Sunday, June 17, 2012

Spring

Dear friends and family of Joy:

We've had a lovely spring here in Southern California.  Temperatures have been mild and the blooms of wild flowers plentiful and long-lasting.  Historically we usually have had some hot days by mid-June, but not this year. Rainfall this past winter was plentiful enough and temperatures this spring have ranged in the high 70s to the low 80s.  The ceanothus, sage, chamise, monkeypod, yucca, and poppies are blooming profusely every where.  It's been the most colorful spring we've seen since we moved down here in 2004.

Cyndy Smith and Georgia Schweitzer, Joy's friends and former co-workers at Pitney Bowes came for a visit on May 25th and, after a lunch of sandwiches, we had a little dance party.  Joy had lots of fun and showed off a few dance moves I hadn't seen for a while.  Here are some pictures of Joy, Cindy, Georgia and Joy's nurse Natalie Kinsley dancing up a storm to Michael McDonald on the ipod player:


In the picture below, Joy is in the middle of doing a little spin:

I want to thank Cyndy and Georgia for staying in touch and continuing to show their love and support for Joy.

We did have some sad news this month.  Emelda Beltran, who joined us as Joy's night nurse in January, became ill in mid-May and passed away on May 31st.  Emelda was the mother of one of our neighbors, Josie Pfaff.  She was an elegant Filipino lady who did not speak much English, but who connected with Joy immediately upon meeting her and communicated with her in an intuitive way.  She will be missed.  Joy, our nurses Susan and Natalie, and I attended the memorial service Josie and her husband Dave held for Emelda at their house down the street from us.  It was very moving.  Our prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to Josie, Dave and their children. 

Joy and Natalie took a spa and a swim one warm day and I shot a few photos.  It was gratifying to see Joy enjoying the water.  Last July we put her in the spa and the pool and she didn't seem to like it.  She was anxious and couldn't relax. (Joy is a New York City girl  with a healthy fear of water.  I remember trying to teach her how to dive at the association pool in Rancho Palos Verdes when we first met.  Over the years, whenever we swam in the ocean she made sure not to venture out in water over her head.)  This time she was completely at ease as the pictures show:



 We had an appointment with Dr. Sanchez on Thursday.  He was pleased with Joy's progress and encouraged us to increase the amount of exercise she takes.  He said that while her progress had been slow, he believes she will always continue to improve and learn new things.  Unfortunately, Joy will require one more major surgical procedure, which we discussed with the doctor.  Her skull did not heal properly after her craniotomy in late 2010; she has two large indentations at her temple and above her ear and a small crease indented on her forhead.  Doctor Sanchez will use a patching procedure that requires mesh and synthetic materials to fill these voids.  It will not only improve how she looks but it will improve the structural strength of her skull and reduce the possibility of serious injury should she ever fall again and hit her head.  He will also use the services of a plastic surgeon to make sure her skin correctly covers the patches and heals properly.  The procedure is tentatively scheduled for early September.  I would like to thank Dr. Sanchez for his caring and professional manner.  He is a fine doctor. 

Joy is beginning to recover her ability to perform simple tasks.  She loves to tidy up the small messes she finds (the ones I have a habit of leaving around the house--some things never change), and occasionally walks into the kitchen and attempts to help with the chores there.  Her ability to execute tasks is limited--she cannot, for example, remember where to put the dishes when they are clean--but she is trying and most importantly, interested in helping.  It's a long-term process, but we see small incremental improvements occurring every week.

But she is still very much Joy.  Her generosity, one of her more endearing traits, still shines through.  Whenever she is eating something she never fails to offer a bite or a spoonful, whether it be a sandwich or ice cream,  to whomever she is with.  

More birds: we have a second clutch of bluebird eggs in one of the bird houses, but also ash-throated flycatchers nesting in another.  An interesting characteristic of the latter is that they build their nests almost entirely of animal hair.  Below a picture of the female and then the male as he views me warily taking his picture:
  
And then a picture of a male with a very pronounced crest that I took last year:


I hope you all have a fun and relaxing summer.  I am planning a trip back home to New Jersey sometime in August before Joy's surgery.  I look forward to seeing friends and family spread out in three states. (Good thing they are small states. Out here we have counties that are bigger than eastern states-- for example, San Bernadino County, which is larger than Massachusetts.) It's been a while since I've been back east and I always enjoy it in summer because it feels so tropical compared to our hot, arid climate here in California.  If any of you would like to come visit us, please feel free to call and let us known your plans.

Love to you all and thank you for thinking of us,

Doug