4.5.11

AYNSLEY:
Today seemed slightly better. For starts, Mom was awake when I called. But she seemed alert, too; discussing thank you gifts still owed to friends, happy I made plans with my NY relatives.

Tonight we had a cute family conference: Mom and Dad on speaker phone in Seattle and Gary and me on speaker phone in Brooklyn. I love that my parents want to talk to Gary and I love that Gary wants to talk to my parents. I was thinking tonight that Gary and I both did pretty awesome in the in-law department. Not only in the blood relatives; the extended friend network is pretty unbelievable, too.

Mom's insurance coverage in the nursing home is finished. It covers only 60 days, so now my parents are paying out of pocket for room, board and medical care. If Mom wants an appointment with a physical therapist or occupational therapist, they need to pay extra for it. So today Mom worked with a PT assistant. I'm not sure if that's covered under Medicare or it's just cheaper, but that's the new moving forward plan. Mom assured me that she could make an appointment with any of her regular therapists whenever she wanted to, but I'm under the impression that those are going to be less frequent. Which really is fine. She hasn't been feeling well enough to work out anyway, so it's ok that the sessions are sporadic. She's still walking to the bathroom a few times a day and doing some bed exercises. She gets leg rubs and back rubs all the time from friends and family. In all honesty, I was just happy she was well enough to do any therapy today. She walked and rode the bike, which is great. Anytime she's out of bed and not completely nauseous is great.

Tomorrow her chemo appointment is at 8:40am. I'm still not sure which treatments she's having or if she'll need a spinal tap also, but we'll find out tomorrow. In any case, it's an early morning for what will surely be another long day.