Update Jan 5, 2026
Happy January, everyone. I thought it was a good time to catch folks up on Connie’s recovery.
Mom is contentedly in the rehab/nursing at Guthrie in Cortland. After visiting her every day over the holidays, I can attest that this is the best, most professional, clean, comfortable place she can be. The staff has been phenomenal, from everyday RNs up through admin and specialists. They might’ve been short staffed over the holidays, but the folks there are doing their best and it shows.
As of a November meeting with her care team, she’s continuing some PT and speech therapy. There was a group-wide understanding that she is experiencing mental decline, in addition to no leg mobility, decreased mobility in her hands, a couple other things. I joined that meeting by phone; Dad was there accompanied by Connie’s loving friend, unwavering advocate, and neighborhood baddie, Barb Milligan. Barb, beyond deep empathy and grounded perspective, has a refined BS meter. So having her agree that Guthrie is more than satisfactory feels really good for all of us. She visits Connie frequently and would raise a red flag if there ever was one.
In December, my dad prepped the Lansing Ave house for everyone to be together. He decorated the Christmas tree and hung lights throughout the yard. He brought Mom home a few times to show her the magic.
For Christmas we had everyone together. Mia and Nick and the boys, Jake Mindy and Ellie, and Michelle and me. We set up a temporary dining room in the piano room. Dad got Mom home. He’s as efficient as a river barge captain driving that transport vehicle by now. We ate a great big meal. We opened presents. We played music. It wasn’t the golden days of yore, but for the moment, all our troubles were miles away.
I feel like I’ve written iterations of the next two paragraphs a few times throughout the lifetime of this blog, but stick with me—
Mom is a lot quieter. There’s a good deal of recognition in her eyes, though. Often a sparkle, especially around her kids and grandkids. Nowadays she gives her signature eyebrow raise in lieu of sarcasm. She doesn’t have many words, but she always has “I love you” for the folks she loves. Other times she can be pretty distant.
But it’s not lack of consciousness or cognition. She’ll never cease to surprise us with memories, phrases, or thoughts. But here are a couple MUSICAL surprises she pulled off this holiday:
1. I’ve been playing music from the Charlie Brown Christmas on the piano. Every now and then I add a little improvisational adornment in the middle of the song. Dad says, “hey what is that thing you added?” I told him it’s an interpolation of Für Elise. “Really? Are you sure that’s it?” So I look at Mom and say, “Mom, how does Für Elise go?” and she HUMMED THE ENTIRE SONG including the bridge, in tune, too. So thanks for proving me right on the Beethoven song, Mom.
2. One night it was just Dad and I hanging with Mom at Guthrie during her dinner. She sneezed and I rushed around trying to find a tissue box. I found one in the common area, and next to the tissue box was a toy keyboard. It couldn’t play a triad; maximum two notes at a time, but the batteries worked. I helped Mom blow her nose and tinkered around on this keyboard while she finished dinner. I plunked all the classic Christmas songs. She watched and listened. I said, “you wanna play?” and handed it to her. And wouldn’t ya know, she plunked back all the same songs. Jingle Bells and Silent Night and Auld Lang Syne and the Peanuts theme, and a few more. Dad and I were absolutely jaw dropped. She’s only got one finger on her left hand that is un-crumpled enough to play, but that’s all she needed. She played for probably 45 minutes. When I was saying goodnight she said to me, “I worked on a few songs, and that made me really happy.”
Michelle and I played piano with her a second time, too before having to travel back to Nevada. (Dad says she hasn’t been as eager to play since we left. I get it).
So welp. That’s Connie’s Christmas in a nutshell. Very much heart filling. Very much heart breaking. We all have each other, and we’re surrounded by love.
Connie’s not doing much at Guthrie. Lots of Gun Smoke the tv show. Sometimes activities on the Guthrie calendar. So if you find yourself a spare moment and are near Cortland, go visit her. Guthrie Rehab. 2nd floor. Room 2001.
I know she’s had a couple visitors lately: colleagues, friends, family, former students. When she’s graced by people and memories, she conjures magic and surprises.
Happy new years.
- Luka
