It has taken awhile to get the computer to work today. It updated and the gremlins have arrived. I'm at the hospital and the internet here is spotty at best, so hopefully I'll get this updated before I lose it completely.

Bill was more alert yesterday, but very gurgly again. He actually said 2 phrases "oh man" and "wow". Now he's not supposed to be able to speak with the trach unless he has a speaking device in, but, he managed to do it before and he's figured out how again. Actually, they think the inner collar is slipping some which could let him speak.

He was really fighting the vent yesterday, over breathing it a lot, but the respiratory tech said that the collar was fully inflated. They were suctioning thicker secretions yesterday than the day before and his nurse checked to see if he could be given something to just calm him down a little. 

Dr. Williams decided that he would do another bronchoscopy since the secretions had thickened some before trying the breathing trial and the trach collar that oxygen is attached to.

It seemed like voices agitated him so we tried to be as quiet as possible in the room. We kept it pretty dark and he did finally rest some.

When Monica, Dr. Williams nurse, came in she added some air to the collar again and all of the gurgles stopped. She said it must have a small leak, or it was positional, meaning that when his head was turned certain ways, it would slide some.

The bronchoscopy was done late in the afternoon and didn't take long at all. I went down to get a drink when they were getting ready to sedate him and when I came back up, it was over and he was getting cleaned up. Dr. Williams said he wasn't too junky and he like gurgles. That tells him that any secretions such as saliva, are not getting past the trach. So, I'll have to tell Bill that gurgles are good.

So, that's the update for yesterday. And, while I'm here, I may as well update from this morning.

He's very alert this morning and answering questions and responding to commands. He's been in a breathing trial for quite a while now and Dr. Williams was just in and wants him in a chair! And he wants physical therapy to really start working with him. I told his nurse that if she can't find the stroke chair to put him in (it has a seatbelt) and he really needs that kind of chair instead of the one I'm in, therapy can put the bed into a chair mode like they did the other day.

The social worker is working on something today that Dr. Williams thinks he's a good candidate for and I think I may know what it is. Bill is beyond what skilled nursing can do, with the vent, trach, feeding tube and needing intense therapy. I was looking for Acute Care/Specialty Hospitals yesterday and, the entire 4th floor of this hospital is Restorative Care. It's a speciality hospital that, even though it is in this hospital, it is a separate entity. It is for patients who are having difficulty being weaned from vents, complex lung problems, and it offers intense physical, occupational, and speech therapy, all of which he will need. Why did they not say anything about it before? Instead, they put him through hell by sending him to that place that shall remain nameless! Maybe if he had just gone there, he wouldn't be in this position now. But, there's no point in thinking about that because it is over and done and can't be changed. 

That's what's gone on so far today. I'll update more later when I know more. Oh yeah, I don't know if they are going to do the peg feeding tube today or just get it on the schedule to get it done. That dr. hasn't been in yet. When I find out, you'll find out!