My Final Post

I have mixed feelings about this being my final post (or at least my final post as the primary author). Its hard to leave my Mom, but I know she would want me to go back to Seattle and begin school on time. I leave you in the great hands of Rhonda Taylor and my Dad who both can post on the blog and make updates. I will not promise daily updates (although I know they will try) but I'm positive they will do a great job of keeping everyone well informed.

Here's a recap of what we have seen:

Mom seems to have waves of "wakefulness". If you happen to catch during one of these times she may squeeze your hand (often multiple times to questions). She has even very clearly shown us two fingers when prompted. She is breathing completely on her own (they have even removed the ventilator from the room) and tolerates it very well. Today, while the nurse was repositioning her, she even (on her own) opened both of her eyes! This was unheard of, as we have seen her struggle to even crack open the right eye. She kept them open for about 15 seconds, and the nurse got her to squeeze her hand very strongly. That was the most we got from her today. Maybe it exhausted her to the point where she could not move much more. Overall these improvements are great signs, and we are 'cautiously' optimistic that she will have a full recovery.

She should be moved from the ICU in the next couple of days --maybe mid-week, as long as she remains so stable.

I've turned over the coordinator duties to Judi Brown. So you can contact her to sign up for shifts during the next couple of weeks.

With that, I bid you a farewell, thank you again for all your support, it is very very much appreciated. I will be home again for Labor Day weekend and looking forward to seeing her improvements.