Only Pam would have one large suitcase and two extra large shopping bags worth of stuff in her hospital room. It almost didn't fit it in the car. But we both agreed it was poor form to say goodbye and then come back several times to pick things up. There was so much stuff that there were many "oh-right-I-forgot-I-had-this-cute-top" moments.
When dad and I got there this morning the ICU angels were visiting. They finally got to meet the legend they helped us save. The perfect amount of magic to begin our grand send off. I rolled mom through the halls so she could say her goodbyes. There were tears. Lots of laughter. She thanked Claudette and Nadine for all of their help and told them how much she would miss them. We stopped to talk to Deborah - her first friend at the stroke unit. "Bye Deborah. I'm leaving today. If you want out of here, you need to be more of a nuisance. I had two alarms. If they don't put alarms on you, you're not doing it right." And after imparting that wisdom, we wished her luck and went on our merry way.
So what now?
Well, there's no rest for the weary. Out-patient rehab at RIC starts tomorrow. Six hours, 3 days a week. Each Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday she will be picked up at 7:15 with a packed lunch, ready to do 2 hours of PT, 2 hours of OT and 2 hours of speech. She's been clear that she has no intention of participating in speech, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to fly. Her caregiver starts tomorrow and will spend every day with her. She's already told me that she's going to miss the ruckus of the hospital. There was always someone to talk to there, so visitor's welcome. Nap time is usually 1ish-3ish. Sense of humor required.
I leave in a few hours to go back to New York. It's definitely going to be hard, it will be the first time in 7 months that both my mom and dad will see me off which will make it easier.
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