The Rehab Center

The way I understand it, Mom will be in the rehab center for several weeks. The bone she fractured has to be treated in the same way an injured rib is cared for: with a great deal of patience and TLC, to allow it to heal properly on its own.

Mom doesn’t appear to be in any pain, except when she sits up. She requires help to get into a wheelchair. Then, once she settles into the chair, she seems comfortable again. She travels to the dining room in the wheelchair, and her appetite is good. She has never been an extremely picky eater, which is probably fortunate for her, since she is in for a bland institutional regimen now.

Today is Mom’s third day at the center; she entered Friday evening. Each day she has eaten her meals at regular times; she has taken her medications at correctly spaced intervals; and she is clean and wearing fresh clothes. She seems to be confused by the move, in that she doesn’t know where she is. Yet she is not acting out in the least. For so long, she has “wanted to go home” each evening, but now she says she is at home. Yesterday afternoon she told me that she and Pop had gone to lunch and then come back home. (Lunch was in the dining room, and we were in her room visiting.)

We don’t really know what to expect from day to day. She may wake up one morning soon and decide she doesn’t want to be in this place any more. But for now, she is comfortable, as much as possible with the fractured bone. And the Lord has used this fall that caused her pain to ensure that her needs are met.

Pop, on the other hand, is probably not doing so well. I use the word “probably” because no one really knows how he feels most of the time. He is not an expressive person. Opinionated,yes, but not one to talk about feelings. So we assume he is lonely without Mom at home with him. He has no one to talk to, no one to eat with, and so on. He is spending several hours a day at the rehab center, watching television with Mom. He has even mentioned taking a more comfortable chair from home out to her room.

It is heart-rending to imagine being separated from your best friend of 20 years and being unable to help the situation. He has tried to hang on, to keep Mom at home, to take care of her himself, to make the best of things. But now his best-laid plans are not working. He can take comfort in the fact that she is well cared for, but now he must take care of himself. And we must continue to pray for the Lord’s protection over him.