Stefanie, my Mom and her friend Jack drove down to San Diego to meet us for a long weekend getaway. This was Tiffany and Max’s first time seeing Stef since her stroke 11 months ago.

Friday night we had dinner together as soon as they arrived.. Stefanie walked from the front of the hotel all the way down a hill to get to the restaurant. Stef ordered a steak and we helped her cut the steak. Stef was able to feed herself and enjoy the meal. Stef is still not able to verbally communicate. She does understand a lot of our conversation and can answer most questions that are yes or no and laughs a lot. We ended dinner with a nice desert and called it a night. Stef walked back up to the front of the hotel and then agreed to take a ride in a wheel chair up to the hotel room due to the distance.

Saturday looked to be a nice day so we decided to venture to Sea World.  Stef walked with her cane all the way from their hotel room up to the valet area.  Stef was bundled up and wanted to take her fleece jacket off. So, we helped her take her it off as her right arm has almost no movement. It’s hard for Stef to dress herself, but given enough time she can do most things.

We arrived at Sea World and had a long walk to get into the park. Stef agreed to ride in the wheelchair. We spent 3 hours around the park seeing the sea lions, sea turtles, beluga whales and penguins. We ended the tour at the park by seeing the Orka Whales live show which Stef loved. Stef laughed and smiled a lot during our time at the park.  She loves music and to snap her fingers when she hears it.  Definitely is therapeutic for her.

We got back to the hotel and Stef allowed us to take her in the wheelchair down to the sun deck restaurant near the ocean. Stef ordered a cheeseburger and was able to eat it all by herself without any help.

After a little lunch, we all went back to our rooms for a nap.

We met later that evening for a dinner at a hotel restaurant. Stef walked all the way from the hotel room over to the place where we dined. We had a nice dinner and some wine to celebrate Jack’s birthday. Stef ordered the swordfish and she really liked the Brussels sprouts and enjoyed some of the ice cream sundae.

Sunday started out with a cool morning and the sun shining bright. I met with my Mom to discuss the next chapter in Stef’s journey. We had coffee and chatted about options to move Stef out of her current care at CNS to an assisted living option. The plan is to find a location near Los Angeles so that Stef’s friends can come visit her regularly. Another reason we are going to look at a location near LA is because Stef likes warm mild weather versus living in MN.  She has been in LA since she was 18, and makes it very clear MN is not where she wants to be…While this might make it harder for us to see Stef on a regular basis, this journey is not about us. We want to do what Stef wants (as much as we can) keeping her safety at the forefront of the decision making process. Stef really feels like her friends will come visit her often and she will get a lot of joy from those encounters. We plan to give her a year to see how that goes and how she likes the setting.

Once we get Stef settled, the plan is to give my Mom the opportunity to find a place where she would like to live in a warm climate. My Mom has been interested in TX, AZ or NV due to the diversity of options with reasonable costs. My Mom views CA as just too costly to find what she is looking for relative to these other states.

My Mom has been such a trooper in the last 11 months. She deserves a little time for herself once Stef is settled. She has put Stef ahead of herself in every aspect. My sister has been so blessed having my Mom to move out to CA on/off for the last 9 of 11 months. I know many of you have also been so important in Stef’s recovery. Your prayers, thoughts and help have made this journey possible. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We plan to get Stef settled into a place that has full time care. Stef will continue to do some out patient therapy to help with all of the things that she is still working on. More to come on Stef’s journey in the next month or so.

Sam Anderson

(612) 669-9514