I am proud of my....

I am proud of my mom! She is an incredibly strong person. She keeps that front on for all of us.  I have seen my parents stand beside each other no matter what.  I watched as she stood by his bed this morning and fed him pureed eggs and coffee that had been thickened with honey.  I saw the tenderness in her touch as she rubbed his head and held his hand.  I saw the love in her tears. I saw the frantic look in my dads eyes when he couldn't see her.  I watched my dad do things that the physical therapist and occupational therapist told him to do, but only after my mom repeated what they said.  I watched the joy just overflow in my mom when we watched my dad starring at his feet as he was moving his right foot up and down as if he was pushing a gas pedal.  I watched her heart sink when the team of doctors came in and told her that the swelling had continued in his brain and that they would need to cut a portion of his skull out to relieve the pressure, to relieve the life threatening pressure.  Almost 48 hours after getting out of an extensive surgery after the stroke, he had to go in for more surgery.  The portion of his skull that was removed was placed in a deep freeze and will be returned in a few months. It is our hope that this surgery help with the swelling on the brain.  It was a real whirlwind of a morning - to see progress, but also see him more sleepy and less responsive and almost as soon as we saw him move that right foot, and our hearts were filled with hope - then the results of the cat scan felt like a setback.  I've heard it said that setbacks pave the way for comebacks.  For today I am reflecting on the morning and seeing the occupational therapist hand him a wash cloth and tell him to wash his face, and he was able to do that.  And listening to the physical therapist tell him they were going to work on standing up and how eager my dad was to do that and how they had to keep telling him to wait.  Each of my boys had their moments today, when Ivan and I came home before getting Seth he told me I needed to hold him and that he was sad and crying because of grandpa.  I told him that it was ok to feel sad but that grandpa will be ok.  Then on the way home tonight Seth said he had a question and then said oh never mind.  I asked him if he was sad about grandpa, he said he was sad because he didn't get to see grandpa wave to him before school this morning.  Usually when my mom would pick up Seth for school in the morning my dad would stand down at their house in the driveway and wave to the boys.  I told Seth that it was ok to feel sad and that grandpa would be ok, I'm sure he will wave to him again one day.  I am just so incredibly proud of my mom. I love my mom.

 My dad standing up - with a little help but look at who he is focused on - my mom!  And there is also a picture of him washing his face with the wet wash clothe.  This is the hope I will hold on to for today.  I remain incredibly grateful for those who have sent text messages and called to check on me and my dad.  Those who I thought would stand beside me no matter what have gone missing in action, but yet I have found who I can count on when times are tough.  Thanking God for those people who hold us up with their words and thoughts when we are struggling to keep on.