New from the Denver Outpost

Dear Friends,

We have our third address here in Swedish Hospital. We have moved to sixth floor to the Rehab center and are now occupying room 6-135. Our newest phone number direct to the room is 303.788.7043. The nurses tell us we will have a full schedule 24/7 beginning each day with doctor’s rounds between 7:00 and 7:15. Then three vigorous hours of work for Rachel and much like instrument practice, probably a few hours of daily practice on each skill.

Rachel had a good beginning to the day. She surprised us with controlled movement up and down with her right leg. It helps to get a reluctant patient out of bed if they move their legs to the side of the bed on their own. That is my newest knowledge as a nurse’s volunteer Assistant. She also developed a finer set of motor skills and began actively blowing her nose. That is a big accomplishment for a right hander who effectively has her right hand immobilized.

The list of accomplishments improved greatly when she moved to her wheelchair and left the room to take her first shower in over a week. She came back all shined and polished to the news she was moving on up to rehab. So her servants here loaded her precious flowers, cards and Swede-mails onto a cart and shuttled them up to her new digs. Digs which have a wondrous view of the mountains. We, the servants, abdicated to the queen the area closest to the view and elected to put our beds over in the darkened antechambers.

Life in the newest digs must have gotten off to a “Rocky” start as Britanie and I had to go get her second in a series of Hepatitis B shots, so she could leave for Harvard in two weeks time. Without the shot, she would have to start reporting to Blue Sushi permanently. We then hitchhiked down to the nearest Walmart and bought Rachel a new hot pink clock radio, some playing cards and 5 dice. Then we walked home, trying to stay in front of an advancing mountain thunderstorm. Having successfully accomplished that, we walked right into a moldering storm. Life on this floor is like moving to a new state and having to start all over again in elementary school, because the state you moved from just didn’t have as good of system as the one you moved to, according to the one you moved to. Anyway, pain relief and processes have been moved back to the elementary base that the doctor in charge is the best person to say how much pain relief is necessary. A decision left up to the patient on the previous two floors with the philosophy that a pain free patient is a patient moving more quickly towards recovery. It looks to me as though hospital sectors are as autonomous as government agencies. The communication system breaks down at the door.

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day. We still hear from great old friends, are meeting new friends, and receive offers of help and assistance daily. It is hard to be negative too long when you have that many people offering love.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach, and Leah’s Dad

Jwhall2@gmail.com