In my “Victory Over Flu Day” post I mentioned three men who were in the hospital: Avtandil, Yevheni and Leonid. Now, almost three weeks later, all three men have finally returned home.

Leonid, the man who fell and hurt his leg, was the last man to return home. He returned just two days ago. Unfortunately, he’s not “as good as new” yet. The fracture turned out to be complicated, so the doctors decided to do surgery to stabilize the femur. So now Leonid has a six-inch long incision in his upper thigh, a metal plate pinned to his femur and orders from the doctor to stay in bed-rest for the next 8 weeks. He came back from the hospital lying flat on his back on a mattress laid down in the back of a minivan (our makeshift ambulance). I think he’s still in quite a lot of pain. His breathing is very raspy and hoarse and he has a nagging cough.

I think the situation is particularly frustrating for Leonid, because before he fell, he was one of the more mobile and independent residents. Then, by a cruel twist of fate, he suddenly faces a new daily reality of pain, discomfort and inconvenience. Even sitting up for a meal has become a significant challenge for him.

Leonid has always had a great sense of mirth, good humor and zest for life. Even during these hard days, I can still see a vestige of this droll vitality shining through from time to time. Certainly, it can’t be easy to keep a chuckle in your throat when you are continuously gasping in pain. Leonid is “keeping a stiff upper lip”, and I hope no other accidents or bad luck befall him, the leg heals and the pain subsides in something less than the 8 weeks the doctor is projecting.

Avtandil also came through the hospitalization a bit “worse for wear.” Recall, he’s the stroke victim who lost the use of both legs and subsequently had both legs amputated because poor blood circulation caused by thrombosis in his femoral arteries resulted in blood poisoning in his feet. Unfortunately, when I say he returned from the hospital “worse for wear” I’m not just referring to his physical loss of both legs. Those legs weren’t doing him any good anyway. Unfortunately, he also seems to have lost some dexterity in his arms. Before hospitalization, he had moderate use of his left arm and some limited use of his right. Now he seems to only have very limited use of his left arm and no ability whatsoever even to move his right arm. He seems a bit morose and depressed too. Before the hospitalization, he kept a phone by his side at all times (which he handled with his right hand). I think he used the phone to keep in touch with his wife (wife stayed in their home village to care for elderly mother). But since he returned from the hospital, he doesn’t seem to have the phone any more. But he still eats as well as ever. He wears a set of dentures which allow him to bite and chew quite normally. This evening after dinner he also handily devoured a “chewy fruit-and-nut” granola bar. I really wish we had the services of an occupational therapist here; I’m sure an occupational therapist could do a lot to help Avtandil retain use of his left arm and perhaps also recover some use of his left arm.

Yevheni is a happier story. He was in hospital for a lung infection, something like pneumonia. After more than a week of systematic treatment in the hospital, he returned to us seemingly with a “new lease on life.” Not only is he as strong as before, but he seems to have a new and greater sense of joy and appreciation for life. He is helping out his roommates with little errands and daily housekeeping chores. He is making jokes about quitting smoking. Yesterday afternoon I found him out behind the building in the warm spring sunshine raking up the debris from our winter firewood pile. He has also “taken under his wing” a new resident who joined us just a few days ago. This new resident was a homeless outcast, living on the streets in Khmelnytskyi before she was taken in by the congregation of a local church. She has no government-issued I.D. or any other identification documents and no pension or any other income. She has some difficulty walking because of having suffered a stroke, but now that she is living here, Yevheni is at her side for every step. They are also spending a lot of time sitting together in the residents’ activity hall, chatting and watching television together. Truly, a beautiful new lease on life!