June 2, 2020

Today was our last family training at Magee!! CRRAAAAAAAAAAZZZZYYYYY. Tomorrow is Shannon's last full day there, and Thursday we pick her up and bring her home.

We arrived at 7:30am this morning and left at 10pm. We accomplished a lot in those 15+ hours. We helped her shower, got her dressed, gave her Wawa for breakfast, and transferred her into her chair.

Rachael learned to do car transfers. 

Shannon learned she hates her loaner wheelchair. 

I learned that my trunk isn't big enough for a wheelchair unless it's totally disassembled. 

I also learned that the chair will fit in the back seat but only if I'm driving so the seat is closer to the steering wheel. Apparently the reason I never made it past 5'1" is because I need room for a wheelchair behind me. And now I know. 

We had lunch, and wrote out thank you cards for Shannon's caregivers. It was so fun to dictate the crazy stuff she wanted to say to them. She's so funny. 

For art, Rachael and I messed around with watercolor pencils again. 

Shannon messed around with black paint on her transfer board. 

She also had one of her last trips on the lift. 

I climbed into Shannon's bed with her, and it's super comfortable. Too bad she isn't getting this kind at home. I could definitely kick her out and sleep on it. 

And that was our day.  

Because I'm documenting this whole experience, I can't leave out the current state of our city. We are in lockdown in Philly because of the riots. Future me, look up June 2020 riots for a reminder. If you are reading this and you don't know what I'm talking about; you are living under a rock...with really good wifi. Or good cell signal. If that's the case: See note to future me. We were given a letter from Magee to show to police in case they stopped us on the way out of the city. We did have to talk to some, but they were basically unhelpful. We were trying to figure out which route out of the city was accessible, since the were parking huge dump trucks at the on ramps, and they didn't have a clue. While Shannon was napping, we went up on the roof and played "how many helicopters are circling the city". Fun game. But we made it home, and lived to tell this tale.

On the home front, things are moving. Some things are moving forward, others back. We had a huge crew of beautiful people at the house today. Some watching kids and cleaning the house, some working on the railing for the front ramp (and sword fighting with the railing pieces-- I was watching you, CW. Doorbell camera ;) We also had help with the grout in the bathroom, the sheet rock in the hallway, and the bedroom floor, among other things.

It's not all going to be finished before Shannon comes home, and I'm okay with that. We have a plan, and it's going to be fine for a few days while we get the rest finished. We have been so blessed with so many people willing to help. I know we are in good hands.

Please pray that Shannon will enjoy her last day at Magee, and accomplish the things she needs and wants to, that her blood pressure will cooperate so she can do her testing before discharge, and that she will be a peace with both leaving Magee, and coming home. 

It was a busy day of doing this so we could that, so we could this, and then that....Here's your dose of Disney:

Yzma: Ah, how shall I do it? Oh, I know. I’ll turn him into a flea, a harmless, little flea, and then I’ll put that flea in a box, and then I’ll put that box inside of another box, and then I’ll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives…I’ll smash it with a hammer! It’s brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you! Genius, I say! …Or, to save on postage, I’ll just poison him with this.