After almost three weeks’ worth of hospitalization and rehabilitation, my Aunt Annie and her pair of titanium hips are coming home tomorrow morning.
We received the OK from our orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday (he gave no restrictions on her hips, save using he walker) and from the physical therapy department here, so we’re more than ready to get back home, get some solid sleep, and restart our lives together.
Things are going to be different for now–I’ll have to supervise my aunt as she uses her walker to go to the restroom, day or night, and we’ll have to be careful with her hips as they heal (no bending, no twisting, no crossing her feet, etc. etc.)…
But we’re going to have some assistance in the home health care department in the form of more PT, OT and nursing for a couple of weeks, but the main responsibilities lie upon my shoulders, as per usual, in terms of caregiving.
It’s just a big relief right now to know that I’ll be able to stop driving half an hour each way to Novi to spend 10+ hours with the aunt each day, and that I’ll start getting paid by the State to care for her after three weeks without being allowed to charge for the hard work I’ve been putting in. There’s a lot of advocacy and plain old nuts-and-bolts caregiving going on while I’m on my shift, and I’m very happy to do it, but it’s been a grind.
Money is still tight, obviously, which is one of the reasons that I’m posting this update. My hope is to get back to blogging by the start of the NHL Draft in June, but in the interim, I’m not making money from the blog and I’m only making about $800 from the State of Michigan over the course of a full month’s work.
If you’re willing to lend a hand, we’ve continued to have to spend money on gas, groceries and medical purchases that we don’t have the money to make, and while we’re INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for the support we’ve received already, we’d like to ask that you at least share the fundraiser if you are willing to do so.
If you’re not the GoFundMe type, we also have used the following methods for fundraising: PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums.”
I sure wish that I had the time and energy to grind out some commentary on the Red Wings’ players taking part in the World Championship, the Grand Rapids Griffins’ playoff run, warts and all (they’re learning on the job down there), the Steven Stamkos rumors (not gonna happen), et. al., but I’ve barely had the time to sleep of late.
At some point sooner than later, we’ll get back down to the business of talking hockey. In the interim, taking care of Aunt Annie is my priority, and we’re trying to “make the dream work” via teamwork here, but as rewarding as the work might be, it is also utterly exhausting, to be honest.
Thanks for your time,
George and Aunt Annie
