Joye's Update 5/13/08

Andrew had a very busy day today. He did a vent wean early this morning, and did very well on that. Soon after, he had his trach cuff deflated (a balloon type thing in his throat that keeps air from going in or coming from his nose or mouth) so that he can start to get used to having it open to begin talking and eating. It will be very hard for him to get used to the feeling of having air come through his mouth and nose from the ventilator . . . it will take time and practice to get used to this. It was weird to hear his voice for the first time since April 4th, although most of the sounds coming from him were from him coughing. Then he went through a very intense neuro assessment, and finally he was lifted out of bed with a special lift and placed into a wheel chair for 1 hour. While in the chair, me and his nurse gave him a tour of the hospital. Once he was put back in bed, he was very tired and his head was hurting pretty good. This is normal as he had extra pressure on his neck while being up. He was supposed to have another vent wean at that time, but they postponed it until tonight due to the headache. He's improving with every weaning. Today was very cold . . . it snowed early this morning and rained the better part of the day. It's clearing up now, and it's supposed to be warmer tomorrow. Well that's all for now . . . I'll check in again tomorrow. Good Night and God Bless. Joye