Weekend Update

July 26 & 27
by Karen

This weekend has been one filled with waiting. The weekend staff at Progressive continued to get to know Mom. They tried several different medications and other tactics for reducing her nausea and increasing her tolerance for food. It was especially successful on Sunday - there were no episodes of vomiting. They also were letting her rest - no therapies. They did get her up to sit in a chair several times on Sunday just to keep her moving and minimally active. However, because she has had no nutrition since the IV feeding was discontinued Friday morning, she is losing some strength and energy and has enjoyed the opportunity to rest.

On Sunday they put in a nasal-gastric tube. They will begin to feed Mom through that for awhile - hoping to abandon the IV feeding altogether. If it works sufficiently, they may be able to avoid a more permanent feeding tube, but right now that is a distinct possibility. That decision should be made sometime this coming week.

Linda returned to Indiana on Sunday, bringing Karen's older son (Daniel) along. He spent the last week at Camp Emmaus, but will stay in Indiana to be with his grandparents for the next week. He will return to North Manchester in August to begin college at Manchester. (Cameron left for Camp Mack for this week.) Mom really perked up when Linda and Daniel arrived. She has been quite alert the last several days and has held extensive conversations with Karen about relevant and timely topics. It's great to see the Doreen we know and love begin to reemerge in a more significant way than we have seen for quite awhile.

We look forward to Monday's visits from the speech, occupational and physical therapists. Once the entire team has had a chance to meet Mom and assess her needs, they will create a plan for her stay at Progressive. We will be glad to really get started on moving forward again.