Hi Everyone!
It's been a while since the last post, and Eric has been getting stronger by leaps and bounds! He almost has full motion of his arms, which is awesome! I walked into the room yesterday to find his hands resting nonchalantly behind his head, and I said, "When were you able to start lifting your elbows?! You couldn't do that yesterday!" He just kind of shrugged, like it was no big deal. His voice has been getting a lot stronger, and today, they took out his trach!! It was such an easy procedure. They basically said they were going to take it out, and before he was able to think much about it, they just pulled it right out. Now, there is gauze and tape covering up the hole, and they said that it should heal itself in several days. The physical therapist worked him pretty hard today, and said that tomorrow he'll try to get Eric to stand for the first time. I don't think Eric realized how quickly he is getting better. It has been amazing to watch.
Meanwhile, I've been going back to work in the mornings, and am trying to figure out a good schedule of when to be in the hospital and when to take care of the normal, day-to-day things. Thanks to all who have helped out so much (dinner was wonderful tonight)!! To be honest, it is really nice to get back to semi-normal things again. Granted, I was never terribly "normal" to begin with!
Now, it's time for a good night's sleep. I think it will take a while before Eric and I catch up on sleep. I had a good three hour nap this weekend, and I still felt tired! :) I'll try really hard to not to let too much time pass before posting again.
Love,
Melissa
PS Eric said to post this in response to some of the comments from the other day:
"I want to drink a scotch old enough to order a scotch!"
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Rehab and Good News on Trach
Hi Everyone!
Eric is having a good evening watching episodes of Top Gear on DVD. He had a pretty tiring day today. The occupational therapist worked his neck and core muscles this morning, then this afternoon, the physical therapist sat him up on the side of the bed. He stayed up for about 10 min (1 min of which he had no extra support!!). He really is getting much stronger, although I'm sure it's not as fast as he wants it to be. :) His voice is MUCH stronger than a couple days ago, he's able to brush his teeth, and his finger control is much better than before, too.
Also, the doctor said this morning that he's aiming to get his trach out by the end of the weekend! He's had it capped all day today and doing great. I think tomorrow they will try taking his oxygen supply away as well! He really just needs to work on his throat muscles to swallow better. He's allowed to eat ice chips and drink small sips of water (yesterday, he wasn't allowed to drink the water, so this is new, too). Now he wants to put the grape juice in the freezer and eat it when it's frozen. It's the simple things.
Love,
Melissa
Eric is having a good evening watching episodes of Top Gear on DVD. He had a pretty tiring day today. The occupational therapist worked his neck and core muscles this morning, then this afternoon, the physical therapist sat him up on the side of the bed. He stayed up for about 10 min (1 min of which he had no extra support!!). He really is getting much stronger, although I'm sure it's not as fast as he wants it to be. :) His voice is MUCH stronger than a couple days ago, he's able to brush his teeth, and his finger control is much better than before, too.
Also, the doctor said this morning that he's aiming to get his trach out by the end of the weekend! He's had it capped all day today and doing great. I think tomorrow they will try taking his oxygen supply away as well! He really just needs to work on his throat muscles to swallow better. He's allowed to eat ice chips and drink small sips of water (yesterday, he wasn't allowed to drink the water, so this is new, too). Now he wants to put the grape juice in the freezer and eat it when it's frozen. It's the simple things.
Love,
Melissa
Trach Capped!
Hi Everyone!
Here's a quick update before all the excitement of the day begins. Eric had a good day yesterday. We saw the Occupational Therapist for the first time. He was really nice and asked Eric a lot of questions to understand what he really wants to accomplish. Then later on in the day, they capped his trach tube! This means that he is completely breathing through his mouth and nose. They'll keep the cap on for several days, then take the trach out completely! This will be wonderful!!! Eric is also working on strengthening his throat muscles in order to swallow. He says that he keeps dreaming of lemonade, grape juice, and baked potatoes. :) He just really really really wants to drink some juice.
Love,
Melissa
PS Please send cards to our home address, now that we are close to home:
2510 Rainbow Drive
Lafayette, IN 47904
Here's a quick update before all the excitement of the day begins. Eric had a good day yesterday. We saw the Occupational Therapist for the first time. He was really nice and asked Eric a lot of questions to understand what he really wants to accomplish. Then later on in the day, they capped his trach tube! This means that he is completely breathing through his mouth and nose. They'll keep the cap on for several days, then take the trach out completely! This will be wonderful!!! Eric is also working on strengthening his throat muscles in order to swallow. He says that he keeps dreaming of lemonade, grape juice, and baked potatoes. :) He just really really really wants to drink some juice.
Love,
Melissa
PS Please send cards to our home address, now that we are close to home:
2510 Rainbow Drive
Lafayette, IN 47904
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