Monday Update

July 14
by Karen
(pictured at right with Hjalti, our exchange student this past year)

When we got to the rehab hospital this morning, we found that Doreen was awake this morning. She began to be alert last night - after sleeping all day yesterday. She did have an episode of vomiting last night, but all in all we were told that she had a good night.

By the time we arrived at 8:40, she had already eaten 50% of her breakfast and was with the speech therapist. When Dad and I joined her in the speech therapy room, Mom had her eyes closed and seemed tired, but she was interacting with the therapist and was following her commands. They were working on swallowing exercises. They have determined that she should have thickened liquids (at the "nectar" consistency, for those of you who know about such things) to help her retrain her swallowing muscles. This should decrease the coughing that often accompanies her drinking. They are concerned that the coughing is a signal that some of the liquid is going down her wind pipe which can lead to pneumonia.

After an hour of speech therapy, Mom rested in bed for 30 minutes until the occupational therapist paid her a visit in her room. They worked mostly on balancing in a sitting position as she sat on the side of her bed. During this activity, Mom continued to say she was tired and wanted to lie down. The therapist allowed her to take a break about halfway through to lie down for a few minutes, but then she had Mom up again to continue the hard work. The therapist then let Mom sleep for an hour before she came back to get her into the wheelchair for a session in the gym working on her left arm.

For the first time, we ate in the cafeteria with Mom for lunch. It was exciting to think that this may indicate progress. Mom ate only about half a cup of mandarin oranges (surprise!) and a few bites of other foods. She continues to struggle with finding any interest in food and eating.

After lunch, Dad and I left the rehab hospital to travel to N. Manchester for an appointment with the nursing staff. Dad had to complete a "mini-mental" assessment before we can proceed with getting him in a one-bedroom apartment in the Manor at Timbercrest. It looks as though they have an apartment for him that would be ready within a week or 2 - as soon as he indicates his firm interest. We are very grateful that this option seems to be working out so well. Gordon and Darlene Bucher have been hosting Dad (and at least one of us) in their home in N. Manchester for about 6 weeks now. Their generosity has been incredible and our appreciation for their support cannot be adequately expressed! However, we are feeling as though it is important for Dad to settle into a place that he can call his own, with things from his home, where he can begin to move forward into this new stage in his life. It is difficult for him to think about moving to Timbercrest without Mom, but we continue to remind him that the plan includes Mom joining him at Timbercrest when she is able.

We took the rest of the day "off." We visited with Egon Borgmann and a few other Timbercrest residents and then spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening at the Buchers' relaxing and getting a few things done. We look forward to hearing how the rest of Doreen's day was when we return to the rehab hospital in the morning tomorrow.