Just another day

Jacob and I have been on our own for 2 full days.  We are on day three.  When the hospital said we were going to be released there was a thought of joy, and then a small moment where reality hit.  I was signing the forms stating I would take care of him,  I would be with him all the time.  I would help him. I would keep track of his meds.  I would make sure he followed the rules.  I would make sure to push him to do his exercises.  And on top of that I had to make sure I kept my role as his wife.

When I feel like things are out of my control I become very OCD.  In this case I needed to create a routine that would work for both of us, and then I had to organize everything I could.  We started by figuring out what time he should take meds.  He has meds he has to take every 4 hours, and some every 12 hours.  We wanted to make sure to set the schedule so he would have his pain meds during times in which he thought he would be most active.  So we have a nice schedule that we keep to, which includes taking all his pills at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.  We made it so his 4 hour pills meshed with his 12 hour pills. We made it a time that he should be up, and will be starting our day after 10 a.m., and beginning his night time at 10 p.m.  This has worked really well for both of us.

When we got into our hotel room some friends from his unit helped us into the room, and they had brought all of his gear from the field.  Well he had packed all his gear, and then his friends had packed it all back up, so no one knew what/where anything was.  So once we got into our handicap room I went through every piece of equipment.  He had to explain to me what it was for, and then I made the decision if it was a keep in the room or pack back up and place in the car.  Then with the stuff we kept in the hotel we split it into clothes, toiletries, paperwork, and fun piles.  Then I put it all away in specific places in our room. I mean Jacob will be here for 2 weeks, and when my relief comes I will easily be able to explain where things are, and by then Jacob will have a good idea where it all is kept.

The next thing we did was discuss specific goals we would like to do while here.  These were just brainstorming ideas of ways we could pass the time.  We thought of the PX (a version of Target), Commissary ( grocery store), find his old unit, go to the mall, go to a museum, go see a movie, Jacob needs a haircut, I need to get to a weight watchers, yada, yada, yada.  We made a big long list.  Now each day we make at least one goal. This is two fold. We get out of the hotel room, and he is moving around, and we are doing something productive each day.

So our days look like this:

I get up in the morning and go for a run.  I have been getting up at 7, but will changing that to 6.  I will switch it to 5 soon enough. When I get back to GA I will have to start school right away.  I have to get my body into school mode while I am here.

8:00 - I wake up Jacob if he isn't already awake.  We make our way to the hotel breakfast.

9:00 - I get ready first.  Jacob is normally in the most pain at this point because all his meds are due at 10

10:00 - He gets all of his meds at this time. Then he is normally good to get up and shower.  We have to wrap his leg, and then get him situated in the shower.  There is a seat in the shower because it is a handicapped room.  He can normally finish getting ready.

11:00 - 2:00 - At some point we try to get out of the room, so housekeeping can come in. We normally try to get our goal for the day done.  Today our goal is to go off base for the first time and get to a mall.  I am looking for a tea strainer.  

2:00 - 5:00 - Jacob normally needs a rest so we make it back to the room.  I sometimes will go out to this courtyard to read in the sun.  Sometimes Jacob will join me, but it gets too hot out there for him.  We will try to read magazines, or books.  We try to turn off the TV, otherwise I can see how this can just become a normal background.

5:00 - We eat dinner.  We have to eat dinner, or lunch out of the room. We only have a microwave, and a small fridge, so we try to eat out one meal a day.

6:00 - 10:00 - A lot of the same.  Small trips to the front desk, for Jacob to practice, more reading in the courtyard, and, well, a lot more reading.

10:00 - Another dose of all his meds, and it is time to get ready for bed.

Then we wake up and do it all again.  Jacob is working really hard, and is very open to not spending every last second on the bed.  He wants to get up and do what he can, and he tries to do a lot on his own.  Overall this has not been as overwhelming as I felt it could have been when I first found out we were being released.  Jacob is a pretty good patient, and a really great husband!