Well, Dad is coming along nicely in his recovery. He is still in the hospital and this may sound nasty but Mom and I prefer it that way. If he gets sick the doctor can treat it right away with him in the hospital. If he came home we would have to take him to the emergency room and I think everyone knows how long the wait can be there.
They have taken his throat tube out and now he has this big hole in his neck that they are letting heal on it's own. We don't know if they are going to put something in it to help him do anything or not. All the mess in his lungs and sinuses is melting so when he coughs a little fluid comes out of the hole and he has to suction it off his skin . He also get the hole clogged up with something like the mucus plugs that babies are born with but the doctor said that was normal.
His energy is coming up. They have been walking him around a lot in his room and in the halls. He sits up in a chair 3 hours everyday and has started to be able to lift his head and move his neck without it hurting as much as it did.
My Dad is an avid note taker so he is writing down when he gets his medicine, his food, and everything else. He also does a lot of writing when people come to visit. My Dad also tries to use hand gestures to try to get his point across. Writing works a whole lot better my Mom says. The doctor has brought in a speech therapist to help Dad learn a new way to speak. It goes like this:
You take air into your lungs and then force it back up into your mouth, because you teeth and tounge are mainly what make the sounds for speech not your vocal chords. I find that confusing.
Right now Dad is dealing with an infection in one of the stitches that was left on the inside of his throat. They are giving him some antibiotics for this. He is starting to complain about the hospital bed and just about everything else, but like I said that's just my Dad for you!!!
