Still praying. Both for Steve's 100% recovery and for yonuh's 100% recovery. God bless.

Thank you, jabber. And thanks, Anne, for the update. Healing is slower at our age, but as you say, baby steps. Will keep him in my prayers.

We are all becoming caregivers. It's difficult to watch friends/family age and become immobile.

Anne, you seem like a great caregiver. You are his best rehab!

glad to hear he is on the UP side of convalescing.

Thanks Di!

We have had an interesting 5-1/2 days since I got Steve back from the trauma center.

In the beginning, he needed so much assistance, that I was exhausted at the end of each day. Not just exhausted, but my body ached so much t was hard to sleep.

At that point he wasn't able to get himself out of any chair by himself. (Now he already has some mobility challenges based on birth defects, which mean that as long as I've known him there are times when I've had to help him get up from the table in a restaurant, because the chair and table aren't set up so that he can do it himself.)

So I already knew the "up from a chair" drill, we didn't have to invent it new. But what was new for the first few days home was that I was essentially lifting 250 pounds of "deadweight" from that chair. It required some modification of my technique, and it was very wearing on me.

But thankfully Steve is in a mental state where he is trying to rehabilitate himself as quickly as reasonably possible -- which is by no means overnight -- especially given that the doctor said he wasn't to carry anything more than 10 pounds, he's still taking pain meds and he still has pain from the rib and kidney.

But we have managed several small victories daily, which is so gratifying! Today, thankfully, I no longer have to escort him down the hallways of our house. More importantly, he can get into and out of chairs without assistance, and he can do some of his toileting routines alone. Praise God!

Thanks for saying I am a good caregiver. I appreciate that. But much praise needs to also go to Steve, who is maintaining a very positive state of mind. He wants to get back to normal as soon as possible. And when things don't go well here, we find a way to laugh about it.

For all of us who find ourselves spending time in caregiving, I offer blessings for patience and humor. And I also recognize that the person needing care can make the caregiving job a lot more pleasant when he or she has an upbeat attitude.

Thanks again to everyone for your prayers! I am sure Steve would not have recovered as well as he has to date without them. He's not totally out of the woods yet -- and there are a lot of bruises on his body and internal pains that prove this -- but he's well on his way.

Blessings to all of you in this caring community!

Anne

Great news, Anne!