Anniversary

I got up early to water the lawn and was surprised to see an Anniversary card from Michael. He couldn't go out and buy one, but he made a beautiful card on the computer!
It is so nice being together and enjoying each others company.
Michael might have made it difficult to get to this day because the doctors weren't sure he would survive, but he has always (ok, almost always), been easy to love.

No short order.

Saturday night Michael and I watched Babylon 5.
Last night Michael woke up and said his oxygen wasn't working! I went to check the 50 foot line that connects him to the oxygen condenser. I tightened the connections and Michael said everything was fine.
It is Sunday morning and Michael made waffles for me, they were delicious!
I am defrosting some ribs that I got from R. Crystal and will make potato salad for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow is our 27 wedding anniversary. Michael has made it so hard to get to this day (keeping him alive is no short order), but we're made it.

Synagogue

Michael went to synagogue today! He walked carrying his oxygen tank. The rabbis greeted him and gave a welcoming speech telling everyone how Michael is such an inspiration and how our prayers have been answered. He was a bit embarrassed. He did bench Gomel (a prayer of thanks for surviving a deadly situation).
Today is the anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah parsha and his ufruff parsha, so it was an auspicious occasion.

Getting Ready for Shabbat

Today Michael had OT and PT. In OT he was tested to see if he could feel items in his hands without looking at them. He has sensation in both hands so he was able to correctly identify all the items!
He also was given a piano and he played some tunes. He has noticed that his hands don't remember the notes as easily as they once did.
His dexterity is slowly returning.
A number of the exercises were done standing up, his stamina is improving and his oxygen needs are slowly decreasing. When he first started exercising his oxygen requirements went up substantially, now he rarely goes about a setting of 4 liters.
I brought our guest cat home for the weekend and he immediately went to seek out Michael and crawled up on his lap.
Today Michael helped get the house ready for Shabbat. One of his regular tasks is to put the candles on the table. Today when he put the candlesticks on the table, Rebecca reminded him that he was on oxygen. I carefully set the candles on the cook top where they will be away from Michael and his oxygen.

My regulator

I was sitting at the table this afternoon and I heard a hissing coming from the living room. I asked Michael if he was leaking oxygen. We noticed that the portable tank was leaking. So we got another tank and tried the regulator on the new tank. We laid the 2nd tank down and after a few minutes it also started hissing. I called the oxygen company and told them the problem. I was told someone would come out and try to fix the problem. The company called back and told us how to trouble shoot. We had already figured out what to try. (I live with a engineer, of course he could figure out how to fix things). I was told to put a new washer on the regulator. I said that would be a great idea, unfortunately, we weren't provided with spare washers! I also asked if they would provide us with a spare key for the tanks. A little after 5PM a gentleman comes out and says he can't reproduce the problem (of course). He replaces the regulator and has Michael show him how to connect the regulator. They discuss how to replace the washer. He leaves us with an extra key and spare washers.
The oxygen man says we should always have spare washers and a spare key. Thanks, I think I figured that out.
Tomorrow the plumber is supposed to come out and fix the connection to the swamp cooler. The high today was in the 90s. Tomorrow a record high is expected, so I hope it will be running tomorrow. It is currently 87 on the main floor of our house! I have a couple fans going. The basement is actually comfortable, lucky for Rebecca. (her room is down there). Michael has been working on the computer and is also hanging out in the basement. I have been literally slaving over a hot stove. Rebecca wanted French onion soup for dinner. She just had oral surgery, so I figured that I would humor her.

OT that tastes good too!

Today Michael had OT and PT this afternoon. He worked hard and is progressing.
Tomorrow, I have told him that he will have to make Tapioca Pudding for Rebecca. Mixing pudding is an excellent form of OT and it tastes good too.

Anniversary

Monday, May 31 will be our 27 Wedding Anniversary. Does anyone have some suggestions on what we should do to celebrate this special occasion?
A long hike is out of the question for now.
I think we will also have to skip a bonfire or candlelit dinner. We can have the dinner, but the candles can't be on the table.
Michael had originally wanted to go on vacation, but this will also have to wait.