This afternoon I was downstairs doing laundry and I heard a familiar sound....................it was a whistle! Lee was whistling for me to get my attention. He was trying to tell me to answer the downstairs phone. I must explain how exciting it was to hear that whistle. You see, Lee has not been able to whistle since last November! His oxygen dependency only allowed for breathing. Since surgery he had so many complications that he was too weak to do anything but once again concentrate on breathing. And now................The Whistle! Strange how this simple method of communication can become a joyous response and measurement of Lee's progress.
In our relationship, the whistle had become an important part of our communication system. For instance, when I was mowing the lawn with him many years ago (two lawn mowers), he had to whistle to warn me that I was about to mow down his prize tree that he had just planted. Another time, he had to whistle to warn me that I was about to back into another vehicle. How could I forget the "wolf" whistle as I walked through the yard and did not know that he was anywhere close by. That was always a good whistle! Now you understand how important it was to hear that whistle!
Lee has also been practicing his driving here. He drives around the circle driveway and gets the paper. When the weather permits, he walks. I can already see more of his strength returning and he says that he feels stronger each day. His appetite is very good and he has begun to ask for "refills". Now he has not done that in a long time. Each afternoon we have gone for a drive, and Lee is amazed at the changes that have occured in just a year. I stopped by Belks in Lincolnton yesterday and felt like I was in a different store as they had changed it all around. Too bad for Belks............I did not buy as much because I could not find anything! I had not been there since last November.
Well............time to get into our routine.............blood sugar, insulin..........prepare supper....................
Another wonderful day on the farm!
More Later....................................Brenda
Hi Brenda and Lee,
ReplyDeleteAlthough we miss seeing you in Durham, we are happy you are home! And we're glad you are getting some sleep and rest, although I can imagine there is still "work" to do! Thanks for continuing the blog--we'll check a couple times a week to see if you're still writing. Maybe you can put it all into a book to publish--it would be helpful to others going through the same things you have gone through. Things are busy here as I am doing 20-25 hours a week at the Duke Raleigh Hospital and another 10 hours at the Duke Hospice...but I'll "retire" again in December when the Raleigh chaplain returns and I will be down to only the hospice job. Greetings to all! And get some sleep and rest--you've a lot of catching up to do. And thanks for the abundance from your freezer and closet as you closed out the Durham condo! We're using it all and saving some of the things you might want later on when you make the routine visits back to Duke.
D & B
Thought about you guys tonite while eating the famous James Propst/Ted Cable oyster stew and let me tell you, it was some kind of GOOOOOOOOODDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteKeep whistling lee, maybe you can teach me how! never could and still cant!