Journal entry by MariaElena Fonseca —
Wednesday December 9th, admitted to the new facility.
I made the delivery of his personal items and filled out all kinds of paperwork, and had zero intentions of seeing him because that was not a choice at the other facility until he passed his initial 10 day quarantine. As I started to walk away, the nurse said - "Did you want to visit too?"
"Wait, what? visit? YES PLEASE" They showed me on a map how to walk to his room near a courtyard behind the building gated area. There he was in a private room fully dressed, nice lighting, TV on a swivel mount so he can move it close, big sliding glass door so I can have the perfect view, his own phone, sheets on the mattress and covered in a warm blanket. (you don't even want the description of the other facility) I teared up seeing him. It was relief, finally. I had a great feeling things were going to be better from here on out.
Thursday - the administrator and physical therapist reach out to discuss their plans for him and what the assessments would be looking at. From the first day, they got him moving and stretching and had him sitting in a chair. They encouraged him to eat while sitting up and out of bed.
Friday - Physical and Occupational Therapy assessment day! Javier, the lead therapist was amazing. He had big plans for my dad and started immediately. He arranged a dedicated time slot for my dad 6 days a weeks so he can have an audience encourage him as he was working with the therapists, and learn exactly what we would need to do when he gets home. This first day was just stretching and basic movements to see what needed to be worked on. The big goal - work his core!! Up to this point, there has been no movement on his left side (he moved his toe one time while at Kaiser, and did start to feel a weird tingling sensation and then pain as time went on)
Saturday - Jacob, Becky and I were all there at 11am ready to cheer him on. They sat him up, had him balance on his right side to sit up independently. They had him use a board to scoot to the right from the bed to a wheelchair. From the wheel chair, they were teaching him to balance to the right and steer at the same time. He had to learn how reach for a ball to the right and left. He was shown how to hold his left fingers intermingled with his right to lift up and down to get the shoulder stretched. Next up, his legs. Lifting and bending his right leg to strengthen his core. The therapist tried his left side, nothing. He tried again and again. You could tell he was getting upset. The therapist had a sweet moment with him and we cheered him on. She had him try one more time.. IT MOVED! The slightest movement on his thigh. He did it again. Next she stretched his leg out at a slighter wider angle and he inched it back!! Over the course of the hour, we saw it happen a few times and each time it made it more and more real. He was doing it!!!!
He had a small break sitting in his wheelchair before they brought him lunch. Becky knew music is what he needed so she played Kirk Franklin "I smile". It was absolutely beautiful to see my dads body, heart, and soul just relax and through tears he smiled. He pointed up to the heavens and then held his hand on his chest over his heart just smiling as he sang. That song instantly became our favorite song. That is the moment we all smiled. This day we also learned about Edna, she is our angel at the facility. She is everything my dad needs in a nurse. He said she scares him. We laugh because we know my dad has met his match, finally. She is feisty, no non-sense, tell it like it is, and actually enjoys goofing off with my dad and is always willing to listen. She holds him accountable and pushes him. She doesn't take anything to heart that my dad says in his "grumpy old man" phase.
Sunday - His Birthday!! So many visitors scattered throughout the day. Every chance I could get, I asked him to move his left leg and he did. He was so proud, and so was I, we all were. He loved all his birthday messages, and shout out from his elevate life family. We got to meet Edna, yep. I like her.
This week, he has been working EVERY SINGLE day with the therapists for 90 minutes- he is eating better (although we did have change up his diet slightly) and getting good sleep. He is more and more mentally aware every day which means he is starting to get bored at times. I think I have maxed out at receiving 10 calls in one day. I love it and wouldn't change it for the world. It is all progress. On days I am not at therapy, he calls me to tell me how he does or asks if Becky sent me the video she took (she always does).
Tuesday - during therapy, he was able to stand up using a waist high bar as support!! 5 days of physical therapy and he stands! How crazy is that??
Wednesday - He is showing enough strength in his core that they installed a grip above his bed so he can adjust himself and stretch. Lunch time visits are becoming my favorite part of the day!
Thursday - He was showing off with my Abuela there cheering him on during physical therapy. He pulled himself up to a standing position with the waist high bar three times.
Friday - during a visit with Becky and Jacob, they were encouraging him to move his left leg and he does the slight movement as usual but then for the first time, he LIFTED it up OFF the bed!!
He put in so much work that day, when he took a nap, he woke up an hour later thinking it was the next day and called me to ask whether it was 6:10 in the evening or 6:10 in the morning because he had a great sleep! That is a good type of exhaustion.
Saturday - now he is just showing off. He lifted his leg off the bed again, but this time half way up in the air. His core is remembering just how strong my daddy is!
He is remembering more and more phone numbers and loves calling people throughout the day. Becky and mine are the easiest numbers for him so he is also calling us when he gets frustrated dialing other peoples numbers and defaults calling us to say "Tell ___ to call me", and then quickly hangs up anxiously waiting for his call.
He was watching "Rush Hour" when I visited today and it was nice to just see him watch and laugh at a movie I know he loves, imitating Mariah Carey sing "Fantasy" - he turned the screen to show me because he knows I love that scene.
This is progress. Rainbows and Sunshine...
"I smile, even though I hurt see I smile
I know God is working so I smile
Even though I've been here for a while
I smile, smile
It's so hard to look up when you are down
Sure would hate to see you give up now
you look so much better when you smile
Smile for me
Can you just smile for me"
I made the delivery of his personal items and filled out all kinds of paperwork, and had zero intentions of seeing him because that was not a choice at the other facility until he passed his initial 10 day quarantine. As I started to walk away, the nurse said - "Did you want to visit too?"
"Wait, what? visit? YES PLEASE" They showed me on a map how to walk to his room near a courtyard behind the building gated area. There he was in a private room fully dressed, nice lighting, TV on a swivel mount so he can move it close, big sliding glass door so I can have the perfect view, his own phone, sheets on the mattress and covered in a warm blanket. (you don't even want the description of the other facility) I teared up seeing him. It was relief, finally. I had a great feeling things were going to be better from here on out.
Thursday - the administrator and physical therapist reach out to discuss their plans for him and what the assessments would be looking at. From the first day, they got him moving and stretching and had him sitting in a chair. They encouraged him to eat while sitting up and out of bed.
Friday - Physical and Occupational Therapy assessment day! Javier, the lead therapist was amazing. He had big plans for my dad and started immediately. He arranged a dedicated time slot for my dad 6 days a weeks so he can have an audience encourage him as he was working with the therapists, and learn exactly what we would need to do when he gets home. This first day was just stretching and basic movements to see what needed to be worked on. The big goal - work his core!! Up to this point, there has been no movement on his left side (he moved his toe one time while at Kaiser, and did start to feel a weird tingling sensation and then pain as time went on)
Saturday - Jacob, Becky and I were all there at 11am ready to cheer him on. They sat him up, had him balance on his right side to sit up independently. They had him use a board to scoot to the right from the bed to a wheelchair. From the wheel chair, they were teaching him to balance to the right and steer at the same time. He had to learn how reach for a ball to the right and left. He was shown how to hold his left fingers intermingled with his right to lift up and down to get the shoulder stretched. Next up, his legs. Lifting and bending his right leg to strengthen his core. The therapist tried his left side, nothing. He tried again and again. You could tell he was getting upset. The therapist had a sweet moment with him and we cheered him on. She had him try one more time.. IT MOVED! The slightest movement on his thigh. He did it again. Next she stretched his leg out at a slighter wider angle and he inched it back!! Over the course of the hour, we saw it happen a few times and each time it made it more and more real. He was doing it!!!!
He had a small break sitting in his wheelchair before they brought him lunch. Becky knew music is what he needed so she played Kirk Franklin "I smile". It was absolutely beautiful to see my dads body, heart, and soul just relax and through tears he smiled. He pointed up to the heavens and then held his hand on his chest over his heart just smiling as he sang. That song instantly became our favorite song. That is the moment we all smiled. This day we also learned about Edna, she is our angel at the facility. She is everything my dad needs in a nurse. He said she scares him. We laugh because we know my dad has met his match, finally. She is feisty, no non-sense, tell it like it is, and actually enjoys goofing off with my dad and is always willing to listen. She holds him accountable and pushes him. She doesn't take anything to heart that my dad says in his "grumpy old man" phase.
Sunday - His Birthday!! So many visitors scattered throughout the day. Every chance I could get, I asked him to move his left leg and he did. He was so proud, and so was I, we all were. He loved all his birthday messages, and shout out from his elevate life family. We got to meet Edna, yep. I like her.
This week, he has been working EVERY SINGLE day with the therapists for 90 minutes- he is eating better (although we did have change up his diet slightly) and getting good sleep. He is more and more mentally aware every day which means he is starting to get bored at times. I think I have maxed out at receiving 10 calls in one day. I love it and wouldn't change it for the world. It is all progress. On days I am not at therapy, he calls me to tell me how he does or asks if Becky sent me the video she took (she always does).
Tuesday - during therapy, he was able to stand up using a waist high bar as support!! 5 days of physical therapy and he stands! How crazy is that??
Wednesday - He is showing enough strength in his core that they installed a grip above his bed so he can adjust himself and stretch. Lunch time visits are becoming my favorite part of the day!
Thursday - He was showing off with my Abuela there cheering him on during physical therapy. He pulled himself up to a standing position with the waist high bar three times.
Friday - during a visit with Becky and Jacob, they were encouraging him to move his left leg and he does the slight movement as usual but then for the first time, he LIFTED it up OFF the bed!!
He put in so much work that day, when he took a nap, he woke up an hour later thinking it was the next day and called me to ask whether it was 6:10 in the evening or 6:10 in the morning because he had a great sleep! That is a good type of exhaustion.
Saturday - now he is just showing off. He lifted his leg off the bed again, but this time half way up in the air. His core is remembering just how strong my daddy is!
He is remembering more and more phone numbers and loves calling people throughout the day. Becky and mine are the easiest numbers for him so he is also calling us when he gets frustrated dialing other peoples numbers and defaults calling us to say "Tell ___ to call me", and then quickly hangs up anxiously waiting for his call.
He was watching "Rush Hour" when I visited today and it was nice to just see him watch and laugh at a movie I know he loves, imitating Mariah Carey sing "Fantasy" - he turned the screen to show me because he knows I love that scene.
This is progress. Rainbows and Sunshine...
"I smile, even though I hurt see I smile
I know God is working so I smile
Even though I've been here for a while
I smile, smile
It's so hard to look up when you are down
Sure would hate to see you give up now
you look so much better when you smile
Smile for me
Can you just smile for me"
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