We're back in Minnesota! Our third day here, and we're already being bombarded with more snow! (As if 2 feet weren't enough!)

We left Plainfield, Illinois Friday morning and split the drive into two days. Early Saturday afternoon we arrived at my dad's mom's house, where we'll be living for the next few months.

Huge improvements have been made with my dad's speech. He continues to improve, literally every day. No improvement could be fast enough for him, but it's so wonderful seeing the progress he DOES make. He is able to say full sentences sometimes, and is almost always able to answer us with a one word answer for questions we ask him (i.e. Delicious! Fantastic! Good night. Thank you. etc.) It's so much fun and great encouragement to see the improvements he has made with his speech.

His walking continues to improve. As mentioned earlier, strengthening his hamstring is the most important thing to be working on with his leg right now. My dad does not like the cold weather, so is working on walking fast to avoid any unnecessary time out in the bitter cold! He does enjoy walking though, and we never use the wheelchair anymore.

The electrical stimulant that we have been using on my dad's arm and hand has been a huge success. He can now bring his arm out a bit, and squeeze our hand quite firmly! It takes a lot of concentration but it's a great workout! My dad was one of the first people to whom they had used the electrical stimulant on for so many hours, and were just amazed with how beneficial it was. They even entered him into their books, so they can use this on more patients!

Today my dad had an appointment at the Sister Kenny Institute to figure out the routine he will have there. My mom was very impressed with the institute, and we look forward to having him work there. He'll have a nice Christmas break from therapy for a bit, but right after Christmas he'll start back up again.

It's looks like Christmas outside with all the snow. We're going to decorate our tree tonight and watch "It's a Wonderful Life." It is certainly the most wonderful time of the year! Merry Christmas!


"The LORD will guide you always." -Isaiah 58:11

well, we're into the holiday season now, and our last couple of weeks here in Chicago.

we spent a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Plainfield with family and friends. some of Geoff's family came down for the holiday, and Sam and Etty were able to fly down for the weekend as well. thanks to the generous, kind friends who hosted us, we enjoyed not one, but two freshly cooked turkeys! we spent the holiday weekend together as family by spending a night in downtown Chicago and watching a Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre.

my dad checked out his first book at a library since the stroke, one called "American Moments," in his attempts to further improve his reading/comprehension abilities. his mind continues to feel 'foggy' at times, but we've found that his memory and comprehension is still sharp and in tact, he often just needs us to slow down when we communicate with him or even write down ideas for him, often the visual aid is helpful. he admits that although it feels frustrating, he's coming around . . . it's just a part of the healing process.

his physical rehabilitation is going well. his balance continues to improve -- at rehab now he can keep a balloon in the air by hitting it back and forth without any reliance on his cane. they're also putting him on a bike machine and having him pedal backwards in order to get strength back in his hamstring (on his right leg). the grip in his right hand is quite strong now, so the big challenge is getting him to be able to release and relax it.

and the words keep coming! today at therapy they are taking him out to Baker's Square. i asked him yesterday evening what kind of pie he was planning on ordering when he went, and he said, "peach! or blueberry! or cherry!" his accuracy with word use is really getting much better, he doesn't struggle so much with trying to find the right response. for instance, the other night we were watching a TV show and my mom thought perhaps we should stop the show early so that we could all go to bed. so Clara turned around and asked dad if he wanted to stop or keep watching the show, and he thought for a minute and then said, "WATCH IT!" (so of course we finished the show, no more questions asked!) anyway, that kind of response is amazing, because he was able to vocalize exactly what he was thinking, whereas a couple of months ago he would not have been able to come up with the right words at all.

soon we had back to snowy MN! dad has less than two weeks here and then we'll drive back to St. Paul. he'll meet with a rehabilitation doctor at Sister Kenny at that point, and start therapy again soon after.

P.S. i've posted an updated family picture! it was taken in downtown Chicago just a couple of weeks ago.

"now FAITH is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for, the EVIDENCE of things not seen."

-- Hebrews 11:1

sorry for this very belated post, guys!

well, it looks as though we'll be here in Plainfield, IL, for another month or so; my dad is planning on continuing rehab at RIC another four weeks or so at which point we'll move back to MN where he'll then start up with rehab through St. Kenny in Minneapolis for two-three months. we thought that being closer to family would be good, as well as just a nice change of atmosphere for my dad.

we've been VERY happy with RIC though, and are considering coming back to Chicago area in the spring time to have my dad participate in some more RIC rehab programs.

we've been seeing some neat progress in my dad's speech; he surprised us all the other day by ordering his own meal in a restaurant and has also been able to read a few words aloud to us. he continues to plug away at his communication/speech every day, practicing on repeating and reciting words and phrases to us.

the physical therapists have been occasionally taking my dad's leg brace off at therapy, something we don't do at home, but it has been helping to strengthen and work his ankle so that eventually the brace will become unnecessary.

his right arm has also shown visible improvement. whereas before the therapists could only stretch the arm to attempt to keep it flexible, my dad can now lift his arm a good ten inches or so, and has more hand and finger movement. the other day i gave him my hand and he reached out with his right hand and gave it a good ol' squeeze! we're continuing with the electrical stimulus on his arm and shoulder as well.

still no snow here in Plainfield, but it's definitely beginning to taste of winter!

the wonderful encouragement and support from all of you always makes us happy and helps keep us going! thank you!

Once again, it is Clara narrating.

We have had a busy couple of weeks here with lots of friends and family visiting us. We were able to head downtown Chicago with some dear friends of ours from Montevideo and see the musical 'The Lion King.' It was such a fantastic night, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. This past weekend, MEA, two of my dad's siblings and their families came for a visit. It was great spending time with them, and enjoying the perfect autumn weather.

Rehab has been going well. My dad no longer brings his wheelchair to therapy, which means great progress! He hardly ever uses his wheelchair anymore. He uses a cane, and his walking skills improve everyday! Today in therapy, the therapist had him walking with no brace on for an hour! That was very exciting.

My dad got into the research study at the main R.I.C. branch in downtown Chicago, and we decided to go ahead and be a part of the study. We feel it was a good decision. He goes downtown twice a week, and for a couple hours therapists stimulate his arm/wrist, and his ankle with electrodes and vibrations. The muscles react to these, and send messages to the brain that they're still there! It's a cool study. My dad says that it also feels very relaxing.

Speech and communication remain the hardest and most discouraging things for my dad, though the past couple weeks have been an encouragement. He is saying so many more things! Often if he works really hard, he can say a word or two that he really wants to say. He can also watch our lips, then repeat what we just said. At this point, I think we get more excited about little things like this, because we notice it right away! But I think it's encouraging for him, too. My dad's writing skills are improving a lot, as well.

Leaves are finally starting to fall here. We've found a perfect nature park reserve right on a lake where we like to take walks. We typically walk about 1/2 a mile, sometimes more. My day walks the whole time, and enjoys the fresh air.

(FYI- All the pictures that we post on the blog are not new pictures. They are pictures from previous times. Sorry for any confusion.)


"So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him." -2 Corinthians 5

my dad has just begun his fourth week here at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and things are going well. the therapists love my dad's cheerful, hard-working personality, and he never fails to make them laugh. Geoff has been doing some preliminary studies to see if he can participate in some studies through the main RIC facility in the downtown area, so we're excited to see how that progresses.

dad continues to walk about 1/2 mile daily, and often takes on the bike or treadmill at therapy; we've been digging around to find new trails and parks in the area that we can stroll through for a more scenic walk! the weather here has been beautiful, so we try and take advantage of the outdoors as much as possible.

Etty and our aunt drove up this past weekend to visit us, which was such a treat! it was wonderful to catch up with them and to get a little update on life back in MN!

this past Wednesday my dad had a scan done revealing that the clot that had been in his lower right leg since the stroke had healed enough that a vascular surgeon could attempt to remove the filter that had been inserted during his time at North Memorial. it will be removed this upcoming Thursday.

RIC has also given us an electrical stimulation kit to take home and hook up to his right arm. studies show that use the stimulation 6 hours a day has aided in activating the nerves which trigger muscle movement again.

dad continues to work on writing/speech as much as possible, writing words, lists, and continuing to try to speak as much as possible, a constant challenge and the biggest hurdle in the healing process.

Sam came to visit us this past weekend from New York City . . . we took the metra train into downtown Chicago on Sunday, and spent an afternoon browsing the art institute, walking through Millennium Park, checking out the shops, and of course, taking our necessary coffee shop detour!

dad's therapy has been going well. we're very happy with the therapists he interacts with daily, and find my dad challenged to continue to push himself every day. although speech/communication remains an extremely frustrating aspect of my dad's healing, he has been making daily progress that always keep us hopeful; his writing skills, especially, seem to be getting better and better. this evening he was able to communicate something to us just by writing! we also hear more accuracy with spontaneous speech . . . for instance, if he wants my attention, he's much more likely to call out "Maggie!" than he would have been a few weeks ago. we try to work with him outside of rehab as much as possible as well -- identifying food at the dinner table, naming his kids, repeating certain words and sentences, etc. -- as a way to keep him working and thinking outside of the rehabilitation facility. his walking is looking very good, much more steady and even. every afternoon after therapy one of us will go out for a walk in the neighborhood with him, and the improvements are becoming more and more obvious. the therapists at RIC are also talking about putting my dad into some stroke study programs/research projects, which might be a neat opportunity!

we continue to be blessed here in Plainfield, IL, and daily receive love from all of our friends and family -- THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, no act of kindness has gone unseen. we're happily adjusting to our new home and surroundings here, and it has been a new adventure for all of us:)

"i have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. in this world you will have trouble. but take heart! i have overcome the world."

--John 16:33

the next BIG STEP!

hey guys, it's Maggie again! looks like there is a little updating to do since the last blog post!

my dad ended up getting discharged a few days early from Mayo Clinic at our request -- he was getting a bit restless on the rehab floor -- so he left Rochester this past Friday, and spent the weekend in St. Paul with family. he and my mom even made it over to the Minnesota State Fair for some sunshine and food on a stick!

but this past Tuesday morning we packed up our bags and made the road trip down to Chicago, IL, where my dad has begun his new therapy sessions at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

yesterday was his first day of therapy; he and my mom (she wanted to go along the first couple of times to check out the place) were picked up by a transport service around 7:45 AM and my dad went through a full six-hour day of therapy before coming back home a little after 4 PM. he'll have 2 hours a day of occupational, speech, and physical therapy. the therapists spent most of the day just getting to know Geoff, and to see how far along he was with his therapy. my mother was very impressed with all of the therapists, and they, in turn, were so impressed with my dad! they remarked on what great progress he had already made . . . his speech therapist remarked on the fact that his ability to read phrases and his ability to comprehend so well already put him ahead of the game!

it will be hard work for my dad, but hey, we're not ABOUT to let him take it easy:) the first thing he wanted when he came home from therapy yesterday was a big cup of coffee! so he kicked back on the couch and sipped his cup of joe while all of us girls pestered him with questions about his first day of therapy!

after today, he'll have the weekend to rest up -- and then his first FULL week!

also, here is our new address:

24108 Walnut Circle

Plainfield, IL 60585