Mom

I am in North Dakota now. Cold, snowy - but sunny! - North Dakota. 'Below zero' Fahrenheit cold. Fortunately the wind isn't blowing much so the wind chills are not too bad.

Mom got out of the hospital as of Tuesday and is in a swing bed facility for rehab/recovery. The doctors, due to mom's weak condition, couldn't operate on her to replace a heart value and clear several blocked arteries, so they put mom on meds to try to clear the arteries and also meds to help clear her lungs. She is also doing physical and occupational therapies to improve her strength.

Mom is improving rapidly from her time in the hospital, though she is weaker than when I was last home this Spring. Her goal is to return home by Christmas.

Manor Care seems to be a good place with good employees and rehab program. It turns out a neighbor is at Manor Care because of a stroke, and one of mom's good friends arrived a few days ago after hip replacement surgery. Man, a stroke is something you do not ever want to have.

Manor Care has a resident dog and cat who have free rein of the place. The dog knows how the elevator works as he waits, then gets on, when people do. The white-with-black-spots cat visits once each day for petting.

Walking down the halls of the rehab wing I noticed the vast majority of residents are women. Must be 80 to 90 percent women. Who said women are the weaker sex? Old women are alive and fighting and the old men are dead.