Doing better!

There have been some very good changes over the last week.  First, we had an appointment with Chelsey's doctor and got her medicines reduced.  It has taken a week to effect the improvement, but today she was more alert and interactive. She was telling stories with the house managers when we came to pick her up for an outing.  She has been sleeping on a more normal schedule, though she is still taking long afternoon naps. She played for a long time on her computer doing some of her old favorite activities, and it was nice to see her enjoying herself.

Also, Chelsey has moved into her more permanent group home.  It has three other residents who are very cheerful and chatty, and nice workers.  The agency purchased a whole bedroom set of white furniture, because that's what Chelsey had at home and would make her feel more cozy.  They had it installed the first day before she arrived.  Her room is a nice size with a window that overlooks a shady backyard.  The house has 4 bedrooms upstairs, a living room, and a family room that looks over a nice back deck where the staff invite residents from other group homes over to have weekend cookouts.  The staff tries to think of things the residents would like to do for fun, and were very inquisitive into Chelsey's likes and dislikes.  They started with her just coming over for visits, then a one-time "sleep-over" before asking her and the other residents if they'd like to make it permanent.  They have tried to make it a good transition for her.

It is still a little hard for Chelsey, and she comments that she'd rather be at home.  It is hard for me to hear her say it, but I also feel that she will probably like her new home better once she is more used to it.  There have been several times when we asked if she wanted to visit over here and she turned us down!  Yesterday she told me, "Yah, it's kind of okay here." So we'll give it some time and hope it continues to grow on her.  So far so good.