A Change of Scenery

Yesterday afternoon Mom was transferred to Sutter Auburn Faith hospital where she will begin acute rehabilitation. We are all really excited about this new chapter in Mom's recovery process. Mom doesn't seem quite as excited as we are, judging from the fact that she slept soundly through the entire transfer process: changing from the hospital gown into sweatpants and a T-shirt (her first time in 'real' clothes in 6.5 weeks!), being loaded onto a gurney, an ambulance ride from Roseville to Auburn, and then the transfer into her new room (acute rehab room 5). Mom hadn't slept well the previous night, and she was just exhausted. Today she began her rehab evaluations, and she'll begin her regular therapy schedule next Tuesday.

This past Wednesday, Mom began making slight movements with her left hand! She can lift her index finger and squeeze it together with her thumb. Dad says that this is how she began moving on the right side of her body; a little bit at a time. Right now, she can squeeze her stuffed penguin's foot with her thumb and finger. We are all hoping this is just the beginning of recovery of motion on her left side.

An Adventure

This afternoon, I asked Mom's speech therapist (a wonderful lady!) if she thought it might be possible for us to take Mom for a little walk in a wheelchair. Mom regularly spends time sitting up in a chair now, and I thought a change of scenery might be good for her. The speech therapist said she thought that would be terrific, so when the physical therapists came, we asked them to get Mom into a wheelchair. We were able to take her for a short walk through the hallways of the hospital and even out into a courtyard so she could breathe the fresh air. Aunt Susan and I alternated pushing the wheelchair and taking pictures of the expedition, while Dad pushed Mom's IV pole. The nurses were wonderful; many of them waved and cheered for Mom as we went by. They called her by name and asked her to smile, to wave, and to say hello. Mom lifted her right hand in a little wave that looked like the "Miss America" wave, and the nurses unanimously agreed that Mom looked ready for the Rose Parade.

Mom has a small stuffed bear in addition to her penguin, and today she was playing little games with them as she worked to regain use of her hands. She could pinch the bear's paws together to grab the penguin's beak. Mom likes setting little challenges for herself and trying to meet them. She's very determined to recover use of her limbs. Please continue to pray for her physical progress, and particularly that her left arm, leg, and hand will begin to progress as her right side has.

Hopefully Mom will be transferred to Auburn Faith on Friday.

Back in California!

I'm back in California for Christmas, and I got to see Mom today! She is doing so much better than the last time I saw her. It's encouraging to see how much progress she's been able to make. Her eyes are bright and alert, she's talking, she can feed herself with her right hand with a bit of help, and she can reach up and wipe her face with a washcloth. She enjoys cracking jokes with the physical therapists and the nurses, and we all had some good laughs together. Lou and Melinda came to visit today, and it was obvious that Mom really enjoyed their company.

Mom qualified for acute rehabilitation several days ago, which was very exciting news. In fact, we had been hoping that she would be there by now, but she is being kept at Sutter for another day or two because she has developed a few infections. She is being treated with antibiotics, but she won't be moved to acute rehab in Auburn until she is more stable.

Slings and Chairs and Penguins, Oh My!

Mom's trach tube has been removed! She is doing very well. Today when the physical therapists sat her up on the edge of her bed, she was doing so well that they decided to use a sling to move her into a chair. When I spoke with Dad, Mom had been sitting in the chair for half and hour, holding herself upright and holding her head up. Mom's sense of humor is definitely intact; when Dad told me on the phone about the sling they had used to move Mom into the chair, Mom said to him: "It's like the slings they use to move beached whales back into the ocean."

A friend gave Mom a small stuffed penguin, and she uses it to practice holding, grabbing, and moving. She can reach for it and lift it up to her face with her right hand. Dad is hopeful that Mom can move to an acute rehabilitation center within the next few weeks.

"The Race is On!"

Dad reports that today was a good day for Mom. The doctors have done CT scans of her lungs to make sure that there are no blood clots there, and the scans came back looking good. They also say that the clot in her leg is dissolving, and the physical therapists should be able to resume their work in moving Mom around a lot by tomorrow. This morning they put a cap over the trach tube, so all day Mom has been breathing regular air completely on her own! She's been doing very well with that.

Dad took an audio recording of a Jeeves and Wooster book to the hospital with him today, and he and Mom listened to it. Mom seemed to really enjoy listening to it, and she laughed at all the funny parts. Dad talked to Mom about some of his goals and timeframes for things at work. He related those timeframes to his hopes for Mom's timely recovery process, and Mom replied, "The race is on!"

Negligence

Mom is being transferred back to Sutter Roseville. She has developed a blood clot in her leg due to negligence on the part of the nursing staff at Kindred Hospital. The nurses are supposed to move Mom's arms and legs every two hours, and they are also supposed to put special stockings on her legs that continually massage her to keep the blood from pooling. Today, we learned that she was not moved for 8 hours. The stockings were not put on her legs. No one knew the nursing staff was not doing their job properly, and Dad especially feels pretty helpless - and angry.

The staff at Kindred discovered the clot through an ultrasound which was ordered by a doctor yesterday but not actually performed until 3:30 this afternoon.

If the blood clot breaks free and moves to Mom's heart, lungs, brain, or anywhere else, it could obviously do a lot of damage. The doctors are giving her blood thinners and considering doing a surgery to insert a shield that would prevent the clot from moving.

I asked Dad if Mom knew what was happening; he thinks she does. I asked if she was scared, and Dad replied that he thinks Mom is beyond fear at this point. Please pray that the doctors at the good hospital will be able to remedy the situation caused by extreme negligence at the bad hospital.

Now seems like a good time to present an idea I had recently: I'd like to make a Map of Prayers for my Mom. You can see an example of what it can look like here. That's a map of states I've visited, but I'm hoping to make a map of all the places where people are praying for my Mom. So leave a comment including your location, and I'll make a map. If you have friends praying in other locations, mention them here as well. I think we have people in California, Massachusetts, Iowa, Texas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania who have been praying for Mom. I'm sure there are many others as well, but I can't remember them all, so... that's where you come in!

Change of Scenery

Yesterday afternoon Mom was moved to a transitional care facility at a hospital in Folsom. She no longer needs to be in trauma neuro intensive care, but she's not ready for intensive rehabilitation yet. Dad reports that the new hospital is hideously ugly - not as uplifting an environment as the really nice hospital in Roseville where Mom has been thus far. Of course, family and friends can always make an ugly room a lot brighter! So please do visit Mom if you're able; Dad says she really brightens up every time friends come to see her. (I'm already counting down the days until I can see her again.)

Dad told Mom he was sorry the new hospital location is not as nice as the former one, and Mom replied that she would keep her spirits up if he would, too. They are both hanging in there... together!

Everyone should read Lou's comment on my last post. He remembers some specific things Mom said when he last visited her. Lou, thanks for your visits to the hospital and for your comments here on the blog! It really brightened my day yesterday to see your post and know what Mom had been saying. "They say a little; I say a LOT" sounds like Mom is keeping a positive outlook!

Hanging In There

Mom has ups and downs in this recovery process. On the down days, I usually don't post anything, because frankly, I only like to post with good news! But yesterday was an "up day!" Definitely worth sharing.

The doctors are able to put a valve on Mom's trach tube that enables her to pass a bit of air past her vocal cords so she can speak. When they first put the valve on, Mom was actually too tired to talk at all, but yesterday she was able to speak to Dad in a whisper! Of course, it was so good for Dad to be able to converse with her after a full month of not really knowing what she was thinking or feeling. She tires very easily, but Dad was able to get in some good conversation time with her yesterday. Dad asked Mom a variety of questions which she was able to answer. She said that she is only really able to do one thing at a time; it takes her full concentration to either talk, or to squeeze with her fingers, but at this time she is unable to do both simultaneously.

Dad explained to Mom what the next steps in her recovery will be: she will likely be moved to a hospital in Folsom within the next week or two as an intermediary place before she begins rehabilitation. Dad asked, "Can you keep hanging in there?" and Mom replied, "I can hang in there."

Later in the evening the doctors put the valve on again. Mom was tired by this point, but she could say "yes" or "no." Dad told her that Nathan and I will be getting married in the hospital so she can be there, and she said "yes," which I think was her way of conveying approval. Dad told her he'd pick out a nice hat for her to wear, and Mom said "yes" again. She still needs lots of rest, but when she is able to be awake, her mind is quite alert.

Good News

Over the past few days, Mom has continued to be able to move very slightly. Dad reports that when he rubs her hand, after several minutes she is able to exert a bit of pressure back to his hand - a small squeeze. She has also made slight motion with her right foot.

The doctors will be putting a valve on Mom's trach tube soon that will enable her to voice these words that she has been mouthing. We are very excited that we'll soon be able to understand what she's trying to communicate!