Jen called yesterday and asked how things were going at the “Recovery Barn.”  😊 
Indeed, Donna and I continue here at our barn home recuperating from our surgical interventions.
But thankfully, we are no longer barn-bound – becoming more mobile each day.

While we are both recovering, we have realized our conditions are complementary.
     I, Doug, am still restricted from lifting, pulling or pushing anything over 15 pounds. (2 more weeks.)
     Donna is still restricted from driving thanks (‘no thanks’) to the seizure she suffered after surgery.
     I, Doug, have been cleared to drive, so I am the designated chauffeur for errands or appointments.
     Donna has been cleared for physical activity – so she has become the ‘muscle’ in our marriage.
Just this am – she again loaded the trash bags in our Jeep and carried them at the transfer station.
I sit in the Jeep wondering what others think of this husband letting his petite wife do the heavy lifting. 😏 

But Donna is perfectly able to do that – still retaining strength developed at Tall Trainer Boot Camp. Given those physical capabilities, her therapists discharged her from PT and OT two weeks ago. This week, her Speech Therapist released her so she can transfer over for further therapy in a clinical setting. She has her in-take appointment for that intensified level of therapy at Thompson Hospital on Friday afternoon - 5/24.

 We are eager for this - since her speech, while still very understandable, has seemed to plateau. She still has those nagging phantom feelings in her mouth we reported last time. There is increasing suspicion her continuing deficits have more to do with neurologic signals to the mouth muscles than true aphasia when the brain can’t access the words it wants. Donna’s vocabulary seems strong - and she has been finding some amazing words when we play 9-tile Scrabble together. (Negotiate, Graven, Nausea, Artizan)  🧐 

I had my first session of ‘pelvic floor’ therapy and was amazed at how much I did not know and how much I learned. It was incredibly eye-opening and the few hints I was given in the 1st session have already proven so very helpful. I returned to work for the first-time last Thursday and was told that I needed to report to HR for clearance. I soon learned that they already knew I had restrictions from the surgery, and they wanted to make sure that I would not be giving in to temptation and violating those restrictions.  I assured them that I would be an obedient patient and employee. 😉 

Last post – we shared our intention to attend my 50-Year College Anniversary Reunion. We did indeed attend, and it was a wonderful time of renewing old acquaintances and encouraging one another. We were treated to a banquet on Friday evening and were privileged on Saturday to process in - ahead of the current graduates in the spring commencement. It was a 300-mile drive and quite a bit of activity – but we took many breaks and paced ourselves. We returned tired but very refreshed in spirit.

What is ahead? A couple of milestones! End of May, Donna’s surgical team from Stranford intends to begin weaning her from the seizure medicine. This seems a bit daunting, but Dr. Steinberg assures us though one initial seizure may occur about 5% of the time post-surgery– the odds of further seizures are miniscule. So, we will pray this holds true in Donna’s case and she can begin to prove herself seizure-free. Meanwhile, I will have my follow-up with the surgeon June 5 and hopefully be set free from restrictions.  Both of these milestones promise a further return to better degrees of normalcy!