Days of our lives

Our friend and neighbor, Jane Ellen, once jokingly referred to this blog as her daily dose of "Reality Show". Little did she know how right she was. The comings and goings of the residents of 14th Floor Taoyuan Road rival those of the denizens at Melrose Place. There is courtship between the young nurse and her patient's son that eventually fizzled out. Then there is Lady Machiavelli who so skillfully manipulated me that I fell into her trap willingly. But in general, the folks here are kind, decent people caught in the same predicament of watching their loved ones suffer from some incurable disease and are doing the best they can to get along with each other.

There is much camaraderie amongst us. We check-in with each other on a daily basis. If we find someone missing at the PT sessions, we make it a point to verify that he/she is well. We also cheer each other on and celebrate even the smallest moments of triumph when someone is able to gain feeling in her finger for the first time in ten years. We share the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. With so many nationalities and close living quarters it is a small miracle that we all get along so well. United Nations can certainly learn something from us.

However, not all patients and their caregivers participate in this commune. Some are more reserved in nature and prefer to keep to themselves. We find that the language barrier can be daunting to many, this is especially true for the Italian and Eastern European patients. Then of course, there is the occasional oddity in the form of Mr. Body Beautiful who I've described in my post "The naked man on the floor". He almost never left his room at all during his entire stay here.

Because our weekdays are full with rehab and injections, the only chance that we get to go out either by ourselves or in a group is on the weekend. We've ventured out with a group to Sea World and had a nice, leisurely dinner at a fantastic Italian restaurant one evening. Then there were short shopping trips locally for groceries and to Lowu Commercial City for souvenirs. Most weekday evenings we while away our time surfing the net, posting to the blog or catching one of the movies that we've brought with us.

Some evenings we have impromptu going-away pizza parties in the common room. We make a toast (with Coke) to the ones who are leaving and exchange addresses and phone numbers with promises to stay in touch. We've missed Debbie and Sue from Canada who are the most fun and down-to-earth people we know, David and Karen from Scotland, and Nick and Maria from Buffalo, NY. It is generally a good idea to try to get to know the people on the floor. Aside from providing moral support, the ones who have been there for a while are invaluable resources as you try to figure out the protocol of the program.

Richard continues to do well. The bruise on his hand and the rash on his body have resolved themselves. He has started to ambulate around the floor with his walker. The most noticeable improvement so far is his stamina and energy level. He is now able to shorten his naps and stay up a lot longer. The evening that we went for dinner at the Italian restaurant, we did not get back to the hospital until past 11:30pm. At home, he is usually in bed by 10pm. His gait and upper body stability are also good. We continue to be hopeful for further improvements.