Pat's lungs seem to be better, but not a lot of other activity. The high
point of the day was when our mother telephoned. Richard put the phone to
Pat's ear and Pat smiled and reached for the phone.
The fluid around heart seems to be a residue of that from the lungs, which
got backed up and will probably just drain away. The chest tube is still in.
Apparently, that lung fluid just built up overnite. On Monday it showed up
on the x-ray as a small white spot, and by Tuesday the x-ray was massive
white.
Larry was out playing golf when I called, which is good. Dan
September 10, Friday AM
No changes as of early morning. The nite nurse said she was tracking noises
a bit better. The tests they took yesterday were negative, that is, no signs
of anything additionally wrong.
She's been moving her left leg more. (She moves her right leg a lot, but
only recently is moving her left leg. The reverse is true for her arms. Her
left arm is active, to the extent of pulling out the trach a couple of times,
but she hardly moves her right arm at all. The only times she moved her
right arm when I was there was when I would move it first, then she would
adjust it to a more comfortable position.)
Yesterday, when the physical therapist was stretching her legs, she told Pat
to resist the movements, and Pat did. She might have done this before, but I
remember over the last few days she would not, so this is another good sign
and small step forward.
These little daily changes seem so insignificant, but they add up. I think
it is important to remember how much she has progressed in the last month.
The tornado hit roughly a month ago and she was close to not being with us
when she arrived at the hospital. Just two weeks ago she was not moving at
all and not responding to anything other than pinches. Since then she has
started smiling, opening her eyes, tracking movements in the room, focusing
on individuals, and other basic movements.
We also need to remember all the bad things that could have happened, but
didn't. She has no fractures or internal organ damage that could have
impeded her progress. Stopping the heavy sedation (three weeks ago) can be
dangerous and she made that transition fine. She could well have needed a
long term shunt put in her skull, but that wasn't necessary. The CAT scans
and MRIs could have shown lots of dark shadows, but they didn't. The labored
breathing she had as a result of the fluid in her chest could have caused
heart damage, but it looks like that didn't happen.
She has fought off pneumonia and other infections. The doctors still have
not found any reason not to expect 100% recovery.
It is normal for there to be two steps forward and one step back, and
actually, she seems to be more two steps forward and halt temporarily. It
doesn't seem to me that she's gone backward at any point, rather just
plateaued.
So we just need to be geared up for the long haul, and need to keep urging,
c'mon Pat.
Dan
