Contolling independence

The girls are enjoying a vacation in fabulous Stedman this weekend. My mom dropped them off at my in-law’s house last night. The weather was ferocious shortly after they left, so I was so happy that everyone made it to their destination safe and sound.
I struggled with the decision to let them go. I’m not sure if it’s better for Chad to have a few days of peace & quiet — or for things to be as normal as possible (including the sweet, loud chaos the girls create). The girls begged, and Carys finally asked Chad if she could go. The best he could muster was, “Maybe” – and that’s all Carys needed to start packing her bag.

Chad’s doing good, about the same. Perhaps a bit better. It’s hard for me to tell sometimes.
He still doesn’t feel like doing anything, not even going outside for a walk. If you know him, you know that’s very uncharacteristic. He never sits still; ever. He paces the house, room to room, just looking around.
He opens the fridge, just to have a peek. Sometimes he gets something to eat, but mostly he just stares at the labels and various leftovers.

This morning, he took a shower without me telling him to do so, and that’s a move in the right direction.
However, when I reminded him to take his meds, he was very confused. I told him which ones, and I heard him opening the bottles.
After his shower, he asked me if he had to take any medicine today.
Sigh.
I should have gone in to check, but I didn’t.
So, then I had to count all of his pills to see if he had taken any. He had.
But now I learned my lesson – even though he needs a little responsibility and independence to get back to normal, I still have to control it.

He actually said a few sentences last night, which included real words and not just head shaking and nodding. I was extremely happy about that. He even watched most of the UNC-Gonzaga game before he finally dozed off. He was up for a long time yesterday, and didn’t need a nap.

I made all of his follow-up appointments yesterday.
He gets his stitches taken out on Monday, if you can believe that. It doesn’t feel like it’s been a week since his surgery.
He also starts back on blood thinners Monday. Even though the ultrasound didn’t detect any blood clots last earlier this week, I’ll feel much better knowing the medicine is in his system.
We got back to Winston-Salem on April 30 for a follow-up visit, and then we shouldn’t have to go back there until another check-up in 3-6 months. All radiation and chemo will be done locally (in Raleigh).