Grandma is in the 1%

 Grandma has attained status in the 1% club.  Unfortunately, it is not the 1% club she aspired to be in.  Grandma is in the 1% of patients that contract an infection months after their shoulder surgery.  She had a reverse shoulder replacement in September 2022.  It was not until the end of June 2023 that a bump suddenly appeared on the shoulder.  After some tests, the doctor quickly determined that she had a bacterial infection and the infected prosthetic piece needed to be removed immediately.  Two days later, she was in surgery.  Her overnight stay in the hospital turned into 5 nights as they determined the type of infection and treatment.  For now, she is on at least 6 weeks of IV antibiotics.  After the infection is clear, they will do surgery again to replace the prosthetic part.  The 1% club.

Theresa was able to go back to Ohio to assist.  This time nephew Aidyn was also there (he had been staying with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple of weeks).  It was quite a week.  Here are some of the memorable moments:

• 
  While Grandma was stuck at the hospital, Grandpa, Aidyn and Theresa happened to be around for the Paulding summer kick-off parade.  As people were lining up to watch, we saw kids carrying empty plastic bags.  By the end of the parade, the bags were full of candy.  It was like Halloween!  There were LOTS of tractors in the parade.  The grand finale at the end was free boxes of Honey Baked Ham frozen foods courtesy of a donation so large to the food pantry that they did not have space for it.  They were actually giving it out along the parade route (grandpa got a coffee cake and frozen broccoli).
• There was a lot of coordination when Grandma was released of doctor appointments, home health nurses, and delivery of antibiotics.  Somewhere along the way, everyone had Grandpa's cell phone as the primary number.  This is a problem because Grandma doesn't like phone calls and won't answer them if he doesn't know the name of the person.  On the way home from the hospital, he got no less than 5 calls.  While he was trying to talk to the person (he had trouble hearing), Theresa was driving, and grandma was trying to right down information with her left hand.  It was quite a comedy scene. 
• The home health nurses are awesome.
• Aidyn was working on studying for his learner's permit.  
• Theresa enjoyed her daily walks to the local coffee shop in the morning and her nightly rides on her old bike.
• The garden harvest is starting to come in complete with zucchini and LOTS of green beans.  Aidyn and Theresa leveraged the zucchini to make a cake and some bread.  Meanwhile, Grandma is concerned with how she is going to handle the rest of the vegetable bounty.

• 

  Mrs. Paulus & Theresa

  Theresa also had the chance to catch up with an old neighbor.  Mrs. Paulus is now 98 years old and still lives in her house.  She was showing Theresa her photos form her days on the local women's softball team during World War II (the won the Northwest Ohio championship).  She then drove Theresa over the high school girls' soccer field, which she donated the funding for after seeing what they were playing on.  It is a beautiful facility (way better than the boys' baseball field) and includes a batting cage for the girls.  A great legacy!

Theresa returned home on Sunday.  Grandma has secured the help of a good neighbor and the home health nurses to assist with administering the antibiotic.  She is counting down the days until it is done.  In the meantime, Grandpa is next up for carpal tunnel surgery on July 28.  Fingers crossed!

Parade in Paulding