Youville Thursday Morning and Afternoon

Mom had some more trouble sleeping last night. It seems as though the late night gift-snack of humus and tabouli brought to Mom by Anna and Dad did not sit well with Mom's restructured digestive tract; although Mom did say that it was delicious. Fortunately, in the morning I arrived after most of the drama, which was a relief to Mom. Today was quite productive in multiple ways. She was able to meet two physicians! This was the first time she spoke with any doctors at Youville. The first doctor, Dr. Sudoukis (sp?) spent a lot of time listening to Mom explain her concerns, the experiences she past through the last several weeks, etc. Her bedside manner was excellent. Then Mom had the opportunity to walk with the occupational therapist, Barbara, who also showed her some unique devices for getting dress and picking up objects without using her abdominal muscles. Barbara also promised to get Mom cleared to walk with family members, which will greatly increase the amount of walking she is able to do throughout the day. Afterwards Mom saw 4th year ostheopathic medical student named Jessica, who is doing a rotation at Youville. Later, a geriatric doctor and professor at Harvard Medical School came to see Mom. He was quite caring and considerate. He explained the importance of a health proxy and procedural waivers and listened to Mom's concerns about her present digestive elimination discomforts.

On another note, Mom was able to smell spring today. When Anna visited she opened the window to Mom's room quite wide (even a little too wide - items in the room started blowing away). A nice breeze aired the room out - it was quite exhilarating.

Mom seems significantly less sedated and a lot stronger on her feet. She has been complaining substantially less about pain, which are positive signs of her recovery from surgery. Also, she ate a whole egg this morning and has been eating incrementally more at each meal.

Stephen