he gave me the thumbs up. Thanks Joanne!

He did work with Steph, the Physical Therapist and was even helping count his reps as he did some work not he bed, then he sat up for 45 minutes, which was great and important for him to do. As I left tonight, the nurse said that he would probably be transferred down to the Neuro unit tomorrow afternoon, which he is looking forward to. Not really sure why, but I think he thinks he gets more therapy time downstairs, but his stay at the SCU just happened to coincide with the weekend, when he only gets an hour of PT. We did work on the iPad on some exercises in reading and speaking on our own.

An aside – Today, on my walk home in the afternoon, I saw Anthony Weiner leaning on a fence on 20th Street near Gramercy Park, and he was using his iPhone. I wanted so badly to tell him he better not be sending any pictures! I controlled myself.