March 14, 2007

Day 30
It's hard to believe that 4 weeks have passed, and yet in ways it has been the longest 4 weeks of my life. Glenn worked hard today. They were finished the antibiotic, so he wasn't hooked up to the IV, but they didn't pull the line out of his hand yet. They were doing a bunch of cultures again to be sure he has no infections. They will check them, and hopefully the line will be gone. They also deflated the trache collar and were beginning to work on his speech. I wasn't there, but the OT said that he was making noises, so they are encouraged that he will talk soon. They are really encouraging us to keep him stimulated now, to keep talking to him, have the TV on, just generally keep his brain occupied with what is going on around him. They had done quite a bit of work with his right hand, and it was a bit more loose this evening. He responds by shaking his head or nodding, so we are supposed to encourage that all the time now. It is less confusing than blinking. We put his socks and shoes on today to help get his feet in line. I offered to put them on this morning and he held out his left foot right away. We are going to try to get his mouth open enough to clean his mouth. He hasn't let anything past his teeth since he bit off one of the brushes back in the ICU. I snuck a brush in today when he was crying. He looked a bit startled, but I told him I learned a few things about sneaking things from having 4 kids! The OT told him to get his teeth cleaned up because he was going to be using them soon. That was good to hear.
We are storm stayed in Regina again this evening. It started snowing around 7:00 and dumped about 3 inches in 2 hours. It is wet and sticky, so the roads are probably a mess. I was going to have coffee with the Sewing ladies tomorrow too, but I'm not going to make it. Jackie works tomorrow, so she won't have to worry about driving from the farm in the morning. Colin had the day off, so I think he stayed home. He'll have to drive in the morning, but it is different in the daylight, and he usually doesn't have to start until 9:30, so the sun may have done some work by then.
Once again, I want to say thank- you for your support and prayers. We are needing the help. As the time goes our stamina droops a bit. Once we get to the hospital we are good, but we're tired. It is good to get cards and comments from all over, and helps make it easier to smile. I know that everyone who reads this tells others who don't what is going on, so I'm very happy to journal for you. It seems once I have written about the days happenings, I'm able to put it aside and concentrate on what is happening the next day. I was told to go back and read the whole blog again just to get perspective back on the progress that Glenn is making. I think that is probably a good idea.
Well it is time for bed, so I'll sign off and wait for our new day tomorrow.
With love, Louise