Encouraged

Mom called around 10am this morning. The doctors had just made the rounds and mom had a chance to talk to the doctor at length. The doctor was very encouraged with dad's reaction to the heparin. They feel that dad is back to where he was a few days ago before the clot scare. He seems to be understanding again. When mom got to his room this morning dad puckered up for a kiss. The oxygenation level needed had risen to 80% in the last few days. This morning they had him down to 50%. The CT Scan of dad's head came back clear!! - They will be doing another CT Scan or MRI with in the next couple of days to be sure there are no bleeds in the brain. Mom is excited that his grip has increased a little again. The doctor is going to talk to Neurology to see if they plan to do the last "Plasma Exchange" treatment or not. If not - they will be removing the pick that is in neck out. That should also help with the comfort level. Now dad seems to lean to his left a lot. We think when he leans to the right (where the neck pick is) that it is uncomfortable.

One of moms goals for the day is to get a "sip & pull straw". It is some form of nurse call so that dad can pull in his breath or blow out and it will alert the nurse that he needs help. Since he has been at U of M when he is alone there is no way for him to get help. If they can get this devise there and hooked up I know that mom will sleep better and be able to leave without feeling bad or as bad. He does need a little more strength to be able to utilize it because he will need to pull his head off the bed to reach it - and right now he is unable to do that. She is also trying to get "boots" for his feet. The purpose of the boots is to get dad's feet to be straighter. Not hanging down. It will help with the recovery process once he gets better enough to do Physical Therapy. Right now his toes are dipping down with the foot hanging. It has been in the hospital four weeks yesterday. Unbelievable - some days it is like 'No Way' other days it feel like it has been forever.

Tomorrow my sister, Missy, and her son will be going to visit. Heidi is planning to pop up during the weekend.