MOOORE UPDATES!

Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th!!

Much to write about, so let's get rolling...

I finally finished his standing frame, which he has been using for up to 40 minutes at a time! His swallowing is so far so good. My mom has been starting to give him pieces of banana, ice cream, and his favorite...Mac&Cheese!! :) I think we are about a week away before the Speech Therapist is going to try some chicken. He seems to be getting it down nicely, we still worry where down is, of course...haha, but they've been monitoring his lungs and everything seems to be ok.

The singing is a hit! We started him off with something a little slower that is an old classic. "You were always on my mind" by Willie nelson. When we first started, he could barely finish a verse...now he is getting through the whole song. Not clear, by any means...but improving!

He has several posts that I need to copy/paste in here, hopefully this weekend. The picture above is from our weekend excursion to Mt. St. Helens on 4th of July.

So we drove down to Helens on Saturday to escape not only the heat, but the fireworks. I have to agree with my Mom on this...since when did it become alright to give drunken idiots small explosives to set off in close proximity to other houses??? Do any of these people even understand the value of the holiday?? We were driving home from Helens later that evening, and you could feel the shock wave from some of these fireworks from inside your car ON I-5!!! Crazy, just crazy. I wrote off the entire weekend to hang down at their place in case the neighbors did something stupid and caught our house on fire. Shame that we have to worry ourselves with such things.

Anyway, back to Dad. As I was working out in the garage, Brad and Dad were practicing some walking, and decided to take a break on one of the chairs in the living room. Dad sat perfectly in this chair. No leaning, no struggling...sat there like he's been doing it this whole time, and it didn't even have arms! It just seems lately, he has been "waking up", and much of his body is getting tired of that wheelchair. He is accomplishing things the doctors would have never forseen.

I have a feeling the voice will be last to "come back". He has lost 8 lbs since his last weigh-in, as you will see in the picture. Hopefully he can get off the tube soon, and start putting some of that weight back on.

He gets his new teeth soon, which should help in a lot of his speaking, AND chewing.

Overall, his spirits are pretty high. To quote him on our way back from Helens....

"It's good to be alive"....."Thank you for my life"

UPDATE

Let me start off by saying thank you for all the emails to my Dad, and of course the wonderful comments in here.

Summer is officially here, and we are a couple months away from the one year mark. Pops has exceeded above and beyond what the doctors originally thought. My first question when I see him now, is "How many laps?". We have an island in our kitchen that he walks around with assistance from Fred. I remember at Christmas time, his "present" to me was getting around this island once. Just six months later and he is averaging around 16 laps or more. He even did some stairs off our front porch the other day!

He still struggles with his speech, and my Mom found an interesting article regarding music therapy and Parkinson's patients, or those that have had a stroke. I've spoken to some friend that have had personal experience with this, and they have said when their loved one sang, the words were much clearer than their regular speech. Those that know my Dad, know he looooved to sing...despite his children asking him not to. :)

Soooo, I am going to try to implement this into his routine somehow. His swallowing seems to be improving, but we're still a little gunshy on getting too crazy with foods. He's back on with his number one favorite pass time on his computer...online poker. He and I used to play together all the time, and I must say...he hasn't lost his touch. I told him to start playing real money and earning some big money so my Mom can retire!!! haha. But, we just play for fake dough, obviously.

I'll be down there later this week, and I'll try to get another post from him to put in here.

Keep the emails comin!!! Be patient with him getting back to you, though. He's working on it...but he loooves incoming mail. :)

Dad's first post!!!

He's just getting used to typing again. Like everything else, nothing comes easy, everything needs work...but this is a great day. Enjoy.

The BOYS HAVE BEEN TERRIFIC; CHRIS WIITH THIS BLOGHAS BEEN PARTICULARLY HELPFUL CHRIS HAS GSDOVRR 4000RESONSEIY BLOWSMY MIND OF COUSE THIS IINCLUDESTHOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE RES-
PONDED MORE THAN ONCE----BUT STILL THAT NUMBER HUMBLES ME
F0R THE RECORD I DHN’T RECALL ANYTHING UNTILL IWOKE UP AT THE NURSING HOME CLAUDIABY THAT TIME HAD EVERYBODY GEAREDTO MY RECOVERY SO I BEGAN THE LONG SLOW ROAD BACKY;NORMAL COMING HOME WAS A BIG STEP
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS

Monday morning

OK, so I have put this post off for far too long. No excuses, let's just get right into it.

First and foremost, pops is reading this blog now. He has access to a computer, and is even starting the long process of responding to so many of you. I got him set up with a gmail account this weekend, so if you want to wish him well personally, his new address is cjpetro1@gmail.com.

My next posting will be he and I typing something up together.

So we've just about finished the deck project that we started last year for him. Some generosity came in the form of hard working bodies recently, and they slapped together the last of this ramp. All that is left is some aesthetics, but it is fully functional and working wonderfully!! That evening we had a little dinner with our guests, and while the boys entertained my Dad watching the Blazers in the playoffs, my brother and I sat with my Mom and her sisters. There was talk of the past, the future, and the present of course. Something noted that stood out for me was the incredible love that is within this family. We have our differences as most families do, but in this day and age, it is so rare that two people share the same love through thick and thin as my Mom and Dad do.

The irony here is that through the past decade, it was not uncommon for my mother to slip in little guilt trips for my brothers and I, and how we have NOT produced any grandchildren yet. Had any of produced said family, it would have made our current situation extremely difficult. Luckily for her (and him), we are all taking our sweet time. :) Any single ladies reading this blog? Brad is brown hair, blue eyes, medium build....hahaha. Perhaps this whole ordeal was part of my Dad's ultimate sacrifice in getting us ready for fatherhood? I am smiling as I am writing this by the way.

ANYWAY, speaking of pops....all is well. His left side is slowly getting stronger and stronger. He impressed us all this weekend with the additional mobility in his left arm. He is taking more and more steps, with less and less aid. Limbs and muscles, I feel I can help out with, work out, and strengthn...but his speech, I just feel so helpless. It's super frustrating for him as well, so the computer access is a great way to communicate for now.

Interesting thing happened this weekend. I was at a benefit dinner for auto-immune research, and the cohost of the evening was Dick Foley, a former member of the "Brothers Four" (One of my Dad's favorite bands), and one of the many visitors to see my Dad when he was in ICU. I snuck over when he was off stage for a brief thank you, and he had assumed that my Dad had passed, based on the diagnosis at the time of his visit. He was elated to hear that pops is still fighting the fight, and wished him his best. The event raised over a million dollars for the research. I can't tell you how much I would love to put an event like THAT together. Not just for Parkinson's, but for hundreds of causes. Such an exciting and emotional evening....to see people come together for a cause. Very moving.

More to come this week!! Look for a post from the ol man Wed or Thurs!!

Saturday eve

First off, it has been far too long since I've posted, and for that I apologize. Can I use "writer's block", in this situation??

Soooo, let's catch up to speed here. I'm being told he is getting stronger and stronger with his walker, though I still have yet to see this. His speech has reached somewhat of a plateau, which worries me. He has admitted this is the most frustrating thing for him, is not being able to communicate better. I worry about him getting discouraged, and try to emphasize patience as much as possible. He sticks to his motto "It's good to be alive", which I love hearing him say.

His feeding via the mouth has commenced, though it is in very small doses, carefully monitored, and only a few select items...though he continues to add to his list of things he misses food wise. :)

His love of basketball has now been replaced by our beloved Mariners, and one of my parents favorite sports stars, Ken Griffey Jr. Goooo M's!!
I asked my Dad if he thinks he could sit through a whole game, if we got tickets, and he seems to think he could. He has been to the theatre twice now, with Fred. Apparently if you are the caretaker of an individual, you get into movies for freeeeeeee! I honestly don't know how he does it, since the popcorn at the theatre's and at the ball parks, is one of his favorite treats of all time. :)

I have spoken before about how I cannot express everything I would like to say via this blog, and I stand firm to that...though I will say that this country has a long way to go on health insurance, and our legal system astounds me. That is all I am going to say on that.

I know I owe some photos and will get them up soon!
Take care everyone.

March Madness!

Don't let the title of this one fool ya. Pops is doing good. His brother suggested we get him involved in the NCAA Mens Basketball tourney through a league that he (his brother) is involved in. Soooo, Brad and I printed out some brackets, Dad made his picks, as did Brad and I. Much to my mother's distaste of it all, we have been watching every game. :)

Regarding his recovery, he retook the swallow test and did a little bit better this time, and the doctors approved him for nectar like substances, which he has already started a list of. :)

This all makes me verrrrrry nervous, since the result of this the first time led to almost losing him earlier this year. But, the only way to get better swallowing, is to practice. The only way to practice, is to give him something. We are taking steps to make this a much more regimented training, not just a chance for him to taste things. There will be rules and guidelines, and things we will know to watch for this time, which reassures me slightly.

Last night was rather special, as he began asking questions again regarding what happened in the hospital. He cried for the first time in a long time at the thought of what he has been through, and everyone that has come together to support him. He asked me this morning if I was still angry at the doctors. I told him I buried that emotion, as it was not healthy to obsess over the past when there was so much work to be done for the future. He spelled out on the reader board that they have no idea the labor they have caused his family...but that "it was good to be alive". We paused for a moment in agreeance, before he pointed to the screen to let me know it's time to get back to the tournament.

My Mom found a really good deal on a laptop that we think will help him begin to send e-mails to everyone, respond to comments in here, and work on his hand/eye coordination...among other things. It has a touch screen so that he doesn't have to rely on a keyboard. Should be here in a couple weeks. :)

More and more movement from the left limbs. He got a brace for his left leg to strengthen it when he walks. I want to reemphasize that his walking is very limited to our support, and that of his walker, aid, etc. He is, by no means, freely walking again and has much work to do...but is anxious to do so.

Do not be surprised if you see some incoming mail from him in the next months. He, as do all of us, owe everyone in here our extended gratitude.

Wednesday

I was unable to post last week due to being out of town. Needless to say, I was excited to be home. Not for work, or to sleep in my own bed so much, but to see Pops again. It's been almost a week since I've seen him, and a lot happens in a week around here these days.

As stated before, the entire left side is coming alive. His leg is more and more responsive, and his arm is slowly coming out of hybernation. My Mom surprised me with a call late Sunday evening telling me they even went to a concert Saturday night! One of his favorite newer performers is Raul Malo, and he was here in town that night, so Brad surprised them with tickets. My Mom said it was an awesome show, and my Dad held up as good as could be expected if not better.

I have yet to see him use his walker, but am told it's quite impressive.

I have some pictures to post, and will do so this weekend. Love to all!