pneumonia

Day 3 of pneumonia, recovering and resting well.
For as long as she was on the vent, I'm surprised she hadn't gotten it sooner.

Neurology

Mom had another neurology appt. where they did an electrical test on her feet/legs -- testing to see what sort of permanent nerve damage has been done. I think the staff at Pac Spec doesn't think she's making quick enough progress, but as we've all learned Mom has been recovering at a steady yet slow pace. There's definitely still some nerve damage in her feet (towards the toes), but none of it is permanent. Those are the longest nerves in the body, so it makes sense that those are taking the longest to heal. As long as she keeps up the PT and movements, she should continue to heal. The doctor even noticed her progress in the 5 weeks or so since he saw her last - not just in her breathing, but nerve/movement in her feet. ....proving again that her recovery rate is still very slow and steady.

She is continuing to work on her oral food intake. I think her trach is still healing and the feeding tube is still down her throat, so it is uncomfortable for her to swallow and not feel like she's going to throw up. Once the food travels past her throat, she's fine.

all good

Mom is doing just fine. Her voice is getting stronger. Her trach is healing.
For PT they've been taking her down the hall to the rehab room where there is a lot of equipment, machines, activities to help build strength. She took 5 steps on her own on the "parallel bar walkway."

Decannulation

Mom's trach was removed yesterday afternoon! She's doing fine.
It makes me a little nervous to have it removed, especially since she hadn't reached their goal of 48 consecutive hours capped and she's been so tired this week, but they seem to think she was ready. She's taking it easy this week while she gets used to her new breathing situation.

Mom is plugging along just fine. They are pushing her hard to be capped for 48 hours. She was up to 11 consecutive hours on Thursday when they said they were going for the full 48 hours starting Friday. She made it 27 hours and had the cap removed Saturday afternoon. That was a big push and Mom did very well, although she was pretty exhausted by the end of that stretch.

steady progress

Everything is continues to progress. They cap her trach for a few hours everyday. They are up to about 9 hours a day capped. When it's capped, she breathes like normal through her nose. They give her a little extra oxygen, too. Once she can tolerate 48 consecutive hours of being capped, they will determine when to remove the trach completely.

She talks very well when the trach is capped.

They are helping her get herself dressed everyday.

She continues to try to eat different pureed foods. It's difficult with the feeding tube going down her throat...it increases her natural gag reflex and doesn't allow her to eat as much as she probably could. They are very good about balancing that with her steady progress.

Dad, the kids and I were there yesterday when PT arrived, so Mom got to show off a little. We got to watch her sit up, work herself to the edge of the bed and then stand up...all with minimal assistance. I haven't been around when PT is there and it was WONDERFUL to see her move so well and be so strong.