By Lisa Ansay —
This morning, I walked into his room to find him sitting in a chair, respirator off, and the CNA talking to him – about how his fever is gone. I walked up to him, kissed him on the forehead and asked him, “no more fever”? And he shook his head, no. The CNA smiled.
That was the start of our day.
His eyes are closed, but his body is moving. His mind is moving.
The PT crew (physical therapy) came to assess him, and explained how they are historically the least popular people in rehab. It is their job to get folks moving – get folks mad – to push hard for patients to get past their obstacles. They shared that the best thing for T is if we all do the same. He’s past the point where he may be asked to “squeeze my hand” a few times a day, and then let him rest.
Breathing on his own takes a lot out of him. Sitting upright in a chair takes a lot out of him (for now it is only for 2-3 hours at a time). But it helped clear his lungs, and by the end of the evening he was actually stretching his legs in bed, like we would if we were in bed too long – moving his feet around – stretching his toes. I can’t tell you how awesome that moment was for me. And that was the close of a day full of surprises and amazement.
Again, his eyes are closed, but his mind and his body are synching up, and without the challenges of the medical stuff i.e… infection, or tubes or sedation, he is firmly on the path to full recovery.
He is actually moving around so much, I became worried to leave him tonight, because his hands/arms are on the move…reaching…lifting them off the bed…and I’m afraid he may get a hold of his trache…which he is not terribly fond of. The RT (respiratory therapist) assured me that although he is moving quite a bit, he likely would not have the dexterity to actually pull it out. Hmmm. That RT doesn’t know Taylor. If he does go for the trache, there are many alarms including super loud honks and flashing lights, etc. It still makes me nervous. It’s Taylor. Tenacious T.
Please don’t forget to send him your messages. He’s listening loud and clear.
Love and hugs to all of you. You are all a HUGE part of his recovery. Thanks to this web site, it really feels like we are all in this together.
So amazing.
So awesome.
The power of prayer.
