News from the Denver Outpost August 31, 2007

Dear Friends,

Rachel started the day with the promise of a relaxing shower. The promise was for early afternoon, with a dressing change to occur just prior to it. But, early on the day promised even more excitement and work. The night nurse arrived at 6:25 am and quietly shut off the oxygen to Rachel’s nose supply. She didn’t wake Rachel, but told me they were going to try to establish her blood oxygen level after 20 minutes or so of deprivation. When she came back, the initial reading was in the low 90 percent. So the nurse decided to turn the oxygen amount to .5 ml and leave the nose supply in. Twenty minutes later the Respiratory Therapist arrived and ran Rachel through the nebulizer gauntlet. She then got a reading of 88 percent and said she needed to remain on oxygen.

Breakfast arrived and we started preparations for her to get through with the meal in time for therapists to show up and put her to work. As usual, something small was missing from the tray, and I had to go get milk for her cereal. Nothing starts the morning like Raisin Bran without milk. Fortuitously, we finished up the breakfast just as Dr D. arrived for morning rounds. She discussed Rachel’s big day yesterday with her and then, glancing at the foot bandages, said she had asked the orthopedic and plastic surgeons to revise their orders on the foot to allow a greater range of motion, and for the physical therapists to start a more drastic stretching program. She also left specific instructions to get outside this weekend as often as possible. She even suggested we go to the final showing at the local drive-in theater. Unfortunately, the theater may not have accepted a wheelchair as our vehicle.

Katie, our Occupational Therapist arrived as Dr. D left and began instructing Rachel to get into her street clothes. First, however, they both admired Rachel’s new walking boot, and then Katie showed her how to use a garbage bag to cover the boot and ease her shorts over the boot to get them on. A slick trick indeed. Then the ladies headed for the OT gym for a little game of pitch, while I headed for the ice machine to get Rachel a cold glass of water. As they passed Dr. D’s station, Dr. D. told Katie that Rachel could put more weight and potentially walk if both surgeons signed off on the order. Dr. Davis the orthopedic surgeon had already done so, and that the plastic surgeon still had to sign off. Katie was ecstatic. When I arrived in the room, we discovered I had forgotten the “fan” we inherited from Leah when she went home. I set off for the room, and ran into the plastic surgeon and his head nurse entering Rachel’s room. I grabbed the “fan” and led them back to the OT gym, where he looked at the wounds, discussed his orders with Katie and said “Sure she can start walking”.

And so, Linda, our physical therapist, got to start her afternoon session by showing Rachel how to begin using her walking boot to actually walk. They started in the Physical Therapy gym using parallel bars to help her regain confidence in the foot and her gait. Luckily, Katie was working there with another client and so they are the lead picture of the evening. Linda, Rachel and Katie grinning from ear to ear as Rachel demonstrates her walking skills on the parallel bars.

After PT, Rachel and I headed out of doors for a little wheelchairing adventure to Central Park fountains in Englewood, Co. It is about a 8 block one way trip out and an 8 block trip back. Most of the out trip seemed downhill, and most of the trip back was definitely uphill. So I also got a little workout in today pushing the wheelchair all around. Picture two shows Rachel sitting in front of the pond and fountains.

When we got back to the hospital, Katie wanted to make a splint for Rachel’s hand, so Rachel’s shower slid farther down the priority list, and even ended up after dinner. But, before she could take her shower, she had to have staples removed from her hand and ankle wounds. Thus the final picture of Rachel and her day nurse Dorothy pulling staples.

Finally, the shower (no pics), perfect water temps, lots of scrubbing bubbles, and a trip back to brand new dressings for all her wounds. Now she is trying not to fall asleep before evening meds, but I suspect that is a futile effort and that once meds are delivered, she will be out like a light until the next meds round or more. We go into a slow three day weekend with a much smaller therapy schedule, but with a great big day leading into the rest time. She worked hard all day, in fact all week, and I couldn’t be any prouder of her.

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