One step closer

Today was busy and I'm very tired so I'm gonna try and keep it brief. Jerry had a good day, he's progressing and getting one step closer to getting out of here and on to the next phase. Although I hope the next phase is going home I'm afraid that it may be neuro rehab. I think once Jerry is weaned off the ventilator and can tolerate 3 hours a day of therapy Valley Med should take him into their brain injury rehab. The more Jerry is able to communicate with us the more it is becoming apparent that he has suffered some brain damage. I know right now it's important for Jerry to wean off the vent or Valley won't take him so for now that's been the primary focus.

Jerry has been off the ventilator for over 37 hours now, he is still dependent on oxygen and at times his breathing can get a little labored but it's primarily when he is being jostled around or experiencing anxiety.
Jerry has been getting in his wheelchair at least four hours a day. Today was nice because we were able to get portable oxygen so we could go for a walk. I took Jerry for a tour of every floor and even got to go out the front door, we sat outside for about 15 minutes. We met a man about 30 who had been in a gang, he said he had been shot in the back 11 years ago. He's a paraplegic and just wanted to give Jerry some words of encouragement, it was very precious to watch their interaction, I'm glad he made the effort to come over to talk to Jerry and I'm glad that Jerry was able to respond.

Jerry tolerated the talking valve for about an hour today. His voice is still very faint and just like anything else his vocal cords need to be exercised to get back his voice. He was even practicing on his own for about 20 minutes. Jerry also passed the apple sauce swallow test today so tomorrow he can begin having soft food. They'll start with apple sauce tomorrow and add new foods each day. Next week we start the next phase of weaning which is getting the trach out. They will put a cap on the end of the trach, give oxygen through the nose, and see how he tolerates breathing through his mouth and nose. He still has to breath around all the hardware in his trachea so it may take some time to build up tolerating it. Jerry is improving each day, I look forward to the time when we can resume our lives and get off this particular ride.

Good night,

Katie