Today, the home health nurse was to arrive and assess my needs. Nothing like pressure to make a person perform.

And I did.

Before she arrived, I decided it was time to attempt a shower again. Our first attempt at a shower on Tuesday was not really all that successful, even though I mostly got clean and my hair did get washed. But it came with difficulty, a soggy trash bag and Press & Seal, some tears, and a Fred Flintstone bump on the side of my head when I almost crashed while attempting to exit the shower by myself.

For that reason, I’ve avoided being clean from the neck down the rest of the week and really wasn’t looking forward to having ANYONE help me take a shower. It’s a little humiliating and a lot of embarrassing.

When I found out the nurse would be here this morning, I decided it is time to put my big girl panties on and figure this out. My sister…what can I say. She helped with TWO things for my shower while she is commanding the house. She set my clothes on the counter, and she walked to the pharmacy to get a leg sleeve so I wouldn’t have to use a trash bag again.

But, (imagine puffed up Foghorn Leghorn chest) I went into the bathroom, situated the shower chair, got my towel and washcloth, put on my new PICC line sleeve and got it tightened up, put on the leg sleeve, undressed myself, and took a nice shower without incident, and THEN, I was able to towel dry, get out of the shower, get dressed, dry off the shower chair and put it in front of the mirror so I could dry my hair and finish getting ready for the day – all on one leg! AND I DIDN’T FALL, I DIDN’T CRY, I DIDN’T CALL OUT FOR HELP.

I was so proud of myself!

Today, I am grateful for the good days – they are so much more enjoyable than the bad days.

I am grateful for help.

I am grateful for a home health nurse who spent an hour with me and told me I was doing good.

I am grateful for a sister who is in the kitchen listening to nice music and making my nut mix on a clean kitchen floor she accomplished last night.

I am grateful for a brother who decided he needed to come and assist Sam this weekend while our sister assists me.

I am grateful for some very nice cards I have received in the mail this week.

I am grateful for competitive boss friend and co-workers who have gone ABOVE AND BEYOND this week to feed us, gave me time to rest and heal, pushed me to consider home health, sending an advocate/friend/nurse to help me next weekend, provided a shower chair/walker/big bag of all things needed for my hospital stay, and they check on me multiple times a day from 5 hours away.

I am grateful for Geri’s text messages and emails every day to encourage me with scripture and prayer as I navigate this new territory I didn’t want to find myself in.

I am grateful for a bed in the middle of the busiest room in our house so that I am not stuck upstairs away from all the action.

I am grateful that Sam thought it would be wise to build a walk-in shower in our first floor hall bathroom – it sure is useful in 2020 disabled land.

I am grateful that although I bought it so we could travel and I could continue to work, this laptop is proving very essential now that my days are spent in bed, and as I begin to wean myself off pain meds, I will be able to work more and more hours and get back to some semblance of normalcy.

I am grateful that in the middle of all that is unfamiliar and new with this latest crisis, it is actually fairly familiar and has brought back many memories of 40 years ago when I “been there, done that” the first time at Hutchinson Hospital and Wesley Medical Center.

I am grateful that Psalm 46:1 is still true, 40 years later…The Lord is my refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. I repeated it then, many times a day, and I am repeating it again, Part Deux.

I am grateful the home health nurse gave me a passing grade on administering my own antibiotics through the PICC line and on changing the dressing on my leg.

And I am grateful that physical therapy begins next week. I think. I may be crying and regretting, but He is my refuge and strength and will be present in times of trouble/pain/stretching//weight bearing/therapy.