Wow!! Where have I been for the last 4 days!  Tonight is March 25th, Sunday

Wednesday night as I was getting ready to bring most of Jim's clothes and personal items home, his mother called and said it was snowing and sticking near Champoeg Park, so I called a neighbor and she said it was snowing in Oregon City and was supposed to get down to 30 degrees.  Well, I was afraid to come home and then maybe not be able to get back to Legacy Good Samaritan, so I asked if I could stay on the couch in the family room and the charge nurse got me a cot, warm blanket and pillow and I was able to spend the night.  I really appreciated their compassion and understanding.  Thursday morning the wound nurse came in and took off the wound vacuum from Jim's abdomen.  I have watched each time as they have changed the dressings and could not believe how much it had healed since the last change.  I cried because it looked so good.  The wounds have had to heal from the inside out so they would continue draining.  This wound was only about the depth of a Q-tip tip.  The one on his leg was just a tip of a tip.  Any one need a tip, I have a few!  Ha!  We had to leave the vac at RIO and were given a new one to take to Kaiser, not sure if we would need to use it.  We had a big cart with 3 shelves full of equipment!  You cannot believe all that we needed to bring with us.  Also, Jim has a new wheelchair which is lighter and easier for me to put in the back of the Suburban.  Whew!!  We are also very grateful for the valet parking because they are very helpful in helping to load everything and Jim too.  We left leaving lots of tears of gratitude for the wonderful, caring nurses, cnas, physical, occupational, recreational and as Jim says, therapy therapists, that in two weeks gave both of us hope that Jim will fully recover and be able to walk again.  They were awesome!  Also, there are no strangers, only friends Jim hasn't met yet, so we made friends with a couple of roommates and other patients recovering from all sorts of injuries.  We hope to be able to go back again when he has recuperated and be part of someone else's healing process.

We got through the MRI and the doctor was pleased, still some inflammation in the spine but is easing up on the nerves.  We don't know until Tuesday the results of the lab work, have to see the Infectious Disease doctor then and on Thursday we see the surgeon who will probably determine if the wound vac is still needed.  I think it probably won't be necessary by that time.  Monday, Wed., and Friday there will be home nurses coming in to change dressings, etc.  He and I are able to do the daily IV med injection.  I think we'll just become a doctor and nurse and therapists!!  We might even make house calls, too.  You cannot, or maybe you can, imagine how many people have been involved in this process.

Gotta go to bed now, it's 9pm, because Jim (& I) have to get up a couple of times a night.  The first night we were up 3 times and I was exhausted the next day.  Well, actually I am still pretty tired and today was a really good day of rest.  Had 1 visitor that Jim hasn't seen for quite awhile and it was fun.
Jim is still having issues with his back, it is probably still connected with the nerve damage, and he was up quite a bit, going up and down our 3 steps and into the bathroom and kitchen.  Friday was very busy with the in-home nurse and all the paperwork, showing us how to administer the IV meds, and then we needed to go to the pharmacy for something and there was no way to get there with the 213 project going on, so we stopped for a very small ice cream at the DQ drive thru and went home only to have the nurse come back and attach the new wound vac!  It was pretty clear sailing to the pharmacy about 7pm.  Saturday a physical therapy nurse came and explained exercises that we already had in our notebook, Jim's brother and a friend came and took Jim's Harley to put up for sale.  I thought that would be a very emotional time for Jim, but he said he knew it was time because he just didn't think he had what it took anymore to safely ride.  We have a different outlook on a lot of things and are willing to let go of some toys and projects.

But early tomorrow (Monday) the crew should be here to put in the new septic tank and whatever goes along with it.  That should make a real big mess, but it is one of life's necessities and will get cleaned up before summer is in full swing.  Pray for good weather and little rain to make it less messy for the men that have to do it.

God is good and we are recovering.  Thank you family and friends for your amazing help this weekend and prayers.  Miss you all, this will be another busy week, but love hearing from you.  We read e-mails and texts, but are slow in answering.

Pa and Ma Gibson