Amanda's birthday and the walking wounded

Amanda's dad is spending her birthday day with us, so it's the afternoon with the walking wounded. 5 days after Amanda had her brain surgery, Ray had quintuple bypass open heart surgery. The doctor indicated his heart is incredibly strong, and he is recovering well. Kind of neat to have Mandy and her dad spend some recovery time together. Between the two of them, we've got one complete person!

Kids stopped by to wish Mandy a happy birthday, and to show off the candy bar card they made for her. It was wonderful to see them again, and to hear the sound of the kids around the house (for a few minutes). Family and friends have been so helpful during this time. Tough to sufficiently express gratitude for the help we've gotten.

Yesterday, we visited Dr Leininger, who specializes in rehabilitation of neurologic and musculoskeletal dysfunction. He evaluated Amanda and recommended physical therapy for balance and walking and occupational therapy for the eating and facial control. We'll give the therapists a call Monday and get it all scheduled.

The drive down to Provo yesterday really took it out of Amanda. For once, I was glad the doc was an hour late because Mandy got to sleep and recover from the drive. By the time we got home, Mandy was spent and ready to sleep.

Progress is still slow but steady. Amanda is able to talk better and her balance is slowly returning, although she still needs assistance walking. It's frustrating for her to be in the role of care receiver when she is so used to being the one managing and running everything for our house.

It's fun to hear Mandy read to Christian again. He doesn't care about the slurred speech and facial weakness - it's just mom again. In fact, he thinks mom is even cooler because she gets an eye patch. As soon as he walked in he poked Mandy's eye patch and said, "You get a pirate!"