Saturday, April 09, 2011

Yeeeeeee-ha!

MOM IS AWAKE. Super duper awake. She gets tired easily but I was able to have conversations with her last night for the first time. Before this, she would nod yes or shake no but not really engage in conversation and preferred to watch TV more than anything. A few days ago when she was first waking up, Dad asked her if she knew how she got there and she said no. He then asked her if she wanted to know and she also said no. Yesterday, she waited until Dad left the room and asked me how she got there. Knowing her response to Dad just a few days ago, I asked her if she really wanted to know and she said yes. I told her she went to our local hospital and that after they got her ready to go, she got to Riverside by helicopter. I avoided using the word Life Flight just because I wasn't sure if she knew exactly how bad it was and I didn't want to frighten her. She was amazed--she had no recollection of any of that.
Yesterday, she had a barium swallow study because she's having a hard time swallowing, her voice is weak, and her cough is weak as a result of having the vent in for so long. The study showed that she's having a hard time swallowing thin liquids like water but does fine with thicker consistencies like honey. With the weakness in her throat, liquids like water could just trickle down into her lungs and she would never know it. As her throat and everything continues to heal, she will eventually be able to drink water and other thin liquids again.
She also had physical therapy and occupational therapy evaluations yesterday. They want to start in on her therapies right away. They were very hesitant to give an estimate for how long she would need to be in a rehab facility building her strength back up but eventually my Dad wore them down. The therapists estimated that it would take 2 months for her to be able to go home. We don't want it to be that long but we all realize this is the best thing for her. The severity of the pneumonia and sepsis was just so bad that it took all she had to survive. My Mom's a tough cookie...she'll kick ass at all that therapy and come back home stronger than she was before.

1 comment:

Alice ~ Folk Art Primitives said...

Oh, Annie ~ that's a story!! Continued prayers for her recovery ~ it sounds like a long, tough path ahead of her but it sounds like she's tough!! Our health is so fragile ~ hence, my theory ~ have all the fun you can have, right now, today!!!!!!