Sorry for the silence. We've been pretty busy the past few days.
Anyhoo.
Tatay's first week at home:
- We've worked out a schedule among us so that someone stays awake
with Tatay most of the day. The first few days, it was me (insomniac)
and my cousins Mikel (anime-aficionado) and Mariel (nurse-in-training).
The first two nights, all three of us were up during the wee hours of
the morning, so Nanay could catch up on much-needed sleep. We managed
to ward off sleep with an ongoing anime marathon, frequent midnight and
post-midnight snacking, and readings from various Terry Pratchett
novels. Although we were able to keep awake, the three of us usually
wound up sprawled in random semi-conscious poses on the living room
floor by around nine or ten am. So we started keeping Tatay company in
shifts instead. At night it's usually the cousins, with Nanay waking up
once in a while to check, during the day, it's Nanay, Anne and Tatay's
brothers.
- Saturday morning, I woke up to the sound of the family car
running in the street in front of our house. I went out and saw that
someone was warming up the engine. Probably Miks, I thought. Someone
opened the back door for me. It was Mar. I slid into the back seat and
saw that Miks was in the front passenger seat. Tatay was "driving".Miks had let him start up the car. Tatay
gave me his half-smile through the rear-view mirror. We sat in the car
for a while, enjoying the airconditioning and radio music. When it was
time to park the car and wheel Tatay back into the house, he told us he
had lots of fun. (Aside: Now he has one more reason to exercise the
muscles in his right side more. Miks reminded him that he needs his
right foot for the gas and his right hand for the gear shift.)
- Ever since Ernie Update number 5, Tatay's been getting a steady
stream of visitors. A couple of pastors from church dropped by, plus
our Bible study group, the church's "Hakot Boys", and some of Tatay's
friends. They come bearing flowers, get well cards, and fruit baskets.
(Aside:Thanks to you, our crisper continually overflows with apples,
oranges and bananas. Yummy
) The visits cheer Tatay up.
- Mealtimes have become regular family reunions lately. Breakfasts
are small affairs compared to the production numbers we've come to know
as Lunch and Dinner. Over the weekend, we had frequent gatherings of
Santoses, Bustrilloses, Zamoras, Yaps and Carpios. And plenty of food.
Tatay's off the soft diet. He usually eats whatever we eat now,
occasionally turning down the ice cream and the beef. (Food conscious
na ulit si Doc.)
- Tatay's vision has finally returned to normal. Ever since the
stroke, he had a bad case of double-vision. A little rambling: When he
was at PGH, Anna sent him a cardboard tube of M&Ms with a felt
version of Red stuck on top. We stood it on top of the TV so Tatay
could see it. When he was released, we brought it home, still unopened,
and put it on top of the table in his room. A couple of days ago, he
asked Nanay: where's the other one? How come there's only one? He watched part of Ghostbusters today.
- Thanks to Nurse Mariel, we've been learning how to help Tatay
with his PT exercises. His PT sessions here usually involve plenty of
lively music and back-up dancers (Mar, Miks, Anne, Nanay and me.) PT is
usually exhausting for Tatay, but we try to keep things light. His
right side is getting stronger. He can stand better, and he can move
his right leg and right arm slightly now. When we were doing the facial
exercises with him, Mar and I noticed that both sides of his face smile
now. The half-smile is finally gone.
- Tatay started weekly PT sessions at LBDH this Tuesday. Tito
Gards, drove him and Nanay there. Tatay came home encouraged and
determined to continue his exercises. He can't wait to drive his car.
God is continually working in our lives. We see evidence of that every
day. We are bearing up in spite of the circumstances. We get tired and
discouraged, but someone always pops up to cheer us all up. We have
Tito Oca, Tita Alfin, Lolo, Lola, Tito Boy, Tito Gards and all of our
other relatives to help us make sure we don't miss a thing. We have
Mariel, our resident nurse, to help us with the technical stuff. We
have Miks and Gani to help us run our errands. We have Ate Glo,
Roseanne to bring us meals so Anne doesn't have to cook too much. We
have the perpetually cheerful Anne, who helps keep us sane by keeping
the house in order. We have people constantly praying for us.
God has funny ways of providing for everything we need. When we were
wondering where we could borrow a hospital bed and a wheelchair, Tito
Oca and Lolo and Lola had already arranged for them to be brought to
the house. Even before we could start looking for a quad-cane, some of
our family friends already got one for Tatay. Someone always happens to
bring us something to eat or snack on. Just when it's time to go to the
supermarket for fruit, another basket comes in. (The only food problem
we have is dealing with all the leftovers so they don't go to waste. As
a result, we're all rapidly gaining weight.)
God uses even the smallest things to encourage us. A surprise visit from friends. A warm (non-lopsided) smile from Tatay.
We don't know how long this will take, but it looks like God's making sure we'll make it through the long haul.
God has funny ways of providing for everything we need. 
