Not a very happy birthday present....

It's been a long time since our last update as Ros' life with us in Topsfield has been very routine and stable. Well, we are reporting a big change with this post.

During April school vacation, while Ted, Lucie and Kathy were away, Ros stayed for a week at the VA Respite Care facility in Bedford,Mass. The care was excellent although he had a fall when he was alone in the bathroom. He pulled the emergency cord and the nurses were immediately at his side. They x-rayed him and the results were negative. Kimberlee picked him up 4 days later and was dismayed to find him needing a wheelchair when just a week before he was cruising with his walker. His primary care doctor x-rayed him a week later and results were again negative.  Within the week, he appeared to be in even more pain and could barely walk. We took him to the emergency room where, after 2 1/2 weeks since his respite care stay, the MRI showed a hip fracture. Oh poor Ros! After consulting an orthopedic surgeon, we opted for minimally invasive surgery the next day to pin the femur to the head. It took less than an hour for the procedure and Ros came through brilliantly!

Since the surgery, he has been in Essex Park Rehab in Beverly Mass (about 4 weeks), receiving PT and OT five times a week. His room is right across from the nurses' station because he is a fall risk and has dementia. We are grateful for the kindness and care of the staff.

This week we discovered that doing a puzzle with Ros (which takes about 2-3 hours) is a satisfying visit for him and for us. With his memory issues and difficulty hearing/speaking, doing a puzzle together is fun and allows us to interact.

Tonight we ordered take out from a local restaurant and covered the puzzle in process with paper to preserve it. Then we enjoyed a lovely dinner of chicken piccata and a delicious chocolate frosted confetti birthday cake a la Lucie on top of the paper covered puzzle table. It was a simple celebration but joyful nonetheless. One of the other patients came to join us for a slice of birthday cake with two of his visitors. It felt homelike and comfortable. Ros' world has become smaller yet he is safe and being cared for by thoughtful and kind people. All is well.