Monday, Gretchen moved to a new rehab hospital, Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Austin, where she is receiving excellent care from a compassionate team, who are knowledgeable, supportive, encouraging, and extremely professional.  This new center is state of the art facility, clean and spacious, and her care team is on top of everything and communicates well.

She has learned to stand and pivot to a seat which is huge.  She is also learning how to use a walker and is relying less and less on the Steri-Steady chair when she needs to leave her bed.  Her doctor expects that she will make a full recovery in time.

Her family is rallying to make sure their home is ready for her when she returns with the necessary modifications and equipment she will need to continue to build independence and strength.

She continues to have a great attitude and to show kindness and appreciation for all who are caring for her.  But that's who she is.  She jokes about how she "collects people" though all the little encounters and kind words she exchanges with anyone who crosses her path...from the lady at the deli counter at HEB who now sits by her at Mass, to the elderly lady she picks up on Wednesdays to take to do her errands or appointments, to the nurses at Dell Seton who would come in on their day off just to check on her, to the nursing techs who pop in to say goodbye at the end of their shift. And in spite of the difficulty or any minor setbacks, she is more determined than ever to overcome.