Coming around...

Rob is really starting to come around today. I figured that he would be pretty sleepy after the tube procedure this morning but he bounced back from that very quickly. By early afternoon his nurse had him sitting up in a chair position in his bed. He sat up for 2 hours! He was able to move around a lot more and stretch those muscles that haven't been stretched in a while. They have been doing range of motion physical therapy with him for a while now but as he wakes up more he can participate more and get those muscles moving instead of just his joints.

He is now awake enough to let me know what he needs. I usually have to ask a few times before I get it right but he nods yes or no to let me know what it is he wants. He was able to look at our latest ultrasound pictures today that were taken earlier this week and he acted surprised when I told him we only have 13 weeks left. So I know he has no idea how long he's been hospitalized. And for now, we'll leave it at that.

At my last visit with him he was awake the entire time. He's watching his TV and has it on CMT all the time. He wanted it turned up so he could hear it better. Maybe some good ol' country music will lift his spirits and speed his recovery. I'm game for whatever works. He was trying to tell me something but I couldn't understand him so I asked him if he wanted to try writing again. He responded with a big nod. By the time I got a notebook and marker from the nurse he didn't feel up to it. But it's ready by his bed now when he is ready next time. I'll be glad to get back to that level of communication again. I'll be ecstatic when he can talk again.

We had a good visit this time. He knows that he as a trache in place and why it's there. He knows that it is just temporary and is doing very well on his breathing so that he doesn't have to have it long. He is still at a PEEP level of 11 after this morning's procedure but his oxygen is down to 55% now. So he's made some progress today on that. The chest tube continues to drain more fluid off his lungs which is great.

I hope that today indicates that he's well on his way to recovery. I pray to have each day better than the last and eventually get him moved out of SICU as soon as possible. I feel like I know all the nurses back there now but I will not be sad to say goodbye to them. I'm sure they will understand. :)

It is a possibility that he could move to the Intermediate Pulmonary Care Unit next. This unit deals mostly with getting patients off the ventilator and back to breathing on their own. They don't deal much with IV medication or other unstable things like fevers, infections, etc. He would have to have the chest tube out and be free of any fevers, IV's, etc before they will accept him into that unit. But it would be a big step for him if that happens. We hope it is sooner rather than later. He would more than likely move there next before he goes to a regular hospital room on the floor. Visiting hours aren't as strict in that unit so I can be in there more often with him in that unit. That would be great for both of us. It's so hard to leave him each time after our 15 minutes of visiting every couple hours. I hope we can get out of the SICU soon. And with all the prayers he's getting, that will be sooner than we might think.

Kelly