Finally!

Grandpa is doing well and I expect to bring him home on Friday, or Monday at the latest. He is indeed getting stronger. If he comes home Friday or Monday he will be getting outpatient therapy at a facility here in Kuna. We miss him here and are looking forward to his being home.

laughter is the best medicine!

It has been interesting to say the least. Grandpa at first was not very happy about not coming home so finding things to laugh about always helps. His first day he had to be "inspected" by the nurses. Quite literally they checked over his whole body for injuries, scars, sores, etc. and made a note of them. This is of course so that they will not be held liable for anything that happened to Grandpa before he got there. When he told us about this I just started laughing. He was so indignant about it. No allowances for modesty - women already know all about that do we not? Then the other day the nurse who came in to take him to breakfast said "after breakfast I will give you a shower." Grandpa assumed that she would show him how she wanted him to shower and then leave him alone. Wrong! She literally gave him a shower - washed him all over except for one spot. We were already laughing when he started telling us about it because we knew the outcome. Grandpa got checked out on his own walker and is allowed to use it instead of the kind they use, and on Sunday he gets to attend an LDS sacrament meeting held there in the facility. He has settled down into a routine now and is getting some productive therapy each day. I go there each day to see him and today I am taking Muffin in. They not only allow but encourage people to bring their dogs in. I am looking forward to Karen & Bill coming on Thursday night.

Update

I started this blog in the first place so that I could keep you all updated on what is going on with us. We have had another week of being in the hospital - grandpa, not me. He had some congestive heart failure, underlying pneumonia and a mild heart attack. However, they have tuned him up and released him to a rehab facility in Meridian where they will try to help him regain some of his strength. I say "try" because grandpa is not always cooperative and he doesn't like to be told what to do. The blessing in all of this is that we are surrounded by good people. Jim always comes as soon as he is called. One of our home teachers came to help with giving a blessing and has checked on grandpa every day. Our family has been here to visit and help me. Four daughters taking turns coming - 3 sons here in the valley that also help and give moral support. Allen would if he could, but he is still working in Alaska. So life is good, interesting and challenging. We love all of you and pray that when it is your turn to be elderly and in need of help, your children will be as loving and supportive as ours are.