Today we awoke to overcast skies, pleasant temperatures, and slight winds. After an exhausting 1/8-mile ride, we arrived at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Southern Arizona and were greeted by patients and their family members, staff, and donuts! Michael Johnson, DMO, and Martha Gerganoff, CEO, welcomed us again with open arms (no matter how badly Abel acted last year).

Doc finds Francis to be quite the happy camper. After asking her to share whatever she is sniffing, he is very disappointed to learn that it’s only oxygen.

Mims, having one foot in a cast, decides that AJ is a rotten peach and makes her write “I will not eat other people’s jello. I will not eat other people’s jello.” 100 times on her cast.

Abel tries to pry a poster out of Mims’ hand so he can add his own special touch to Joe’s picture. Mims’ was overheard asking Doc where the cute little itty-bitty munchkin with the snow-white hair was today.

 

AJ, still filled with thoughts of grandeur brought on by yesterday’s official crowning ceremony, monopolized the microphone and wouldn’t let anyone get a word in edgewise. When Doc and Abel asked for a turn to speak, she turned around and politely said, “Bless your lil old hearts. Shut up. Can’t you see that the three of me are busy entertaining the crowd?”

Sherry passed her last test before she can go home: getting into and out of her truck unassisted. Israel and AJ looked on but she did the work by herself. We were thrilled to be a part of such a momentous occasion and are proud of Sherry and all she’s accomplished. You go, girl!

Doc leads a group occupational therapy session of “Get Sassy with Doc” which entails learning the mambo, swimming ¼ mile in piranha infested waters, shopping for new hair removal products, changing the oil in the truck, and eating cheese.  Doc's comment was that he was gratified in opening new horizons and giving the patients a new lease on life.   At least they all had a good time.

While the three AJ’s toil away at telling the story of her entire life from beginning to end, Doc and Abel hit the local Dairy Queen and return with ice cream. AJ is STILL talking when they returned but she failed to notice that everyone had already vacated the room and it had been empty for an hour and a half.

 

In order to confuse the riders, the staff at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Southern Arizona had “Sundae on Friday Day” during our visit. While Abel spent 45 minutes trying to figure out how it could be Sunday and Friday at the same time, Doc tried to figure out what happened to Saturday. AJ, being the good teacher that she is, didn’t clue them in but instead snarfed down a sundae and snickered. 

Everyone else takes a turn with Hailey’s magic levitation trick but, when she tries to teach them how to cut PTs in half, men in blue scrubs whisked her away and she wasn’t seen for the rest of the day. I guess they think that if all the PTs are involved, they’ll be only half as effective.

Our heart-felt thanks to Martha Gerganoff, CEO and Michael Johnson, DMO, who suffered through out antics throughout the day. Your support for our visit exceeded our expectations and your entire staff made us feel very welcome.