well what a morning! Polly spent the night in the hospital last night and shared some funny conversations her and steven had while he was keeping the nursing staff busy all night. i thought that it must just be some night medication that was making him so loopy but this morning he is saying some mighty funny things! he seems alert and awake but keeps talking about conspiracy type stuff. he is totally convinced it is night time and wants me to go downstairs and march around on the street and take a poll to find out if its day or night and come back to him and report the results....oiy veh! hahaha. i think this is the result of the new drugs for swelling. but speaking of drugs, they are trying to ween him off the narcotics which is so good! it was the day nurses idea and i think its wonderful that she is interested in his well being because honestly if i had this job i would probably try and keep my patients as heavily sedated as possible because its a strait up loony bin in here! he is in excellent care. he is looking great! his neck is almost looking normal and besides all the weight his has lost and the tubes, i would say he is returning to the handsome fella he is. he is doing fantastic with mobility. his motor skills are getting stronger....as well as his demands. we had to stop giving him ice just for today to make sure its not interfering with the leaks in his throat. we will find out tomorrow if its too much.
right now he is just laying in his bed with his legs crossed and watching Indiana Jones....HAHA he cracks me up!!!!
i am so pleased with every ones effort, really, thank you so much to all the blog posters...he loves hearing from yall. and thank you to those that have sent cards, flowers, and have been offering to help. realizing how many people love and care for my dad is a real tear jerker and yalls dedication and support is incredible. thank you so much! oh, and again i am real sorry that the updates got a little slow there for a while, but all is well and i will stay more on top of it! : )
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friday / Saturday. MOMS HERE!!!
hello hello!
sorry the blog updates are going kind of slow, please be patient, i am doing as much as i can. but you all will be happy to know that i spoke to one of the doc's this morning and they said that this is where Steven is making the turn. recovery is quite slow and since it seems that we are just coming over the hump the progress will be long and drawn out, but good none the less. after the surgery (to remove dead tissue in his neck) the swelling will continue to go down but very gradually. sometimes it is hard to get information from the doctors but most news is positive and Steven seems in mostly in good spirits. we shifted his bed so he can look out the window we are doing everything we can to make him feel comfortable. sometimes he seems very content despite everything he is going through, other times he is very aggravated. he wants water so badly and he is always asking for ice. last night he tried to pay Rachel to give him water!!! HAHA, so so funny! we will be laughing at that one for a long time! A doctor came in and really put things in perspective. he introduced himself and Steven held his hand out for a hand shake and a proper introduction and the Doc said "as far as im concerned any one in the ICU that can give a good handshake is having nothing more then a few bad days." i appreciate his positive attitude.
as of right now, we are just waiting to see if his body starts fighting off the infection. we are looking at signs like his fever, white blood cell count, swelling, etc. This is going to take a long time folks. they were going to have him out of the ICU on Wednesday but now we are looking at Monday but he still has a long way to go in terms of internal patching up his body needs to take care of so he can sip that iced tea he has been dreaming of.
They are going to try and put him on some steroids to encourage the swelling reduction, maybe it might work, maybe it wont but its worth a shot.
Thank you again everyone, i know how important it is to keep updated, but now i have extra help because my mom is here!! hooray!!!! Steven is really happy to see her...and all her theatrical, loud ambiance!
thanks everyone!
sorry the blog updates are going kind of slow, please be patient, i am doing as much as i can. but you all will be happy to know that i spoke to one of the doc's this morning and they said that this is where Steven is making the turn. recovery is quite slow and since it seems that we are just coming over the hump the progress will be long and drawn out, but good none the less. after the surgery (to remove dead tissue in his neck) the swelling will continue to go down but very gradually. sometimes it is hard to get information from the doctors but most news is positive and Steven seems in mostly in good spirits. we shifted his bed so he can look out the window we are doing everything we can to make him feel comfortable. sometimes he seems very content despite everything he is going through, other times he is very aggravated. he wants water so badly and he is always asking for ice. last night he tried to pay Rachel to give him water!!! HAHA, so so funny! we will be laughing at that one for a long time! A doctor came in and really put things in perspective. he introduced himself and Steven held his hand out for a hand shake and a proper introduction and the Doc said "as far as im concerned any one in the ICU that can give a good handshake is having nothing more then a few bad days." i appreciate his positive attitude.
as of right now, we are just waiting to see if his body starts fighting off the infection. we are looking at signs like his fever, white blood cell count, swelling, etc. This is going to take a long time folks. they were going to have him out of the ICU on Wednesday but now we are looking at Monday but he still has a long way to go in terms of internal patching up his body needs to take care of so he can sip that iced tea he has been dreaming of.
They are going to try and put him on some steroids to encourage the swelling reduction, maybe it might work, maybe it wont but its worth a shot.
Thank you again everyone, i know how important it is to keep updated, but now i have extra help because my mom is here!! hooray!!!! Steven is really happy to see her...and all her theatrical, loud ambiance!
thanks everyone!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Post surgery, Wednesday / Thursday
Hey all!
Steven is doing great. When he rolled back in from the operating room he was pretty dazed and doped up but now he is awake and able to tell us how he is feeling. i asked him this morning how he was doing and he frowned a bit but then Aunt Paula told me to remind him of day one and he decided to change that frown to a content half smile. then i asked him how he slept and he said not so good and then i told him "well, when i asked you earlier this morning you said you slept fine, so which is it SK?" and he kind of laughed and said "okay okay i slept okay."
after they cleaned all that crap out of his neck tissue his fever was at 98.7. WOW! But now it has gone just slightly up but still staying in the 99-100 range which is still quite impressive. his body will be fighting back and repairing itself in no time.
he has the sweetest nurse taking care of him....except the nurse told him he could start having little bits of ice and man oh man when Steven heard that he has been having me on my feet all day giving him ice. I try to tell him "you cant have too much" but he just ignores me. haha. today i was standing by his bed just holding his hand and he goes "what are you doing?" and i said "oh, just hangin out, what are you doing?" and he said "oh, just hanging out too" .....haha!
as far as pain goes i think he is just mostly uncomfortable because he has tubes coming out everywhere. on a scale of one to ten he said pain is a six. but they aren't stingy with the pain meds. that's for sure.
Big news! the physical therapists came by and had him sit up on the edge of the bed! the only other time he did this was when in the middle of the night he had to use the bathroom. i had fallen asleep and woke up to the nurse saying "oh gosh oh gosh!" and opened my eyes and saw my dad sitting on the edge of his bed, about to try and stand! he had pulled out all his tubes and freed himself completely of everything! he was on a mission. but luckily the nurse walked in just in time and we told him that was a very bad idea. i told him he has to let go just a little of his rebel tendency. but he got the chance to sit up and move around today when the PT's came in. he did really well! as you all know Steven goes above and beyond in most that he does so he really impressed the physical therapists with his endurance and fortitude. but afterwords he fell asleep...it took a lot of energy and his body is doing a miraculous job of fighting the infections off so sleeping is good.
all is well, this is a huge turning point in his condition! y'alls good thoughts and prayers are a huge help and im so grateful for all of y'alls love and support for him.
Steven is doing great. When he rolled back in from the operating room he was pretty dazed and doped up but now he is awake and able to tell us how he is feeling. i asked him this morning how he was doing and he frowned a bit but then Aunt Paula told me to remind him of day one and he decided to change that frown to a content half smile. then i asked him how he slept and he said not so good and then i told him "well, when i asked you earlier this morning you said you slept fine, so which is it SK?" and he kind of laughed and said "okay okay i slept okay."
after they cleaned all that crap out of his neck tissue his fever was at 98.7. WOW! But now it has gone just slightly up but still staying in the 99-100 range which is still quite impressive. his body will be fighting back and repairing itself in no time.
he has the sweetest nurse taking care of him....except the nurse told him he could start having little bits of ice and man oh man when Steven heard that he has been having me on my feet all day giving him ice. I try to tell him "you cant have too much" but he just ignores me. haha. today i was standing by his bed just holding his hand and he goes "what are you doing?" and i said "oh, just hangin out, what are you doing?" and he said "oh, just hanging out too" .....haha!
as far as pain goes i think he is just mostly uncomfortable because he has tubes coming out everywhere. on a scale of one to ten he said pain is a six. but they aren't stingy with the pain meds. that's for sure.
Big news! the physical therapists came by and had him sit up on the edge of the bed! the only other time he did this was when in the middle of the night he had to use the bathroom. i had fallen asleep and woke up to the nurse saying "oh gosh oh gosh!" and opened my eyes and saw my dad sitting on the edge of his bed, about to try and stand! he had pulled out all his tubes and freed himself completely of everything! he was on a mission. but luckily the nurse walked in just in time and we told him that was a very bad idea. i told him he has to let go just a little of his rebel tendency. but he got the chance to sit up and move around today when the PT's came in. he did really well! as you all know Steven goes above and beyond in most that he does so he really impressed the physical therapists with his endurance and fortitude. but afterwords he fell asleep...it took a lot of energy and his body is doing a miraculous job of fighting the infections off so sleeping is good.
all is well, this is a huge turning point in his condition! y'alls good thoughts and prayers are a huge help and im so grateful for all of y'alls love and support for him.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday and Wednesday
His temp stayed low the night before and all Tuesday. He didnt go above 100.6. He wants to start writing notes to communicate better, he is unable to really write legibly yet but keeps practicing. His neck is very swollen and they did a CAT scan and the swollen is just dead tissue so it will be a simple procedure to remove it. Today (Wednesday) is a big day! The surgery starts at 11 and after it will be much of a relief for him. beside the surgery, he is also very excited about the announcement today to see who are the new starters on the cowboys team for the upcoming season, and dont worry y'all, he will definitely be back on his feet for football season! Go Cowboys!
I cannot express how exciting it is to see him light up when loved ones come in. he has been asking bout the weather and how every one else is doing...aw, what a sweet guy...
His organs are now turning him around and picking up the slack - a good sign his body is taking care of itself.
On Tuesday it had been slightly difficult for Steven. He seems relaxed but also discomforted by laying in the same position for 18 days.
There have been many funny moments here in the hospital room. The other day, drew and I were up here and we were all just sitting, not really saying much, and all of a sudden Steven perked up and said "where is my phone?" with a really concerned look! Drew, surprised at the question, responded back with the same perplexed "where is your phone?" and Steven lifted his arms up and said "I dont know!" HAHA, i mean, give it a rest Steven!
Ill post later when he is out of his surgery...every one wish him luck!
I cannot express how exciting it is to see him light up when loved ones come in. he has been asking bout the weather and how every one else is doing...aw, what a sweet guy...
His organs are now turning him around and picking up the slack - a good sign his body is taking care of itself.
On Tuesday it had been slightly difficult for Steven. He seems relaxed but also discomforted by laying in the same position for 18 days.
There have been many funny moments here in the hospital room. The other day, drew and I were up here and we were all just sitting, not really saying much, and all of a sudden Steven perked up and said "where is my phone?" with a really concerned look! Drew, surprised at the question, responded back with the same perplexed "where is your phone?" and Steven lifted his arms up and said "I dont know!" HAHA, i mean, give it a rest Steven!
Ill post later when he is out of his surgery...every one wish him luck!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday the 27th
This morning his temp started at 99.8, an excellent start. When we walked in he was sitting completely up right which is the first time in a while.
His breathing is still improving, they hook him up to a ventilator with medicine that dilates his breathing passage which relieves him of the effort it takes to inhale and exhale. he is coughing a lot less but still really getting that fluid in his lungs out - He is doing so well!
All through the day he has been in great spirits, we talked about the news, the dreams he has been having, and laughed a bit about this situation. He knows he is getting better and has stopped being stubborn and annoyed when he is congratulated on the little things, he knows that it is small stepping stones but he is on the right path and he is beyond wiling to take on the challenges without too much complaining :)
Its nice to have Steven back and joking around. compared to yesterday he is much more relaxed and at ease.
When you touch the swelling in his neck it still hurts him, but the tissue is doing getting better and hopefully his body will be able to start draining it on its own.
At 2pm they tried to get him to do the trachea voice box thing. his chest is still really flemmy and it made the voice sound troll-like...he thought it was funny and laughed at the way he sounded with it in - the most i have heard him laugh so its good he is keeping humor in all of this.
The nurse is great, she gave Steven a shave today (he was starting to look a little rugged, but i thought it was handsome on him). i think he enjoys having all these people (and women) pamper him....of course he enjoys it!
Its been a great day. he seemed calm and at ease.
Thank you everyone for your love and support. Pilar has been coming and reading him the comments in the morning and it really brightens his day! The room is looking a little bare so if anyone has to desire to send flowers or cards please do, i think it will give him a sence of encouragement. since he is not really seeing any visitors ya'll can send them to his house or just drop them by. the address is: 11802 Exposition Blvd. LA, CA. 90064.
Thank you everyone!!
His breathing is still improving, they hook him up to a ventilator with medicine that dilates his breathing passage which relieves him of the effort it takes to inhale and exhale. he is coughing a lot less but still really getting that fluid in his lungs out - He is doing so well!
All through the day he has been in great spirits, we talked about the news, the dreams he has been having, and laughed a bit about this situation. He knows he is getting better and has stopped being stubborn and annoyed when he is congratulated on the little things, he knows that it is small stepping stones but he is on the right path and he is beyond wiling to take on the challenges without too much complaining :)
Its nice to have Steven back and joking around. compared to yesterday he is much more relaxed and at ease.
When you touch the swelling in his neck it still hurts him, but the tissue is doing getting better and hopefully his body will be able to start draining it on its own.
At 2pm they tried to get him to do the trachea voice box thing. his chest is still really flemmy and it made the voice sound troll-like...he thought it was funny and laughed at the way he sounded with it in - the most i have heard him laugh so its good he is keeping humor in all of this.
The nurse is great, she gave Steven a shave today (he was starting to look a little rugged, but i thought it was handsome on him). i think he enjoys having all these people (and women) pamper him....of course he enjoys it!
Its been a great day. he seemed calm and at ease.
Thank you everyone for your love and support. Pilar has been coming and reading him the comments in the morning and it really brightens his day! The room is looking a little bare so if anyone has to desire to send flowers or cards please do, i think it will give him a sence of encouragement. since he is not really seeing any visitors ya'll can send them to his house or just drop them by. the address is: 11802 Exposition Blvd. LA, CA. 90064.
Thank you everyone!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
July 26th
Steven did great today. He had a lot of visitors...A lot of commotion. When people come in he has not seen for most of the day he is delighted and relaxes. His blood pressure is normal which is an improvement, and he is coughing up a lot of fluid from his lungs which is awesome because it takes a lot of energy for him to get it out but he is working hard at it and as the day continued his lungs sounded less and less congested. His fever is still up and down, between 101.2 - 100.2. and his oxygen levels are great (97 - 99) even without his breathing tube. They have completely taken him off the sedatives (propofal) so he seems more alert and extremely responsive...In the afternoon he started asking to see his friends because he enjoyes the company and everyone that has been here has been doing such a good job!
He is really excited about drinking water, although he is just allowed to suck on sponges for right now, he is day dreaming of gulping water from a glass. We were watching the baseball game and a burger king comercial came on and I swear he started drooling!
Can completely lift his hands and mostly his legs. it seems he really likes to push himself to use his muscles because I think he is ready to get the hell out of his hospital bed...good will power...no surprize.
Its been great talking to him but it seems so frusterating for him because it takes a lot of energry to try and comunicate without his voice, he was never that good at sharades but after this he will have a lot of practice : ) They will be taking another attempt as putting in something that directs the wind in his throught through his vocal cords so he might be able to talk tomorrow.
Overall, the day was long but he seems tolerable of the situation. I think sometimes he is just bored but pain is minimal and he is just so comited to improving as much as he can. He is doing a great job and im so proud of him!
He is really excited about drinking water, although he is just allowed to suck on sponges for right now, he is day dreaming of gulping water from a glass. We were watching the baseball game and a burger king comercial came on and I swear he started drooling!
Can completely lift his hands and mostly his legs. it seems he really likes to push himself to use his muscles because I think he is ready to get the hell out of his hospital bed...good will power...no surprize.
Its been great talking to him but it seems so frusterating for him because it takes a lot of energry to try and comunicate without his voice, he was never that good at sharades but after this he will have a lot of practice : ) They will be taking another attempt as putting in something that directs the wind in his throught through his vocal cords so he might be able to talk tomorrow.
Overall, the day was long but he seems tolerable of the situation. I think sometimes he is just bored but pain is minimal and he is just so comited to improving as much as he can. He is doing a great job and im so proud of him!
Sunday's grace
Hi Everyone,
Yesterday Steven's temperature was down so he did not need the polar blanket, which is a great improvement. He was moving around a lot, lifting his arms and legs, and trying to speak. His nurse started him on a 'delicious' protien drink at around 10:30 which will be the first 'food' Steven has had now that he has been able to take Gatorade.
At 11 his respiratory therapist put a screened 'cork' over his trach and Dr. Goldman asked Steven to say 'hello', which he did! It was was a breathy, raspy whisper, but a 'hello' for sure. It was so nice to hear him speak. However, he is still coughing up a lot, so it was decided to give it another day before trying again.
Callan spent the day with Steven, which I'm sure brought him much joy. He is always shows surprise at first because he forgets why he is where he is and why all these people are showing up to be with him. The doctors say his lack of recall is because of the pain medication, from which they are now weaning him. He should start being able to remember things in the next few days. I read him some of the well wishes from all of you, which also brings surprise and then intent listening.
Word is that he will be moving to Kindred Hospital Tuesday or Wednesday for the trach therapy at which time Team Steven (Drew, Rachael, Callan, Angela, Suzi Joy, and myself) will continue to help with physical therapy and to keep a close eye on his well being.
Thank you all for your postings and prayers...they are definitely helping!!
love,
Pilar
Yesterday Steven's temperature was down so he did not need the polar blanket, which is a great improvement. He was moving around a lot, lifting his arms and legs, and trying to speak. His nurse started him on a 'delicious' protien drink at around 10:30 which will be the first 'food' Steven has had now that he has been able to take Gatorade.
At 11 his respiratory therapist put a screened 'cork' over his trach and Dr. Goldman asked Steven to say 'hello', which he did! It was was a breathy, raspy whisper, but a 'hello' for sure. It was so nice to hear him speak. However, he is still coughing up a lot, so it was decided to give it another day before trying again.
Callan spent the day with Steven, which I'm sure brought him much joy. He is always shows surprise at first because he forgets why he is where he is and why all these people are showing up to be with him. The doctors say his lack of recall is because of the pain medication, from which they are now weaning him. He should start being able to remember things in the next few days. I read him some of the well wishes from all of you, which also brings surprise and then intent listening.
Word is that he will be moving to Kindred Hospital Tuesday or Wednesday for the trach therapy at which time Team Steven (Drew, Rachael, Callan, Angela, Suzi Joy, and myself) will continue to help with physical therapy and to keep a close eye on his well being.
Thank you all for your postings and prayers...they are definitely helping!!
love,
Pilar
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