Day 21 : Moving on up (soon, or not!) and no more trach!

Great news today, Linda's lungs are looking clear and much improved today. She's going to be getting rid of the trach! That's one item I know she won't miss, although it served her very well over the last 3 weeks. I asked her if she wanted to keep it as as souvenir, but she declined...

Otherwise, she's in good spirits. She told Brian and I that she's overall very positive, only occasionally upset, and is motivated to work hard to get better and get home!

We're getting very close to changing phases from acute surgery and post-surgical care to rehabilitation and therapy. This is great news that we've been preparing for at least a couple weeks. I believe she will be moving on in a couple days or so.

On the other hand, hospitals have their own rhythm and gait to them, and it's just best to go with it sometimes - we are still not certain just what type of care will be best for Linda and exactly when she will be ready to go, but Brian and I took a tour of the most likely place today. It's what's known as an LTAC (Long Term Acute Care), which is designed for stays of 25-30 days on average and focuses on therapy and rehab more so than a short term acute care hospital would (where a typical stay is 5-7 days). So what we really know for sure is that we don't know exactly where or when, but that moving from this hospital to therapy/rehab is going to be a huge improvement and will help her get back to the life that she had.

New Room in ICU and a Visit from Her Minister

I visited with the kids today so Linda got to see them and they got to see her since just before her surgery. She's doing better, having made improvements over yesterday. Although I wasn't there to see it, she was able to stand with the help of her therapists and nurses, which is ahead of where they thought she would be!

She had been placed in a room with a ceiling lift to assist patients with standing, because it was assumed she would need it. She doesn't apparently! So she was moved to another room because she is doing so well!

Her writing is improving. At this point because of the trach (ventilator tube) she can't speak - so writing notes is her means of communicating!

David, her minister from Unity church stopped by to see her and said a prayer with her. It meant a lot to her. So many people are praying for her and she has love coming from many different people and faiths.