He spent almost 3 months in the hospital and 4.5 months in the nursing home, in rehab. He nearly died several times. He arrived in the rehab unit too weak to push his call button for the nurse. A few days later he was rushed back to the hospital with a massive GI bleed - he ended up with a feeding tube and had to learn to walk and swallow all over again. It's hard enough for a younger person to do that but at 82, when he hadn't walked for months, it was a real chore.
The "Long Road Home" was actually started in his patient room of Rehab... each element in this is significant.
The top of collage shows 6 birds watching over him.... one for each of his 6 children.
The turtle is him... rehab is a slow but steady process and you have to have a tough shell to get through all the hard times.
The turtle is looking up at the white bird on the branch... the bird of hope, inspiration for him to get better and fly the coop! The hands are for my mother, the ULTIMATE caregiver, without her constant love, attention, encouragement and caregiving he would not have made it... or be able to be at home with her.
The turtle is on top of the phases of moon to signify the passing of months.... each month (number) is stamped on the collage... the white is for snow.... we drove through HORRIBLE snow storms to visit him each day an hour away.... and each time we followed the ambulance down, it was icy and or snow.
This hangs in my parents home... in the room where he now spends his time.
He's home.. .the feeding tube is gone, he can eat again... he can walk a very short distance... and now has an electric wheelchair and is grateful for each day.
If you have a loved one who needs to go into a nursing home for rehab... be encouraged... it's the best and quickest road back home.
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