April 14, 9:00pm

We're finally starting to get some coordination, which is great!

Probably to no-one's surprise, Penny is too high-functioning for rehab. She can walk too far and can feed herself, among other things, which is great.

Now we are researching hospice. There will be a meeting on Monday morning with the head social worker of the hospital (thanks for the introduction, Rose!!!!!!) to evaluate the various options in terms of which will be the closest and the best for our needs.

We also met with her caseworker and a social worker, who's in a lot of contact with the head social worker. Having spoken with all of these people today, we have a much better idea of how to get training and how to proceed.

Penny's lucidity continues to be best between the hours of 9 or 10 am and 2-3 pm.

She had a lot of visitors today, which she really enjoyed. She loves seeing her friends, family, former students and colleagues. She is also very excited for Kathryn and Nate and their kids, and Eliza to come out on Tuesday evening. Aurora and Penny's mother will be coming out on Wednesday.

Once a hospice company is selected, they will come to the hospital to meet Penny, and come and evaluate the house. They will give us training, and make sure that the right equipment is made available so that Penny can be cared for at home. Depending on how the meeting goes tomorrow morning, and how quickly things move, there is a possibility that tomorrow could be the day Penny comes home. At this point, that's merely speculation.

Leaving in the evenings to come back to Tehachapi is growing increasingly difficult, as Penny thinks that she gets to come, too. She talks a lot about running errands and having things to do. We try to assure her that we are happy to run those errands for her. This evening, Matt has told her the plan -- selecting a hospice company, etc. -- at least three times. It's very difficult for her to remember, because she just wants to be home right this second. She misses the dogs, but is always grateful when she gets to interact with the hospital's therapy dogs.

The social worker was thrilled to see how much support Penny has in her family and friends. He was pleasantly surprised. :)  Thank you all for coming. You lift Penny's spirits when you come, but you also lift ours. I feel like I've gotten to know several of you well in a very short amount of time, and I'm glad to know you. There's no possible way that we can express our deep gratitude for all that you have done, do, and will do in the future for our family. We love you.

Cristina