OK, so now we have had the first day with his regular therapists at the Jewish Home, and David is feeling much more relaxed. He really was worried about his new “Teachers”, and I think he is pleased with the team. We met with the Speech Therapist this morning, and she did her assessment and it went well. I was glad I was there to explain, from my perspective, what David’s issues were, and David didn’t look at me like I was crazy at any of my comments, so I think they were good. I actually got a thumbs up for a couple of my insights. For some reason, when he was admitted, he was moved back to soft foods, so she had to come back and watch David eat lunch. He thought it was very weird to have us sitting, like an audience, watching him eat the lasagna that Peter and Mary brought for his lunch. He passed again, and can eat anything. She said that she was impressed, because many patients take months to get swallowing down!

Peter and Mary came by earlier, but were left in the hall waiting patiently while David was using the toilet. You may think that this is TMI (Too Much Information) but, he didn’t use the bedpan, he actually, with the help of the nursing aide, moved from the bed to the wheelchair to the toilet in the bathroom, which was momentous for me. This is one of the things that he will need to be able to do to come home, so, one more step! When I arrived, he was very uncomfortable because he was constipated, and after his visit to the toilet, he was in a much better mood and ready to face the day.

After lunch, the Occupational Therapist came by, and we went to the gym to work. She worked on his arm – both strengthening exercises, and stretching, and then the Physical Therapist took over and began working on the mat. His transfers from chair to bed to mat are much better, and I think that his strength is getting better all the time. During his PT, Lucy Kernen-Schloss came by and at the end of the session, we went to the garden, and had a nice conversation about Burke and her vacation in France over the summer. When we went back to the room, Sheila was there with a card and gift of the new Grandfathers! Thanks Sheila, and it is indeed, a wonderful world!

Soon after Sheila left, Andrew Brust stopped by with some wonderful dark chocolate, which David was saving for after dinner. Then, Peter and Mary came back and we had a nice, but short visit before David wanted to take a nap. I left with the Clutes, and we had a bite at Eataly, which was very nice – actually, I had a bite and some wine, Mary had some wine and Peter nibbled and then had some gelato on the way out. Such a fun place is Eataly – not quite as good as being in Rome, but nice, just the same!

So, at the end of the day, it looks like we have set a schedule for his therapies that looks something like this:

• Occupational Therapy from 9am to 10am
• Physical Therapy from 10am to 11am (working on walking)
• Physical Therapy from 1:30pm to 2:30pm (working on strengthening his legs)
• Speech Therapy from 2:30pm to 3:30pm (still to be confirmed – it may need to move to 11am to Noon)