Claudia began the day with mom and said that she was awake, alert, happy, and talkative!! PTL!! As Claudia did her range of motion exercises, she played David Brenner on the IPOD and let mom listen with the headphones (Claudia has a device that allows one person to use headphones while the other person can hear through a speaker). Claudia said that mom was laughing a lot as she listened. Mom was cracking up! Mom even laughed while the head of respiratory was there…and each time mom behaves normally, everyone there at the facility is surprised. Frustrating. The head of respiratory came in and said that the vent PSV was going to be lowered on Monday. Basically, with this lowered, it means that mom will have to demonstrate the ability to initiate breathing on her own; the ability to start the breath…ability to start each breath on her own. Once mom demonstrates this ability, then the vent can be lowered all the way down to the lowest SIMV setting and then she goes on vent/CPAP mode and then the trach collar. Right now the PSV is set at 14 but it will be lower. When Claudia left mom, she left David Brenner on for her to listen to. Claudia came up with the idea of starting each day with something funny in order to improve mom’s affect. Sounds like a good idea. Claudia said mom mouthed, “Good Morning” to one of the CNAs who came in to work with her.
Anthony came next, and said that mom was sleeping first but he got her awake. He did her full physical therapy/range of motion and then they played with the pegboard and pegs. They laughed a lot and he said she mouthed a lot to him too. It wasn’t long before Anthony adapted the pegs to become a sword and then he and mom were sword-fighting!! She was laughing a lot and then Dad came and Anthony told her to get dad on his nose because it is the biggest part of him and she laughed and hit him on the nose!! Anthony also clucked his tongue and asked mom to do the same and she did several times. Then he asked her to stick out her tongue and she did that too a few times. Anthony said that, while he was there, one of the nurses (who usually doesn’t work with mom) came in to give mom her “medication” --- Anthony asked what “medication” that would be, and was told she was being given heprin again!! Dad and Anthony then spoke with the facility doctor and the doctor left the room and returned to say, “I took her off that, she won’t be having that anymore.” Maybe that was what was making her so tired? The head of respiratory and the pulmonologist came in to see mom and concurred that the vent would be lowered on Monday---the PSV portion. At one point, Anthony made believe he couldn’t spell the word ‘sword’ and he asked mom how to spell it and mom said, “Hmmm…ummm…s…o….r….I can’t remember” and Anthony said, “Don’t worry, I can’t spell it either!” Mom was the family grammar and spelling resource person…everyone in the family used to call her for correct spelling and grammar. Anthony said that mom also tried to reach for the remote for the TV too. He gave it to her and she tried to use it but couldn’t remember how. Dad said that mom got quiet when Anthony left. Dad said that mom cried last night when he and Claudia left.
We heard that mom’s CAT Scan of her sinuses and the barium swallow test are being done at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 3.
Mom talked to the head respiratory therapist and the pulmonologist when they came in. She answered their questions. She shook their hands on command—when the pulmonologist asked her to shake his hand, she raised her hand and shook it!! Then she shook his hand. Dad said that, when he talked to mom and tried to get her to do things and talk, she looked right at him and grabbed the trach line! He told her to stop and she did. When I walked in, mom was watching TV---I said hi and asked how she was. She gave a happy, surprised look to see me and mouthed, “Good.” Then I asked her what she was doing and she mouthed, “Watching TV” but then she looked as if she had caught herself and stopped talking and looking at me. The CNAs came to put mom in bed then. Once she was in bed, she fell asleep; but before she did, she looked at me as we were talking and grabbed the trach line again. When mom woke up, she was smiling and refreshed. She watched “Everybody Loves Raymond” with dad and I and she laughed a lot as she watched the show. At one point, mom was trying to reach the container on the tray table and couldn’t so she grabbed my hand and moved it like an extension of herself to reach the container and move it where she wanted it! Later, she was moving dad’s hand up and down playfully and laughed. I threw one of the squeeze balls to mom and she tried to catch it. I told her to squeeze it and she did. Lenny called and I put the phone to her ear so he could talk to her. She smiled and raised her eyebrows and listened intently. She took one of her hearing aids out after she finished talking to him. Dad said that mom also talked to Anthony and Samantha on the phone today too. We called Angelo and Madeline (dad’s cousins) and they spoke to mom too. Mom smiled both times. When I asked who was on the phone, she mouthed, “Angelo” and when I asked if Madeline was on the phone, she mouthed, “Yeah.” I tried to do some writing with mom using the dry erase boards and the markers, but she was tired and fell asleep again.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
No comments:
Post a Comment