Thursday, Sept. 29

Up at 7:30, but skipped my exercises so I could get ready for a trip two hours east to the town where Hubbie's daughter lives to visit and take soups, sandwich makings, and peach cobbler for lunch.

We arrived around 10:30 a.m. There was no one at Daughter's house, so Hubbie called his other daughter, who was at the hospital. She suggested that we go there to see Daughter, because they didn't know when she'd be discharged from the hospital.

Mother stayed at Daughter's house while we went to the hospital. Following his other daughter's instructions, we searched for a parking space in the parking deck. There was nothing available on the "red level" that his daughter suggested, so we drove round and round and round, and up, up, up to the suggested level, where there were no open spaces. We had to go to the uppermost level, where we finally found one.

From there, we took the elevator down three floors to the red level, then walked, walked, walked to the appropriate elevator that took us up three floors to Daughter's room.

We no sooner sat down than Daughter's doctor arrived to discharge her. So now Daughter suggested we return to her house so that Hubbie's other daughter could return to the hospital with Daughter's car to pick her up. Because of her booted leg that she is to put no weight on, she could not get into our van, because the running board would have been in the way.

Off we went back through the maze of hallways, to the elevator, down to the parking deck floor, and into an elevator to go up to the deck with our van. Back at Daughter's house, Hubbie's other daughter had put the soups on to heat, so I immediately fixed a sandwich and bowl of soup for Mother, who was pretty hungry by this time.

When the two daugthers arrived, we all sat down to lunch, including the mother of the girls (Hubbie's ex-wife), plus Daughter's son and daughter-in-law. Afterward, we visited until around 4:30, before heading back home.

We left all the food we'd brought so the daughters would not have to think about a supper meal. There was enough for maybe a lunch or two, as well. They were very grateful, since both were exhausted.

Daughter is on the mend. She still has numbness in her right hand and in her face, but she can speak now, though she has to do so slowly and deliberately. She will be unable to put weight on her injured leg for about eight weeks, possibly twelve. And she will need speech therapy (ironic, since she herself is a speech therapist). She will need to undergo a procedure later to determine if her heart will need a patch. This will have to be done at a heart hospital in the capital city.

For now, though, we feel better for having seen her, and knowing she is recuperating. And we hope she has no more setbacks.

Back home, I accompanied Mother to her house, and then put leftover lasagna in the oven for Hubbie's and my supper. Afterward, we watched TV for a while, including a 2003 movie, "A Japanese Story." A woman geologist is assigned the task of escorting a young Japanese businessman around the beautiful Australian outback. They run into a life or death situation, after which they fall into bed with each other. Later, the young woman learns her lover is married. Then an event happens that changes everything.