April 12, 2008

Hello Everyone:

This has been a difficult but productive and positive week for Fredi.

She has been working hard in PT and is beginning to stand and walk but it is very painful and so she is on a steady but well monitored diet of percoset.

She talks all the time and is busy reading the times and New Yorker so if you visit you won't be without anything to talk about. Baseball season has begun, the election is in full swing, the Knicks are in the toilet, the Pope is coming to town, I borrowed the the last season of the Sopranos off Netflix for her, she also has cable now so she will be watching CNN and NY1.....

On Tuesday I took her to the Access-A-Ride office for an interview to assess her eligibility for this service. We don't anticipate a problem.

This was the farthest she has been from the nursing home in anything other than an ambulance since she got sick. Our meeting there was quick and our ride wasn't for another 90 minutes so we decided to try and take the bus. As we were walking up Madison Avenue to 125th Street I looked up and saw the school where Fredi's sister Sharon works. I think my words were, "Hey look. It's Auntie's school." Fredi was already in a daze, being able to be almost normal, out on the street so far from the home with an escort. I think she said, "What?" She was so excited when she realized where we were so.... we decided to surprise Auntie Nana and pay her a visit. We went into the building and sure enough Sharon was walking the halls, saw us and FREAKED OUT. And that is putting it mildly. My lord, what a ruckus. She jumped up and down and cried and almost dropped the lunch she was carrying. Anyway we ended up staying there until our ride back to Amsterdam House was scheduled. At that time we walked back to the Access-A-Ride office and went back to the nursing home in shock over how our morning ended up.

Fredi has also been eating food in the presence of her speech therapist who monitors her swallowing. So far she is still getting mounds of puree and thickened liquid but that may change soon. They are talking about reversing her tracheostomy and feeding tube so relief is in sight.

One other thing is that her friend Christina from Seattle will be coming to NY in May and we will be taking Fredi to the ballet. We are a go for that. She is weaning off her O2 as well so things are getting easier for travel. We may not need an O2 tank. I thought that one Monday I would take her to the movies if we can find something she wants to see close to Amsterdam House.

I guess that is it for now.

Tracy