Wow, It's been awhile. Lisa is doing great thus far. When you talk to her, it's the old Lisa. When you look at her, she is improving!
Olivia and I brought our new puppy "Oreo" to see her and she just LOVED him! He's a sweetie! Loves all and plays the perfect pup!
Lisa is gaining strength everyday. One problem, as she is gaining strength, she is able to do more (which is good), however, she is a little depressed and seems to eat more, thus gaining weight. She look great, don't get me wrong, but as sisters we are worried b/c we don't want her weight to get out of control where we or anyone else cannot care for her. She's a little depressed and needs more stimulation.
We had a conversation about her hair today. You can't even tell she had surgery. She told me she doesn't want her hair to be shaved again b/c she doesn't want to look like a boy. I asked her "What's wrong looking like a boy?" She said.. "Nothing if you are one!" Good Old Lisa. She told me to GO HOME b/c I had a headache. She said "What are you doing coming here sick?"
She always knows what's best!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Like old times
Lisa is back to being Lisa. She is totally independent in her thinking...no persuasion about anything. She will do what she wants to do whether it is good for her or not. Karen and I are still taking turns getting her up in the morning. She will get her self out of bed and will try to help herself and gets frustrated when she can't.
Lisa is spunky and funny, but now I remember just how stubborn she is. It is a blessing and a curse. It has gotten her so far in her life, it is also for lack of a better word just maddening for Karen and I. I will spare you her antics, she is hard headed. That's all.
I continue to take her to her ot/pt sessions. She needs so much stimulation to get her right side going again. There is improvement, we just need to work with her more and that is a full time job. We can't do it. We have called the Dept of Human Services off and on since Oct. Sept of last year, DHS told us that Lisa was approved for 15 hours of help. They upped it to 45 hours sometime last fall, after our request and Lisa's need. Illinois is in such financial trouble that we are having a hard time with that commitment.
Rick, our case manager, and someone who has known and worked with Lisa since she was a student at Raymond School, advised us to call the person in charge of Lisa's case as often as we could and he would too. So....we called....Rick, Carmen, Karen and/or I called everyday...we called and left messages and it was just nuts.
Monday, Lisa had a spill, as in...she fell. We can't get out of her what she was doing, but she was flat on her face in the living room, on the carpet. She had the alert necklace on...didn't use it. She called for help, but no one came. She yelled for who knows how long until someone from her complex heard her. They called 911. It scared the other residents who live there. Lisa's mouth was bleeding and she had to go to the ER...if she would have more hours from the state, we feel that this would not have happened. We called DHS again.
On Wednesday, Carmen had Lisa call DHS...they knew her name and had no idea that they were gonna be talking to the one and only Lisa:) She told them that she fell, that she went to ER and that she wants to get better and be able to go back to work, so she needs more hours of support. Guess what????? The next day, they approved her for 35 hours/week of support. It is not what we wanted...(45 from the fall) but we are not at all complaining. It will start next week. Karen is revising her needs. Currently, Lisa has someone coming in from 5-7 to help with showers and bedtime. Lisa does not need that anymore, so we are thinking about having someone for 1 hour at night, and some to shower her in the morning, and possibly, hopefully take her to therapy so they can work with her when they are with her. It boils down to 5 hours a day. In the realm of things, that is not much time, but if they help her with her exercises and with her walking...she will get better faster and maybe in a year or two, she will not need the 35 hours of support.
Lisa wants to get back to her life. The only thing she can control is what she can control...eating, and her mind. She is not able to control her body and she over compensates with the other:) Like I said, she is extremely opinionated. She told one of the ladies this week that she does not like her. She told her that she does not want her to come back and even asked the poor woman if she has killed anyone....OH no. It is quite funny when you don't think about it...but that poor lady doesn't deserve that and Lisa should be more considerate. In Lisa's mind, that lady made her go to the ER on Monday...that is what she thinks!!!!! We have told her a dozen times that she was alone and no one made her fall. It was an accident. You can't tell Lisa that though...she's NOT listening. Aughhhhh.
Other than our daily battles, Lisa is doing well. She continues to get stronger. She is very strong on her left side, her right side is so spastic. She is so tight that we need to help her get her muscles straightened out and they go right back to the position that they like to be in. Lisa continues to work hard in therapy, but she is not quiet about it:) Let's just say that I hope the people who are getting therapy also, realize that Lisa is not your normal person off the street...that she is special and that she is over coming yet another mountainous obstacle.
I will try to write more often, until then...have a great weekend!!!!
Lisa is spunky and funny, but now I remember just how stubborn she is. It is a blessing and a curse. It has gotten her so far in her life, it is also for lack of a better word just maddening for Karen and I. I will spare you her antics, she is hard headed. That's all.
I continue to take her to her ot/pt sessions. She needs so much stimulation to get her right side going again. There is improvement, we just need to work with her more and that is a full time job. We can't do it. We have called the Dept of Human Services off and on since Oct. Sept of last year, DHS told us that Lisa was approved for 15 hours of help. They upped it to 45 hours sometime last fall, after our request and Lisa's need. Illinois is in such financial trouble that we are having a hard time with that commitment.
Rick, our case manager, and someone who has known and worked with Lisa since she was a student at Raymond School, advised us to call the person in charge of Lisa's case as often as we could and he would too. So....we called....Rick, Carmen, Karen and/or I called everyday...we called and left messages and it was just nuts.
Monday, Lisa had a spill, as in...she fell. We can't get out of her what she was doing, but she was flat on her face in the living room, on the carpet. She had the alert necklace on...didn't use it. She called for help, but no one came. She yelled for who knows how long until someone from her complex heard her. They called 911. It scared the other residents who live there. Lisa's mouth was bleeding and she had to go to the ER...if she would have more hours from the state, we feel that this would not have happened. We called DHS again.
On Wednesday, Carmen had Lisa call DHS...they knew her name and had no idea that they were gonna be talking to the one and only Lisa:) She told them that she fell, that she went to ER and that she wants to get better and be able to go back to work, so she needs more hours of support. Guess what????? The next day, they approved her for 35 hours/week of support. It is not what we wanted...(45 from the fall) but we are not at all complaining. It will start next week. Karen is revising her needs. Currently, Lisa has someone coming in from 5-7 to help with showers and bedtime. Lisa does not need that anymore, so we are thinking about having someone for 1 hour at night, and some to shower her in the morning, and possibly, hopefully take her to therapy so they can work with her when they are with her. It boils down to 5 hours a day. In the realm of things, that is not much time, but if they help her with her exercises and with her walking...she will get better faster and maybe in a year or two, she will not need the 35 hours of support.
Lisa wants to get back to her life. The only thing she can control is what she can control...eating, and her mind. She is not able to control her body and she over compensates with the other:) Like I said, she is extremely opinionated. She told one of the ladies this week that she does not like her. She told her that she does not want her to come back and even asked the poor woman if she has killed anyone....OH no. It is quite funny when you don't think about it...but that poor lady doesn't deserve that and Lisa should be more considerate. In Lisa's mind, that lady made her go to the ER on Monday...that is what she thinks!!!!! We have told her a dozen times that she was alone and no one made her fall. It was an accident. You can't tell Lisa that though...she's NOT listening. Aughhhhh.
Other than our daily battles, Lisa is doing well. She continues to get stronger. She is very strong on her left side, her right side is so spastic. She is so tight that we need to help her get her muscles straightened out and they go right back to the position that they like to be in. Lisa continues to work hard in therapy, but she is not quiet about it:) Let's just say that I hope the people who are getting therapy also, realize that Lisa is not your normal person off the street...that she is special and that she is over coming yet another mountainous obstacle.
I will try to write more often, until then...have a great weekend!!!!
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
A new year
We have been a bit MIA lately...still busy with taking care of Lisa, just not as busy with that. Lisa is requiring less help from us, her sisters. She is almost on her own when it comes to basic needs. She no longer needs help with getting out of bed, or toileting or things of that nature. She is back to her old self. We are both happy and find it a bit challenging at the same time. She has her ways and her thoughts about things. She does what she wants and to heck with what anyone thinks about it....that is the challenging part.
Today, Karen went to her apt and she is eating herself out of house and home. She is totally out of control with her appetite and that is not a good thing. She had lost some weight when she came home from the nursing home about 2 months ago...but these past few days, maybe a week, she seems to think about FOOD, 24/7. She loves her food and she is starting to gain weight, which is not good for her, when she is trying to balance herself and to regain her mobility. She has never been this heavy and she is not as mobile as she once was, so it will not come off as fast. We are trying to figure out why she is so hungry all the time.
She decided to go to Karen's again for New Years Eve and Day, ended up staying New Years Night too. She took a tumble, unfortunately while she was walking from the bathroom back to the living room. But nothing got hurt, accept her pride. She is doing remarkably well. I have a video to share well, several...gotta figure out how to share on this blog though.
Lisa is again doing so many incredible things. I didn't know whether she would be able to do many of the tasks she used to, but she is trying. She has her moments about being the way she is now, but, we keep reminding her about how far she has come, and how lucky she is that she is not worse. She could be much worse! In a way, it is a reminder to us too.
To fully understand that she is back to the old Lisa, is to remember all the little quirks she has about herself. Yep, she's back!!!!!! All those things that we forgot about, that we wished she would be able to do again, guess what? She is who she is, and we, are who we are...and yes, to say she is back is an understatement...we just need to remember that this is what we wanted all along, and now it is our turn to accept it:)
Today, Karen went to her apt and she is eating herself out of house and home. She is totally out of control with her appetite and that is not a good thing. She had lost some weight when she came home from the nursing home about 2 months ago...but these past few days, maybe a week, she seems to think about FOOD, 24/7. She loves her food and she is starting to gain weight, which is not good for her, when she is trying to balance herself and to regain her mobility. She has never been this heavy and she is not as mobile as she once was, so it will not come off as fast. We are trying to figure out why she is so hungry all the time.
She decided to go to Karen's again for New Years Eve and Day, ended up staying New Years Night too. She took a tumble, unfortunately while she was walking from the bathroom back to the living room. But nothing got hurt, accept her pride. She is doing remarkably well. I have a video to share well, several...gotta figure out how to share on this blog though.
Lisa is again doing so many incredible things. I didn't know whether she would be able to do many of the tasks she used to, but she is trying. She has her moments about being the way she is now, but, we keep reminding her about how far she has come, and how lucky she is that she is not worse. She could be much worse! In a way, it is a reminder to us too.
To fully understand that she is back to the old Lisa, is to remember all the little quirks she has about herself. Yep, she's back!!!!!! All those things that we forgot about, that we wished she would be able to do again, guess what? She is who she is, and we, are who we are...and yes, to say she is back is an understatement...we just need to remember that this is what we wanted all along, and now it is our turn to accept it:)
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