#91

Elaine is progressing so well! She is progressing so well that she is even dreaming about a new business that she and Staci are going to start. They are going to give botox shots. Her first client was Grandma Ida!
That's right. She was actually dreaming.

She claims that it is very important that she knows exactly where you had your last shot so she could put it in exactly the same place! This is how we start our mornings, hearing about Elaine's crazy dreams. Just so we are clear, her dreams have been like this before she "got stroke." They are always entertaining and ridiculous:)

Fred and Elaine had a quiet morning and then Staci came over to take Elaine to lunch and therapy. Fred was taking Taylor out on a date so Staci and Elaine went to The Counter and had burgers, fries, and shakes. They were delicious. They laughed and Staci told Elaine how she can't believe how far she has progressed. It wasn't that long ago that she was in the rehab hospital, confined to a wheel chair, not able to do anything alone. It was a day that it really hit Staci that she was actually out to lunch with her mom!  The simple things that you take for granted that can be taken away in an instant. We have all vowed to never take a minute for granted!

After a nutritious lunch, they headed to physical therapy. There was a scheduling conflict so she only had therapy for an hour today. It was an insightful session. She has been doing so well that they are able to really zero in on what messages are still not being sent to or from her brain. As we have mentioned several times, one of the biggest challenges she has when it comes to walking is being able to keep her knee straight. It has been especially frustrating for her because she thinks it is straight and one of us is always yapping at her to straighten it. The therapist did a test on her today to see if she is able to feel the direction her ankle is moving. It turns out that when she closed her eyes and the therapist moved her foot, she could feel it moving towards her or her toe pointing up, but NOT when it was pointing down. This means that she isn't able to feel when her foot touches the ground. This is why she has trouble with depth perception, her steps, and flattening her foot. They are going to really focus on some exercises to "wake up" the nerves. Her homework over the weekend is to try and take the same size strides with both legs and walk heel-to-toe. This is her practicing on the dots and making a heel-to-toe step.

After therapy, Elaine and Staci had to run to a dermatologist appointment to have a few moles checked on Staci. Elaine was eager to come and Staci just went along with it. She soon found out why. She wanted to find out if with her stroke and her medications, if she could still have botox. After the appointment as they were walking out of the office this was their conversation:

E- "Well, that was sure great news!"
S- "I know. I am glad my moles all look ok!"
E- "Oh yeah, that is great too. I was talking about my botox. I am so glad I can have it!"

Yes, she is still the same old vain Elaine!

They arrived home to Fred who was bearing gifts! He bought Elaine some beautiful new tops. He said that now that she is feeling better, he wanted her to have some new non Lulu Lemon clothes! The gift was complete with a singing card. It was very sweet. There is nothing Elaine likes more than presents and nothing Fred likes more than giving:) She can hardly wait to debut one of her new tops! What a guy!

The kids popped in for a visit, a trip to the candy jar, and some kisses. Fred and Elaine enjoyed the wonderful pasta and sauce that Allison brought over and are ready for a restful night!

#90

Elaine had another good night of sleep. The Neurontin is helping her at night, it puts her to sleep, too! I nice bonus. The pain pill is helping her arm as well, but unfortunately she can feel it as soon as it wears off. She had a great day of therapy though and continued to process and focused better today too!

This afternoon Staci and Taylor dropped off Elaine's juice and some groceries. Staci had to get the other two kids and Taylor decided to stay and take care of Nammie until she got back. She was so sweet with her, rubbing her arm, getting her sips of water, holding her hand so delicately when she stood up. We think its the only time that Elaine doesn't want to be independent! It was a nice treat for both of them to spend some time alone and Taylor was so excited with the responsibility of "taking care of Nammie." She never left her side!

Christi was so excited that Nammie came to swim practice to watch her. Elaine sat and watched her for the whole hour, even during the raindrops. We did forget her Coumadin so Fred had to run it over to us at the pool. We are so thankful for nurse Fred and the alarm that goes off on his phone every day at 4:45! He is such an incredible, selfless caretaker! Despite the drops of rain, the temperature was really nice. Elaine really enjoyed being outside and getting out doing some "normal" activities that don't include hospital visits, or therapy.

You can see a difference in Elaine just getting a more restful night of sleep and some hours of the day where she is not in so much pain. She is fighting through this with so much courage!

#89

Elaine had another busy day today! She finally had a really good night of sleep! She started a new nerve drug called Neurontin. Hopefully, this will help with Little Darlin's pain. After getting ready for the day, Allison stopped in for a visit from LA. She brought with a huge bag of delicious treats that Elaine has been enjoying all day. Allison was so excited to see how well Elaine was doing, and despite seeing her on the blog Allison thought she looked so much better in person

Elaine and Fred then headed to Hoag for her two hour therapy session. She had a new therapist today. She explained to Elaine that everyone is fighting to work with Elaine. They have such admiration for her determination and dedication. Her progress is remarkable and the therapists used the word "miracle"! They worked Little Darlin' some more as well as her golf turn. Check on this video:

It must have really inspired Elaine. Staci dropped off what we hope is the last load from the old house, which as you can imagine by now is useless odds and ends - oh amd MORE lamps! Then, Fred and Elaine headed down to the putting green so Elaine could practice the real thing. It was very exciting! She had lots of admirers and well wishers come by as well. She started by just putting with one hand but Fred and Jake encouraged her to use both hands, and she did very well! Elaine rode around while they played nine holes and she would putt on some of the greens. Elaine said to Fred, "honey you hit the ball and get me on the green and I'll putt. We would be a really good team!" Fred agreed that his score would come down at least nine shots with Elaine putting. If you don't believe it, check out this amazing video! 

Nearly 14 weeks ago, Elaine was bedridden and not sure she would ever walk again, much less play golf. And now, she is out there sinking putts. It is inspiring and amazing. We are so proud of Elaine and all the hard work she is putting in. It is hard for her to see her progression so we remind her of just how far she has come. Considering the magnitude of the situation, the fact that she has been boiling eggs for Fred, holding Brian, and putting on the green just in the last week is truly unbelievable and something Elaine was not sure she would ever be able to do again. She is slowly getting back her life - again, a life she wasn't sure she would ever know! The word Proud doesn't begin to sum up how we feel, and the title hero doesn't do her justice! 

#88

Elaine had a back-on-schedule type of day. Paul is back from his conference and he and Elaine worked for a couple hours this afternoon. It was more of the same with those two. Elaine laughed a lot while not maintaining as much focus as Paul would like. Her leg performed well and felt better. Unfortunately, her arm continued to be in pain. Elaine really shows amazing strength fighting through the pain to actually accomplish something during her therapy sessions.  She really is inspiring!

Recently, Staci started drinking fresh fruit and vegetable juices from this place called Nekter. She is now encouraging Elaine to drink one a day, and to ensure that it happens she usually runs one by the house. Luckily, Elaine likes her juice which is nice because she claims that she is sick of food and sick of eating. Staci doesn't let her get off that easily and is always gently (or less gently) getting Elaine to eat three meals a day plus snacks to ensure that she has enough energy to get through the therapy and the hard work she goes through every day.

Mostly though, Elaine is sick of the pain. We wish there we could find an on/off switch that would make her feel better. She is an incredibly tough woman, and we feel awful for what she deals with everyday. Her only consolation is that she continues to make progress even as Little Darlin' causes her so much trouble.

We are hoping that Fred and Elaine get a night of restful and peaceful sleep!

#87

Fred and Elaine spent the morning and afternoon together, just the two of them, and had a really nice day! They had brunch at Big Canyon and then headed over to see American Pie Reunion. They said it was quite funny.

They were planning to go putt, but the weather was misty so they decided to wait another day. Elaine is chomping at the bit to get out there and give it a shot on real greens. She has been practicing in the garage! Her therapist wants to take her down to start chipping soon. Elaine doesn't want him around so he doesn't put any new swing thoughts in her mind:) This is her chance to get that damn fine swing even better! Hopefully this week she will get out there. She doesn't have any doctor appointments scheduled, just therapy this week so that will be a nice and give her a little more rest.

We are all very concerned about Little Darlin' - not that something is wrong. We are just heartbroken at the pain she is in. It is relentless, and Elaine needs a break from it. Today her left leg was hurting and tingling too, which only added to her physical exhaustion. We just keeping hoping that she will get some relief soon. You can just look at her eyes and see how much pain she is in. Elaine is hands down the toughest person we know! She has an exceptionally high pain tolerance. We can't even imagine the pain she is feeling for her to complain because she is NOT a complainer.

Fred and Elaine came over to the Francois house for dinner. The kids were thrilled and love to have them over. They looked at photo albums, Christi danced, Brian and Fred chased each other around (Elaine said Brian has Fred's loud voice already), Taylor "sneaks" Nammie's lip gloss. Elaine says, "Taylor hurry before your dad sees you. Go hide in the bathroom and put it on!" She might "have stroke" but she hasn't lost her sneakiness:) It was a lovely Sunday evening, our favorite way to end the weekend!

We got a kick out of Fred and Elaine tonight. They showed up in matching tennis shoes, black lulu pants, and a black jackets. It wasn't planned! They have such a loving, sweet relationship. They are very lucky to have each other and have been through so much over the years! As Elaine was getting in the car tonight she said, "dad sure deserves lots of gold stars for taking such good care of me!" Yes he does!

#86

Elaine had an interesting day today. She didn't have therapy today and Little Darlin' is still causing her lots of pain. Fred played golf so she spent the afternoon with the Francois family. Ben and Brian went to pick her up this morning (after surprising her by dropping off Starbucks and a bagel).

They arrived at the Port Streets (where the Francois Family lives) to a giant "garage sale." It happens yearly and Elaine got such a kick out of watching everyone searching though piles of "junk." She enjoyed watching with our good friend Jen and laughing at the gems available on everyone's driveways. Ben, Christi, and Taylor decided to get in on the action and sell some goods. It was quite entertaining for sure! They netted about $9 for their efforts.

Elaine had lunch and enjoyed the fun afternoon with the kids. She had a good day despite the pain she is in. She is always such a treat to be around. Since she was sitting outside today several of Staci and Ben's friends that are following her story came by to meet her. She is a celebrity wherever she goes with a huge fan base! 

After her day with the kids, Elaine headed back home where she and Ben hung out for a while until Fred came home. It was one of those days that was restful and busy. We hope she is able to get some sleep tonight (and Fred, too)! 

#85

It is hard to believe that Elaine's life changed so dramatically just 12 weeks ago. Sometimes it seems like a million years ago and sometimes it seems like yesterday. The only things we are certain of is that Elaine is a fighter, she is determined to get her life back, and her work ethic is off-the-charts incredible.

Even though Elaine had the day off from therapy, it doesn't mean that she has day the off completely. Staci and Elaine headed over toward Hoag so that Elaine could see the cardiologist. Interestingly, it was the same cardiologist that checked on her while she was in the hospital.  Elaine (and Staci) didn't remember him, but he remembered Elaine and was super impressed with her progress.  As for her heart, it was the same old story of a slightly irregular heart beat. The doctor recommended a beta blocker to slow her heart rate in order to avoid a-fib. Elaine is taking the request under advisement.

In more important news (to Elaine), they finally hung her favorite chandelier in her new house. She was so excited to have it installed. It makes it feel even more like home!