Almost on the Road Home

Hi Everyone! I have been here in California now for three days with Mom and Dad. When we got up the mountain from the airport, it looked like they had gotten about eight inches of snow at the cabin. Mark had to get help from a neighbor to get the car out of the street into the bottom of the driveway. Mark took care of the car and I got to spend time with Mom. We have had fun the past couple of days trying to stimulate Mom's conversation as well as playing cards and Yatzee with Dad. I know Mom was very happy to see me and Dad appreciated the company as well as the help. Mark, my husband and the second Mark son-in-law, has been a great sport and shoveled snow, hooked up snow chains, washed dishes and packed the car! (Ann, you raised a good one!)

Unfortunately, I did not get to see all the improvements that Triche and Missy were able to see while they were here, but I do see some improvements since Christmas. Mom will repeat words when at Christmas she would completely ignore me, she takes direction some of the time and she is very engaged in what we are doing. I sat at the table with her and wrote names and drew pictures for nearly an hour on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have to tell you, I couldn't believe she sat still for so long. She also stayed there once Dad sat down to play cards and watched us for a good length of time both days. She couldn't write any words or call any shapes by name as reported previously, but she would repeat things I said directly to her. Once we started playing cards, she flipped through my notebook over and over again looking at our work. She has started with her high pitched chatter again and she also doesn't follow directions as well as Missy and Triche described any more. This is all part of the dosing requirements. They have to let her regress to understand and calculate her correct dosage. I am just glad I was here with Mark to visit, help and get Dad and Mom packed and off the mountain!

We are in Santa Clarita tonight. Mark and I packed the car and Dad drove us down late this afternoon. They moved mom's last treatment to Friday and Dad will be starting his trek home afterwards. Mark and I will be heading to snow ski with our good friends who live just south of LA for the weekend and flying home Sunday as planned. I am so glad I got to come and spend this time here. The doctors say that mom will show some improvement for the next six months. I truly hope that these improvements give Mom and Dad a better quality of life.

Thanks for supporting us and following the blog.

Danielle