I drove up to 106th Street this morning, and as luck would have it, I found a parking space on the corner of Amsterdam and 106th, so I grabbed it, and went up and sprang David from the fourth floor.  I was worried about how difficult it might be to get David into the car and was hoping that the wheelchair would fit in the back of the Beetle.  I worried for nothing!  David transferred to the car very handily, and the wheelchair, while cumbersome, fit nicely in the back to the Beetle, so we were on our way.  Only a little traffic at 96th and Fifth because there was some sort of street fair on 96th Street, but once on Fifth, we moved pretty quickly and got to the garage under the building in less than 45 minutes.  David got back into the wheelchair, and we took the elevator up to the apartment.

At 1pm we talked online with Alex, Claire and Theo, which was great.  One of the highlights of the week for both of us, I think.  Then we had a nice lunch visit from Deborah Greenfield and Joe Tulman.  Great lunch from Chelsea Market and an even better visit.  Thanks for the books, David said that they would be great for him to start trying to read!  I think we can do it together.

We also caught up on a lot of TV – Dexter, The Good Wife, Homeland.  We have to begin to tackle Boardwalk Empire as well.  Before I began dinner, we took a nap, which was great.  Being in bed next to David again is amazing.  One of my favorite songs on an old cassette mix tape that someone gave Wayne a long, long time ago, is a song called “The Bed’s Too Big Without You” by Sheila Hylton and I am constantly humming it as I climb into the empty bed.  That cassette wore out, and I recreated it in ITunes, so now it will live forever!  I also added some songs.

Anyway, we had dinner, watched some more TV, and then repeated the morning trip, in reverse.  Only near disaster was when David was transferring from the car to the chair in front of the Jewish Home, he almost collapsed, but I caught him, and we got into the chair!  He went upstairs and hopefully to sleep, and off I go to my empty bed – another song on the playlist – “Empty Bed Blues” by Bette Midler.

Good Night!

After a late night yesterday, I got a late start this morning.  I didn’t get out of bed until almost 11am.  I was uptown by a little after noon, and David was doing well.  He was a little concerned about the change of his medications, and wanted to make sure that everything was going according to plan.  I called for the Doctor, and we went over the changes that were recommended by the Doctor at Columbia Presbyterian, and that is all on track.  She also said that it was OK for David to come home tomorrow, so we will be home from about noon to 6pm.  I am also picking him up in the car and seeing how that goes. General association aspects which may moderate the sexual wish comprise:- Conflicts: – Conflicts with the partners on daily or regular canadian cialis pharmacy basis may lead to cause the concern of ISD. The drug has got finished up of various types of neuron, with glial support cells. viagra shops This ingredient works at a physiological cialis sale visit this website now level in treating erectile dysfunction is Kamagra Jelly. This medicine is buying viagra in usa an excellent solution even for the senior pairs and they can be reused.  I think it should be fine, provided that the wheelchair will fit in the back of the Beetle, but I think it should.  In any case, we should be fine, and if I have to figure out an alternate plan, that’s what I will do.

Today we had a visit in the afternoon from Jane and Henry Berliss, which was very nice, and the blondies were a very nice evening snack!  Thanks Jane.  While they were there, Karen Hayes came by and we had a nice visit, and very much spur of the moment, we decided to head out for some dinner.  We went to Henry’s on Broadway and 105th Street, which was very nice.  Fortunately, there was no rain!  Then Karen headed off to Penn Station for her train back to DC, and David and I went back to the room.  A very nice evening, and I am looking forward to being at home with David again tomorrow.

Well, we left Columbia Presbyterian at midnight, David was in bed at the Jewish Home by about 12:45am, and I was home at 1:30am. It was a long and tiring day, and I am exhausted. Will head to bed now.
Good-night

OK, now that I have experienced the ER at Columbia Presbyterian, I don’t need to do that again! Really, I could be much worse. We are waiting for a room and I am hoping that they find something tonight! At a reasonable hour. They confirmed that David had a large clot in his right leg, and are starting him on an IV blood thinner. The Doctor thinks that he should be here overnight only, which would be great.
We left the Jewish Home in quite a hurry, and I hope we get to go back to the same room, or at least the same floor.

We are on our way to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. I left a note last night for the Dr that David’s right foot and calf were swollen, and soon after I arrived today they did a sonogram to check for a clot, and they found one. We should be there soon, and will update. Hopefully we will be back on 106th Street tonight or tomorrow morning.

Today we had a visit from David Evans and his wife Sarah, which was very nice.  Some great cookies from Glaser’s on the UES.  Otherwise, the day was very quiet.  I arrived at lunchtime and stayed through dinner and put David to sleep.  I wish I could say there were some tremendous changes or moments today, but it was just work.

No funny videos, no pictures, no news (which can sometimes be good news, right?)

More tomorrow.

Today we had quite a crowd of folks from Parents Association for the UNIS Queens campus.  Thanks for a terrific lunch and an even better visit.  I was put to shame with being able to translate for David.  A few of the parents picked up immediately on what David was trying to say, while I was fumbling!  Thanks for the visit, and the beautiful quilt!!

He is doing well, and trying to be more verbal (certainly more than when I left on Thursday) and as long as he keeps trying and doesn’t get discouraged by failed attempts to say something.  I got his new sling for his arm over the weekend, and it works much better than the one that the Jewish Home had supplied.  It keeps his arm in a more natural position when he stands up, and is more comfortable, and has the added benefit of keeping his shoulder in place.  It is even better than the one that he had at HJD because it is elastic and gives him the opportunity to try to use the arm when he is able to.

I just finished watching the debate, and all I have to say is GO OBAMA!!  Sorry to any of my Republican readers.

I am going to finish tonight with a little bit of humor, and as we all know, sometimes in humor there is a lot of truth.  My friend, Anthony, sent me a link to this youtube video, and you can never get enough of the King Family Singers, right? It suddenly dawned on my that this song really rings true to both my experience and David’s experience and confusion that we experience.  Just so you get some insight, among my HS friends, I was Anne, Anthony was Jennifer and Jeffrey was Nealy.

Gotta love those King Sisters!
Here are the lyrics if you want to sing along:
Theme from The Valley of the Dolls
Gotta get off, gonna get
Have to get off from this ride
Gotta get hold, gonna get
Need to get hold of my pride

When did I get, where did I
How was I caught in this game
When will I know, where will I
How will I think of my name

When did I stop feeling sure, feeling safe
And start wondering why, wondering why
Is this a dream, am I here, where are you
What’s in back of the sky, why do we cry

Gotta get off, gonna get
Out of this merry-go-round
Gotta get off, gonna get
Need to get on where I’m bound

When did I get, where did I
Why am I lost as a lamb
When will I know, where will I
How will I learn who I am

Is this a dream, am I here, where are you
Tell me, when will I know, how will I know
When will I know why?

Well, I’m back from battling the mice in Vermont.  Not sure if I won, but I did make a dent!  I was told that the mouse population is quite large this year in Vermont, and many people are having problems.  Anyway, it was as disgusting as you might imagine, but as they say, I had to suck it up!

I got back to NY a little after two, and brought David some treats from The Crazy Russian Girls Bakery in Bennington.  He particularly liked the garlic pretzel rolls – one of my favorites.  The told me all about the weekend and all the visitors he had.  You will have to excuse me if I miss anyone. On friday he had a visit from Hilary and Judith, and you can see the picture that Hilary took below.  On Saturday he saw Sheila, Marjorie, Liz and Gene and Quinn and Electa, and then Pat and Dick Roth came by.  Kathleen filled in and I am sure was a superb hostess for all the guests!  Then on Sunday, he had visits from Joy, Jackie and Liat (his speech therapist from HJD).  She emailed me today to say that she thought he was more verbal on Sunday than when she last saw him, and he was in a terrific mood.

Here are two pictures that were sent from Hilary – he looks quite dapper in his emergency bow tie, no?

Tonight, I got home late, because Anthony and I went to see Barbra as she made her triumphal return to Brooklyn.  It was fun.  Aside from the terrifying height and steepness of the steps up to the seats.  I felt a bit like a mountain goat.

Today we had a great visit from Patricia O’Brien and Frank Smyth from UNIS.  David enjoyed hearing about UNIS and how things are going, and stories about the UN.  We hope to see you again when we are at home.  Therapies went on, as usual, except, Minet told us that it was her last day at the Jewish Home.  She was a bit emotional and said that if it weren’t for David, she would be pleased to be moving on to another job.  I am pretty sure she isn’t saying that to all her patients, but who knows.  We will see who his replacement PT is.

I am heading off to Vermont in the morning for a few days, and David was a little emotional about my not being around for a bit, but he will have a great stand-in in Kathleen.  All the arrangements were made for his trip home on Saturday – please let me know if you are planning on stopping by, so I can give Kathleen a heads up.

Today we had a visit from a former UNIS teacher who is studying to be a Neuro Therapist.  She has offered to work with David with her mentor who is an experienced therapist.  Basically, they work to train the brain waves to begin working in different areas by tracking with an EEG and using different programs and games.  It seems to be interesting, and as long as it isn’t invasive, I think it is worth a try.  It is a relatively new therapy (30 years or so) and is considered experimental.  David agrees that it is worth a try.

More Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and a substitute Physical Therapist, since Minet was out.  All went well.  I find Speech Therapy very interesting and frustrating.  You just never know what you are going to get, day to day.  We spent a little time outside in the garden – the fresh air is always a nice change.  I also walked home tonight again, which is also refreshing.

I am going away this weekend to Vermont, and will not be writing (I don’t think), but David is coming home on Saturday, thanks to Kathleen who is stepping into my shoes.  Maybe I will ask her to write the blog on those days!

Today I went uptown a little early and spend some time with David in his Occupational Therapy session with Yvette.  Soon after this was done, Pam arrived and spent about an hour with David.  It was great to see her, and we heard about what she is up to, and it was just great to see her.  I also brought up a package that was sent by Susan Hearn for David, and here are a few photos of the contents and a picture with Pam.

Later in the day, we had a terrific visit from Jane who brought one of her poems for David.  Always inspiring, but as Jane said, not as inspiring as David’s progress.

Another good day.  I arrived earlier than usual, because I knew that lunch would be unpalatable for David, so I brought some of the chicken parmesan with me.  I got there in time to catch some of his speech therapy, and it is always interesting and often entertaining.  Siobhan said that earlier, she gave David the opportunity to use one of his favorite words – bacon – but when it came time to use it, he couldn’t.  Today, it was a word that sounds like bacon – bake.  She has started some work with phrases and rhythm and tone, and we talked about music and singing and the effect it has on speech.  She says that while it certainly isn’t harmful to sing and use music, there is very little proof that it helps improve spontaneous speech.  The method she is using is similar to what Liat did with tapping out the rhythm of words, and adding a little tone.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.  I have to say, the speech therapy is what I find most fascinating.  Why do some words come back, and other don’t, and why are there some words that he will repeat over and over again on one day, and not be able to use when called on?

Oliva Truland visiting DavidAnyway, I ordered a new sling for David’s arm that will be better for keeping his shoulder in place when he is out of the wheelchair.  He hates the slings that the Jewish Home provides, and I think he will not like this one either, but it is important to keep his shoulder from separating from his arm.

We had a terrific visit from Burke Alum, Olivia Truland who gave some great chocolates and macaroon from Godiva.  A terrific visit, thanks Olivia!

Today, one of the themes for the day was three.  Three weeks until David comes home, which is at once, exciting and terrifying.  I guess now I know how it must feel to bring a baby home and have to take care of him – only my baby is 178 lbs!  Not to mention the fact that my baby has his own very particular opinions of how things should be.

I have talked about David’s speech issues, which are daunting, but today he was able to count to ten with very little modeling or prompting.  I just got him started, and he ran with it!  I also felt that his trying to speak was much better today.  He had PT before I got up to 106th Street this morning, and the therapist gave him a new brace for his right knee.  it is the same one that I used when I had tendonitis in my knee, and he said he loved it and that under no circumstances was I to let anyone take it away.  From what I gather, he could walk much better with it, but I think that Minet may not like it too much, because it will slow the increase in strength with his right knee.  We will see what happens this week, but I have written his name in the brace, and I will make it “disappear” if I need to.  Basically, it immobilizes the knee.

We had a nice visit from Judith and Ron, and talked about UNIS stuff, which also reminds me to thank Michelle for her visit earlier in the day, the alumni newsletter and the blanket!  We used the blanket tonight, which came in handy.  Judith filled us in on the goings on at UNIS, as I am sure Michelle did this morning.  David is very interested in UNIS and how things are progressing with the search for a new ED and the day to day happenings at UNIS.

So, as I left 106th Street tonight, I will share that I was very down, but as I walked my way to the subway (there was no way I was going to walk in this drizzle) and then made my way across town from Penn Station, I got myself into a more positive frame of mind, and when I got home, I began making chicken parmesan for a meal for me, and to bring to David for tomorrow’s lunch – they are having some sort of awful fish dish, and he needs to be spared that!

Thanks for reading!

I feel bad that I skipped a day, but I think I was so nervous about David’s visit at home today, that I just forgot.  David was also a bit nervous, and couldn’t make it to the dinner with Jane and Henry Berliss. I think he was just a little overwhelmed by the idea of being home for the day today.

The day started early for me, and I did some last minute cleaning and prep work.  Then I hopped on the subway to get uptown in time to accompany David down to the apartment.  There was a lot going on in the neighborhood, because I think it was the Korean Day Parade, and 32nd Street was closed between Fifth and Sixth Aves, with lots of stalls set up.  When I got to 106th Street, David was dressed and ready to go!  We went to the lobby and waited for the ride.  At 10am, a van pulled up, but the driver stayed in the van, so I thought it wasn’t ours, but after a few minutes, I called the company the arrangements were made through to get an ETA.  They said the dispatcher spoke to the driver and he was five minutes away.  About ten minutes later, I called again, and while I was on the phone with the representative, the driver of the van came in, and he was David’s driver.  I guess he had a few important calls to make.  At this point, I knew that I was going to ride back uptown with David at the end of the night.

We got home, and David’s first word was “Why?”.  I finally figured out that what he meant was, “Why do I have to go back?’  I explained about the therapy, and while he got the concept, he didn’t like the idea.  I get that.  A little after noon we got our first visitor – Lynda, and we were soon joined by Luba and Tamara, and while they were here, we had our weekly video chat with Alex, Claire and Theo.  All looking terrific!  Then Sheila stopped by, and we had some interesting conversation about the debate, and what we think the Obama Campaign’s strategies are.  After they left, we had a few minutes before Monica came and then we were joined by Julie.  As always, there were plenty of funny stories to be told by all!  Finally, Joy stopped by, and I ordered sushi from this terrific place around the corner.
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Then Joy walked us downstairs, and we waited for the van again.  I called this time, and they said that he was about fifteen minutes away, so we went back up to the apartment and sat for a while.  They called at about 9:30pm and David was back in bed at about 10:15pm.  I kissed him good-night, and walked most of the way back downtown.

It was a great day, and we had lots of fun, but I am exhausted.  Mostly physically, because David wanted to sit in a chair, not the wheelchair, and each transfer was difficult – mostly because the chair and toilets are lower at home than on 106th Street.  It was a very good dry run, and I have a better idea of what the issues are going to be.  Mostly, David will need to be able to walk with a cane to get from the bed to the bathroom because the bathrooms are a little tight – doable, but difficult to manuever.

OK, I know – last night I posted well after midnight, and here it is almost 9am!  Things are all fine, and dandy.  They have been tweaking the therapy schedule, which is making David nervous.  As many of you know, David likes his schedules to be clear and easy, and the occupational therapist saying we will start between 9am and 9:30am just doesn’t cut it.  Why not just pick a time?  My concern was, if yoiu pick the 9am tim, and show up at 9:15am you are in trouble.  Much better to say 9:30 and sometimes start a little earlier.

The transportation is all arranged for the Saturday outing.  I think I am pretty well prepared at home and David is very excited about the day and looking forward to a small taste of normalcy.
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It was a quiet day for visitors – just me – but that was fine, and both lunch and dinner were good for him.  I went out with Jackie after leaving, and we had a great meal at Porcena on E 7th Street.  A little Italian place a few doors from McSorley’s.  I was a little late, because I mistakenly thought that 21 E 7th Street would be the first block off of Fifth Ave, but as I discovered (and probably knew once upon a time) 7th Street never makes it across to Fifth.  As I am walking over I thought to myself, yes, it must be on the same block as McSorley’s, and there it was!  Anyway, great meal and conversation.  Thanks Jackie!

OK, well, technically it is Thursday, October 4, but I stayed late with David and we watched the debate.  Despite what the pundits are saying, David snapped his fingers a lot for the President, and I think he did a great job of staying above the fray and not getting into any mudslinging (even though, there were plenty of opportunities to  call Romney on his lies, and half truths).  My particular favorite was Romney’s line about how medicare will stay the same for folks who are retired or near retirement, which means me and anyone younger are screwed if Romney every became President – I can’t even consider that.  Make a donation today!!  I did – again for the ??th time (I have lost count)

Anyway, back to David.  He did well and is building up more strength with his legs, but his speech really concerns me.  I don’t see any real progress.  He has new words every day, but usually at the expense of words that he doesn’t say any longer.  His writing is getting better, and hopefully that will mean his reading will come along as well, but the speech is the hard part.
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We had a visit from Lynda Crawford, and we sang a little, which was fun.  He can sing some songs, but he usually still needs to have visual cues – someone has to be singing with him so he can see you mouth making the words.  We’ll keep trying and pushing this along.  Needless to say, the speech is the most frustrating thing for both of us.

First, I want to let folks know that we will be home on Saturday, October 5th for the day, and would love folks to come and visit between Noon and 4pm.  325 Fifth Ave, 35E – let me know if you are coming by responding here

Anyway, today was good, but I was a bit down, which David sensed immediately.  I did stay later than usual tonight, and we watched a few old episodes of “Law & Order: SVU”.  Tomorrow, I am staying even later to watch the debate with David.

It is amazing that David doesn’t believe how well he is doing no matter who tells him.  Julie Halston stopped by today, and we had a fabulous visit.  We laughed and carried on, and at one moment when the nurse came to give David his med’s, Julie thought that they came to ask us to keep it down!  Good times.  Good night, and think good thoughts for our hero and President – Barack Obama!

The word for the day was “Chicken”.  I prefer bacon.

Another good day.  I arrived at the end of speech therapy, and just in time for lunch.  I had on my calendar that today was one of the days when the lunch was not so great, so I picked up some VietNamese sandwiches at the corner, which were yummy.  Certainly better than the dried up chicken that was served up.  PT was delayed again today, but we got to do some walking and standing with Minet and during the PT we had a visit from Stephane who had a box of Macaron in hand, which I used as incentive for a few more steps!  It worked!  Had a nice update from Stephane on goings on at UNIS.  We went back to the room and were soon joined by Betsy Landis-Tipton who was in town for a wedding.  A very nice visit from this UNIS grad, and talked about living on the west coast.  She has been in LA.

These are the certified and licensed clinical therapists with real ability and preferred by patients. viagra for sale The supporting star casts are Patricia Clarkson, buying that viagra super Stanley Tucci, etc. The greater part order viagra from canada of individuals in the world. It is available in the form of CDG discs or download to your computer by easy steps. cialis online pill We then went outside for a bit and got some fresh air, but it was a little chilly, so came in pretty quickly.  Then dinner, and off to bed for David, and I hit the road.  I succumbed and took the subway home, but I did walk up to 106th St today, so I don’t feel like a complete slacker!  David insisted that I post this picture he took of me today, reclining on his bed.  I couldn’t not post it, but it is pretty awful!

One month from today is David’s estimated homecoming day!  A little late for Homecoming, but I’ll take it.  When I arrived today, Gene, Liz, Electa and Quinn were there and had some ice cream for David to eat before lunch, and I had chicken for him that I made last night.  After they left, we decided to take a little adventure and went for a walk to Central Park.  Unfortunately, I decided to take him to the Great Hill, and while the trip up the hill winded me, coming down with the wheelchair was almost  worse!

It is times like this that I wish I could pick up a phone and call David!  When we got back to the room, we caught a UNIS visitor just before she left.  I wish I could call David, because, I can’t for the life of me remember her name!  She is the librarian, and I do know her name, and will put it in here tomorrow when it comes to me, but. . . it’s late.  I left after this visit, and went to Home Goods and got a blanket for David’s bed.  Now that it is getting cooler, he needs an better blanket than the ones the Jewish Home provides.  A little later, Phyllis stopped by for a short visit, which was very nice too.  Then dinner came, and off to bed, and I walked home.

Vivian!  Sorry Vivian and thanks for coming by!

It was a good day, but when I arrived, David was a little hesitant about the dinner out. He was worried about access to a bathroom. I told him that we would try to go before we left, and that he should be able to make it through without an accident. We did some work with the letters and then some leg work, which was good. We also had a visit from Pat Doyle and Geoff Van Kirk. Geoff shared a very nice slideshow with photos of teachers, staff and students at UNIS. Thanks for sharing it, it was great to see.

We sat in the garden for a little while, and then got ready for our dinner out. I took a quick reconnaissance run to make sure that the restaurant would be accessible, and after looking, I came back and David and I decided that we would go to a little Italian restaurant on Amsterdam. As we were getting ready to leave, we ran into Lynn and Richard Kutner, who walked us to the restaurant, and helped us get settled. Nice to see you and I hope you had a good night, and glad we ran into you! We were joined for a little while by Joy Rizzo who was on her way to a reunion in the Village. A very nice visit.

We were back at the Jewish home within two hours, and David went to bed. He told me that I should not post any of the pictures from the restaurant (still vain), but that I could post this little video of him practicing his dinner conversation. He is still very funny and extremely charming!
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