Recovery Milestone

Stan Here:

It has seemed to me that recovery could not start until the breathing tubes and support were removed. That happened this morning at around 9.  To be frank I had visualized this in the form of a gradual welcome back to the world day, Deb we love you, we are all behind you etc.  But the fact is that the re-entry into the world is a more intense process and it is wrapped with some confusion and plenty of pain.  It seems she has some real pain which is very understandable.  She is very swollen and quite black and blue and I would be less than honest if did not tell you it is the most difficult thing I have witnessed in the 40 years since I have known her.  I have been assured by the ICU nurses that this is normal and that it takes about a day for the patient to return to a normal personality condition.   I feel quite certain that she will endure this and we will proceed with the confidence that at some point the person we all know will be back in full form.    One of the things that is becoming more evident is the recovery from this is going to involve more than I had thought of.   For those of us closest to her we are kind of used to her waking up and shortly thereafter, grabbing her IV pole, and telling us she wants to go for a walk around the hospital.  From what I am learning, it that is not going to happen that way this time. (although nothing would surprise me).  It would appear at this point that there is going to be a lengthy time of rehab.  From what I am learning we think the hospital stay will be at least ten more days and then perhaps some time in a rehab facility. 

May I ask for one thing?   Over this entire time (since Deb was first diagnosed) she has received electronic and card greetings.  What we are doing now is reading these to her and even during the times when she has been under heavy sedation we have seen  seen the emotion in her eyes and some tears as we do so.  The fact is that she has always expressed and appreciated a close connection with her relatives, friends and acquaintances.  So if I might ask, for those that know how to do so, if you could send a note to her on the post a comment section of these blogs, I think she would really appreciate it.  I am thinking that as the days go by it might be nice for her to have these to read.  I will tell you this.  She has a way of taking these deep in to her heart and it is my thought that she needs this more than anything right now.  I think she is in for kind of long road. At this moment I am not sure she totally understands the situation.  I know her well enough to know that even a few lines from you will mean a lot to her. (So many of you have done this but I am not sure you know how much it has meant to her.)  Many have asked if they can help in any way and for now I think this is all I can think of.

Thanks for all your concerns, prayers and everything else.  Somehow I feel she is going to plow through all of this but right now it is kind of hard to picture.  It has been a really tough time for us.  I am truly thankful to all of you for your affection and concern as we experience this.

Stan