The trip home was not without stress and controversy. The take-charge nurse turned out to be quite overbearing and rude. The plane that brought my parents to Boston left from JFK after all. It was also much smaller than anticipated making it an uncomfortable hour ride for Bob and my mom. Two planes and three ambulances later, they made it to Spaulding by eleven in the morning. I arrived at room 307 to meet them shortly after.
This room is a total departure from the room he was in during the last month. He has no private shower and has a roomate. My mom is obviously not allowed to stay overnight. She is staying at out house tonight and most nights while Bob is at Spaulding.
Today is a holiday so Bob's team of physical therapist and doctors will come meet him tomorrow. We did meet his nurses who were very nice and got along well with Bob. He will be assesed by his team tomorrow. Bob will also have physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy tomorrow.
It was great to see him and my mom. I will never forget the hug Bob gave me and how he rubbed my pregnant belly. It is heartbreaking not hearing his voice speak words. This will be a big adjustment for my children as well. I understand why my mom did not want to assign a percentage to his understanding. It is not always clear if Bob comprehends what you say to him. He is not consistent with his replies yet so a nod of yes may not mean yes.
When the doctor came to examine Bob he did most of the movements she asked him to do such as move his left arm out to the side or push against her hand with his arm or squeeze her hand. I was surprised to see his body's reflexes. I was even more stunned when I saw his right foot move while he slept. My mom assured me they were not voluntary movements, but I was still stunned. It was like a puppy's legs when he's dreaming of chasing cats. It was like he was making up for lost time, for all the times he had told his foot to move and it didn't obey. This movement meant to me that the capacity for full recovery is there.
I saw Bob eat his lunch independently and I was extremely impressed with how he opened the milk carton with only one hand. I wanted to help him initially but was told to hold back and let him do it on his own. As a mom of small kids my urge is to swoop in and help (read: do it for them...) But you should see how proud Bob was when he was sipping milk through the straw he himself had inserted into the opening he created. Bob chuckled, smirked and drank that milk with satisfaction. I saw that it pays to not interfere. Bob has to do things on his own to relearn how to do them, to feel accomplished and to succeed outside the hospital.
On the way to the hospital the radio played a song that I found described this new chapter very well. It was Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten". Blank pages before us, we are reaching for something in the distance. Bob spent a month in a hospital in Rio and we don't yet know how long he will be at Spaulding. There is a lot that we don't know about Bob's future right now. But if we stop and think about it, there is a lot that we don't know about our own lives either.
Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.
*hugs tight*
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