April 11, 2005 - Early Afternoon

From Christine and her Sunday with Amanda: "Today’s plan was to have Mandy spend the day at our house, cooking together & hanging out like we used to. Kurt would join us for dinner later, just like he used to do. Gene & I got an early start today, arriving at the apt. at 8am, Mandy had already showered & dressed for the day! Kurt met us there to be sure we had everything & go over last minute instructions, before he headed back home for the day. It was a special day for us…Amanda and Kurt have not been to our house since last October.

We stopped at our salon to take care of business, the half way mark! Next stop was Mandy’s mom’s house, right on the way to our place. As we turned into the neighborhood, Amanda recognized it & started giving Gene directions. Her mom moved into this house in Nov. 2004, so we weren’t sure if Mandy would recall. As we passed the flowerbed, she said, “Oh, Christine & I planted those flowers”. Awesome memory! We had a short, but sweet visit with Aunt Judy & Aunt Jane, in town from Indiana helping out Mom & Grandma as Mom recovers from knee surgery.

As we made our way to our house, Mandy did mention that she had been here (at this intersection) before. She picked out our house on the street on the 2nd guess. The 1st she chose was 2 doors down & the same floor plan, very similar. Mandy has on new shoes today that seem to be very supportive & helpful. The wheelchair was parked at the front door & she walked to every place in the house she wished to go from that point on! We walked around the whole house, pointing out items that used to be at her mom’s! Amanda recognized every single item, and there are many of them! I guess my house would be empty, if not for Sandy! Lunch went well. Gene had corn on the cob, which he shared with Amanda. “You’re a pig with that corn”, she told him as he was chomping down!

The ankle stretching went amazingly well with no complaining at all! This is something we need to do twice daily.

My mom stopped by & brought Mandy some flowers. Mandy said “Thank you for the flowers. Those are amazing!” Others stopped to visit after we went out for a short walk. The Rives family, from a few doors down, have 2 very large dogs; Delyla, an English Mastiff, and Tabby, a Blonde Lab. They are both well over 100lbs., very gentle, sweet dogs. Needless to say, Mandy enjoyed their company & told them how good they are as they gave her big, wet kisses! Abby, a young girl, brought a fresh cut rose for Mandy, which she was thrilled about. This brought a huge smile! Pat from next door visited as well. Mandy was so cordial to all who came to see her. She has always loved to be around people, socializing & smiling!

Of course, there was some down time for Mandy to sit & do her newest hobby...the word finds! This is also a good time to prop her left foot up on a pillow, as it seems to give her some relief to have it elevated. During these resting periods, she gave the cats treats & got lots of lovin’ from them all. During dinner, was the only time we got the “f’ word as she said (about Robin) “Look at him. He is so f-ing cute!”

When Kurt arrived, she was reading the blog, but honestly, not much of it. It didn’t keep her attention for too long today. Maybe she’ll catch up another time. Then he stretched her ankle again, this time with lots of complaining. Now I’m thinking maybe I wasn’t pushing it hard enough!

We assembled lasagna together, Mandy reading the recipe (it’s my recipe, but I forget a lot so I typed it up a long time ago) & giving me instructions. Even though the recipe has “measurements”, Mandy didn’t need a measuring tool, just like old times:) Sean, my brother, joined us for dinner. We had great conversation with great company. Can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday than with family, friends, & good food!!"