This morning when I got to the hospital Marty was out of his bed and in a chair. Yesterday was his first time being in the chair. I think he likes it as a nice change from lying in bed all day. He’s been restrained for much of his time, whether in bed or the chair just to keep him from pulling at all the various tubing he has. This morning his nurse released his hand restraints while I was there so that I could more easily hold his hand. He was able to adjust his chair to be reclined or upright as he wanted. He was pretty interactive with me. Answering questions with nods, etc, and he was being pretty expressive with his hands as well. Yesterday we were holding hands and he was changing his grip. I jokingly asked if he wanted to thumb wrestle, and I suggested that this might be my chance to win. He shrugged his shoulders as if to tell me, “Maybe. But I doubt it.”
This afternoon Marty was moved out of intensive care. I have mixed feelings about it. I’m overjoyed that Marty is progressing enough in his recovery to be out of the ICU. But I miss the one on one care he got there. Both Marty and I have gotten a little frustrated at my inability to understand what he’s trying to communicate with me. I’m trying to get better at knowing what he may be wanting or needing. Tonight I got a small dry erase board to see if that would help us. We’ll see how that works for us tomorrow.
Everyday I see progress. Everyday small miracles.
8 comments:
Hang in there. I had to deal with my first disgruntled employee today, if you need a good laugh for stress relief, you know where I am. :)
My thoughts and prayers are with you always,
Christina
So did you win the thumb wrestle challenge? ;)
I'm so glad to hear about Marty's improvements. I hope the dry erase board helps. That sounds like a good idea. I'm trying to think of strategies I used to communicate with non-verbal kids when I taught seminary. I'll let you know if I remember anything that might be helpful. Maybe Taffy has some ideas?
I was going to post this on the previous thread, but I'm here now, so I'll just mention that a friend of mine told me about a phone conferencing service where everyone can call in and talk to each other at the same time. Everyone just dials an access number and enters a code at an appointed time. I don't think there's a limit on the number of participants. I thought it might be good so you don't have to give the same update over and over. Let me know if you'd be interested in that and I'll track down the details.
I love you guys so much. We're thinking about you and praying for you all the time. Even Sammy is. He's getting pretty good at saying prayers by himself. I can't really understand what he's saying most of the time, but I'm sure you're in there. And you know toddler prayers are especially potent!
Thank you for the update! It's nice to see the progress that is going on. Hope everything continues to get better and better. I like the idea of a dry erase board for communicating. Hope it works out and helps reduce the frustrations. As always, we are praying for yall and thinking of you often. *hugs* dani
Wow! I can't believe he is out of the ICU already! You really are seeing miracles daily. Thanks for the update. Love you tons.
That is fantastic he's improving so much, but I can understand your ambivalence that now he doesn't receive as much one-on-one care. It is a step in the right direction! Hang in there. We love you and are praying for you both. Thank you for the update!
Sonnet, I have prayed for you both many times today. This good report is encouraging. I'm thanful for the miracles God is giving ya'll.
I have to chime in with my 1/2 ¢ (or is that 2 ¢?). the white board sounds good. As related brainstorming ideas; a legal pad might also be good (cause then you can keep stuff if you want), and learn sign language. Oh! wait, you want to communicate right now, not weeks or longer down the road.
I am also glad to hear the news of improvement. Love you both and just want to give you both three big hugs. (Okay, maybe more than three, but....)
That's great Sonnet. He really has made amazing progress!! Hang in there! My thoughts are with you.
Lori
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