Slowly but Surely

Lee appears to be regaining his strength slowly but surely.  He is still very weak but is now able to help feed himself and can brush his teeth.  I tell you this so that you may understand just how weak he is.  The physical therapist was able to get him to walk twice today.  He was able to walk a little more than one lap with many rest stops in the chair along the way.

I was able to talk to the pulmonary doctor today and she said she may be able to remove the chest tube this evening after she sees the CT scan that was done around 8:00 p.m.  His foley catheter was removed earlier and he still has his I.V. for all those antibiotics he is now on for the bacterial infection in his chest cavity (not his lung ).  The doctor said that if he will continue to walk and if the chest tube comes out, they will probably do a bronchoscopy on Friday or Saturday and then he may be able to be discharged back to the condo and resume his rehab bach at The Center For the Living next week.  From what I see now, he will have to get much more stronger than he is right now.

I was able to have lots of relief and time away from the hospital again today.  Elizabeth came from Radford, Va. at 1:00 p.m. and stayed until 6:30 p.m.  I was able to catch up on some necessary paperwork today that required a lot of my time.

The Good news is that his heart rate is normal and there is no atrial fibrillation.  The bad news is that because of the bacterial infection we must wear those very hot and uncomfortable gowns and gloves while in the room with Lee.  It will be so good to get him back here once again and back into a routine that allows us to move closer to completing the 23 sessions and returning to Vale.  We are both homesick!

Pray for us as we continue this journey that we will focus on what we must do to rehabilitate Lee and not become so impatient to return home.  We can only do that as Lee's body allows.  I do ask that you keep him in your prayers as I know you are.  Thank you for that.

More Later.................................................................Brenda