Up to to-day, Douglas seemed to be doing very well on the micro trachy and talk was of 'maybe in a week or so we'll remove it altogether'.
This afternoon, Doug suddenly decided that he'd had enough of it and, with no warning, he undid the neck strap and popped it out himself. We were a bit panicky about this but the nurse said 'well OK, lets see how you do without it at all!' and applied a dressing over the wee hole.
All with the docs agreement of course!
By the time we left this evening, Doug had been doing fine, coughing and spitting as necessary!
I'll tell you what, it was NOT what we were expecting!!!!!
To top it all off, we were told that Friday next a team from the Astly Ainslie will be in to do an evaluation in preparation for Dougs admittance to rehab.
Whoopee .....................
However he does seem to be a bit more moody over the last couple of days, up and down, although when he's good, he's very good. Drowsy also tends to still be an issue but probably this is down to the anti-depressant they are using.
None the less it's all good progress :-))
Iain
Saturday 20 September 2008
Wednesday 17 September 2008
And the good stuff continues ......... !!!
Much to our surprise the medics to-day decided that now would be a good time to put Dougie on the smallest size tracky (micro trachy) and this was duly done this afternoon!!!
This size only allows small scale intervention for suctioning and, since it is only 4mm in diameter and does NOT have a cuff, Douglas is now breathing unaided through his mouth and nose and can talk as and when he wants to. This was quite unexpected ......... a week or two from now was hoped for so he has really jumped ahead a great deal. He seems quite delighted with all this.
However it is all a very different breathing regime and even more so when it comes to getting rid of any sputum which he needs to bring up (sorry .... gory details and all!) so he has a bit of acclimatisation to do. Poor Jules visited this afternoon and was treated to 45 minutes of a recumbent body snoring gently!!!
However, when he woke up, his mood was very upbeat and, as he signed, he can't wait to get started talking - he's got lots and lots to talk about :-))
The nursing staff are now trying to work out how they can fit a 'pause' button!!
His most recent trip to the gym involved three round trips on the parallel bars of which he was rightly proud! However he is now all concerned about having put on weight round the middle!
As the Registrar pointed out, it simply meant that he had a bit more work to do to turn it all back into muscle again .......... this got a half hearted response I'm told.
In addition to all this, his writing has improved very considerably (i.e. is much more readable) and he had made several promises regarding his future progress (including getting set for a visit to Mike and Liz in Canada!!) to Lorna. Great stuff!
Whoopee .....................
a Very Happy Pappy
Iain
This size only allows small scale intervention for suctioning and, since it is only 4mm in diameter and does NOT have a cuff, Douglas is now breathing unaided through his mouth and nose and can talk as and when he wants to. This was quite unexpected ......... a week or two from now was hoped for so he has really jumped ahead a great deal. He seems quite delighted with all this.
However it is all a very different breathing regime and even more so when it comes to getting rid of any sputum which he needs to bring up (sorry .... gory details and all!) so he has a bit of acclimatisation to do. Poor Jules visited this afternoon and was treated to 45 minutes of a recumbent body snoring gently!!!
However, when he woke up, his mood was very upbeat and, as he signed, he can't wait to get started talking - he's got lots and lots to talk about :-))
The nursing staff are now trying to work out how they can fit a 'pause' button!!
His most recent trip to the gym involved three round trips on the parallel bars of which he was rightly proud! However he is now all concerned about having put on weight round the middle!
As the Registrar pointed out, it simply meant that he had a bit more work to do to turn it all back into muscle again .......... this got a half hearted response I'm told.
In addition to all this, his writing has improved very considerably (i.e. is much more readable) and he had made several promises regarding his future progress (including getting set for a visit to Mike and Liz in Canada!!) to Lorna. Great stuff!
Whoopee .....................
a Very Happy Pappy
Iain
Thursday 11 September 2008
A truly wonderful week ............
Douglas seems to have turned another corner in the last five days and the result is really quite something to see !!!!
His mood has greatly improved and as a result he is much more receptive to physio and is very much more communicative and really very positive in his outlook. I find it quite hard to truly describe the change in him but, to give an example, this afternoon the physios fitted the smallest size trachy together with the talking valve and, much to their delight, he told them he wanted to give them a big hug and say thanks which he promptly did :-))
Rhea came in to see him shortly afterwards and he talked away great style with much hand gesturing and, although his words were not always easy to make out, the conversation flowed for around 45 minutes before he got a bit too tired.
Later on the Registrar (Dr. Murray) popped in to see him, having heard of the goings on, and he promptly held out his arms and gave her a hug, with hand signs to say thank you for all her work!!!
I think she was quite overcome to be truthfull.
He has also taking a much increased interest in his DVD library and has started to listen to music once again.
All of this is such a significant improvement that I'm almost afraid to believe it will still be true tomorrow ............ But despite this, to-day was the most wonderfull day for many months! Just to hear Dougs voice again and to see the animation in his responses was almost beyond description. Sheena and I were really quite lost for words - we haven't stopped grinning all evening!!
Iain
a real happy pappy
His mood has greatly improved and as a result he is much more receptive to physio and is very much more communicative and really very positive in his outlook. I find it quite hard to truly describe the change in him but, to give an example, this afternoon the physios fitted the smallest size trachy together with the talking valve and, much to their delight, he told them he wanted to give them a big hug and say thanks which he promptly did :-))
Rhea came in to see him shortly afterwards and he talked away great style with much hand gesturing and, although his words were not always easy to make out, the conversation flowed for around 45 minutes before he got a bit too tired.
Later on the Registrar (Dr. Murray) popped in to see him, having heard of the goings on, and he promptly held out his arms and gave her a hug, with hand signs to say thank you for all her work!!!
I think she was quite overcome to be truthfull.
He has also taking a much increased interest in his DVD library and has started to listen to music once again.
All of this is such a significant improvement that I'm almost afraid to believe it will still be true tomorrow ............ But despite this, to-day was the most wonderfull day for many months! Just to hear Dougs voice again and to see the animation in his responses was almost beyond description. Sheena and I were really quite lost for words - we haven't stopped grinning all evening!!
Iain
a real happy pappy
Wednesday 3 September 2008
and the improvement continues ..........
Douglas does seem to have turned a corner over the last week, whether due to his own efforts or the influence of anti-depressants we're not entirely sure, although I believe the former.
He has been undergoing a steady reduction in his trachy size and is now using the smallest size and tolerating it very well! It does also seem to have brought about an improvement in his chesty condition. The docs have done a sputum sample a couple of days ago and appear to have found nothing that needs anti-biotics which is very good news. This has been confirmed by a chest Xray. Unfortunately all this upset Doug quite a bit. Hardly surprising really 'cause is has always been the case that when a doctor comes visiting and Xrays were done it was because something was wrong, whereas, on this occasion, it was all to confirm that NOTHING was wrong!
He has been much more externally focussed than before - watching DVD's, listening to his Talking Books and having a concern for the well being of not only his friends but also others in the ward (and their visitors!!). As a measure of this, the other day a chap was admitted who was not at all well and, at the end of visiting time, several of his family stayed behind. Douglas signed to us that we should give out chairs to the family and not just take them away. Brought a lump to my throat I'll tell you.
He still has a tendency to turn night into day - awake all night and asleep much of the day! Mind you, if the right physios are on duty, he still gets popped into his chair for a couple of hours and taken down to the gym for walking practice!!
The plan is to start him using the 'talking valve' as soon as the docs believe he'll be able to cope with it - hopefully this week. Mind you, the results will doubtless need a lot of work on his part since he hasn't really used this ability for quite some time!! However, you never know .......
All in all, a week of progress, all in the right direction.
Mind the usual caveat applies to visiting ........... if he hasn't had a good night you could end up staring at a recumbent body draped over the bed!! But please - don't let this put you off visiting.
When he hears anyone other than Sheena and I he pretty soon wakes up :-)
Predictions ? Not much given to these after 4 months on a roller coaster but ... possibly end September for the rehab phase might just about be reasonable (God willing)
Iain
He has been undergoing a steady reduction in his trachy size and is now using the smallest size and tolerating it very well! It does also seem to have brought about an improvement in his chesty condition. The docs have done a sputum sample a couple of days ago and appear to have found nothing that needs anti-biotics which is very good news. This has been confirmed by a chest Xray. Unfortunately all this upset Doug quite a bit. Hardly surprising really 'cause is has always been the case that when a doctor comes visiting and Xrays were done it was because something was wrong, whereas, on this occasion, it was all to confirm that NOTHING was wrong!
He has been much more externally focussed than before - watching DVD's, listening to his Talking Books and having a concern for the well being of not only his friends but also others in the ward (and their visitors!!). As a measure of this, the other day a chap was admitted who was not at all well and, at the end of visiting time, several of his family stayed behind. Douglas signed to us that we should give out chairs to the family and not just take them away. Brought a lump to my throat I'll tell you.
He still has a tendency to turn night into day - awake all night and asleep much of the day! Mind you, if the right physios are on duty, he still gets popped into his chair for a couple of hours and taken down to the gym for walking practice!!
The plan is to start him using the 'talking valve' as soon as the docs believe he'll be able to cope with it - hopefully this week. Mind you, the results will doubtless need a lot of work on his part since he hasn't really used this ability for quite some time!! However, you never know .......
All in all, a week of progress, all in the right direction.
Mind the usual caveat applies to visiting ........... if he hasn't had a good night you could end up staring at a recumbent body draped over the bed!! But please - don't let this put you off visiting.
When he hears anyone other than Sheena and I he pretty soon wakes up :-)
Predictions ? Not much given to these after 4 months on a roller coaster but ... possibly end September for the rehab phase might just about be reasonable (God willing)
Iain
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