Busy Days

Judi continues to work her butt off to get stronger and recover.

She went about eight hours with her trach capped and had no issues keeping her O2 levels up. By the end of that period though, she was tired from the combination of breathing normally and rehab activities. We'll keep letting her grow stronger until she goes about 48 hours with no issues and then remove the trach. Should be on track for late this week or early next week.

She goes for a swallow study tomorrow which evaluates how well she manages to swallow different consistencies of food. After the study, we'll know what types of foods she can handle and let her start eating regularly. At first, it will be small amounts primarily for therapy and then build up to the point where she gets her nutrition from what she eats. Once she is eating and drinking well enough, we can remove the feeding tube from her stomach. That will be another big day for us. I was joking with a nurse the other day that Judi would pitch a fit if she knew that you were giving her 500 calories in an 8 oz can of anything. Those of you in her Weight Watchers group know how far she (you) can make 500 calories go. I was always impressed with her discipline in this area. That same discipline is already paying dividends for her today.

Physical therapy continues to go well and she is obviously getting stronger. She stood up today with the aid of a machine that slowly lifts her and shifts the weight to her legs/feet. She was pretty excited and VERY tired after that. This is intended to provide feedback from the nerves in her legs/feet/joints to the brain to stimulate the process associated with controlling them. Although this sounds like a simple evolution, it took five people (me included) to get her in position and then support her. This is why I wanted to get her in a REAL rehab facility so bad. It takes a lot of people that know what they are doing to provide this type of therapy.

I continue to be humbled and eternally grateful for all of the support we have received from so many. The prayers and well wishes keep us strong spiritually. Many of my co-workers at SRS have even donated their precious vacation time to me so that I could stay by Judi's side and not worry about how I would pay the bills. We have received "care packages" from numerous folks and organizations. The list goes on and on and I could never list all of the things people have done for us.

Thanx for the continued support,
Steve, Judi and Jess