Day 38 - Snowed In!!

Today, as the stop press entry stated turned out to be a good one. We were all getting things sorted for cleo to return to the hospital when the ward called us at home. The last couple of days we have had some pretty awful weather, snow and ice. The doctors were concerned about the possibility of problems with cleo transferring from the chair to the car in the snow, and suggested that we wait till tomorrow to return her to the ward.

I certainly didn't need asking twice!

So, what had started as a rather "down" day, because of cleo's impending return to the hospital was suddenly lifted from the doldrums. We had a nice family breakfast, and didn't do much at all till this evening when i bought us a chinese take away and we sat round the dining table to eat.

cleo has always been one for long soaks in very hot baths, and i knew that this was something she had missed very much since her stroke. Now of course its no easy thing to get someone who cannot walk or stand on their own and whose left side is still unable to take any weight, into a bath. However, we determined to give cleo a nice relaxing bath.

So, with some careful planning Sarah and I worked out a method to achieve this, and we managed to get cleo into the bath without too much fuss. It was nice to see her relaxing in the hot water, and i am sure she enjoyed it. Sarah shaved her legs for her, and Hannah washed her mums hair. How we all fitted in the bathroom I am not sure but we did.

Of course there was still the problem of lifting cleo out, but with the bath emptied, me lifting cleo, and Sarah replacing the bath board for cleo to sit on, again we did it without any problem.

The thing about being at home is that we have the time to do all these things, and to persevere with them, whereas in the hospital this is not always the case. Of course we don't have all the hoists and specialist equipment, but what we do have is our need as a family to see cleo happy, and for her to be fulfilled in whatever way is best. It is amazing what a perk a simple thing like a bath can be: she was beaming all over from the moment she was in the water, and continued to smile right up to the time when I got her into bed. All these things too, make cleo feel more "normal" I am sure. If everyone keeps saying you can't do this, or that, then you begin to believe it. We genuinely believe that barriers should not be placed in the way, and if there is even a possibility of achieving something to help the outlook of a patient (in this case cleo, of course) then why not find a way round the problem? We did, and i am sure we will continue to do so as cleos recovery moves ahead.