6 months, wow

That's not enough time to grow a baby, but look at all that's happened!

Six months ago tonight, I was coming home about this time, still in a pretty good amount of shock, that really hasn't worn off that much. Of those 180 days, Pete spent 21 at Methodist then a week at TIRR then a couple days back at Methodist and then 50 some days at TIRR. So about 85 days in the hospital and 95 at home. And it seems like he was in the hospital forever, and probably a little longer to him.

I would have never made it through as well as I have if it had not been for our family, friends and supporters who have followed this blog and otherwise prayed for us. Believe me, what strength I have, I know comes from above.

Since developments are much less common, I have not updated the blog very often. I know that many people check in regularly to see if there's an update. Be sure if something happens, you will know, even if it's a little delayed.

Last Saturday (Valentines Day), Anna and I went to The Little Gym like always and when I came home, I open the door and see Pete's chair, sitting there, with no Pete in it. Heart on the carpet already, I go over to where he is and he's laying on the floor, with no idea how he got there. I called a friend who had the good sense to marry a doctor and relayed his condition and he thought Pete probably had a seizure, which is a pretty common event after a stroke. He perked up very quickly, which meant we didn't get to spend Valentines Day at the ER. We went to see the doctor on Monday and were told yeah, around 6 months is about when the brain has done a bunch of rewiring work and sometimes seizures happen. Pete will take some medication for a few months to make sure everything is A-OK.

Last week, we had an appointment at the eye doctor. After doing a million tests, it's confirmed that Pete has no loss of visual field, what he has is a serious problem with neglect. He will not look at certain parts of a page of text. I hide things from him on his left side, including things like, well, part of his dinner that goes on the left side of the plate. I've been told to get on the "torture Pete" bandwagon.

On a sad note, over the weekend, Pete's dog Dusty went to be with his old buds, Max, Lizzie, & Sadie to run and play in the clouds, somewhere that he is young and frisky, with no grey in his muzzle and no hind leg that hurts when it's cold out. Dusty was a good dog and a good friend to Pete. Anna has not noticed, but she seems to understand being "in heaven" means not here. So, we have been asking God to bless Dusty in heaven.

Today, I picked Pete up from his outpatient therapy and he told me that on Friday, the PT wants to get him up and walking, but not on the locomat, not with the "moses stick" but with a walker. He went some today, but not for long.

The botox injections in his upper body have had a very good effect on the toning in his arm and hand. He has so much better range of motion, including being able to bend is wrist back about as far as I can. Tonight, I asked him to squeeze my hand and he was able to fold his fingers around mine. This is a new development. If he's done it before, it was more involuntary.

We keep moving day by day with the therapies and appointments and homework and exercise. Needless to say, between shuttling him hither and yon, taking care of Anna and the house and working, I'm getting pretty tired and just a little punchy sometimes. Your continued prayers for my fortitude would be appreciated, by more than just me.

I hope to continue to post developments and improvements over the next several weeks and months. What I said before about this being a marathon, not a sprint, was no lie.