Much Needed Time Off & 1 Year Anniversary

After I finally left AGH, I had some much needed time off.

During this time I was undergoing physical therapy at Keystone Rehabilitation in Chippewa. They were really nice and I was making significant improvements. I became able to stand on my own better and I began to be able to lean more. I can now bend down and take things out of drawers or reach up to grab something. I still can't pick things up off the floor, but I'm doing better than I was. They also had me riding a stationary arm bike to work out a kink in my shoulder and I was able to climb a staircase. I was sad when I was no longer able to go there, but I understand now why time constraints made it difficult to do so.

I'm glad rehabilitation worked on going upstairs, because it was during this time that we decided to give up our house in East Liverpool. I think that was the hardest thing. It was a 2 story house and unfortunately the bathroom was on the second story. While I regret giving it up, I do feel it was the right decision. I am happy to say that I was able to make one last trip there and due to physical therapy, was even able to climb the stairs to see the upstairs one last time. It would have been really hard had I not been able to do this as when I left to go to the hospital, I had every intention of returning. Even the week before I had called the landlord and told him we would be staying another year. Thankfully we hadn't signed a new lease yet and he was very understanding of our circumstances. While I was there, I even had the opportunity to visit with our 2 neighbors, Ron & Carolyn. It was nice to see them and I must admit that they made it harder to leave. I must say that between them and Maxine (NC neighbor) we have been blessed with good neighbors everywhere we have lived.

Right before I started back up with treatments, Eryck and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. Thankfully, appointments got changed and we did not have to go to Pittsburgh that day. We had a very nice anniversary. Eryck took me to Thompson Park and was willing to push me around in the wheelchair. I was very thankful that he did not successfully dump me out of it. It was nice not only being out, but being outside. We got to enjoy the leaves changing colors. It really is a good time of year to have an anniversary. When we returned home, we tried some of our year old wedding cake as per tradition. I personally think that it was disgusting. Eryck did not agree with me and stated "if you really have a craving for cake, even year old cake would do." He ate considerably more cake than I did and even dipped into it again a few days later. I laughed when he finally realized how gross it is though he still maintains that it would be good in a pinch. I have included some photos below of our anniversary. I hope you enjoy them.