Memorial Day Weekend

For the first time in about 6 months, I was able to take Sam home for a few days over the Memorial Day weekend. The first thing I noticed was that Sam has gotten much stronger physically and her level of understanding has grown as well. She was able to transfer to the car much more easily than in the past and could sit up for much longer periods of time. Overall it was wonderful to have Sam home and we had a great weekend. On Saturday, Ipicked Sam up early and our fiends Lisa and Tony came-up for a visit. We were able to help Sam outside to our little deck (with a bit of effort negotiating some tough spots) and sat out there all afternoon. Our friends Wendy and Aileen also joined us later in the day. Sam was doing quite well on Saturday. One of the highlights was when Lisa presented Sam with a beautiful framed photograph that Lisa had commissioned for Sam. Sam looked at it and tried to say something, but no words were coming out. I was able to interpret for Lisa and told Lisa that Sam really likes the piece. Lisa then looked at Sam and said "Do you really like it Sam?" I suggested to Sam that she try and clear her throat so she could tell Lisa what she really thought about the piece directly. Without hesitation, Sam cleared her throat and said out loud "Lisa, I am deeply touched" I think we all started tearing up. Lisa was able to talk to Sam about all the art shows she and Tony had seen in the last few weeks and noted the ones that she thought Sam would have especially enjoyed. Sam was thrilled to be in her element and be listening to her friend talk about art with her. It was great. After all the energy that Sam put out on Saturday, Sunday, in contrast found Sam needing to sleep the majority of the day. She did want to watch an opera on channel 13, which bored me, but it felt kind of normal...Sam watching something intense and artistically based, while I got bored with it and wanted to do something else. On Monday, Sam again was quite content, lively and her level of understanding was deeper than in the past. She also was talking out loud a lot more than she does at the facility and for the most part, ate well too. It was hard for me to bring her back on Monday evening, but Sam seemed fine with it. It was like she had taken a vacation and now she was headed back home. She was happy, and that was good. We had a fun ride back, as Sam vetoed certain songs on the radio and turned up the volume on others. When we arrived back and the nurses asked Sam how her time at home was, Sam replied out loud "wonderful, wonderful". The nurses couldn't believe Sam was talking. Neither could one of the neighbors near by, who said "she talks" (I actually didn't know that that particular neighbor could talk either). Sam wanted to sit in the common room with the large screen TV. I noticed that there was a Meg Ryan all day movie festival taking place, and I told Sam that she was in luck! Sam laughed out loud. When she was well, Sam would not have watched a Meg Ryan film even for a second. When I left, I told her to enjoy the festival and again she smirked that Sam smirk and waved goodbye.