Day 7 - Speaking Valve

Hi all!

Well, we made the one-week mark! We've been in Phoenix for 11 days now, but Jim's surgery was last Friday, so that's where I'm counting from. This top picture is of Carlos, one of Jim's favorite nurses. He has the weekend off, and we're not sure when Jim will be moved out of ICU, so I wanted to get a picture being he's made the blog a few times. We love Carlos!

Jim surprised me this morning by singing "Sweet Caroline" when I came in. He actually sounded better than usual -- maybe it was just because of the silent treatment that he's been forced to give me the last couple of days. He just couldn't wait to show off to me! It was nice to hear his voice again and to have it sound clearer than it had been before the tracheostomy. I was very surprised that they had gotten his speaking valve in so early in the morning. I guess the pulmonary doctor, Dr. Feldman, came in to check on him and decided that there was no need for him to have to wait for speech therapy to arrive. Everybody seems to really like Jim, so he tends to get special treatment! The purple thing in his throat is the speaking valve. Carlos did tell me that if he talks too much or I don't like what he's saying that I can just 'pull the plug' and he'll shut right up...I'm referring to the speaking valve plug -- I don't mean to give you all a heart attack! I'm thinking that his karaoke days are not quite over - darn! He wanted me to sing a duet, "Party for Two," with him; I told him I would need more than orange juice to do that for him!

This next picture is of Jim showing off with his muscle man pose. He's been working very hard at exercising his arms and legs. He is very ready for more therapy. They plan to move him to Neuro Rehab the first part of next week so that he can have more intensive therapy for three hours a day. He kept asking when they were going to move him...I think it's going to be a very long weekend. He's actually feeling good enough to be bored, which is a really good sign.

He had another swallow test today. His cough and swallow are slowly getting better, but we're all anxious for that to improve the most to keep his respiratory system protected. He did better than I expected, but he's not quite ready for any type of oral feedings yet. He's still got a few more pounds to lose anyways! They did a blue dye test to check his aspirations, so you might notice that his mouth and tongue have a blue tinge today -- nothing to worry about! They plan to do an x-ray test to watch his swallow probably on Monday or Tuesday of next week. They want to make sure that they can keep an eye on his
swallow delays and see if he's having any silent aspirations. The droop on the right side is probably causing some paralysis on that side of his throat. This is also expected to be temporary, although his swallow was slightly off before surgery due to the pressure from the aneurysm thrombosis; so we'll just have to wait and see.

We did get the results from the MRI, and they think that there is just a little bruising and swelling from where they entered his brain to get at the thrombosis. No stroke! They did an MRV today to take a look at the veins to see if any are occluded (clogged) from this bruising. If so, they will just put him on an aspirin regimen. Otherwise, they will do nothing, as I guess it's not a big deal. That was very good news!

I did not get an official update from Dr. Fiorella today, but Dr. Wilson said that our 'pipeline gentleman' is still having a difficult time, but is holding on. Unfortunately, I CAN imagine how he and his family are feeling. Please pray that they can get over this first very difficult hurdle and have an easier race to their finish line. I have another quote from Jim's Bible study book that I found appropriate from Harriet Beecher Stowe, "When you get into a tight place and it seems that you can't go on, hold on -- for that's just the place and the time that the tide will turn." I pray that this gentleman can continue to hold on and that his tide will turn soon! Much love and prayer is being sent his way -- thank you all for that.

Jim wore himself out today with all of his talking. He requested I make quite a few phone calls so he could show off. His voice was pretty weak by the end of the day, but it sure was fun to hold a conversation again. He was telling me about his dream/near death experience that he had. It seems that he was brought down in the basement of the hospital and there was a board with a list of all the times that he had acted selfishly. Then there was a bunch of TV monitors where parts of his life were being replayed to show him where he had made his mistakes. It was pretty interesting how he was describing parts of his life that even I remember where he acted like a jerk. Whether this whole incident was dream or reality, it definitely has made an impact on Jim. I'm thinking that I may have a new and improved Jimmy in more ways than one when we are through this journey. I guess I can thank God for that too!

See.... all your prayers and support have helped so much already! We still have a long way to go, but we're going to be okay. I feel surrounded by God's love through the kind words of encouragement that we receive every day! Keep them coming -- it helps to pass the time for Jim and I to read them together. And just so you know, we are praying for all of you also as I know that we all have personal trials that we have to deal with all through our lives. What goes around, comes around...especially in God's love! Take care, and enjoy your weekend -- I'll be busy keeping my husband from driving his nurses crazy with his boredom.

Love to you all!
Krissy