Cindy was back to breathing on her own again. She was also able to sit at the edge of the bed for a 1/2 hour.
In the picture below, Cindy is trying to unlock an account. No luck, but she enjoyed surfing the web.
Category Archives: Status
Day 41
Day 40
Cindy is weaning off the machine again and …
… getting ready for Christmas!
Day 39
Cindy is feeling much better today. She was breathing using the machine just to give her a break from the issues she had yesterday. Interestingly, the following is an observation she noted of her experience during her struggle:
Day 38
Cindy had a slight setback last night and today. She felt that she had a hard time breathing even though there were no signs of any medical problems. We’re hoping that tomorrow will be a better day and she continues on the road to recovery.
Day 37
Cindy had another swallow test and PASSED. That means she is allowed to have some ice for the next couple of days and then they will start her on solid food. I remember when she started on solid food last time. It got all over her face, hands, hair and the floor. That was when she grabbed the spoon from my mother and couldn’t find her mouth. Hopefully, she’ll do better this time.
This is a picture so Cindy’s guests. They couldn’t wait to get on the phone and pass on the good news.
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| Ann (friend of the family) Lucy and Tony (Rita’s parents) |
Day 35
Guess Who’s Speaking!!!
Cindy has a speaking valve – called a Passy-Muir valve “installed” and can now “speak”.
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| Passy-Muir Valve – courtesy of Amazon |
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| This is Cindy’s trachea with the Passy-Muir Valve. |
Day 34
It was a busy day for Cindy. First a swallow test. She got to swallow some yummy blue ice to see if it “went down the wrong pipe” or landed in the right place. Unfortunately, some if it “went down the wrong pipe.” This means she’s still not ready for solid food – or even ice chips. But the color if her tongue, blue, looked like she had enjoyed some Raspberry Italian Ices.
Cindy also worked with the Physical Therapist to try to sit on a chair. She made it to the edge of the bed and was able to sit there for 15 minutes. The Physical Therapist declared it a success.
Here is Cindy finishing paying bills. It’s about time!
Day 32
Reminder – Cindy is at Kindred Hospital in San Leandro and not at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. Kindred is a Long Term Care Facility. The average stay is usually a month or more.
Cindy was connected to the oxygen again today for 6 hours. The assist level will go down tomorrow morning (good news) and she will also be on the oxygen connection later in the day for at least 6 – 8 hours.
Day 30
Today Cindy had Physical and Speech Therapy. She did very well with both. The Physical Therapist says she is getting stronger.
The Pulmonary Doctor continues to wean her off the trachea.
This picture is from December 14th, 2008. It was submitted by Nike.
Day 27
Debbie met Cindy at Kindred – the Long Term Care facility as she arrived there in an ambulance. Debbie was on the phone with their Aunt Sandy who was able to talk to Cindy when she was being wheeled into the hospital. She was poked and prodded when she was admitted to her room just to get baseline stats.
Cindy has settled into Kindred wonderfully. The staff are great. They are very caring and gentle. Cindy started Physical Therapy at bedside today and also had Speech Therapy. The Speech Therapist showed her how to use a special device that she can use for talking. It makes her sound like a robot.
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| Image from http://bme240.eng.uci.edu/students/06s/paytonl/CurrentTherapies.html |
Check out the Memory Lane – Pictures and Memory Lane – Stories pages on the right side of the blog. There is also a new page called Talkies. You can create a You Tube video and send me the link at debra.lobel@gmail.com.
And don’t forget to send stories and pictures to debra.lobel@gmail.com.
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