We made it!

Tonight was our usual Tuesday night madness. It started when I left work late and everyone and their mother was on Frantz Rd. No joke, it took me over 20 minutes to go to miles - I felt like I was back in California. Anyway, I literally walked in the door, changed, fed the girl and off we went.

Tonight, we made it all the way down the hall and where there for over 90 minutes. We actually probably left the last room before they were ready for us to go, but it was 8:10 and we had class in Gahanna at 8:30. She was fantastic tonight, as usual.

Our first room was a lady we had seen last week - her son was there this week and last week and remembered both our names. She was glad to see us. Her roommate was also very nice, had a large cast on one of her feet and had muscular dystrophy. She was so glad to see Chel - her husband has been bringing their dog and she has been going to see it outside. My reminder of not to guess which patients may or may not want to see her was right after that, as there was this big burly Harley looking dude in the next room who loved her. I said hi, he barely acknowledged me and when I asked him if he wanted to see the dog, he immediately perked up. He was a dog person, and she knew it and loved it. She shook his hand and he found her second favorite spot - her ears. She just sat there and leaned her head into his hand, in pure heaven - of course, no one - not mom, grandma, grand paw or the staff at Dodd - pay any attention to her.

The patient that will stick with me from tonight is a lady named Angel. I was visiting the patient in the other room and they were trying to move Angel back into bed. She was making what I thought were groaning sounds, but it was really just about the only sound she was capable of making. While they were trying to move her, her mom petted Chel - and then asked Chel if she was ready to go see an Angel. Angel had a stroke - her movement was rapidly improving, she moved her arms pretty well and stood on her own for 20 minutes today but her speech is still not up to par. Her family was really neat - her husband was a complete redneck and was great. You could tell he loved his wife - he was upbeat and positive and trying to make her laugh and punch him. I told him to watch it, one day he was going to get knocked out when he was not ready. He said it would not be the first time and he was in acceptance of "his place". Angel was very much responsive when you spoke to her, she just had a hard time getting the words out. They were a great family and I hope she makes a lot of progress.

The last room was an older lady that had brain surgery. Her husband and son were with her, and when we walked by, she was practically getting out of bed to come at us (she was a bigger woman) She said, bring me that dog - and immediately found Chelsie's other favorite spot, her back end. She loved Chelsie - loved petting her and loving on her. I felt bad we needed to go, but we did. I am thinking that if it rains on Thursday and we cannot play softball, I may take her back to Dodd. She was good for a lot of people there tonight.

She did really well at class, I was very proud of her. We practiced some skills that are hard for us, and she did them well. Now, she and kitty are in bed, which is where mom will be in a minute.

We hope this finds everyone well!