Small Steps

Michael was changed to a nasal cannula this morning, and his Trach was capped. He is able to speak! He was shaved in preparation for electrodes which will be placed on his throat. Hair acts as an amplifier of current, so it has to be removed. At 4PM he was able to stand for a second (with help) and pivot to a chair! The speech therapist came in and attached electrodes to his neck and gave him shocks to promote swallowing. OUCH! He got to suck on three glycerin swabs and he was able to feed himself ice chips (one per minute for 10 minutes). He was still sitting went I left at 6:30 PM and he was doing fine. He is in good spirits, though he is frustrated at not being able to do more.
Tomorrow he will have a modified Barium Swallow test to determine his ability to swallow. The goal; to see if he can eat!
All the health care workers who came in today couldn't believe the progress Michael has achieved in a week. Baruch HaShem!
I can't believe how I used to take breathing, sitting, walking, eating and talking for granted. Now I am so excited about each of these small steps forward.

This morning I called Rocky Mountain Cancer Center to move Michael's long term follow up appointment from April to June. I was told that Michael's doctor (Jeff Matous) was at PSL today, so I went to find him. None of the staff on the 3rd or 4th floors had seen him yet, so I left a message for him to come up to 5 and see Michael. One of the nurses saw him and gave him the message. Dr. Matous came up to see Michael and told Michael how amazing he is. What a survivor! He has seen people with intact immune systems succumb to H1N1. Michael is still fighting!