Small Steps of Improvement

I spent the day with Vicki on Friday and enjoyed spending so much time with her. She is more aware and doesn't seem to be as confused as she has been. We still have to remind her from time to time about the wreck and her injuries because she always wants to get up out of bed. Who wouldn't after being in bed for more than a month! :) We're still battling things like some hives and itching related to alergic reactions (to what - we're not sure). Some of her incisions didn't heal properly and they are having to pack them so they can heal from the inside out. She still has a horrible yeast infection in her throat. So many little discomforts that make up one big discomfort! We hate it so badly for her, but we're trying not to let those little things dampen our spirits...or hers.

She sat in the cardiac chair for almost two hours while she was on her trach collar. She's up to about 10 hours a day on the trach collar. It enables her to breathe completely on her own. There is a small oxygen cap/cup placed over the trach so that her oxygen saturation stays where is should even if her breaths are shallow. It's like exercising her lungs and sometimes she feels like she's not getting enough air and we have to talk her through it and explain what she's doing and why it feels different/hard to breathe. The physical therapist also came in and worked with her briefly. Her exercises are so small compared to what you and I think of "exercise," but she is able to flex muscles on command for 10 reps. I joked with her and said, "Vicki - I can see our exercise days coming back!" She just rolled her eyes. She hadn't had any nausea or vomitting for about a day or so, so they approved for her to have a meal tray. When I opened it I thought, "They've brought the wrong food." She had a baked potato, chicken w/ gravy (finely chopped), green beans and a roll! Sure enough it was for her! The occupational therapist and speech therapist came in to work with her and she was able to eat most of the baked potato and a few bites of the roll. She tried everything though. The only thing she kept asking for that we couldn't give her was her Diet Pepsi!!! :( It's so hard to tell her no when she asks us for something! Her liquids are suppose to be nectar thick right now. They have a thickener for us to put in her drinks...she hates it! :) They said if she keeps doing good that we could get her a cheeseburger from McDonald's and feed it to her in small bites!!!! Vicki loves McDonald's!!

We're all still taking shifts at the hospital with her. As I said before, we don't want her to wake up and see that one of us are not by her side. I could tell on Friday that she's experiencing some depression. We just keep reminding her where she's been and how far she's come.

Aaron is hanging in here and continues to meet with the doctors about his knee. He will definitely be going back to work on Monday though. Thank you for continuing to pray for him and Vicki and their family.

We love you all so much!