Friday, Iced Tea, "I'm Your Daughter" and Other Annie and Frieda Mischief!

(Image provided by Martha Myers, a dear friend of both mine and Frieda's. The "THUMBS UP" in the image, provided by FRIEDA HUDSON herself!!! YAY FRIEDA!! Martha, having recently had surgery herself, still managed to locate CLICKABLE dry erase pens! She also sent the box of wonderful items that will assist Frieda greatly in the weeks to come. The water pistol, sans the water? Yep. That was Martha too, right there in the box. Very seriously though, she knows exactly what she's doing in gathering items that are FUN and FUNNY, yet very useful in rehabilitation. That is her career and she's darned excellent at it. On a serious note, Martha made letter charts, picture charts, etc. that will be great to use when the time is right! Patty Rosenkrantz also made some AWESOME picture pillows!! They're all in a basket and well, Patty, I hate to confess this, but Frieda and I determined that we could also throw them at folks who bother us too. HEE HEE HEE! They are GREAT Patty!! Frieda loves them! But, when you are middle aged, immature women like us, we simply MUST find the wrong way to use these items too! It just wouldn't be "normal" if we didn't! Each pillow has a request, a feeling, a need, etc. For example, "sad, hot, thirsty, pain, etc." They're just the coolest things you've ever seen!)
Today Wayne and I went up in the afternoon. Frieda was in her chair. My parents were there to see her, Gray and Sarah, and Bob Baskervill. I was sorry I didn't get to see Bob!
Frieda looked comfortable and she was actually quite animated and humorous.
We discussed what things would sound good to eat once she's "outta there." Among those things were chicken, iced tea, calamari, Wayne's "monster burgers," homemade ice cream and milkshakes. We all kind of got hungry just talking about it!!!
I was able to spend some time alone with Frieda, we held hands and drew "FRIEDA" and "ANNE," then we traced the names over with our fingers. She liked that a lot.
Well, I have to confess, we had a really funny moment that I'm sure I'll pay dearly for when Frieda gets out of the hospital. The shift changed and a new nurse came in. She introduced herself to Frieda and I was across the room. She was checking all the gadgets and being polite by making small talk to me and asked "if I was FRIEDA'S DAUGHTER!" Well, of COURSE, I was not going to let that pass by instantly correcting her. No way that was going to happen. Happily, I said, "Yes, I am... the oldest of three!" I wish there had been a camera in hand, but Frieda Hudson ALMOST went into orbit!!! By then, the nurse was in the restroom doing something else and I still had not corrected the misinformation! HA! Frieda was rolling her eyes, ready to bust my chops and laughing all at once. After a couple of minutes, I confessed that I wasn't Frieda's DAUGHTER and by then Frieda was laughing and pointing the famous "Oh you just have NO idea how bad I'm going to fix you when I get out of here!!" And I am so sure she's going to let me have it for that one. When I did come clean with the nurse, through the vent, Frieda told the nurse "Best Friend," then she pointed at me and shook her head. I agreed. Some best friend, huh? (She would have done the same thing to me and loved every second of it!)
I look very forward to seeing Frieda in the morning. There is a lady who is actually teaching rehab classes at Pitt who has learned all about Frieda through our friend, Martha Myers. Her name is Donna Mooneyham. Frieda and I talked about her visit tomorrow just to meet Frieda.I think it's just wonderful of her to take her time to come and say hello. I believe it will be a great meeting for us all!
As I understand it, Frieda may be moving into neurology unit as early as Tuesday! That is GREAT news! I'll find out more on that tomorrow and let you know as soon as I know something.
As always, THANK YOU all so much for your prayers and for your support. I think we can all say that we have seen all of that wonderful energy at work. It's truly amazing to see how Frieda has progressed thus far. She is so strong and she won't surprise any of us by her determination. She and I were already joking about how we were going to "spring her out of there" today. Believe me, she was ALL for that!!! What a great day that will be!
More tomorrow!!!!

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