On top is a picture we emailed to Toby, the son of Michael's good friend and former girlfriend Mica. Toby, who is also like a Godson to Michael, turned 29 or 30 (?) and we wanted to wish him Happy Birthday. Says Toby, "The good news and the picture of Michael are the best birthday present I could ask for!"
On the bottom are our Godkids, Jesse, 12, and sister Tayler, 20, who came with mom Shelene for their first visit. They were SO happy and relieved to see "Da Godfadduh" talking and looking so well.
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Well, we've had a lot of forward motion, with one little setback.
FORWARD: They have been putting a red plug into Michael's trach, which then allows him to talk. First they left it in for two hours twice a day (because it's tiring), yesterday they left it in from 9-6 and today, they may leave it in thru the evening, too.
He's breathing so well, they actually took the Bart Simpson ventilator machine away! (I dubbed it that because when Michael was hooked to it, it would make a sound when he would breathe a certain way that was just like Bart Simpson going "HAH-hah!" in a mocking tone. Jeesh! Add insult to injury!)
But Bart's gone and so is Dennis the Menace, the little blue machine that had the sedation stuff in it - so dubbed for it's mischievous tendency to beep-beep-beep the minute the nurses left the room. (Dennis really got on my last nerve.)
SETBACK: Our setback was from two nights ago. Michael's sodium had been a little high and so they were pushing extra water into his tummy tube with the pasty looking stuff they call food for him right now. Well, somewhere they had miscalculated his absorbtion rate and his poor tummy just overflowed. We both woke up to him retching around 3 am. (This is why I catch a few hours at home during the day when family or friends can be here and come back to stay the night with him.)
He was okay, but it was nasty - and terrifying. We figured out what happened and double verified it by taking an x-ray of his tummy the next day to make sure there wasn't a new problem there - and there wasn't. But he was extra weak and tired all day yesterday, while watching football with Karen & Bob - and I was afraid we'd lost some ground.
I washed and washed my hands, but that silvery tang of the light yellow paste is just now leaving my senses - along with the smell of fear that came with it.
We're on day 27 of this journey and - to use a mixed cinematic metaphor - I feel like the guy in Clockwork Orange being forced to keep my eyes open while I'm being shown one horribly suspenseful movie after another. Michael, on the other hand, is starring in the satire, "The Hospital."
I'm happy to report that he says he doesn't remember much before the trach. Now if I can just arrange for an acid brain drip for myself....
RETURNING TO HIS NATURAL FUNCTIONS.
Today, he woke up stronger after an uneventful night. Whew! And I'm so glad his Dad Bill and wife Susan were visiting today and saw Michael chatty and more restored.
They took out the urine tube! Yay! And yesterday, they took out the PIC line (3 headed blood catheter in his arm and chest). All the bottles and bags hanging from the poles next to him are going away - they stopped the Precedex (anti-pain) and he can good old Zanex on request.
Today they are doing a swallow study, where he'll eat food with barium in it and then they'll x-ray it going down. This will help them determine how aggressively or conservatively to go forward with food and water. (He's "jonesing" for a cherry coke or even a glass of water.)
He had a FABULOUS session with Physical Therapy today! He was able to strengthen and straighten his back with instructions and sit on the edge of the bed without falling over. He showed much improvement on his left side. They even helped him stand up and said he had clearly used his own muscles along with their able help. But -- he sort of forgot to breathe, and once he sat down, he slipped into the gray abyss for a few seconds, signaling the end of what was deemed a very successful session.
AND...Ta Da Da DA!!!! We're leaving the ICU!!! Sometime today or tonight, we'll be going across the hall to a new room in the DOU and leaving the ICU forever (hopefully)!!! They have a bathroom with a shower in it - and the nurse ratio is 3:1 as opposed to 2:1 in the ICU. They won't make the mistake again of sending him down to the 1st floor too soon!
From here -- we work on gaining strength, normal body function and sitting in a chair. The trach hole will be reduced until the trach is deemed unnecessary and removed. He may go straight to Cottage Hospital Rehab Unit - or spend some interim time getting stronger in a local assisted care.
Meanwhile, he gives me kisses - and even pulled me into bed with him the other day when the side was down, so I could cuddle with him. It was heaven!
SHIT!!!! He just threw up big time! Poor baby. I hate this eternal whiplash!!
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