Day #55

I've been asked what it means when I talk about Jennifer's trach being capped off. The way I understand it is the trach is essentially turned off. There is no oxygen or anything going through it. They do this to prevent removing a trach & then having to put it back. Capping the trach is kind of a test. If the patient passes this test, they know they can remove the trach. This may not be exact, but this is my understanding of it.

They had to uncap Jennifer's trach about 9:00 last night. She had continued to panic throughout the day. They decided to uncap it so she could rest better. She had a pretty good night & rested well, mom said.

They capped her trach off again this morning. She panicked at first, but when I talked to mom this morning, she was calm & relaxed. I spoke to mom again about 20 minutes ago. Jennifer's trach was still capped. She's done really well with it today.

The speech therapist worked with Jennifer more today. When she first came into the room, she was able to get Jennifer to shake her hand! She worked with Jennifer today on trying to talk & say certain words. She also worked with Jennifer on swallowing again today & got Jennifer to drink some juice. She told mom that we can give Jennifer up to 4 teaspoons of water a day. Before the therapist left, she worked with Jennifer on saying "bye". Mom said Jennifer made a sound that sounded like she said "bye"!

Jennifer was resting when I last talked to mom. She said Jennifer's had a big day & was tired. She had both the speech therapist & the physical therapist work with her today. Mom said Jennifer gets sad when David has to leave. When he starts talking to her about having to leave, mom said her face wrinkles up, & she gets a really sad look on her face. She doesn't want him to leave. But I know even though she doesn't want him to leave, she understands he needs to go home & take care of their babies.

I'm going back to St. Louis tomorrow. My 9 year old son has his first basketball game of the season tomorrow morning. I can't miss that! So I'm not leaving for St. Louis until after his game.

Please keep the prayers going!

Have a great weekend!
Love,
Lynn