Post by Maureen on Sept 27, 2004 12:59:29 GMT -5
Prepared by brother Mike:
I arrived at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Mark was awake, very alert and smiling alot. Greg, the respiratory technician, lowered Mark's trach cuff so we were able to talk. He made a couple phone calls, one to Luke and one to Lana. Talking really does wear him out so he rested after the phone calls.
We went to bed around 9:45 and slept as well as can be expected when you have people walking in and out of your room throughout the night checking on you.
Dr. Maerz and Dr. Tim visited this morning and he also had a respiratory treatment. That is just the beginning of what will be a busy day. He is scheduled for physical therapy at 1:00 p.m. and occupational therapy at 3:00 p.m. He will also be spending some time in a wheelchair today.
Mark wants everyone to know he spent a total 7 hours in a wheelchair over Saturday and Sunday so he is progressing wonderfully.
He is in great spirits and sends his best to one and all.
Mike
(typed by Maureen due to technical difficulties)
6:20 pm Update
Just got off the phone with Mike and have some updated information regarding Mark and his progress.
Mike is amazed at how many people come into the room at night. He said, no wonder you can't get any sleep. He's going to talk to the nurses tonight to see if they can schedule their visits all at once, so Mark and he can get some much needed sleep.
They took Mark to have a CT of his sinuses due to some conjestion and stuffiness he's been having -- no results yet. They also did an ultrasound on Mark's left arm. Sunday morning we noticed that Mark's left arm was a bit swollen - this arm had the IV in it. They were thinking the IV got out of line and all the medicine was going to Mark's tissues and not in his veins. They switched his IV to the other arm, and did an ultrasound today to check for blood clots just in case - again, no results yet.
Mark's scheduled physical therapy was changed for today due to finding a couple open sores. They believe these sores may have happened yesterday in a couple transfers from bed to chair to shower. They will monitor these closely and hopefully get rid of them quickly.
Mark had the cuff on his trach down today for about 3 hours - YEAAA... Mike now has to remember to read Mark's lips instead of listening to him. :-)
He also was off the vent system and breathing on his own for approximately 5 minutes. WHAT a show off! :-) he's very proud of all his accomplishments, as he should be.
Again, he thanks everyone for all their love and support.
Take care
Lana
I arrived at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Mark was awake, very alert and smiling alot. Greg, the respiratory technician, lowered Mark's trach cuff so we were able to talk. He made a couple phone calls, one to Luke and one to Lana. Talking really does wear him out so he rested after the phone calls.
We went to bed around 9:45 and slept as well as can be expected when you have people walking in and out of your room throughout the night checking on you.
Dr. Maerz and Dr. Tim visited this morning and he also had a respiratory treatment. That is just the beginning of what will be a busy day. He is scheduled for physical therapy at 1:00 p.m. and occupational therapy at 3:00 p.m. He will also be spending some time in a wheelchair today.
Mark wants everyone to know he spent a total 7 hours in a wheelchair over Saturday and Sunday so he is progressing wonderfully.
He is in great spirits and sends his best to one and all.
Mike
(typed by Maureen due to technical difficulties)
6:20 pm Update
Just got off the phone with Mike and have some updated information regarding Mark and his progress.
Mike is amazed at how many people come into the room at night. He said, no wonder you can't get any sleep. He's going to talk to the nurses tonight to see if they can schedule their visits all at once, so Mark and he can get some much needed sleep.
They took Mark to have a CT of his sinuses due to some conjestion and stuffiness he's been having -- no results yet. They also did an ultrasound on Mark's left arm. Sunday morning we noticed that Mark's left arm was a bit swollen - this arm had the IV in it. They were thinking the IV got out of line and all the medicine was going to Mark's tissues and not in his veins. They switched his IV to the other arm, and did an ultrasound today to check for blood clots just in case - again, no results yet.
Mark's scheduled physical therapy was changed for today due to finding a couple open sores. They believe these sores may have happened yesterday in a couple transfers from bed to chair to shower. They will monitor these closely and hopefully get rid of them quickly.
Mark had the cuff on his trach down today for about 3 hours - YEAAA... Mike now has to remember to read Mark's lips instead of listening to him. :-)
He also was off the vent system and breathing on his own for approximately 5 minutes. WHAT a show off! :-) he's very proud of all his accomplishments, as he should be.
Again, he thanks everyone for all their love and support.
Take care
Lana