Bill has had another great week. He was officially moved up to full rehab status and his therapists have been pushing him hard to regain strength and function. He is also still working on ventilator weaning, although they are taking it very slowly. I may not have described this well before, but he has not actually worked up to spending time off the vent here. Because of the issues with anxiety he had in Morgantown, and then all the other lung complications, they are not pushing him very hard at all. He is just not up for it yet. Ventilator weaning for now means gradually easing back the settings and working with him to get used to having air leaking around his cuff. These sorts of changes still lead to anxiety and anxiety is counterproductive when trying to breathe. His doctors are working on changing his medication and other techniques to help him deal with it, but until it's under control unhooking the vent from him would do more harm than good. It's tough to watch him struggle with this, but there is not a thing anyone else can do except tell him it will be ok. This is his battle and he will fight it in his own time.
Thanks to everyone for finding links to accessible ATVs. For those of you who don't know Bill, not a day has gone by in his life when he hasn't been outdoors and exploring. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that. Our family has a 200-acre piece of land in southern Ohio that is mostly wooded hillsides with a few fields. Bill has always had a remarkable connection with the land and the plants and animals on it. Finding a way to allow him to get outside and be in the trees is an essential part of his quality of life and we appreciate the help finding out how to do this.
Finally, there seems to be some confusion regarding visiting Bill here in Atlanta. Visitors are welcome and in fact pretty important. The stipulation is that visiting hours are from 4-9 pm during the week and all day on the weekends to allow patients to focus on therapy because that's why they are here. This is not my rule, this is the Shepherd Center's rule. Family members are more present during the day because they have other roles and obligations. I ask that folks let me know when they want to come so that we can try to spread visits out so that we don't have a situation where everyone shows up at once and then the next weekend no one comes. I am not discouraging anyone from coming. Bill is really looking forward to seeing his friends.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Sarah, My thanks goes out to you again on this blog, I check it often and keep those in my church updated on Bill's progress. Bill continues to be on our prayer list.
ReplyDeleteJust a note to you, Leslie and Adam are still waiting on little Smith, but it is getting much closer. Maybe in the next few days. We were to get a big snow today and tonite, but we had 10 hours of rain and it is just now turning to snow, roads will be really bad tomorrow. Take care and God Bless. Jeanne
Bill and Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who runs a business here in Marietta, Ohio that does all kinds of work on and with vehicles of all kinds for use by handicapped people. They also work with the state of Ohio for funding. This is the best way to get what you need. They also build vans for this purpose. They told me that being a resident of Ohio is all that is required to get all or partial funding for any and all of this kind of equipment
Here is a link to info about them. Call them and ask for Steve Hesson. Tell them I told you to call and I'm sure he will remember ny conversation with him.
http://web2.userinstinct.com/34431756-marietta-mobility.htm