A Praise!!!

Wow! Here's the scene:

I came to see Lisa this morning and I stop to talk with a couple of people in the hallways. I go to Lisa's room, no Lisa. I look at all the cards she is getting and she is getting quite a few. She loves them! She told me yesterday that I haven't given her one in a while...I told her that I had just put one in the mail and to be on the look out for it! I think she thought I was just saying that, but today she got it! I told her!

I thought maybe she was in therapy so I walk down to the OT/PT room and peek in...there she is...She is sitting in her chair and getting ready to get up and walk down the hallway. I walked in front of her backwards and she starts vearing off to the doorway...I didn't know she was going to the hall. The PT told her that they were going to walk down to the nurses station. Linda (the PT) was talking to Lisa and me the entire time, talking about her progress, her stamina, her endurance and how she wants to build it up. Today she stood for 5 min. with no one around her. She wants Lisa to build it up to 7 minutes! Linda is excellent at her profession. She knows her stuff. She knows when to quit when someone is fatigued. She is getting to know Lisa.

Until Tuesday, Linda was a professional looking at Lisa through a PT pair of eyes. I believe that Linda is now looking at Lisa as a challenge and as someone with potential...hope. She was joking with Lisa, jabbing at her, telling her to "stop going so fast because it was making her (Linda) tired"...
Lisa told her "you don't have to keep walking with me if your tired!"...Linda laughed and told her, "you are the only one who has ever told me that!" Lisa..."It's true! Isn't it Karla?" Linda wanted Lisa to walk 100 feet  today. We get to the end of the hallway and Linda stops and waits for Lisa to stop. Lisa isn't stopping.
Lisa turns around and looks at Linda and bluntly says to her, "YOU told me to walk to the nurses station...that's what I'm doin'" LOL! Linda laughed and looked at me and replied, "I did, didn't I?" I nodded and agreed with Lisa. Lisa walked, using her hemi walker (1/2 walker) with Linda holding on to her gait belt 130 feet. I walked backwards in front of Lisa, talking to her and somewhat distracting her. [Tuesday she wasn't consentrating on what she was doing and almost fell because she was losing balance, talking to the person in front of her]

Like I said, Linda is excellent in her profession. She didn't know how to take Lisa. From what I saw today, and what Karen saw yesterday, Linda is starting to enjoy working with Lisa. She is thinking about adaptions for her to be successful in her apartment and will work on Lisa getting out of bed in case of a fire! Karen said that Lisa had an adaption on her right brake for her wheelchair and Karen saw Lisa trying to move her right arm to manuever it. Yay!!!!!!!

I believe that what was thought to be a hopeless and unrealistic situation, in others' perspectives, is being looked at with a new pair of eyes. New possibilities. We are so very thankful that there was a home assessment. We are thankful that there was someone else, other than family, there to encourage Lisa; and to believe in the the abilities that people with mental disabilities have. In many cases, those who have great challenges have more of a determination to prove themselves. If we, normal people, had half that determination, think about what this world would be like. Wow!

Lisa is working her way into the heart of some naysayers...she is still proving herself. She is just being Lisa.

When Lisa was done walking, she sat gently in her chair and sighed. She was tired. I took her to the dining room and sat with her while she ate. Linda came up to me and was suggesting we get Lisa a winged back chair instead of a recliner...they sit higher and it would give her all around support. If she wanted to put her feet up, get her an ottoman too. She also suggested foam cushions for extra height, possibly going to the fabric strore and getting outdoor fabric in case of accidents...She is thinking!!!! Yay! As she was talking, I took her pen from her hand and started writing everything that we were brain-storming. She is beginning to understand where we are coming from too. Thank you God. Thank you for the shift in thinking...and thank you for not letting Lisa's sisters give up on people who don't understand:)

Lisa is going to see a physiatrist...have no idea if I spelled that right...Dr Ghee will evaluate Lisa to determine if she belongs in a 24 hour home...we are hoping that he will recommend about 40 hours a week, with the stipulation that she go to the Adult Day Center during the day. Lisa can't wait to get out of the nursing home. She did not sign up for any activities toward the end of the month, when I asked her why, her reply..."I won't be here!" Her appointment for the Dr is Friday, Sept 10th. We were hoping for next week, but, it is all in God's timing, and just maybe, God knows that she needs that extra time to practice, get stronger and to show the Dr that she belongs (in so many ways) at the apartments. That is what we are praying for.