Day 50

Cindy used a walker to help her keep her balance as she sat in the chair today for 1 1/2 hours.  She had lunch while she was sitting there.  You can check out the menu and lunch below.  Things didn't look so appetizing.  The bread (bottom right) wasn't great, she doesn't like rice (top left) or anything green (zucchini in this case), but she liked the bow ties and butter (bowl in the middle).  It tasted like it was made with chicken broth.

Day 47

Cindy got to sit in a chair today.  She sat at the edge of the bed for only a few minutes and then was able to stand up, turn and sit in the chair - with a little help from the nursing staff.  She sat in the chair doing her excersizes while the Physical Therapist sat across from her giving directions.  They chatted about their cats and exchanged some interesting cat stories.

Since Cindy has been able to verbally communicate, she has gotten to know a lot about the hospital staff's personal stories and they know a lot about Cindy.  That's our Cindy - always enjoys a good conversation and being the center of any social circle.

Day 43

Last night, the Respiratory Therapist accidentally suctioned too hard and might have irritated her lung.  She was coughing up some blood.  This is not uncommon but can be pretty scary to the patient.

Yesterday, Cindy received a card and blanket from Fran.  She was very pleased to get it.  It made her very happy and appreciated how thoughtful Fran is to think of her. 

There was no Physical Therapy yesterday or today.

Cindy spoke with her doctor and is considering having surgery to remove the hernia within the next few months.  Rita, Mary and Debbie are going to setup a meeting with the doctors to discuss how plausible and safe this is at this time.

Day 41

Cindy was back to breathing on her own again.  She was also able to sit at the edge of the bed for a 1/2 hour.

In the picture below, Cindy is trying to unlock an account.  No luck, but she enjoyed surfing the web.

Day 28

Cindy started the day off with Physical and Speech Therapies.  She worked really hard at both and is getting stronger.  The Pulmonary doctor started to wean her off the trachea after giving her a rest for the last two days.  This afternoon, Cindy was moved out of ICU into a regular room.  She also started Occupational Therapy.

HAPPY CHANUKAH!!!!

Check out the Memory Lane - Pictures and Memory Lane - Stories pages on the right side of the blog.   There is also a new page called Talkies.  You can create a You Tube video and send me the link at debra.lobel@gmail.com.

And don't forget to send stories and pictures to debra.lobel@gmail.com.

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Day 27

Debbie met Cindy at Kindred - the Long Term Care facility as she arrived there in an ambulance.  Debbie was on the phone with their Aunt Sandy who was able to talk to Cindy when she was being wheeled into the hospital.  She was poked and prodded when she was admitted to her room just to get baseline stats.

Cindy has settled into Kindred wonderfully.  The staff are great.  They are very caring and gentle.  Cindy started Physical Therapy at bedside today and also had Speech Therapy.  The Speech Therapist showed her how to use a special device that she can use for talking.  It makes her sound like a robot.

Image from http://bme240.eng.uci.edu/students/06s/paytonl/CurrentTherapies.html

Check out the Memory Lane - Pictures and Memory Lane - Stories pages on the right side of the blog.   There is also a new page called Talkies.  You can create a You Tube video and send me the link at debra.lobel@gmail.com.

And don't forget to send stories and pictures to debra.lobel@gmail.com.

You can also leave a comment at the end of the post.

If you want to be notified when the daily post is ready, please subscribe by entering your email address in the box under where it says: 

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If you need help navigating around the blog, please find someone under the age of 25 (the new 30 for all you Baby Boomers) to help you.

Day 25

Today is a resting day.  The staff has decided that Cindy's goal for the next two days is to be comfortable and in less pain.  That means that she is not breathing on her own as much as she had been.  The breathing machine is helping her with her breathing again  Breathing on her can be very tiring and she needs a little break.

Cindy's temperment is very good.  She likes joking around and is becoming very social.  She is able to write a little and finding other ways to communicate.  When people visit her, she makes sure that everyone knows each other.  Since Cindy can't help anyone, she tries to match everyone's skill with other people's needs.

Tomorrow, Rita, Mary and Debbie are going to check out a Long Term Care facility.

Check out the Memory Lane - Pictures and Memory Lane - Stories pages on the right side of the blog.   There is also a new page called Talkies.  You can create a You Tube video and send me the link at debra.lobel@gmail.com.

And don't forget to send stories and pictures to debra.lobel@gmail.com.

You can also leave a comment at the end of the post.

If you want to be notified when the daily post is ready, please subscribe by entering your email address in the box under where it says: 

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If you need help navigating around the blog, please find someone under the age of 25 (the new 30 for all you Baby Boomers) to help you.

Day 19

I'm going to start posting in the morning (Pacific time) and update the daily post if needed.

Cindy had a good night.  Dr. Cheung (pulmonary specialist and Cindy's primary doctor right now)  came in to see her today and was impressed with her weight loss and the progress she made with the ventilator over the weekend.  She believes that Cindy will need another week before she can breath on her own, so she is calling Dr. Chen to see if he can do the tracheotomy.  Dr. Chen has worked with Cindy when she was in the hospital last year, so he knows her situation.  Remember that the ventilator tube that Cindy is using now is not a good idea to use for more than two weeks which was this past Saturday.  The tracheotomy is not permanent.  Cindy might be able to talk and eat by mouth.  The tracheotomy is scheduled for tomorrow at 9:40 am.
 

More good news.  Dr. Cheung is also ordering Physical Therapy (also called PT).  That will help Cindy regain her mobility.  She is able to move her arms, legs and shoulders but doesn't have much strength.  She can't squeeze your hand or push down with her feet.  The Physical Therapist will help her get back into shape.
 

Image from Wikipedia

Check out the Memory Lane - Pictures and Memory Lane - Stories pages on the right side of the blog.   There is also a new page called Talkies.  You can create a You Tube video and send me the link at debra.lobel@gmail.com.

And don't forget to send stories and pictures to debra.lobel@gmail.com.

You can also leave a comment at the end of the post.

If you want to be notified when the daily post is ready, please subscribe by entering your email address in the box under where it says: 

     Please subscribe to get the latest posts

If you need help navigating around the blog, please find someone under the age of 25 (the new 30 for all you Baby Boomers) to help you.