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 The leaves are so excited they can't stay on the trees!

We're Baaaack....

So many of you have sent cards or notes telling me how much everyone enjoyed the blog. So as a thank you, I will be updating the Blog on Tuesday nights. Tuesday's is LVAD Clinic day for Dad so this way I can keep everyone updated on his Progress.

Thursday Auntie Judy and Auntie Janet came to visit. Auntie Janet helped me fix my sewing machine so I could sew Dad's new Jammies. They were a bit long but I fixed them up so he can wear them now.  Auntie Judy made Mom and Dad a huge bowl of chicken soup which Dad had a good helping of. He needs to eat to get some strength back and the nurse said to eat more protein.

We had a busy weekend. Auntie Patty came to visit with Dinner and dessert on Friday. She stayed for quite a while which was nice because Mom had someone other than Dad and I to hang out with.

Saturday I visited with Cousin's Mark, Vickie, Nick, Gabby and Gabby's boyfriend Adam. Vickie was so nice to make Dad and us a big fresh fruit salad. I also got to meet their new puppy Bruschi!

He may just be the cutest puppy in the world!

Gabby's boyfriend Adam even fixed my car while I was there. I had a dent in the bumper from a snowbank a few years back. He got under the car and popped out the dent and fixed it just like new!!!

Saturday afternoon A few of my friends and I attended the first ever Canalloween. We Ran the Monster Dash 5K through the canal district in Worcester...In Costume!

                                                                                        

Some of the costumes were so funny and so creative. We had a great time and we can't wait to do it again next year!

Saturday night Brendan and Lilly came over with dinner that Kerry made for us. She is truly amazing. 8 months pregnant, chasing around two kids, one who has been sick and she finds time to make dinner for us! Lilly was very excited to be back at Grammy and Papa's with both Grammy and Papa home together. She even had a sleep over, without Kylie!  

Kylie Joined us in the morning and Grammy read the girls a new book I got for them for Halloween.

Kylie kept Papa's chair occupied while he went out to the kitchen. I guess she thought Papa would like to sit with four babies and not just her :)

The Hurricane proved to be a little nerve racking. Now that Dad is dependent on power we had to be prepared if the power went out. Brendan was great. He came over took out the generator, checked it and then showed Mom and I how to start it. We have 50 hours of battery power but the generator would be necessary if we had a sustained power outage. We are so very lucky that we NEVER lose power. In all the years we have lived here we have only lost power during a storm for a total of 45 minutes. and that was during the Snowtober storm last year. SELCO is an amazing service and we are lucky to have them as our electric providers. It was sad to see all the people who did not have power for so long. Luckily for most of them a power loss is not a life threatening emergency!

Dad had his appointment today at Brigham and Women's. It has been one week since he was discharged. In some ways it seems like it was yesterday and in other ways it seems like eon's ago!  With  the big ole' hurricane Sandy we were not sure what today would bring and if we would be able to make it in to Boston. Luckily it was 61 and sunny this morning making the commute a breeze...no pun intended! Auntie Janet was nice enough to bring Mom and Dad in for the checkup. He did ok. HIs numbers are all where they are suppose to be. He still has the fluid buildup but, it hasn't increased which is good.  He is still very tired and he said today wiped him out. It is probably the longest he has gone without napping. The VNA nurse that we have had this last week has been awesome. Kathleen, she is so knowledgeable and has worked all over in the Boston hospitals. She makes having a home nurse a comfort. Mom is now signed off to do the dressing changes on her own.. yay Mom. So all in all we are creeping along. Slow and steady wins the race. 

My friend Shannon, whose fiance has an LVAD, gave me a great quote. It's for our LVAD family members trying to get well and everyone else anticipating a fast recovery. 

"If all you do is breathe today...it's o.k."

I will leave you with a photo of the surf at Hampton that my cousin Sean sent us today. It's a beautiful site. I wish we could have watched the remains of the storm at the beach today. 

       

Until next week. Keep the prayers, well wishes and warm thoughts coming our way. We still need them :) Thanks to everyone who is making this journey easier for us. We could never have come this far without all of you. 

Laurie