Our church, First Presbyterian Church of Lake Charles, does communion on the first Sunday of every month. Eric took communion today for the first time since January. I don't know how meaningful this was to Eric, but to Pastor Fred and me, it was incredibly poignant. Just to be able to take Eric to church, I'm so emotional. Just talking to people at church about how well he's doing, I get choked up. Music in church has always affected me emotionally, but lately even moreso. I've got so much to praise God for.
Eric has a unique way of holding his hands during prayers. Instead of folding them or pressing his palms together, or doing nothing at all with his hands, he holds them open and together, forming a cup facing heavenward. Then at the end of the prayer, he tips his hands toward himself, as if he's saying, "Fill me with more of You, Lord. I want to drink you in." I'm not sure where he picked this up or when he started doing it, whether before or after his illness, but it is special.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Keeping On
Eric seems to be doing well with his new trach and the button, which plugs the tracheostomy, in place. He says he's somewhat more short of breath at times. The tube in his trachea surely creates resistance to his natural air flow, if you can imagine a straw in your throat 24/7. I hope he does well this week and can get the trach out soon. The other good news is that his blood pressure is lower for the second day in a row.
That's all that's new. Thank you for your prayers for continued healing. Even after Eric no longer needs the trach, we have no idea how long he'll continue to need extra oxygen.
That's all that's new. Thank you for your prayers for continued healing. Even after Eric no longer needs the trach, we have no idea how long he'll continue to need extra oxygen.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Return to Houston
9:00 AM Packed up and left for Houston. It was Eric's one-month follow-up visit day.
9:15 Stopped at Dino’s Donuts. No trip west on I-10 is complete without donuts from Dino’s for the road.
12:00 PM Arrived at Texas Children’s Clinical Care Center. Went straight to Pulmonary Medicine.
12:05 Sent to radiology for a chest X-ray.
12:10 Sent back to pulmonology without x-ray. No order was written yet.
12:15 Back in pulmonary, but the doctor won’t be there till 1:00. So we went to the food court for lunch.
1:00 Back in pulmonology.
1:30 A nurse came in and typed info into computer.
1:45 Finally saw Dr. Sockrider.
2:00 Went to ENT (ear, nose, throat).
2:30 Saw a resident, who changed Eric’s trach to a size smaller uncuffed tube with a “button.” Which means the trach will be plugged during the day and he’ll breath normally through his mouth or nose, to see how he tolerates normal breathing, and we’ll unplug it at night. This is the first step in getting his trach out altogether. So the plan is to do this for a week, and if he tolerates it, we’ll go see Dr. Thompson here in Lake Charles and he’ll take the trach out in his office. One more week.
3:10 Off to x-ray waiting room again.
3:20 Got x-ray taken.
3:35 Returned to pulmonology to await x-ray report.
4:10 Dr. Sockrider came in and looked at the x-ray with us. It’s better in many ways. Somewhat clearer, less consolidation, better aeration, and the blebs (large air pockets) appear to be significantly smaller in only one month. All good news.
4:45 Left pulmonology and went to physical rehabilitation to visit socially with Becky and Julie (Eric’s OT/PT gals) Julie was in Guatamala, but it was fun to see Becky and her sidekick OT-in-training Jessica.
6:00 Met my sister-in-law Cathy and brother-in-law Steve, and Lacy and Darlene Sellars for dinner. Eric chose to eat at Luby’s. He’d heard us talk about Luby’s when he was in the hospital, but had never eaten there himself and wanted to try it.
7:10 On the road home.
9:15 Stopped at Dino’s Donuts. No trip west on I-10 is complete without donuts from Dino’s for the road.
12:00 PM Arrived at Texas Children’s Clinical Care Center. Went straight to Pulmonary Medicine.
12:05 Sent to radiology for a chest X-ray.
12:10 Sent back to pulmonology without x-ray. No order was written yet.
12:15 Back in pulmonary, but the doctor won’t be there till 1:00. So we went to the food court for lunch.
1:00 Back in pulmonology.
1:30 A nurse came in and typed info into computer.
1:45 Finally saw Dr. Sockrider.
2:00 Went to ENT (ear, nose, throat).
2:30 Saw a resident, who changed Eric’s trach to a size smaller uncuffed tube with a “button.” Which means the trach will be plugged during the day and he’ll breath normally through his mouth or nose, to see how he tolerates normal breathing, and we’ll unplug it at night. This is the first step in getting his trach out altogether. So the plan is to do this for a week, and if he tolerates it, we’ll go see Dr. Thompson here in Lake Charles and he’ll take the trach out in his office. One more week.
3:10 Off to x-ray waiting room again.
3:20 Got x-ray taken.
3:35 Returned to pulmonology to await x-ray report.
4:10 Dr. Sockrider came in and looked at the x-ray with us. It’s better in many ways. Somewhat clearer, less consolidation, better aeration, and the blebs (large air pockets) appear to be significantly smaller in only one month. All good news.
4:45 Left pulmonology and went to physical rehabilitation to visit socially with Becky and Julie (Eric’s OT/PT gals) Julie was in Guatamala, but it was fun to see Becky and her sidekick OT-in-training Jessica.
6:00 Met my sister-in-law Cathy and brother-in-law Steve, and Lacy and Darlene Sellars for dinner. Eric chose to eat at Luby’s. He’d heard us talk about Luby’s when he was in the hospital, but had never eaten there himself and wanted to try it.
7:10 On the road home.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Cookies
Eric's blood pressure first thing this morning was promisingly lower, 127/91, though by mid-day, it was back to 141/99, which is where it's been hovering for about a week now. We go to Houston tomorrow for doctor appointments. We'll see how his chest X-ray looks, find out when he can get his trach out, and hopefully figure out the BP thing.
Eric's weight was the same today as yesterday, which is okay, because I expected it to drop initially after losing the NG tube. Hopefully, it will climb from here. In attempt to get calories in him, Eric and I made chocolate chip cookies today. The down side is, Bob and I eat ten times more cookies than Eric.
Eric's weight was the same today as yesterday, which is okay, because I expected it to drop initially after losing the NG tube. Hopefully, it will climb from here. In attempt to get calories in him, Eric and I made chocolate chip cookies today. The down side is, Bob and I eat ten times more cookies than Eric.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Eating All On His Own
Yesterday afternoon, Eric requested filet mignon and mashed potatoes for dinner. Great! Bob and I got right on it. Well, he hardly ate any. "Guess I filled up on grapes," he said, after eating maybe ten. Then a bit too much drama last evening. After dinner and soon after his evening NG feeding, Eric's blood pressure climbed to 160/110. And not long after that, he started vomiting. Alot. We called Houston and the on-call pulmonologist said not to worry if Eric wasn't having any symptoms such as dizziness, persistent headache, or blurred vision, which he wasn't. As if vomiting wasn't bad enough, he threw up his NG tube. On the very day the home care company delivered nine cases of Pulmocare! (That's the stuff we drip down his NG tube) So, we'll give him a trial and see if he can eat enough on his own to maintain weight gain, but if not, he'll have to have the NG put back in, which he dreads. Of course, this morning, after all that vomiting and without the three cans of Pulmocare overnight, his weight was down two pounds. No problems though overnight, and he seemed to feel fine this morning. His blood pressure was still somewhat high, 143/99, but nothing like last night. No more nausea or vomiting. He did fine at PT, though they're taking it relatively easy on him. And he's eating fairly well today. We'll see.
Post-PT Sonic snack . . . corn dog, fries, and a watermelon cream slush.
Post-PT Sonic snack . . . corn dog, fries, and a watermelon cream slush.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Banana Pudding
A friend of mine from Pittsburgh recently blogged about looking for a recipe for banana pudding. She had briefly lived in Kentucky, and surely this is the only way she knew of it. Pittsburghers don't do banana pudding. At least not that I'm aware of. I had never even heard of it, let alone eaten it, prior to moving to Louisiana.
Banana pudding is HUGE down here. No respectable pot luck, picnic, or party lacks a big bowl of banana pudding on the dessert table. We discovered this dixie dessert staple soon after moving. We went out to eat at a nearby restaurant, the Cadillac Ranch. Andrew, who loves bananas, saw banana pudding on the menu and had to try it. I expected "pudding," you know, the kind that restaurants slop out of giant cans or you can make from at box a home. But no, we discovered banana pudding is a bit more interesting in the south. What a treat! And it's so easy to make.
Sadly for Eric, he doesn't like bananas. Not at all. He's feeling somewhat better today. Our biggest concern the past several days has been his high blood pressure, as high as 150/110, and consistently in the 140s/90s. We've spoken to the doctor, and she's not sure why it's so high.
A friend of mine gave me this recipe.
Banana Pudding
Ingredients:
4-5 bananas
2 pkgs instant vanilla pudding
1 cup sour cream
1 container Cool Whip
lemon juice
1 box vanilla wafers
Thinly slice bananas into a bowl and lightly sprinkle with a little lemon juice.
In another bowl, mix pudding as directed on box.
Add 1 cup each of sour cream and Cool Whip to the pudding.
Break 3/4 box of vanilla wafers in half.
Layer ingredients into pudding dish in this order:
broken vanilla wafers
bananas
pudding mixture
remaining Cool Whip
Arrrange remaining vanilla wafers on top.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Hope
Psalm 71:14 As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
This photo was taken a week or so ago here at home. I've always loved rainbows, the quintessential symbol of hope. I get excited every time I see one. I run and tell the family, "Come outside and see the rainbow!" I don't know how we'd have made it through those anxious days and endless sleepless nights in ICU during February and March without hope. And it is hope that sustains us still. Hope that Eric will soon get the trach out, hope that his physical ability will continue to improve, that he'll not always have shortness of breath with exertion, that he won't always need oxygen. And when we really let ourselves get hopeful, we hope that someday he'll be able to play his trumpet, that he'll run and play with his brother and friends. We hope that someday, years from now, this whole ordeal will be but a blip on the radar screen of his life.
Post-Pt Sonic snack . . . country fried steak toaster and a mango cool breeze.
This photo was taken a week or so ago here at home. I've always loved rainbows, the quintessential symbol of hope. I get excited every time I see one. I run and tell the family, "Come outside and see the rainbow!" I don't know how we'd have made it through those anxious days and endless sleepless nights in ICU during February and March without hope. And it is hope that sustains us still. Hope that Eric will soon get the trach out, hope that his physical ability will continue to improve, that he'll not always have shortness of breath with exertion, that he won't always need oxygen. And when we really let ourselves get hopeful, we hope that someday he'll be able to play his trumpet, that he'll run and play with his brother and friends. We hope that someday, years from now, this whole ordeal will be but a blip on the radar screen of his life.Post-Pt Sonic snack . . . country fried steak toaster and a mango cool breeze.
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