Tuesday Night - Good News!
01 July 08 - 21:12
What a day today. Jim has been approved to move to Good Sam Rehab. He could have gone as early as tomorrow, but due to having to travel to see the Neurosurgeon on the 10th, he will have to wait until then. He will leave Promise, go to the Surgeons office & then to Good Sam Rehab from there. This is tremendous news & a definite answer to prayer. Jim was so happy & tears of joy were shed. He so wants to move forward & get to work on learing to do all he can.
Today they removed his plastic trach, called a Shiley & replaced it with a metal one called a Jackson. The Jackson fits flush against his neck, is smaller & can be plugged. He tolerated the procedure very well & immediately said he could swallow easier. We tried some ice chips & some pieces of crushed Popsicle & he did seemingly fine. Then, he started coughing & coughed for over 2 hours requiring almost constant suctioning. About an hour after that his oxygen saturation - called sats - began dropping into the low 90's & upper 80's and his heart rate was going up. Jim had required no oxygen for several days, so this was a surprise. To make a long story short, we unplugged the trach & ended up putting him back on 40% oxygen when his sats dropped into the 70's. Now he will be weaned, plugging the trach for shorter periods. When the trach is plugged, he breathes through his mouth & nose & speaks with his voice without a special speaking valve. Also, if he needs oxygen with the plug in place, he gets it through his nose. We decided he was tired from all the coughing & the fact he had been awake all day with no naps. We - Jim & I - decided he is not ready yet for ice or anything by mouth, and the Speech Therapist concurred with that. There was an orange tinge to the secretions from his trach which says some popsicle went down wrong. They will continue with the things they do to strengthen the muscles he uses in swallowing & he is to practice swallowing himself.
We are not too disturbed by this. I stayed late to make sure he was OK for me to leave with some peace of mind about it. They will continue to work on this at Rehab & there is no hurry.
Specific prayer needs: Patience as he weans off the oxygen & adjusts to the new trach, good sleep at night - this is difficult, learn to swallow effectively, continued improvement in coughing, the collar off on the 10th.
Marilyn
two comments:
Wonderful news! God is gracious! One day at a time! Another page, and soon another chapter! Praise be to the One Who Helps us all! Amen! Love and prayers, Kaye ‘n Jim
Kaye () - 02 07 08 - 07:44
To the Hersey family: I am very much relieved to hear the good news.We serve an awesome God who delivers us and our loved ones on a nurturing path to healing!We have prayed continually for Jims recovery and for a miracle to occur.I plan on visiting soon.I know in an intimate way that Our ever loving LORD and Saviour is very concscious of Jims comfort and determination to perservere.LOVE ALWAYS The Tinger family.
Garry Tinger () - 02 07 08 - 20:05
