Category: Acuity

Update 4.6.18

Bob is making progress on the vent. He is actually doing all of his own breathing during the day and will start to breathe on his own overnight beginning this evening. It’s called “trach collar” and it’s like having oxygen in your nose but instead it’s in his trach. He has been moving more and more since Tuesday night. He started pulling on the trach, pulling at his peg, his monitors and catheter. The staff put a mitt on him but this crafty fellow found a way to spin the mitt around so he could still pull at all of his connections. So now his right hand has a sock, then a mitt and then he is restrained. Bob hasn’t yet figured out how to do all of these same things with his left hand. He has currently worked the restraint and mitt to his mouth so he’s trying to chew himself free. He opens his eyes from time to time, but not in recognition. It’s more of a blank stare. He is starting to follow more commands but nothing consistent. If you visit him, ask him to give you a thumbs up, show you two fingers, open his eyes, or stick out his tongue. Those are currently his best tricks. His nurse, Kristal, says him doing these small tasks is equivalent to us completing a triathlon. We need to have patience. I need to have patience. He’s better today than he was yesterday and even better than last week. Please keep praying. Bob, the boys and I need your prayers of strength and healing. Thank you all. Love, Karen and Bob xo

Visiting Dada

Update 4.2.18

Hope everyone had a great Easter. Bob’s condition is about the same. He has responded with a few more thumb ups and after a few smooches he made some “kissy” noises back at me. But these moments are fleeting and much of our time has little or no progress. He is doing well being aggressively weaned from the ventilator. Currently the machine does 4 breaths per minute and he does about 16 on his own. He is still spiking temps, but it is likely neurostorms. And they aren’t nearly as high as they have been in the past. He is almost off all of his antibiotics so medically speaking, he is pretty stable. His cognition isn’t improved much and that is the area where he needs to show growth for rehab to start. If you would like to visit him, you may, but check with the nurses station for safety protocols in place before you go in his room. I’ll update again in a few days. Love to all, Karen and Bob

Chilling with the hubs. He works his fingers in between mine when we hold hands.

Update 3.29.18

Ryan spent a great deal of the day with Bob today and was able to get a few “thumbs up” responses from him as well as a hand squeeze. He gave a thumbs up to me being there and also a thumbs up to having had a bad day (no response when asked if he had a good day). He also squeezed my hand tightly. Ryan and I beat Bob at thumb wars a few times and Bob rested after then. He was on a vent setting where the vent does all the work. He was breathing over it a little, but they don’t plan to push him hard until they have his fever spikes under control. He has another infection and is on another antibiotic to combat that. I have a Family Care Conference scheduled for Monday with the hospital staff directly involved in his care to discuss his plan of action. We wish everyone a happy Easter and I will give you another update after Monday’s meeting. Love, Karen and Bob