Sunday, April 01, 2012

Another update about my dad

So, it's been a few weeks since I last wrote about my dad. I thought some of you may be curious as to how he's doing, so here's a bit of an update on his recovery (from the trio of strokes he had in mid-February).

The short and sweet of it is that he's doing really, really well. He's still in a nursing home and he still can't use his left arm or leg well enough to walk or otherwise fully take care of himself, but he's able to use both limbs a little bit more each and every day.

My mom and dad during our most
recent family vacation.
In fact, earlier this week my mom surprised me by telling me that he stood up, on his own, for the first time since he had his strokes. Previously, the most he had been able to do with his left leg was kick his foot back and forth while sitting in a wheelchair and raise his knee while lying in bed.

Anyway, how big of a deal is it that he was able to stand up on his own, you ask? Big enough that my dad's physical therapists did a little "dance of joy," according to my mom.

Sadly, I wasn't able to see any of the above in person. I'm hoping I'll be able to witness, from afar, at least some of his future "momentous occasions," though, since my mom recently picked up an iPad and has been using it--and Apple's completely fabulous FaceTime app--to make video calls to me (and to David, too, when he's not working) pretty much every other day.

Thanks again for all of your support, by the way. It's been extremely helpful and my dad, mom and I have greatly appreciated it.

UPDATE: I hate to update this post already, especially with not-so-great news, but I wrote this on Friday night and didn't expect anything negative to happen between then and now. Unfortunately, something did. Basically, my dad had to have his gall bladder removed yesterday. Thankfully, the infection that brought about its removal had nothing to do with his recent strokes. Also, he's expected to recover from the surgery and return "home" to the rehab facility fairly quickly. Anyway, here's hoping this is my dad's last step backward on his road to recovery.

See also: Previous posts about my dad

14 comments:

Retr0gamer said...

Sounds like he's making great progress in his recovery. I'm delighted to hear it :)

Sean said...

That is fantastic to hear, Bryan! I hope he continues to make such good progress and more dances of joy occur!!

Bryan Ochalla said...

He is, Retr0gamer -- except for the setback noted in the update. Ugh. Here's hoping he's feeling better very soon.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yes, Sean, more dances of joy soon, I hope :)

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Yikes. That's bad luck. We're still praying for you and your family. I'm glad for his steps forward. That's a blessing you can't ignore.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yes, Justin, you're right -- you can't ignore all of the progress he's made thus far. And, honestly, as long as nothing goes wrong from here on out (knock on wood), this really should just be a minor blip on the radar screen that is his recovery. It certainly is terrible timing and luck, though. Anyway, thank you for your prayers and support.

StickHead said...

Standing?! That's great news, Bryan! Your Dad is obviously a strong character! Thanks for keeping us updated and as always, our thoughts here at the Johnson house are with you.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thank you very much, StickHead. I appreciate your thoughts more than you can know!

SUIKA said...

Sorry about this whole thing Bryan. All I can say is, it's a *total* drag. Just think how great each step to recovery will feel, I guess.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yes, SUIKA, that's exactly it. And as depressing/frustrating as this current setback is, it's a relatively small one as far as I understand it. Anyway, thanks for your comment and support -- I really appreciate it.

diaglyph said...

It kinda seems bittersweet!
Recovering, yet something else pops up. Hopefully that's the last of it :)
Hope you're ok through this as well ;)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thanks, Igor. Yes, hopefully this is the last of it. I'm doing fine, BTW. Thanks for asking. My mom isn't doing as well, so I'm doing my best to be the strong one for a change. (She's usually the one that's tough as steel.)

Unknown said...

Well, of course it's such wonderful news that your dad was able to stand on his own, but I'm so sorry to hear about the infection. Your father sounds like a real trooper, though! Keep us updated – I hope to hear even more good news in the near future.

Oh, this is a little off topic, but I noticed I never added you to my PSN friends' list! Will remedy that now. I'm apricotsushi there as well, by the way :)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Anne. Yes, he's definitely a trooper, as is my mom. If any two people can bounce back from all of this, it's my parents. Anyway, thanks for the support.

As for adding me to your PSN list: Thanks! I'll add you shortly, too.