Wednesday, July 11

The main highlight of the day for my mom was that this morning the physical therapists sat her up on the side of the bed.  They did need to provide support to keep her up, but she received some new kinds of therapy.  One of the physical therapists at Memorial Hermann taught my dad what we can do to keep her in shape, and we've been putting in our own work to help my mom stay flexible and strong, and hopefully cut down significant rehab time in the future.  Other than generally keeping an eye and trying to help her remain comfortable, keeping her fit has become a main mission of my family.  She doesn't seem to be getting stiff joints, so we think so far it seems to be working.

Today she was started on a new neurostimulant which is intended to help her be more alert.  They started her out with a very small dose, and it's still early, but we're hopeful this will help her wake up.  She has also adapted very well to the smaller trach which was put in a couple days ago.  She has been coughing on her own to keep her airways clear of respiratory secretions, which has been giving the respiratory therapists very little to do.

My dad mentioned it briefly yesterday, but I wanted to express how much it blew me away yesterday to log into the care calendar for the first time and see that it's already booked for two months out.  Thank you so much to everyone who has been so generous in helping us keep our attention on taking care of my mom.  We got the first meal today and my dad and I certainly appreciated having a wonderful, home cooked meal.

We have been in this new location for a while now and have really started getting to know the nursing staff and doctors who are caring for my mom.  They have been excellent and it has given us great peace of mind knowing that my mom is receiving such attentive care.

- John