Improvement Continues

As I continue living my double life, I have once again left my work/home/Hannah self behind and have reverted back to my hospital/Heather self. It is great to see Heather. She looks significantly stronger and healthier to me. Part of her healthier look, that took me about an hour to figure out, is that she is no longer using any oxygen to help her breathe (She was using a nasal canula or tube that you often see oxygen users using.). Apparently she still has oxygen handy at night, but hasn't been using it much during the day for the past couple of days. Her voice is almost back to normal and her tracheostomy is nearly healed closed. She loves being able to talk without difficulty.

Today they removed about 100 staples that were holding down the edges of Heather's skin grafts on her legs. She said that this was quite painful, but nowhere near as painful as the back stuff. The doctors and nurses continue to say that the grafts look great.

Today the physical therapists came in to get Heather to stand up. She was concerned about this because she was sure the movement involved would cause the dressing to rip off of her back. The physical therapists insisted, so she tried. As she began to stand up the dressing ripped off her shoulder blades. Heather was not impressed. It is not as bad or as painful as it was several days ago, but it is still frustrating and painful. It is a tough balance to strike because the back will get better faster if the dressing isn't disturbed all the time; however, the longer she goes without standing up and walking the harder it will be for her to regain her strength.

Heather asked me to thank all of you for the abundant prayers, cards, phone calls, gifts, visits, and general kindnesses that have been heaped upon her. They mean a lot to her.