Tuesday, July 28th

We don't have much to report right now. It was a quiet weekend with not much change in our little Neuro ICU home. The speech therapist did come in yesterday and determined Mom will not be able to talk or eat until a smaller trach is in place. The pulmonologist told Dad on Sunday that if it was determined that she would need a smaller trach, he would schedule that procedure for today or tomorrow, but no word on that so far today.

Thank you to all the people who have provided meals for my family in the hospital. It is one less thing they have to think about. We are all taken care of until the 6th of August but have openings for the next week. Please email me directly at jclapp1@yahoo.com if you would like to provide a meal.

Keep those positive thoughts and prayers flowing!!!

Jennifer & Family

Friday, July 25th

Mom's ventilator tube was removed yesterday, leaving just blow-by oxygen, so she is breathing independently now through her trach. She is still not able to talk (make sound) until the speech therapist does an assessment. They will also do a swallowing assessment to move her toward being able to eat again. As soon as there is no necessity for going back to the ventilator, she can move to a regular hospital room. We have begun discussions on where to move for long term care and rehab.

The update from the speech pathologist is that she is just not ready to eat or be able to talk on her own yet. She was getting good breaths in but not out. They do not work over the weekend so will not be back in to check on progress until Monday. I think my mom is very frustrated and ready to move on but this takes a lot of patience and time.

Hoping for some good progress and healing over the weekend!
Jennifer & Family

Wednesday, July 23rd

Tuesday was a very busy day!
The ENT doctor changed out the trach tube and removed the stitches. This was followed by more x-rays and then downstairs for a CT scan, which looked good. She did a couple of hours of sitting therapy in the chair so gravity can help out her lungs. Anxiously awaiting the day when the ventilator tube can come out as Mom is quite insistent that she get some ice cream. As soon as that happens, my sister Susie plans to take her a snow cone from Josh's Sno Shack! Today they continue the effort to wean her from the breathing support.

Here is a recent photo of our Mom & Dad out enjoying beers with the family.

Thank you for keeping up with us and sending such kind messages our way!
Jennifer & Family

Monday, July 21st

We have definitely made big strides since Saturday. My mom is mostly breathing on her own but they are still using the ventilator to help along the way. The ENT doctor will assess the state of her trach tube tomorrow and based on that, will transition her into a different cuff which may enable her to talk a little bit. That being said, since she has been lifted from the continuous painkiller IV and put on a lesser dose when needed, she is very alert and present in the conversations the family is having. My family has been improving their lip reading skills and apparently my mom has been practicing her eye rolling on them. She seems quite feisty and for that, we are thankful. I received a report this morning that they had moved her into a chair which would be good for her lungs and even though she was not happy with that arrangement, the nurses commented that this was a big step. The doctors are not ready to talk about leaving the ICU yet or what the timeline looks like going forward but every day we see progress, that conversation is one step closer!

I know I keep switching things on you and it may seem confusing, but this online blog has been a learning process for me as well. I have decided just to publish the calendar of food volunteers myself. That way, all YOU have to do is email me at jclapp1@yahoo.com, tell me what you would like to bring and when. This will make it easier on everyone and ensure that they are not eating the same thing every time! Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions! I am always near a computer and happy to help since this is my way to volunteer from so far away in Seattle!

Please check the calendar at the top of the blog and email me if you would like to help.

Also, I have added a button just to the right of this blog post that says "Get email updates!" If you type your email in there and hit "submit", the site will send you an email any time I make updates.

Thank you so much to the people who have already provided my family with food and support. It is one less thing they have to think about in a day.

Jennifer

Saturday, July 19th

I have returned to Seattle for now but am getting updates from my brother at the hospital. His report this morning said the night was smooth. She had a little trouble breathing first thing this morning but we think that was attributed to little anxiety upon waking up. Otherwise, she has been on spontaneous breathing on the ventilator and they are lowering the power of the vent gradually so she is doing more and more of the work. My brother said she looked at him with both eyes this morning which was a good sign. And when my dad got there this morning they both said she clearly mouthed "Hi Jim" to him which is a huge step! The hospitalist arrived shortly after and she followed all of his commands. So he said the feeding through the peg tube (stomach feeding tube) was going so well that we can finally take the CorTrak (nose feeding tube) out. So that will happen today and we will just keep working with her and looking for progress!

Thanks,
Jennifer

Friday, July 18th

No big changes today. We had a pretty calm night here in the hospital. She didn't sleep much but was calmer and not as upset. She even interacted with me, enough to mouth "no" to my pestering questions. Progress!

We are patiently awaiting the CorTrak removal (nose feeding tube) at 1:30 today since she has had a peg tube (stomach feeing tube) put in. She is stable today and we will be replacing her ongoing pain killer with something a little lighter in the hopes that it will allow her to be more alert.

Most importantly, I have designed a calendar on a free website in case people would like to help the family out by providing dinner to be delivered here to the hospital. Please see the link at the TOP of this page. You do NOT have to register, only provide your email address and it will guide you through the steps to select a day of your choosing. We are starting to look for volunteers for this Sunday night. As of right now, we have 3 adults and one child sitting with her so that would be the size of the meal. I then have regularly scheduled meals for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays for the near future. The number of people may change but I will update the calendar to reflect those changes. Obviously, only one person or family can sign up per day, so once you register that "blue" time slot, it will no longer be available. If you have any questions at all or need help signing up, please email me at jclapp1@yahoo.com and I will be happy to help!

Thank you again for all the kind words and support! We really do appreciate all of it!
Jennifer and Family

Thursday, July 17th

Yesterday was a big day. After having the tracheostomy on Tuesday night, they were ready to take JoAnn off sedation yesterday and practice breathing on her own. So she is still trached but they turned off the power to the ventilator for quite a few hours yesterday. She did really well but did get pretty tired by the evening so they gave her a break and put her back on ventilation. She was fairly alert for most of the day as well. It was a little hard because she seemed confused and sad. She could not move or talk and was probably in quite a bit of pain, but by the evening she was moving her arms and nodding and shaking her head ever so slightly. We will try and work on some response movements so we can communicate with her.

She seems a little calmer this morning and we are hoping for good things to happen today.

The doctor just stopped in and said they are scheduling a feeding tube to be placed in her stomach so we can get all tubes out of her mouth and nose. This will be our 4th major surgery in a week so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

And now for the fantastic news: We just got a visit from our first physical therapist! Very excited to get her limbs moving again! Progress, progress.

I will update later today if we have any other news.
Jennifer

Updates on JoAnn

7/16/14 - Since we were not happy with the interface at CaringBridge, I have created this website as a way for all friends and family of my mother to be able to get the latest updates on her recovery.  To catch everyone up, I am reposting all of the updates I had previously posted on Caring Bridge, so I apologize if this is a repeat for some of you. Please use this site to communicate with the family so we have a centralized way to talk to people as there is much activity and we are all keeping very long hours by her side and have terrible phone reception in the hospital. I am looking into other sites to manage everyday tasks that people might want to help out with in the near future when my mom is back home and my dad has his hands full so stay tuned!
Jennifer

1st post:
JoAnn suffered a fall on Saturday, July 5th. She fractured her C2 vertebra and was admitted to the Neuro ICU at St. Francis Hospital. She has been here since then, fully intubated and sedated because of congestion and swelling of her airway. Two surgeries were performed last week to mend the fracture, with screws placed in the vertebra. The trauma from the fall has caused sustained swelling, which is why she is still intubated. We are hoping for a tracheostomy to be performed today to give her some relief from having tubes down her throat for over a week. 

2nd post:
JoAnn did get a tracheostomy last night to help alleviate discomfort from swelling and congestion. She has been breathing on her own through the trach for several hours today. They have also been practicing weaning her off the sedatives. Even though she is making progress, it is a very slow process and she is likely to remain in Neuro ICU for the next several days. Anyone wishing to visit, we ask that you please be patient until we are in a regular hospital room and she is able to visit with you. 

Again, thank you for all your support and we will will try and keep you updated. 

3rd post:
Just a reminder, there are no flowers allowed in the ICU and we aren't spending much time at home if people are interested in providing food. However, we will let you know if we set up a food schedule as we think our dad, Jim, may appreciate that help once he is caring for JoAnn at home.