Welcome to Rehab

A gracious good evening to everyone,

We are in rehab! Daddy was transferred last Friday, night, at 8pm. So much for "in the morning". But we got there. Before he could be transferred, his feeding tube had to be changed. Dr Hartigan arrived at 3:30pm to do that. Then we had to have an x-ray to confirm positioning which was not correct so he was taken to radiology at 5 for it to be done under fluoroscopy. And if that wasn't enough, while we waited for transport to come at 7:15, daddy's heart went into A-fib again and looking at the monitor this all started about the time he was taken to x-ray for the tube to be repositioned. The heart doc did call back quickly, meds were given and we were on our way....in a torrential down pour.

The weekend, well, it was just a weekend. Nothing is done at rehab on the weekend. Daddy spent his time sleeping during the day and catnapping at night. The nurses did have to put him in "boxing gloves", a type of restraint that only stops him from using his hands but not from moving his arms. Seems he was trying to pull things our again. He is still in isolation, gown and gloves for us, because of the C-diff bacteria in his stool. And because of the isolation, I cannot have my computer in the room. So, no updates till I get home and no working while I'm there either. We were told he would be evaluated Monday by PT, OT, speech, recreation, dietary, wound/skin care, infection control, and anyone else they felt should see him. The only person who came in yesterday was speech. She needed to get the records from St Lukes regarding the failed swallow test before she could go any further. By the time I left yesterday I was not very happy that he had been there since Friday, was still in the bed and no one else had evaluated him.

Today, now that's a different story. When we got there daddy was being cleaned up. He managed to get one of his gloves off and, let's just say he was quite the artist. It wasn't long after we arrived that things started happening. Respiratory came in to give a breathing treatment. Infection control introduced herself and told us all about isolation, how low the catheter tubing should not hang (among other things), and how to take our gown and gloves off and wash our hands when we leave the room. While she was busy doing that, speech came back in to do the preliminary swallow test. She fed daddy a cup of ice chips with blue food coloring. This was so she could see if he aspirated. He laughed and joked with us quite a bit. And he PASSED the preliminary swallow test. When she suctioned the trach after the test there was no blue liquid in his lungs. Praise God! He is now scheduled for the real test tomorrow at 11am at Memorial Hospital. It can't be done at Specialty because their x-ray is down. Cindy, Barbara and I took a break to each lunch while the nurse did a few things to daddy. When I got back to his room I found PT and OT there to do their evals. That went way better that I expected and much better than last time in ICU. After helping him to the side of the bed he was able to sit there with minimal support but did require them to stand him up and support him. They got him in the recliner and then finished the eval. He has very good range of motion in his arms and is able to comb his own hair and wipe his face with a wash cloth. His legs, not so good. He is not able to straighten either leg out completely and had very decreased sensation on the sides of his feet and no feeling on the top of the feet. There is no strength at all in the feet and ankles. Beginning tomorrow he will go to the PT gym once a day for an hour for PT and OT. My nephew Andrew and his friend Justin came to visit shortly after PT left. He had a great time cutting up with the boys. Once he was put back in the bed he went to sleep almost immediately. All that activity really wore him out. Maybe he will sleep better tonight.

Daddy has minutes of complete clarity and more time of great confusion. He always gets the current president correct, usually gets Jax, FL correct, but the day and date are too much. We ask him multiple times a day and correct him each time. We explain where he is and how he got here. We tell him his job is: #1 to pass the swallow test, and #2 to do what he is asked to do when he is asked to do it, no matter what. His weight is down to 106. I noticed this afternoon that one of his wrist bands was up around his upper arm.

Tonight I would like you to ask you to pray specifically for:

- The swallow test tomorrow at 11. That he will be cooperative, there will be no problems and he will pass.

- PT and OT to be able to communicate in a way he will understand and want to participate.

- Clarity of mind. He is slowly getting better but easily reverts back to acting like a child to get his way.

- Weight gain. I don't have to tell you that a man 5'6" should not weigh 106 pounds.

- Clear direction for me. I want to go home, to be with my husband, and to get back to work full time.

Thank you all, again, for your continued prayers and support.

Still praying for a God sized miracle.