Gimme Three Steps

Cathy made it fifteen hours on the trach collar yesterday. Without pushing herself, she may try for twenty-four hours today.

The remaining chest tube was pulled this afternoon. Also this afternoon, the occupational therapist stopped by and spent quite some time with Cathy. During her visit, the OT washed, brushed and braided Cathy's hair. It is nothing like what Cristina would have done, but it still made Cathy feel much better.

This morning Cathy sat up in the cardiac chair for a few hours. When they move her from her bed to the cardiac chair, the chair flattens out and she is slid from the bed onto the chair. Then the chair is reconfigured to the sitting position. After sitting in the cardiac chair for a few hours, the physical therapist came in to see Cathy. The PT had Cathy stand up and walk over to a high-backed chair - Three Steps!!!! After sitting in this chair for a couple more hours, Cathy stood up and reversed those three steps back to her bed. With the help of the nurse, she was able to get herself back into bed. How about that!

Today a 'new' attending physician took over service in the ICU. This doctor was also the attending physician in the ICU when Cathy was first admitted last June. He lead the team that had a big part is saving Cathy's life. It is very fitting that he will also be playing a big part in the final stages of her recovery.

All was not roses today. The swallowing test did not go as well as Cathy and I had hoped. There was a small amount of the stuff Cathy swallowed (water and pudding dyed green) 'going the wrong way'. The plan is to revisit this test in the near future. We learned that the muscles involved with swallowing and talking also need some reconditioning. Cathy is supposed to start trying to talk while she is on the trach collar by blocking off the trach tube with a finger. This will exercise these muscles.

Tomorrow Cathy is scheduled for another bronchoscopy. This is an examination that is typically performed on all lung transplant patients seven days out from transplant.

The next hurdle is for Cathy to become independent of the ventilator. If she can make it twenty-four hours without needing the ventilator, the doctors will put in orders to have her moved 'to the floor'. This will reduce the amount of 'bugs' Cathy is exposed to, reducing the worries about her catching something that will damage her new lung. They will also remove the trach. If the trach is removed, the cause of the swallowing problems also goes away. The issues will tumble like dominoes.