Lorraine, Lorraine, Lorraine

Today Mom's sister, Lorraine, came to visit. That is always a fun change of pace for Mom. It was good for the staff to meet the person whose name Mom says probably a thousand times a day! She even calls one of the nurses Lorraine, and the nurse is a super good sport about it. As a matter of fact, Mom calls ALL of us Lorraine, with some Louise's (another sister) thrown in for good measure. When I say, "Mom, this is Diane," she sometimes replies, "OK, Lorraine."

We try to get Mom outside a couple times each day. Tonight Randy was the wheelchair driver, and chauffeured Mom around for about half an hour. We tried to coax her to open her eyes and see the sights, but she was pretty tired. Although she holds herself up well in the wheelchair, and doesn't have to have a "seatbelt," she didn't want to look around. That's OK - we think getting her outside is very important.

Mom continues to use her right arm and hand more and more. She can now lift both hands and arms over her head, and can frequently be found with her head resting on one of her arms. She is also eating most all of her meals, which gives her much more energy. Her nights are still very restless, so she continues to doze off during the day.

We are still checking out different nursing homes. (This is really not fun.) It looks as if Mom will get a new place to live for her birthday (one week from today.) The place we are leaning towards does not have private rooms, which is a real drawback, but it does have a great reputation for rehab, which is what we want.

Keep praying for us as we navigate through this process. We appreciate your love and support!