More angels

My angels list is so long!!!

My father Bill, his wife Dorothy, my brother Bill and his wife Carol came to our house for a week. During this time they all acted like they were indentured servants. They did all the normal cooking and cleaning as well as painting furniture, washing windows, screens and cars, organizing paperwork and sheds, pruning, weeding....you name - it they did it!!! Hali and Bax chipped in and the only time anyone stopped working was to give me a bridal shower and celebrate my dad's 89th birthday!!! I am so grateful to them all for such love.

I'll list the "angel friends" later....

-Judi

Hello and a belated Happy Thanksgiving!

It is Sunday afternoon. Gary and I just attended a church service here at the Shepherd Center. Each Sunday is a little bit different with various pastors and even current and former patients participating. We enjoy the variety of services.  

Gary had had some ups and downs in the last week. Mostly ups!!! He has been working hard on transferring from his wheelchair to bed, to a shower seat, and even in and out of a car. When he got in the car we didn't go anywhere but we practiced for the future. I passed my training to get a "push pass" which means I am allowed to take him out of the hospital - to any distance I could push him. Unfortunately, so far we haven't gone anywhere because he has a urinary tract infection, and hasn't been feeling very well. I am sure this will pass as today is better than yesterday which was better than the day before.

Sorry I haven't blogged too much lately, but I have been putting it off until I knew more about what the immediate future holds. This method isn't working any better than it did in college when I would put off writing my papers hoping that magically I would know more tomorrow.

Here is what I know so far:

Gary was given a discharge date of Dec 6.
The original plan was to transfer him to the "Day Stay program" here at SC. In this program we would both stay next door in an apartment (where I am staying when I am here). I would be responsible for all of his care and he would come over to SC during the day to continue his therapy. We hope this will be the case, but it isn't certain as they do not have space for him at the moment.

It was then planned that he would go to the VA hospital in Tampa...but he was turned down for that facility for various reasons....so now they are trying again to make space for him in the SC Day Stay program. We are just waiting TRYING to be patient. 

Anyway, I hope you have all had a good Thanksgiving with loved ones.

Judi and Gary

Gary's address

Hi everybody!  I wanted to make sure that you have Gary's address(in case you want to send a congratulations card for their wedding or other words of encouragement:))  Thank you for all of your support; it means so much to my mom and Gary!!!  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

-Hali

Gary Gammage

Shepherd Center
2020 Peachtree St NW

Atlanta, GA

30309

Wedding Bells!!!!

Monday, Nov 14

So sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I have been so busy.

I have been back and forth to Atlanta several times, my family is visiting from Dallas and North Carolina, and Gary and I got married!

Yes, you read it correctly.

On Friday, 11 11, 11 at 11:11 am we tied the knot. We really didn't plan it to be that time or date but NOTHING we have done lately has been all that planned by us.

My friend Jan planned the whole thing and she did an amazing job! I could go on and on about all the stuff Jan had to do to get it done. She sweet talked an armour-plated bureaucrat into figuring out how to get a marriage license without both parties appearing at the courthouse. ("We'll just do it the same way we treat criminals in custody".) Somehow she got a judge to come to the hospital on his day off and she provided cake, refreshments, a bouquet, helped me get a ring (now there's a story for another day), took photographs...and I am sure MUCH, MUCH more!!! I was in such a fog that I can't remember everything she did, but

Jan was amazing!

For once I was speechless during the whole ceremony. The most noteworthy comment was from one of our favorite nurses (Cynthia of the slingshowerplasticbag fame) said "Now there is a real love story!" And I cried some more.

Gary is doing better each day. He is up in his wheelchair and getting to therapy several times each day. His arms are not as strong as they used to be but he is determined to do everything he can. Right now he is working on being able to transfer in and out of his wheelchair. Sitting up alone still eludes him, made more difficult by a brace on his torso. The brace is to assure his spine receives extra support. Although the brace itself is uncomfortable, Gary is hopeful that it will help protect him until the spinal fusion/reconstruction/fractures heal. He will eventually get the brace off if all heals properly. Gary's spirits seem better as each hurdle is cleared, but he is still worried that something else will go wrong. Of course I am convinced that the worst is behind us.

Gary's schedule seems to be operating on a more regular basis now. Consequently I will be entering comments into the Blog less often. I plan on doing an update roughly every few days up to a week.

As always we are both grateful for your thoughts and prayers,

Judi and Gary

Finally, a good day.

Tuesday, Nov 8

Gary is having a good day today. He went to therapy this morning and he will go to more this afternoon. He is feeling stronger since the surgery and very motivated to do as much as he can. Of course nothing has been easy for him throughout this entire process and post-surgery is following the same course. They are continuing to watch him closely so nothing interferes with his healing. Today's concerns are the possible formation of blood clots in his legs and urinary tract complications. As he begins to feel better his fighting spirit is returning. I told the nursing staff it was great for Gary that he is beginning to act like his normal self, but bad for the staff because now he will be more like the old Gary - he'll be a pain in their butts. Those poor nurses won't be fast enough or get enough done or make quick enough decisions. He was already anxious because he wasn't early for his first therapy appointment.

Sunday he woke up and the first thing he said was "Since my right arm works pretty well but my left arm is weak, I think I am going to learn to play guitar." It is interesting to me how the smallest thing can now seem so significant. I am so grateful to hear Gary talking about the future with some enthusiasm in his voice!

The Shepherd Center offers a variety of classes to educate patients about their injuries. Gary went to one class yesterday and reported it was designed for those folks without a medical background but he said it helps to get him out and about. Reading between the lines that probably means he could have taught the class.

The angels for the last few days are: Hali, Carol and Jan for talking me home from Atlanta (and filling me in on Herman Cain, Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky - I know Joe and Jerry from when I worked at Penn St - EEEK! what a mess). Thanks to my neighbor Steve for showing me that the lawn mower wasn't broken, we just needed to use the choke. Special thanks to Jan for doing all kinds of stuff to help me when I am in Atlanta. And to Peter and Nancy for suggesting that I do this blog. It has helped me so much to keep up the communication.

Thanks to you all for caring about Gary!

Judi

Out of surgery

Saturday, Nov 5

Gary came through yesterday's surgery with no major problems. The surgeon feels he will be much better having had this procedure and she was happy with the the results. Of course they are watching him carefully to make sure there are no complications. Gary was up and about today in his wheelchair and very happy to do his physical therapy this morning (less than 24 hours post surgery). The therapists feel he works hard and are always complimentary of his efforts when he gets to do it. It is too early to tell how quickly he will be making progress toward his goals of independence. I know he will give it everything he has. If anyone can triumph over the continued obstacles, Gary will. It has never been more clear to me how much I love this man. I am glad to be with him in this struggle.

There is a wheelchair basketball tournament going on all weekend at the Shepherd Center Gym, so we watched a game this am and are looking forward to watching another game this afternoon. The athletes are in terrific shape and they play really hard. Most of the athletes are men, but there is one team all women and a few co-ed teams. Gary and I both enjoyed watching the balance of intensity and good sportsmanship.

Another beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived from Gary's business partners today. We are both grateful to Gayle for making sure we had photos of Gary's best friend Trevor....and our 2 other dogs, PeeWee and Lucky. And a big thanks to Tom "I'm retired and retarded" Mullins and Mr. Norton for taking our garbage to the dump. Mr Norton was 99 years old last week and very proud of a letter wishing him a Happy Birthday from President Obama.

FYI - One of the patients here at Shepherd will be on national TV tonight. Gary watched them filming it this week. The young man named Chico was a cheerleading advisor at LSU when his accident occurred. Chico will be featured in a segment prior to the LSU/Alabama football game tonight.

Our best to you all,

Judi and Gary 

Prepping for surgery

Thursday, Nov 3

Gary is sleeping peacefully which is pretty unusual so I sneaked off to the family lounge where the computers are located.

Gary is so worn out and discouraged. One of our favorite nurses Myra says that he never complains and always tells her he is fine, but she knows better. Then she winked at me and said "Gary is one of my most favorite patients ever". He is counting the minutes until the Friday, Nov 4 -  2:00pm - surgery is over. Today begins the getting ready for surgery process. This includes a liquid diet and clearing out the intestinal tract. Part of him is dreading it and the other part can't wait to get it over with. I agree. Of course this is understandable. We are hoping he is able to bounce back better after this surgery than the last one.

Here is my lame joke for today:

Those of you who know Gary and me as a couple know that the old saying "opposites attract" is a pretty good description of our relationship. We have joked many times about the fact that Gary sees life as the "glass half empty" and I see it as the "glass half full".

Gary was so down that he called himself "Mr Half Dead"....I thought a moment and said "I'd prefer to call you Mr Half Alive". Even Gary had to laugh.

Birthday Angels:

So many cards that I can't list them all, but thank you.

A special thanks to Gary's partners - Kathy, Dave, Mark and Andrezs - for a Beautiful Vase of flowers. Also to my brother Bill and his wife Carol for the cutest little IPOD I have ever seen. Maybe I can find a toddler to show me how to use it.

Please keep Gary in your prayers tomorrow for surgery.

Good news and bad news

Wednesday, November 2

Today is Gary's birthday. I have good news and bad news.
Both the good and bad are: Gary is having surgery. It is scheduled for this Friday.

I will spare you all the details as they are not pretty, but he will have surgery to his intestinal tract. He has been experiencing quite a bit of trouble in this area for the last 2 weeks. This has been keeping him from getting up in his wheelchair and working at therapy. He is so frustrated and discouraged. Everyone here has been very positive that this surgery will help, so we are hoping they are correct. He is very anxious to get the surgery moving along.

In the meantime my angels:
A huge THANK YOU to Kathy, Gary's business partner who has been taking care of all the masses of paperwork and substitutes and everything that Gary is not able to do regarding his work right now!!! Gary's comment to this was "as always". She is a whirlwind. Also to everyone at the Orthopedic Surgery Center where Gary has been working for the gigantic Happy Birthday GG sign. After a few scary moments I finally got it hanging up where he can see it. (The PTs were scared not me).
And a big thanks to my friend Jan who took me out for some "retail therapy" and more than a few good laughs!

One more note, Gary is still not interested in reading email, so those of you asking for his address, sorry. Please don't take it personally.

Later today we will have cupcakes and ice cream - if Gary can eat. I am sure SOMEONE will eat them. Of course I can probably do it by myself if I have to!

Hugs,

Judi