POST CHRISTMAS UPDATE

Well, the past two weeks since the visit with the neurosurgeon has been a very busy time. With me back at work, it hasn't left me much time to keep up with my entries. My entire office has been very supportive. They have made my transition back so much more manageable. I want to thank everyone in my team for stepping up and working so hard to enable me to leave early each night. Being back at work certainly adds another level of challenges to the mix. It has been and will continue to be a big adjustment for all of us.

Joanne continues to work hard and improve every day. She is determined not to let anything slow her down. She was wrapping presents and tying bows just before Christmas. She worked a little more slowly than past years, but she worked very hard to convince her right hand to help with the wrapping. I sorely missed her writing out all the envelopes for our Christmas cards this year, but under her guidance, I was able to type and print them. If I tried to write them, no one would have gotten a card this year. I apologize to anyone reading this who was expecting a card but did not receive one. We had a wonderful Christmas. Quiet time at home in the morning, then a casual dinner a her sister Susan's. I am so happy that we were all together.

Joanne will be continuing her speech and occupational therapy well into the new year. With all of the holiday visits, I think she has done an amazing job talking with everyone. I have noticed that I am filling in a lot of the blacks for her and finishing her sentences when she gets stuck on a word. I am trying to stop that, but I think I am trying to be protective of her. She is a little self conscious when we are around people we don't know very well or if she is talking to a store clerk. When she tells people she had a stroke eight weeks ago, everyone's jaw drops in disbelief. She still mixes up our names, but I think she did that before too. Her choice of words is often funny and not quite right for her meaning, but we can usually figure out what she means.

We received a call early in the morning on Christmas eve. I was rather put off that someone could be so inconsiderate to call us at 8:15am on Christmas eve. It was the social worker from the rehab calling to inform us that she was working out an agreement with our insurance company to cover the cost of the occupational therapy. I didn't mind the early call after all. I have made dozens of phone calls, faxed and emailed and now it seems to be finally working out. And as soon as January 1st comes, I get to start all over again. We are 'fortunate' that this happened at he end of the year. By fortunate, I mean that we used up the 30 visit out patient benefit for the calendar year and start fresh at the beginning of the new year. It still may not cover all of her visits, but I can't image what we would have done if the insurance didn't work out like this. God has provided so abundantly through this entire situation. I don't know how people can do it without Him.