Climbing the Mountain

Good evening/morning
Well, mom has not had her leg casted this week and she is back to walking during PT. She is walking 15 minutes on the treadmill and practicing walking with a cane as well. Her PT says that she is doing really well-but Luisa thinks she has her old dancing feet back already. I called her today and she didn't answer, when I called a little while later she asked if I had called earlier and when I told her I had and asked where she was she said, "On my butt." Lu is trying to walk around unassisted and not getting very far. She is doing well, sounds great on the phone and will be walking the isles at her favorite shops soon if she has anything to say about it.

Peace!

**Pic taken last weekend.

Finally a Break from TIRR

Today we got to take mom to her new house and since she doesn't remember going there previously, she got to see if all over again for the first time. The kids showed her how they ride their bikes, draw on the cement and destroy the den-and that was all in the first 15 minutes. We wore her out pretty quickly with all of the excitement, but she did manage to get a message out to all of her friends and family.

Love to each of you, life is too short!
The Ripoll's and Pippins

I can not do a post and not take time to say that we lost one of our dear friends in Lafayette this weekend. She read this blog regularly and was fascinated by mom's progress. Terri-we will miss you, we are better people for having had you in our lives.

1 One Way Ticket For NYC Please!

Luisa went on a field trip today to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston from 8-3:30! The first time that she has been out of the hospital setting since the end of February. I was so excited when she told me that she got to get out-at that point she was so exhausted from her day there wasn't much pep. Anyway, she took a tour of a new plane that Continental is using in their fleet and told us it was bigger than the average plane and each seat has a t.v. Lunch was served for them in the CA meeting room-Pappadeaux's was the treat of the day. All in all, it was a good get away and she now wants to be a flight attendant (j/j).

Much Love
Luisa and family

**Pic taken last summer in NOLA.

Getting Antsy

Since Luisa has been in the hospital (5 in all) for over 6 months, the case worker advised against taking her out for the day on the weekends. Even though we have taken mom to her new house, to restaurants and church, she doesn't remember it b/c it was all pre-shunt (or p.s. as I refer to it). Now, she is cognitive and not able to leave the hospital which makes her pretty bored on weekends and really ready to get out the hospital-which is great but frustrating to her.

She and dad watched the Hornets basketball game on the big screen at TIRR and he brought steak and creamed spinach in an attempt to make her feel like she was out in the real world. What a saint (no pun intended)!!!

Wishing each of you a very good week ahead.
Luisa and crew

**Pic taken last weekend and TIRR, of course.

I'm In a New York State of Mind

I called Lu yesterday and if I didn't know that she had a brain injury I would have thought she was just hanging out at home on any Wednesday. Susan, mom's cousin, went by to visit again and was able to go with mom to her speech therapy (very handy since she is a speech therapist). She said that mom did really well, she got 7/10 each time, cognitively she is doing amazing-if that darn right leg would start working right she would be set. Mom's team met with her and Dad yesterday and told them she is doing really well. When she went to TIRR for the second time at her mental evaluation she was well below where she was when she had left the first time. Now, she is almost off of the charts in the other direction-can you say unbelievable!!! Now, she has years of therapy ahead of her, but man she is doing soooooo much better mentally post shunt, and we would rather a bum leg than a not all there Luisa.

I asked her if she had given any thought to what she wanted to do for her big birthday and she told me, "Yeah, I told dad that I want to go to New York." I said what are you going to do in NYC and she told me, "PLAY."

Many Blessing to you...
Lu and Chuck

**In your face pic taken this weekend. I am probably going to pay for this one!!

Talkative and Bossy

We had a great weekend with mom and dad. Mom has gone from barely talking to bossing me around in no time at all. Things are starting to feel normal again. She is really communicating well, she seems to be frustrated with her limitations and doesn't quite grasp them at this time.

Andrew told me that we "finally have our old Lola back." So things seem normal to him, which I know is so important to Lo. She is still wearing the leg cast at night and it does seem to cause her a lot of discomfort, but her PT says that it is coming along just fine.

Today when I spoke with her I was about to cook rice so I asked her how long you cook it for and she responded with a very confident 20 minutes. FYI that is right for all of you non-chef's out there.

Such a blessing!
Charlie, Luisa and the kids

**Pic of us walking down the hall, a spontaneous love bridge formed.

No Prompting Necessary

A video for your watching enjoyment!

Pretty impressive!!!
Lu's Crew

Time Extended

Yesterday dad and mom met with her "team" at TIRR. She was scheduled to be discharged on Tuesday and they have decided to extended that until the 1st of May. We were really happy that she is going to stay because she is getting 5 hours of therapy a day, and for the first time is probably really benefiting from all of the exercises. Regarding her physical status, she is still not able to straighten her leg all of the way, so the therapists are working hard on her range of motion in that right leg. She is standing up and did tell me yesterday that she walked a short distance, when I asked her how it was she told me, "not as easy as it used to be." Hopefully the the next few weeks she will just thrive in both her physical and mental status. She is going to her neurosurgeon today to get her stitches out from the shunt, I am sure he is going to be thrilled to finally meet Luisa.

We are going to Houston tomorrow, so stay tuned for a video. I can't wait to share that with each of you.

Fondly,
LuBob's Family

**Pic taken last summer.

Still in Awe

Just wanted to let everyone know that mom is still doing WONDERFUL! It feels so good to say that and mean it in a completely different way than we did just a week ago. Some thoughts she has shared with us...
*Today she told me she couldn't believe in was Tuesday already
*I asked her if it was confusing that it is April and she told me "VERY"
*She asked me if I saw the current situation with the polygamists and their children and then asked me where the city was located in Texas
*She asked Chaz if he was packing yet for a trip he is going on this weekend.
*When my dad called her Sunday, she asked him if he got to NOLA OK (he had left earlier that day.)

Again, I am really speechless. I can tell you that if you ask anyone that has spoken with her at any point before last Wednesday and then speaks to her now would probably tell you the change is a 360. Dad didn't want to go so far as to call it a miracle, but truly it is. Medicine has played a part, but the fact that she now has a memory (short and long term), she is talking to us and is the essence of herself is a blessing of medicine and faith. I told you a long time ago that when I walked into her room at Touro I could feel her spirit all around us, I am so glad that it has been set free!

Peace.
The Ripoll's and Pippins'

**Pic taken at Easter.

Medical Marvel

Where to start? I have been pretty cautious in posting our news, but I feel like it is safe to get really excited now. The following is an email that my sister-in-law, Claire, sent to me yesterday. I think you'll get the gist of how amazing this turnaround has been-

Hey,
She's back! What an amazing day. She is initiating, asking questions, and wanting to shop. There is still a little confusion, but i truely believe this is only the beginning to a fully recovered Lu. I attached the second pic because we were sitting outside and she said, "Do you want me to take yalls picture?" So I handed her the camera and this was the result. Pretty impressive.
Anyway, I just couldn't wait for you to see. Claire

So just a few things that she came up with this weekend:
*I asked her today what the first thing she was going to do when she gets out is and she told me "get a wig."
*Some of her ideas about time is pretty interesting, she thinks she drives a 626 (she did in 89) and dad asked her the name of her dog and she told him Chris (he died when I was 2).
*She told Claire that she was trying to figure out which shoes to where to the next LSU game (geaux tigers!)
*She completely remembers yesterday, and the day before that too!!!!!!! Shunts for everyone!!!
*Yesterday in PT, she complained about the contraption that her wonderful PT, Jen put her leg in. Jen told her she has been waiting for her to complain about it.
*The nurse came in yesterday and asked mom who Chaz was and she told the nurse, "I don't know, but he sure looks a lot like me (she was joking)"

So, hopefully you are getting the idea. Our wife, mom, grandmother, sister, daughter and and friend seems to have woken up after a long 6 month nap. We are so blessed and happy, words are hard to put on this one (and I am a Ripoll, we never have a hard time coming up with words).

Love,
The Ripoll's and Pippins

**Pic of Lola and Bop yesterday.

Smiles All Around

Well friends, Luisa sounds AMAZING since the shunt has been put in!!!! I think it is safe to say we are all so full of hope today, she is talking MUCH more than she has in the last 6 months, seems to be much more aware of her world around her and is even recalling a few things that happened yesterday (which she could not do). This morning I asked her if she talked to Aunt Jan recently and she told me that she talked to her after she spoke with me last night. That is pretty significant in terms of her short term, that she was able to remember the previous day. Oh, and something that made Chaz very happy is that mom told him when his birthday was last night. We have been asking her when his birthday is for months now and she would just look at us and shake her head, last night she told him the right day in February!!!!

She will be going back to TIRR today, where hopefully she will be able to straighten her leg out so she can start walking again.

Yeah!!!
Charlie, Luisa, Robin, Chaz, Brad, Claire, Andrew and Ava

**OK, since she seems to be coming into a greater sense of cognition, I am pretty sure she is going to be upset with all of these pictures I have posted of her in the last six months. Strangely enough, I look forward to that argument!! Pic taken on Easter.

Don't Forget Your Coat!

Mom is doing well a day after her surgery. This morning I spoke with her and she sounded more positive in her answers, rather than sounding a little unsure (confused). When my dad arrived this morning he had a sport coat on, he took it off and put it in the closet. He stayed for about 1.5 hours and when he was going to leave mom told him, "don't forget your sport coat." He was all impressed that she reminded him about it, me too! She does have her rash, but will probably be released tomorrow if it doesn't get any worse over the course of the day.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support.
The Rips and Pips

**Video is of mom on Easter- I am telling her a story of one of the humorous things she did during her first stay at TIRR. Laughter is really contagious!

Shunt Update

The shunt is in place as of 2:30 and the doctor said that it "should" provide some relief to mom both physically and mentally. Will update later on.
Peace

Family Visits

Last weekend my mom's mom, brother and wife went to Houston to see Lu. They all felt like she looked better than they were expecting and that she was pretty pleasant the whole time they were there. My dad wanted to take her out of the hospital but when they got there Friday evening mom had a cast on her right leg all the way up to almost her hip so the weekend was spent in the hospital again. The cast was removed yesterday in preparation for her surgery tomorrow morning. Dad said that she was so happy to be visiting with the family, she laughed almost the whole day on Saturday watching my dad and uncle give each other a hard time.

So, the surgery is a go for tomorrow, and if all goes as planned she will be back at TIRR on Friday. Now, we all know by know that the plan has not happened yet, so log on here and I will be keeping updates coming as I get them. HOPEFULLY there will be no rash, but Luisa has got a lot of allergies we have come to find out-we'll see.

Best to each of you.
The Ripoll's and Pippins'

**computer still in hospital:(