May 27 Update

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've been a busy little bee since Mom came home. Daddy is able to move around better, so he's been getting out to run errands. And I stay with Mom while he's out. She's grateful to be home so that people can come visit. She enjoys talking to everyone as it gets boring sitting around. She tires easily though, so don't take it personally if she dozes off during a visit.

Everyone has been so great! Meals have been delivered on a regular basis; much more than they can eat! (But that's okay because I get to bring home leftovers-less cooking for me! Yay!) Mom's also received plenty of cards & flowers! That really cheers her up too!

Therapists & nurses have been in and out all week making their initial visits. One nurse takes vital signs & blood twice a week. Physical therapists come twice a week. Not sure if there's anyone else. Hopefully, they get a set schedule in place starting next week. It will be nice to know when to expect them so Mom can be ready & we can let visitors know what times are good to come.

Granny (Mom's mom) is coming tomorrow & Mom is really looking forward to that! Granny lives in Maryland & has been so anxious to come down since Mom's accident. My cousin & her husband are bringing her. She's been helping my bedridden grandfather for a few years, so she's already trained & will be able to help Mom quite a bit. Daddy is planning to go back to work part-time on June 1, so it will be good that Granny is there to help. And, Blake & I will still be there a lot too.

Mom has a doctor's appointment on June 4 in Charleston. I think they will x-ray her hip, knees, & feet to see how things are healing.

I think that's all the news I have to report for now! Mom is able to check her email & Facebook, but I'm not sure how often. She usually has her cell phone or house phone close by though, so you can call her. Email me if you need her number, hwhite76@hotmail.com.

Thanks for continuing to check on her & keep those prayers coming!

A Few Pics...

Here are some more pictures of the car from Daddy's camera. He & B were able to get closer & some better angles. Pretty scary!

Mom came home yesterday! Here's a pic of her visiting with Blake! She'll probably be mad that I posted this pic. She was worried about not having her hair fixed or make-up on. Who cares! We're just glad she's home!

Home Sweet Home

Mom made it home without incident today. She spent some time in the wheelchair in the family room, reading mail & making phone calls. She got back in bed for a bit. Then, got back into the wheelchair once Blake, Brian, & I got there. She transfers back & forth really well.

She's able to check her email more often now, so feel free to drop her a line. ljwhite@sc.rr.com
She'll get back to you as soon as she can. She has her cell phone with her all the time, so you can call her too. She gets tired easily though & isn't always up for talking. If you leave her a message, she'll get back to you soon though.

I think she's ready to start having visitors, so stop by if you can. Please call first to make sure it's a good time.

Thanks so much for all the care & concern! We really appreciate it!

Home...

Four weeks ago today (April 22), Mom left her house to go to a dinner with Daddy. Tomorrow (May 21) she returns for the first time since that night!

All the medical equipment arrived today. The dining room at my parents' house has been transformed into Mom's new room. She has a hospital bed, wheelchair, bedside potty chair, & CPM machine (machine that bends her knee). Insurance won't pay for an ambulance to bring her home from the rehab place, so Daddy is going to pick her up in the morning. The therapists will help her get loaded up & have taught her numerous exercises that she can do at home. She's supposed to receive therapy at home also, but I haven't heard the details on that yet.

Mom is so thrilled to be coming home! You can hear in her voice that she just sounds happier since she found out yesterday she was leaving. I will be taking Blake to see her tomorrow afternoon. She can't wait!

Thank you so much for all you've done so far! Already people are planning to bring dinner to Mom & Dad for the next several days. We are so blessed to have great friends like you!

Hooray!!!

Mom is coming home on Friday!!!

Daddy raised Hell; calling everyone in the main office & it worked! They tried to convince him to let Mom stay, but he wasn't having it! Mom is so excited to be coming home soon!

So many of you have said you want to come visit Mom when she gets home & she wants to see all of you too! However, please give us a couple of days to get her settled before you come over.

Thanks so much for everything!

Wednesday's Update

Still waiting to hear when Mom will be able to come home. A meeting is being held today with all therapists, etc. that work with Mom to discuss her goals & progress. We hope to have a definite answer after that meeting.

In the mean time, please pray for the family of Diane Lewis, my husband's aunt. She lost her battle with cancer last night. She leaves behind her husband-Norwood, children-Ginger Jacobs & Jody Lewis, granddaughter(s)-Skyler Jacobs& Lucy Lewis (to arrive in the next month or so), along with countless other friends & family. She will truly be missed! We love you, Aunt Diane!

Coming Home?

I went to Mt. Pleasant to hang out with Mom today. I was hoping to get some answers about when she'd be able to leave. Unfortunately, I don't know any more than I did before. We're thinking that she might be able to come home later this week, but not sure. Wednesday will be 7 days that she's been there. BCBS pre-certified her for 7 days. Not sure if re-certifying her will be a big production or will just happen automatically. Daddy is going to be there with her tomorrow. He will interrogate everyone he sees about getting her released.

She did really well today with the little bit that I saw. She transferred from wheel chair to potty chair without help and from potty chair to bed without help. She hates it there. It's a really sad & depressing place to be, so hopefully she won't have to be there too much longer.

Rehab Update

Going to Mt. Pleasant on Monday to visit Mom. Should find out more about when she's leaving there. It's looking like it will be Wednesday or Thursday.

Stay tuned...

She's Moved!

Mom was finally moved to rehab this morning! It's actually just down the road from where we lived when we were there a couple of years ago. Here's her new address:

Sandpiper Rehab & Nursing
1049 Anna Knapp Blvd.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
She's in Room 119.

We don't anticipate her being there very long; maybe only 7 days. If you want to send a card & want to make sure she doesn't miss it, just mail it to the house.

2505 Reta Street
Conway, SC 29526

She enjoys getting cards from you all. We've been taking cards to her that have come to the house. She keeps them with her to re-read when she's sitting around.
She continues to improve each day. She's the youngest person at the rehab place. She'll be racing around the hallways in no time!
She's not really excited about being there without Daddy. She got used to him waiting on her while she's been in the hospital. Now, she has to wait for a nurse to come help her when she needs something.
Physical therapy is going to keep her pretty busy during her days there. She has therapy pretty much all day. If you happen to be in the area, visiting hours are from 12-1pm & after 4pm. Call me if you want to visit & I can give you directions if you like, 803-447-0099.

Thanks again for everything! We appreciate you all so much! Mom can't wait to get back home to visit with you & get back to "normal".

No Kidding Around This Time!

Mom is moving to rehab in the morning...finally!

She's going to Sandpiper Rehab & Nursing in Mt. Pleasant, SC. That's about an hour & a half away. We don't expect her to be there very long; 7-14 days. If you want to send a card, you should send it fast! I have the address, but will wait until I have her room number to post it. Will post it Thursday evening!

Thanks to all for checking here to keep up with Mom's progress! More soon!

No News is Good News...?

I feel like I say this everyday, but I really believe it this time!

Mom should be moving to a rehab center in Mt. Pleasant tomorrow. I'll post the address once it's official.

Thanks for continuing to check here on Mom's status & for all the prayers!

Mother's Day 2010

We were hoping Mom would be out of MUSC for Mother's Day, but it didn't work out that way. I went up to Charleston on Friday to spend a couple of days with Mom & Dad. We celebrated our Mother's Day on Saturday. My brother went there to be with her today after he worked brunch.

Going to the bathroom has been a problem, but it seems that those issues have been resolved. Daddy has been trained on helping Mom with the bedpan & changing her sheets, etc. Today Daddy took her for a ride around the hospital once she got into the wheelchair. She even got to go outside for awhile. It was the first time she's been outside in over 2 weeks!

Mom wanted me to be home with Blake for Mother's Day, so I returned to Myrtle Beach last night. We went to church this morning, then lunch with my in-laws. Came home & took a nap while Blake napped. We went to Market Common after that. Walked around, fed the ducks, had some dinner at King Street Grille. Blake ate like such a big boy; using his fork & not throwing any food on the floor. We walked around a bit more, took some pictures by the fountain, then came home. All in all, a good day!

I know Mom is sad that she hasn't been able to see Blake since all this happened, but I plan on taking him to visit as soon as she's moved to rehab.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Friday Night Update

Sorry for the delay in updating. There's not been a lot of new information to report.
I'm in Charleston with Mom & Dad this weekend. It now appears that Mom will be moving to a rehab center on Monday or Tuesday. We're thinking it will be HealthSouth in Charleston, but HealthSouth in Florence is a possibility as well. Who knows! I'm beyond trying to figure out how all this works. Daddy is staying in the room with Mom now. It's not especially comfortable for him, but he doesn't want to leave her. He won't come home until she gets sent to the rehab place.

That's all I know for now. Will post again once I know more. Thanks for all the cards, flowers, etc. that you've sent to the house & to the hospital. Mom enjoys them & frequently re-reads her cards. I spent some time reading emails I've received to her tonight & we didn't even get through half of them!
I'll post the address to the rehab place once I know it. We're told she'll only be there 7-10 days or so though.
Thanks for the continued concern! We appreciate all the thoughts & prayers!

Thursday Morning Update

We were hoping that Mom would get transferred to a rehab facility in Garden City today, but they have denied her. Now, we're trying to find a place in Charleston that will take her. Having her closer to home would be better, but we've run out of options in the Myrtle Beach area. We're still hopeful that she will be able to leave MUSC no later than tomorrow.

Stay tuned....

Tuesday Update

Mom had another good day. She got a new physical therapist & she likes this one much better. She felt that she did better with the new girl today. She'll continue to see this new therapist for the remainder of her time there.

Mom & Dad met with a caseworker from BCBS today. She gave them 3 options for rehab facilities. One in Pawley's Island, one in Garden City, & one in Florence. These are all ones we already knew about it. She will make the necessary phone calls tomorrow to see which one can take her. It will depend on availability & insurance. Daddy felt a lot better after speaking to the case worker. She will see things through to the end. We are still hopeful that Mom will get to leave this week on Thursday or Friday.

Daddy had an appointment in Loris yesterday. He was hoping the doctor would give him an idea about when he'd be able to drive, but the doctor was stuck in surgery. A nurse took out the stitches in hand. He'll have to see the doctor another time to get his ribs, etc. checked out. He's still sore, but it's not as bad as it was during the days immediately after the accident.

If you want to send a card to Mom or Dad, you can send it to her home address & we'll get it to her. I'll put the rehab address on here once I know it.

Linda or Al White
2505 Reta Street
Conway, SC 29526

Or you can email a note to me & I'll make sure s/he gets to read it. My email address is hwhite76@hotmail.com.

Thanks for continuing to check in our family. We appreciate all the concern!

Monday Update

Mom continues to improve each day. She sits in the wheelchair for several hours each day. Getting into the wheelchair is still a struggle, but I think that's due to the fact the Mom & the PT don't see eye to eye. We hope to get a new therapist to work with Mom for the remainder of her time. She really liked the weekend therapist, but the girl that comes during the week isn't as good.

We're still hopeful that Mom will be leaving MUSC towards the end of the week. We were hoping she would be able to come to a rehab center in Myrtle Beach, but not sure if that will work out. She might have to go to a place in Florence (1 hour away). Mom & Dad are meeting with a BCBS case worker tomorrow at 5:30, so maybe we'll know more after that.

Thanks so much for keeping all of us in your prayers. We'll be needing them for several months to come!

Saturday Update

Sorry for the delay in updating! Mom is doing great! She has been working with the physical therapists each day. They did leg exercises with her & helped her get in the wheelchair. She sits in a wheelchair for several hours at at time. The doctors/nurses are amazed at how well she's doing!

It appears she is going to a rehab center in Myrtle Beach middle of next week. I'll post on here once I know exactly where & when.

Mom is so thankful for all the flowers & cards she has received. It's nice to know that so many are concerned & thinking about her.

I'm bringing Daddy home tomorrow so he can go to a follow-up appointment for his ribs, etc. on Monday.

Will update more when I can! Thanks again for all the thoughts & prayers!