#70

April 5, 2012

Today started like any other Thursday for Elaine. She had a great therapy session where she amazed the staff at Hoag.  They continue to be impressed with her determination to beat this thing and her unbeatable work ethic. She is an inspiration to everyone that is lucky enough to come into contact with her.

The day became more interesting after therapy because Fred and Elaine decided to make their first trip to the desert so they could spend Easter at The Vintage. This was obviously a big deal for Elaine. Although she has had a ton of visits from her desert friends, she hasn't been down to the desert since the end of January. Well, she had nothing to worry about. The trip has been a huge success so far. Pat came over to the house for a nice visit this afternoon while Fred went shopping for furniture (? - we know that sounds odd, but it is what he wanted to do).  After the shopping excursion, Fred came back and hit a few balls with Christi and Ben.

After the kids swam and golfed and got cleaned up, the whole crew headed to the Palm Court for dinner. It was Elaine's first venture out at The Vintage in a pretty long time. She ran into Tony and Mary Ann right as she walked through the door. They were so excited to see her and gave her huge hugs.  We saw Tony pull Fred aside and tell him that Elaine looks absolutely fabulous! Fred answered that comment honestly - he agreed she does look fabulous!

While we were sitting at dinner, Elaine had a nice parade of well-wishers. The overwhelming sentiment was that Elaine looked stunningly beautiful and that each and every person could not believe her amazing progress toward recovery. Fred took the chance to share with the visitors tales of Elaine's remarkable courage through this ordeal. He told a few different stories that spoke to her perseverance, her will to fight, her "never quit" attitude, and positive attitude. Two of the well-wishers included John and Carol who stopped by the table to say hello and share some hugs.

It was long and very eventful day for everyone, and Elaine is happy to be in the desert for a little change of scenery. The combination of tough therapy, a long drive, and a busy afternoon / evening definitely tired her out.  Let's hope that she (and Fred, who has had trouble sleeping) have a long, restful night of sleep!

#69

April 4, 2012

Some days you can actually see serious progress as it happens. The therapist came over to the house today for a two-hour intensive session. Elaine worked exceptionally hard, and she was able to convince Little Darlin' to work toward recovery as well. One of her amazing accomplishments was bending her left hand into flat into a "table" which has been really hard for Little Darlin'.

Elaine also wowed her therapists (and the rest of us) with her ability to walk through house holding a tray flat and steady (so steady that a ball stayed on) just like she was delivering Easter Brunch.

After the intense therapy session, Staci and Elaine headed over to Hoag to get some blood work done. The Coumadin machine was on the fritz and we need to measure the thickness of her blood twice a week. They are supposed to send parts asap so we can get the machine fixed.

Last night was another night of sleeplessness at the Smith house so following the trip to Hoag, Elaine laid down and took a nap this afternoon. Post nap, she was ready to entertain again as Richie and Julie came by with takeout from Mastro's for dinner.

We are wishing for a very restful night of sleep for Fred and Elaine tonight after a tough one last night.  They both need and deserve it!

One more thing! Elaine has made the bold prediction that Hunter Mahan will win the 2012 Masters. Bank on it.

#68

April 3, 2012

Elaine worked her magic again today and dazzled her therapist at Hoag. Her OT just started working with her last week and she was blown away by Elaine’s progress in just a week. She walked really well and Little Darlin’ (who definitely has a mind of her own) was feeling the need to show off.

It was a great session. Fred wanted to take Elaine out for a celebratory lunch (another positive session), but Elaine only wanted a peanut butter and honey sandwich from home. After lunch, she took a nap and actually fell asleep!

Staci and Taylor stopped by with cupcakes and Elaine wanted to go for a manicure and pedicure. They picked up Christi from school and headed over to the nail salon.

After her earlier cooperation, Little Darlin’ changed her tune and acted ask if she had a mind of her own. As the nail lady was trying to paint her fingernails, they kept retracting into a ball. They continued to do so while they were trying to dry. Not long after, her left foot was misbehaving, too. It was an interesting hour, but Elaine still smiled through it and even managed to walk in flip flops for the first time in a while. She is so incredible. The ladies at the salon couldn’t get over how beautiful she is.

After her big trip out (she still hates getting in and out of Staci’s car), Ronnie came by for a visit. She was elated to see Elaine looking so well and was so excited to give her a hug in person and visit for a while.

Fred, Elaine, Richie, and Julie went out for dinner tonight. Elaine should be exhausted after her very busy day filled with lots of trips in and out of the car. 

#68

April 2, 2012

March Madness!! More craziness for Elaine. She definitely didn't suffer from a case of Blue Monday. Elaine started the day with an intense session of physical therapy. Her therapist (and the rest of us) continued to be amazed by her attitude and her single-mindedness when it comes to achieving full recovery. 

After physical therapy, Elaine engaged in some retail therapy at Fashion Island. She was reasonably successful at shopping and incredibly successful at walking around the mall.  She is a true inspiration!

While shopping, Fred and Elaine mixed in a meal at R+D Kitchen with Staci and Brian. 

They also ran into their friend Cindi - a nice treat!

After lunch and shopping, Freddy and family came by for a quick hello and goodbye before heading back to Vegas. Then Julie made dinner for the Richie, Fred, and Elaine as they watched the NCAA tournament finale. 

No day is like the last, and Elaine continues to amaze us and impress all of us!!

#67

April 1, 2012

We spent today “fooling” around. It is Ben’s birthday so Ben and Fred went out and played 18 holes this morning while Elaine held down the fort with Staci and the kids at her house. Elaine and Brian spent a considerable amount of time playing peek-a-boo and laughing at each other. We had some lunch and Elaine was craving a milkshake so we headed to In-N-Out Burger. It definitely hit the spot!

We spent the afternoon relaxing watching Natalie make a great run at the Dinah Shore. Elaine was in good spirits today and started playing a new app called Draw Something (mightmiteets). She doesn’t understand why there is a delay, (hurry up Pat) in the game. 

She was tired today. She didn’t have a very good night of sleep because Little Darlin’ was really hurting. There still doesn’t seem to be a clear answer as to why, other than the obvious answer (her stroke) and that pain is an unfortunate side effect. Fred is having his terrible leg cramps at nights again as well. Between the two of them, there is not a lot of sleep to be had so we are wishing for them both to have a restful, pain-free night!

Christi and Taylor love being with Nammie and helping “take care of her.” They are so careful with her and each take her by the hand when she gets up. Elaine doesn’t need assistance when she walks, but who can turn down an offer from these two faces! Brian did manage to find her cane this afternoon. She doesn’t use it anymore but “Curious George,” as we call him, went exploring and came back with it. In other news concerning Brian, this was his reaction after mom said no more Cheetos.

We went to Big Canyon for dinner to celebrate Ben’s birthday. Elaine and Fred ran into several friends who were all so excited and encouraged to see Elaine out and looking beautiful. She is a inspiration to everyone! It was a wonderful day and we continue to be grateful each day that Elaine is still here with us. The world is a brighter, more kind and loving place with her in it!

#66

March 31, 2012

We'll start today's blog with one of the greatest quotes we have heard that sort of relates to Elaine's determination and strength of character. One of Fred and Elaine's friends said,

"Elaine, you are truly amazing. I admire your unbelievable determination and courage. It is much better than I could do. If this would have happened to me, I just would have laid in bed and eaten bon-bons until I exploded!"

Elaine had a great (and tough) therapy session today. She spent her time walking up and down the stairs - pretty amazing progress! One of the funny things that happened was how Elaine would be heading up the stairs and she would realize that she had forgotten Little Darlin' - who was still attached to the railing a few stairs back. She was able to do a squat today that she has been working on unsuccessfully since her first day of therapy. She was so excited to see and experience the progress firsthand. She still has a grin on her face!

The rest of the day was filled with some visitors including Freddy and Mynda and family who were in town for a volleyball tournament.

After therapy, Fred and Elaine tried to get some well-deserved rest while watching golf. They were watching and cheering for Natalie who was sporting an ETS bracelet at the Dinah Shore down in the desert.

#65

TGIF. Friday is Elaine's day off from therapy, and we were happy to see her have a day of rest. She has been busting her butt all week at therapy and she definitely needed some time off. She was even able to take a nap today! Just like the doctor ordered.

Of course, Elaine would never settle for doing nothing ALL day. She even mixed in a visitor. Sharon came by to spend some time. She also brought an interesting gift. It is a glove that Elaine can wear on her left hand! It has pretty painted fingernails, a ring, and will be good practice for Little Darlin' as she increases her role in Elaine's life. The photo below is worth a thousand words.

After a relaxing day, Elaine added all kinds of excitement to her life by heading to Staci and Ben's for dinner with everyone - including Richie and Julie (and Bella) and their son, Scott, and his two children, Ally and Tyler. And of course, the Francois children were in attendance. The whole crew had a great time with a ton of laughs while the kids ran around for hours.

On the rehab front, Elaine continues to work on incorporating Little Darlin' into her daily activities. It is a struggle, but we can see marked improvement even since yesterday. It was nice for to work on things at her pace today (and Fred's pace) after a grueling week of daily two-hour therapy sessions. But no rest for Elaine. She is back at it again tomorrow, and she is ready to take on the world!