Heading home from the hospital

As I sit at my computer I'm waiting for Heather and Linda to bring Dad home from the hospital. You should have seen his jubilant reaction when they told him he could go home. He has a perfectly sunny day in which to step back into the real world.

I feel like a broken record, but Dad's in great shape! Physically healthy and getting better with communication. He has what they term "aphasia" -- an impairment (but probably not loss) of speech and comprehension of speech. This could be the result of a melting pot of problems, including pressure on the brain from the tumor, swelling and meds. But he's working SO hard to regain abilities in that arena, saying things like, "I've got to prove myself!" and "My brain is working. I'm not dumb!" And he is, of course, not. He just doesn't always understand what we're saying and in turn cannot always come up with the right words.

We might say, "Dad, do you have pain your legs?" Now I don't know what he hears, but he might respond, "No, I'm not hungry right now." But if we write the question down for him, he immediately understands and responds appropriately.

We had some laughs at his expense when he was working with the very sweet speech therapist. She'd show him pictures that he had to name and when it came to a pair of tongs, his response was, "Oh, well, I don't know what YOU call those, but I call them ice grabbers!" Brain tumor or no brain tumor, this would have been his response anyway. (And shame on us for laughing, right?!)

Anyway, truly amazing how the brain works. An aside, his neurosurgeon was telling us about a case where a bi-lingual (French and English) patient had a brain tumor on the right side of his brain. Speech is usually housed on the left side of the brain, but for some reason (perhaps it was his second language?), his French was housed on the right side of his brain. So, during the surgery to remove the tumor, they had to have an interpreter ask him questions in French to determine if they were damaging his speech. Fascinating ... just wish I didn't have to learn about it through this experience ...

Before we leave our UW stay behind, I feel I need to give props to ALL staff we encountered at UW hospitals.

We had nothing but positive interactions with numerous nurses, doctors, therapists, housekeepers, assistants, secretaries, etc. What a caring group of people. I'm in awe of those who serve in the health care industry with such compassion and dedication. Several nurses fell in love with Dad. He befriended just about everyone he met, remembered their names (quite a feat for him!), went out of his way to stand up and shake hands when he probably should have remained seated to avoid pulling out various IVs and monitors and constantly expressed his gratitude and respect for all who cared for him. A few nurses were in tears when they had to say goodbye to Bill. One wrote him a note that said, "It has been our privilege to care for you." (This was Tymalyn, a gal who, one night when Dad had some anxiety, created a 'zen room' for him complete with meditative music and low lights.)

Dad's kinda like the counterpart of "teacher's pet" in the hospital. And when he gets home he'll be just as loved.