Day 5 - April 15th

Today was really the first day that things were able to settle into somewhat of a groove. When I arrived to visit Jan in the morning, to my surprise she was sitting up in a recliner. I know that it was uncomfortable, but she was pushing herself to get the process going. Standing and walking are still very painful, but she is able to do a little bit more each day. She also continues with her breathing exercises. Her daughters Ali and Kara were both there with their own daughters, helping Jan in everything from bathing to making her comfortable.

Ali and Kara have been indespensible in all facits of this. They have seen to things at the house, made sure we are stocked with the groceries that we need, been there for Meg, helped their mom at the hospital, and have been a shoulder for their younger sisters to cry on. In another week, their older sister Haley will arrive from New York to join them in these efforts. She will be here for a couple of weeks. These girls all form a real Tour D Force. I'm so proud of all of them for their love and efforts (Sammie and Kaysha included).

Today the physical therapy people brought in some devices that will enable Jan to put on pants, put on socks, etc. She will be trained on the use of them in the next day or so. It will take quite a while before she can bend over to do these tasks in a normal way.

Another issue is the healing of her neck vertibrae. The neck needs to be stablized at all times during this process, so the neck brace is going to remain on for another 3-4 weeks until the vertibrae and muscles surrounding it are healed sufficiently.

When Jan isn't working at trying to walk, sit, breath, etc., she is in and out of sleep. The energy required to not only do these things, but to mitigate the pain associated with them consumes a large amount of energy. On the one hand it's discouraging for her, but on the other she is determined to make it happen. What a woman!!

We learned today that in the next one or two days she'll be transfered to a rehabilitation hospital. The purpose will be to get her to the point that she can return home and continue the healing from there. She most likely will go to Health South (8074 South 1300 East in Sandy).