Size 4!

January 25 through February 8

On Sunday February 1, Dianne and I had spa day with Mom. Diane cut and filed Mom's nails while I tackled her hair. The nurses got her into the special chair they use with her so that she was sitting upright. After about an hour, I was still no where with her hair, so we made the tough decision to cut it. The hair in the back of her head is now only about 1/2" to 1" long, and there is a small bald spot from her rubbing against the mattress for the last few weeks. The sides and front seem long enough to cover it for now, so the focus is to keep it from getting bad again. That day, Mom was in the chair for about 2 1/2 hours, which is fantastic for her.

This week we had exciting traych movement! On Tuesday (2/3), they capped her traych so that she is no longer breathing through it. Now, all breathing is done through her nose, yeah! Then on Friday (2/6), they reduced the size of the tube to a 4!! The next move is to take it out entirely. I don't have a time estimate on that, but we are very hopeful that it won't be too much longer.

Also this week, she started eating normal food. She is still on thickened liquids, but gets stew, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, etc. She does not have much of an appetite, so we are working on getting her to eat more each day. Once she is eating enough to cover the calories she needs each day, they can stop the tube feeding and take out the PEG tube.

As for the rehab facility, the one here in Hunter's Creek is full now and they do not believe they will have a bed anytime soon. The insurance company is all about getting Mom into rehab asap; they called me Friday to ask about a new facility in Metro West. This would be about the same distance as the current place, but with traffic it might take longer to get there. Diane was thinking about going to the Hunter's Creek admin office asking for more information and help getting Mom in. I hope to know more soon.

Postnote - this pic is of Mom on the balcony of our room, looking at the Hubbard Glacier, in Alaska.