A Step Back

When we got out of the hospital one of the nurses told us to remember that each good day would have two steps forward and one step back. We have been blessed with mostly forward steps, that is until Thanksgiving day, when Tim took a step back. Quite literally a step back. We had decided to stay at the apartment and not go to thanksgiving with family because he was running a low grade temperature and had the sniffles. In the afternoon we were going to get out and get a newspaper, walk a bit, then have a dinner. We were at the store when Tim bent over to look at the newspapers that were left, when he stumbled backward, when he took a step back. He fell on his tailbone and bumped his head. He was slow to get up. The paramedics came and checked him out and gave him an ok, but he was really sore and moved slow. I called the hospital, the doctor on call seemed to agree with the paramedics but he said to watch for a few things. Concussion, abdominal pain, inability to urinate. He was good on all of the important things, but the pain was more than he could handle without medication. He had just gotten completely off pain killers so it was frustrating for both of us. It was a night of very little sleep. This morning we had to go in for a blood draw. It was a slow process, but we made it, and the fact that He had to get up and walk, got the muscles warmed up. Tonight he is still sore, but he is able to get up without my help again. He feels like he is ready to continue the journey to better health.

By the way, that journey will mean a trip to buy him some new clothes. I had no idea how much weight he was carrying because of the fluids his body retained. To date he has lost 88 pounds, from his maximum weight after renal failure in September.

Yeah!!