Catching Up!

Alright, it's been a while, lots to catch up on, I'll just jump right in!

So last we left off, Dad was starting to talk. I'll go ahead and revise what I said earlier and admit that it's probably more like 99% of what he says that doesn't make sense. But he's still talking a lot, and every once in a while something connects somewhere and he makes sense. He seems to have an easier time with automatic phrases than with things he has to come up with on his own, or when something requires too much thought. For instance, if we prompt him with "Simi...," he has an easier time saying "...Valley," than when we ask, "Where do you live?" Sometimes he surprises us though, and can answer questions correctly. It's hit or miss, but he's getting there!

In other news, we've downsized his trach to a 6 (after which we'll move to a 4 and then he'll have it removed completely), and he's doing really well! This new trach is also fenestrated, meaning there are holes in the outer canula, making it even easier for him to use his vocal cards and cough through his mouth.

We did end up taking a couple "field trips" last week, first to the ENT to get the go ahead for downsizing his trach (obviously that went well!) and then we also took a trip to St. John's for a blood transfusion. For some reason Dad was a little anemic last week, still haven't determined the cause, but he's doing much better since the transfusion.

Last week we also ran into what will most likely be the first of many challenges with insurance. I won't get into too many details, but the bottom line was that they didn't feel Dad was progressing "fast enough" to warrant staying at CareMeridian, and wanted him to come home ...last Thursday! Well, needless to say, he is still at CareMeridian, mainly due to the progress he made last week, but it's clear now that this is going to be a constant fight from here on out. He's now progressed far enough that someone from the acute rehab center in Northridge came out to observe him. He's not quite ready yet, but she definitely thinks he will be in the next couple weeks! Nice.

So to sum up this delayed update, it's been a challenging couple of weeks for us, but Dad is doing well and that's what really matters. We're also working on getting the house ready for when he does end up coming home; next time they try to take us by surprise we'll be prepared!

Hope this finds everyone well! I'll update soon, promise!