Here is Susan's latest update from today 7/27/07
Hi All,
The good news is that mom is finally at the Rehab
Hospital. Actually Kindred is what they call an
"Acute Care Hospital" because they specialize in
treating patients with ventilators. But mom is on the
rehab floor and getting lots of therapy as well as
work on weaning her from the ventilator. The
hope/prayer/plan is to get her off the ventilator and
then send her elsewhere for more intensive therapy to
work on speech and her arm and leg. She can talk
although she has some aphasia or expressive language
problems. Right now she's a bit confused about a lot
of things but they tell me that's normal for someone
coming out of what she's been through and on a lot of
medicines and not worry about it. She was able to
swallow thick liquids yesterdays (apple sauce and
jello) but had trouble with thin (orange juice).
Personally, I wouldn't call OJ thin, but I guess they
do. Of course, she's very weak still and needs a
lot of time to heal. Today they plan to sit her in a
cardiac chair to work on strenghthening her back and
trunk muscles.
Dad is still in ICU. He's walking a little with
the walker but having trouble with ileum (sp?) which
is gas buildup because of not moving around enough.
They say this is common after surgery. And he's
still getting dialysis. But the gall bladder problem
is much better. His attitude is not great
though...he's kind of depressed still. He got to see
mom before she left for the rehab hospital and that
helped because she's improved a lot since he last saw
her. Men are lousy patients!
Please keep the prayers coming! You're the best!
I will answer all your emails eventually. Thanks!
Love,
Susan
