Getting in shape is much harder after 30...

...plus days on a vent! However, Tammy's strength amazes me. We, yes, we have homework this weekend. Add to my resume physical therapy assistant! She had her first session this morning and did phenomenally well. She was able to move her legs way better than I would have guessed. I was convicted that I am doing way too much of the little shuffling things for her. The bigger stuff, like lifting her legs onto a pillow, is beyond her, but she can readjust with a little help and some support. They are concentrating on her legs first because that will help her get into the chair on her own much faster. I would assume the larger the muscle, the harder the work. Nursing friends, is that correct?

After physical therapy, she went directly into the chair like yesterday. Today she stayed close to three hours. It still wears her out, so she always follows up with a nap. How ever it make her feel, it sure does my heart good to see her sitting upright. Troy says it does his too! But I am certain it is much easier for me to watch than it is for her to do, so she may not appreciate my excitement just yet!

The doctors say she is doing really well, however, they have not been changing the vent settings. My unprofessional theory is that they don't want her to have to work hard physically and work hard breathing at the same time. But I explicitly trust her lead physician, and I know he really likes her (how could he not!), so I know he is personally vested in her recovery as well. How blessed we are to have a doctor who cares more about her than about numbers.

My biggest frustration, the way I feel we let her down the most, is in our inability to communicate with her. We are guessing most of the time what she needs, and if it is something new that she hasn't asked for, or if she just wanted to make a comment, I am at a total loss. After the third or fourth guess, she closes her eyes, shakes her said, and in effect says, "Never mind." I have to come up with something better to say than, "I'm sorry." I imagine (because she can't tell me) that she is as sick of hearing it as I am of saying it! However, I can speak to other people, I can type on the computer. She just sits there, stuck with her own thoughts with other people's words swirling around her. We are working on a few things, like a letter and word board, so pray that it works. Or, if you have any experience with this kind of thing, let me know what you have done. We are so open to any suggestion.