Yesterday marked the last day of home-care visits for David by a physical therapist from Henry Ford Hospital.
Since October 10, the day he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance from his work, it seemed like a long time, but it wasn’t, really, in the whole scheme of things. He was there until October 19 when he was transferred (by me), per doctor’s order, to Danto Health Care Center, an in-house facility that provides focused physical therapy to patients. Danto, like Henry Ford Hospital, is also located near our residence.
He was released from Danto on October 24. Shortly thereafter, twice-weekly, in-home physical therapy started; this lasted for three weeks. In roughly a month and a half, David is ready to be mobile on his own again – but with a cane. He will also resume driving, gradually over time.
Because of the gratitude journal that I keep every single day, I’m used to thinking about things for which I’m grateful – no matter what happens in life. Often, it is so easy for us to take our health for granted, especially when we are healthy. His illness brought to focus how fortunate we have been to be healthy for the most part.
David’s appetite came back shortly after the beginning of the illness. This was a sure sign that he was going to be okay. I’m no doctor but I understand normal appetite to be a sign of health.
In our over-a-half-century marriage, I rarely had an occasion where I thought much about our marriage vow. We’ve simply been happy being together. The recent episode put a sharp focus on the meaning of “in sickness and in health.” When I think about it, for the most part, we’ve enjoyed being “in health” 99% of the time. Our life together has been very good. Knock on wood.
p.s. English being my second language, for a long time, I did not fully understand what “knock on wood” meant. Once I did understand it, I’ve always wanted to use it when the right occasion presented itself. Well, David’s recovery is as good a time as any to use it for the first time! Wouldn’t you agree?
