Thursday:
I want to start the post for day 3 with a statement from our Scott…”I’d like to thank you all for the prayers. They’re working! Please keep them coming! No prayer is too small or unimportant.”
The best part of that statement was that I did not lip read it, I listened to it! Scott has his voice back!!!! Ok..I am getting ahead of myself so allow me to just start at the beginning.
First of all, we had a really rough early morning. They had increased his nutrition and as a result Scott had some really painful GI issues. His stomach was really distended and he was in agony. He started having issues with panic and feeling claustrophobic. The doctors were stumped and they ended up doing some xrays to try to figure out what the issue was. Upon viewing the films it appeared that Scott had some really severe gas. Once they they were able to relieve the gas Scott became completely different person. He went from repeatedly naming off all his pains and discomfort to being calm and appreciative of the pain going away.
OT came in next. She did a very thorough stretch of Scott’s upper extremity. She said that his ROM felt good and his joints feel loose and flexible. This is all very important because if Scott regains anything that he had lost we have to make sure this body is limber and ready to move again.
The speech pathologist came in again and she said that Scott indeed was amazing on the tests showing his cognitive function. Since there are no worries now that the drowning caused any brain issues she moved on to speech. She had RT lower the inflation of the cuff in his throat so that Scott could be taught how to propel his voice over the balloon and vent. It’s not easy and really about timing. He has to gauge when he is getting a breath and really force his voice out at the exact right time. Within a half hour he was a wiz. Granted, he gets tired easy but I had him call his mom and sister just to show off a little. The fact that he got his voice back completely changed his mood. He can communicate again. He tell everyone what he wants with out having to mouth it five times.
Our next visitor was PT. She did a really good stretch of Scotts lower body. She also said that all his joints feel good. This made me happy because if God decided to grant the ultimate miracle today at least I know his joints could handle it!
A counselor came in today to talk to Scott as well. She was seemed like a really nice personality fit for Scott. Very easy to talk to and a warm personality. She didn’t try to force Scott to open up about anything he was uncomfortable with. He told her several positive things which surprised me because he has been so negative. He also told her the one thing he wants more that anything else is blue Kool-Aid, Gatorade, and Capri Sun. He said he dreams of walking down the aisle of the grocery store loading his cart with all these drinks. After she left, I asked Scott what he thought of her and he said that he was comfortable with her. I was happy about that because he needs to talk to someone and she specifically works on this floor so all her patients are spinal rehab patients. I feel good to have someone who can understand the complexity of emotions that this situation calls for.
Friday:
For the last 3 days we’ve been forced to wear gowns and rubber gloves while we are in the room with Scott. This is because they were afraid that some Scotts GI issues could be attributed to a bad bacteria in his gut. Since Scott was on antibiotics for the pneumonia he had he was put at risk that the antibiotic would kill the healthy bacteria in the gut allowing the bad bacteria to take over. They had to run three tests to ensure that Scott couldn’t contaminate us. The first 2 came out negative and we should be getting the third result today. I am hoping its negative as well because sitting in rubber clothes all days is not fun!
Scotts Dr came in and said that his lungs are looking great, blood work is looking good and everything else is progressing well. Scott was interacting with the Dr and his fellows and making some jokes with them. This is new development with Scott because previously when the Dr would come in he would just stare at the wall. Again, I think that all these subtle positive changes in his mood is due to the fact that he can communicate now.
So as you can see, things are slowly getting better. I know that we’ll be hitting some speed bumps but I am grateful for what we have today. Today is a big day that needs extra big prayers. Scott gets his swallow study today at 130. This is huge!!!! If Scott passes this test that means he can slowly begin eating and drinking again. I brought him blue Kool-Aid, Gatorade and Capri- Sun in anticipation of positive results. This is just one milestone towards independence for him. As I said before, Scott has to hit some positive milestones to help his confidence grow.
I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to hear Scotts voice and to hear positive test results in other areas of his health. We have a long road ahead of us but I want to praise God for the small steps in the right direction. Please continue the prayers. Scott and I both know they are working!