Monday, July 13, 2020

Monday, July 13, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2007. Mattie was five years old and visiting Peter's parents in Boston. Peter's mom got Mattie this big Tutankhamen puzzle. Mattie assembled the puzzle and then we joked with him..... who was taller, Mattie or the puzzle? Naturally Mattie wanted to find out the answer to this question. Of course by extending his arms and feet out, this made Mattie the winner. 








Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 3,352,696
• number of people who died from the virus: 135,512

On April 7th, Sunny had knee surgery. Tomorrow will mark week 14th of rehab. We took Sunny to see his surgeon today for his final examination! Fortunately Sunny got good results. His bones are setting and he has been cleared for regular activity. Of course with the intense outdoor temperatures and the fact that Sunny is not used to longer walks anymore, it will take time to build up his stamina and endurance. It has been a hard spring for all of us. 

After his appointment, we took Sunny for a walk on Roosevelt Island. We figured he earned it. As soon as we got on the island, Peter and Sunny spotted this! Do you see it? Wild turkey! The last time we saw turkey on the island was in 2008, shortly before Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. Funny as this sounds, I did not expect or want to see turkeys today. To me seeing turkeys on the island is connected to receiving bad news. In 12 years, I haven't seen one turkey and we are on the island all the time. So why these two today? 

Sunny loves holes! Mainly because things that scurry live in these holes. Sunny gives Peter and I structure, routine, and companionship. He was a much needed addition to our home, and though nothing can fill our home like Mattie, we are happy to have our animals back with us. 

Sunny and Peter! A place Mattie used to love to walk. 

Turtles were out and about in the Potomac River today. Mattie was a turtle fan, and when he was battling cancer, a friend adopted a turtle for Mattie in the Caribbean. The turtle's name was Roxanne. We used to get updates on Roxanne and could track her where abouts! So I got used to all things turtle! Out of tradition I snapped a photo of this one today! 

I got a call from my dad's physical therapist today. He is a wonderful person. He wanted to update me on my dad's progress and we chatted through some things. I am grateful that Jon wishes to continue to work with my dad long-term, even when insurance stops paying. An extraordinary individual! We fielded other calls today, everything from my parent's car, to long term care insurance. One hopes that things will stabilize, and clearly from where I found my dad on June 9th, he is making great progress. But recovery doesn't happen easily when you age and right now I am still trying to tease out whether his physical and cognitive issues will improve or will they remain this way permanently. Only time will tell.