Still in ICU

Jerry is still at Dominican ICU, he was supposed to be discharged today and since he still hasn't been accepted to Valley Med he would have been sent to Marin. The discharge has been delayed however because Jerry's had a setback physically. Jerry has been struggling to regulate his body temperature and yesterday his temp went back up to about 102, he has a UTI, a staph infection in his blood, the onset of bronchitis as well as inflammation in his trachea. All this has worn Jer out a bit and his breathing became very labored so he is back on the ventilator. If all goes well he should be ready to discharge to rehab by Monday. I still don't have an answer from Valley Med but am working every possible angle and pray we can get him accepted before Monday.

I'm really starting to believe that Jerry will make a full recovery, he's becoming more and more responsive every day. It's so difficult for Jer to communicate with us because he has no voice with the trach but it's such an encouragement that he is trying to communicate. It's clear to see that Jerry has awareness, he's answering questions either with head nods or mouthing the word yes or no. I asked if he knew where he is and he lipped hospital, when asked what he was watching on TV he lipped football, he's been able to direct me which music to put on his Zune, he's following commands and answering some yes no questions. Mentally I believe Jerry is well on his way to recovery.

good night,

katie