Tuesday March 31, 2009

A relatively quiet day today. They finished her spine MRI today which took a couple of hours. No physical therapy today, they will wait until the MRI results are in before they resume. Apparently this is standard practice for PT. Lise did have speech therapy today with more swallowing exercises and she ate a half of a cup of ice and got to chew some gum as part of her therapy. She remains positive and ready to get out of her, although the process is taking a little longer than she would like!

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Jim and the Kids

Monday March 30, 2009

Today was a good day for Lisa. She had speech therapy today and they are now allowing her to have a limited quantity of ice chips (5 to 6 per hour) but it is a start in the right direction. Lisa also sat in a straight back chair for the first time (not the cardio chair) so with the help of her Physical Therapists she stood turned and sat in the chair. She was able to stay for about 15 minutes and could have gone longer but she started having some muscle spasms in her back. All in all a big day for her. All the exercise wore her out so she napped for much of the afternoon which is good since we are hoping she will do more tomorrow and will need all of her strength.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Jim and the kids

Sunday March 29, 2009

Today was a relatively quiet Sunday. Lisa had an MRI of her spine which took about 2 hrs. They are doing this a a precaution to make sure that the extended bed rest is not causing any damage. Other than that no speech, physical or occupational therapy. just a nice quiet restful day.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Jim and the kids

Saturday March 28, 2009

Lisa had another quiet day today. Weekend schedule, no Speech or Occupational therapy today and only minimal Physical Therapy because her blood pressure was a little elevated this morning. The blood pressure is now under control but Physical Therapy never made it back. We expect a quiet and restful evening and know she will be ready for tomorrow and whatever it may bring

Thank you for your constant prayers, support and interest.

Jim and the kids

Friday March 27, 2009

Another quiet day today. Speech Therapy today but no Physical Therapy. Lisa continues to have difficulty swallowing so the next step will be to remove the feeding tube from her nose and surgically insert one directly into her stomach so that the throat is clear and they can work more directly on strengthening the muscles. She continues to do her exercises to compliment the Physical Therapy so that she can get out of bed sooner.

Thank you for all the love and prayers. Lisa continues to move forward each day with all the support from Team Lisa.

Jim and the kids

Thursday March 26, 2009

Lisa had another quiet day today. She continues to work on her strength and swallowing with Physical and Speech Therapy. She can't wait until she can get out of the bed and walk and then out of the Hospital, both are still a ways away but she is very focused on getting there and we are very focused on getting her there as well with the continued support from Team Lisa.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Jim, Josh & Melissa

WWednesday March 25, 2009

Lisa had a quiet day today, not much to report. No tests today, however she did have Physical Therapy , Speech Therapy (swallowing) and was able to sit in the cardiac chair for an hour. She is sleeping better at night and breathing well.

Keep up the prayers and positive thoughts and we will continue sharing your comments with her. She loves "mail call" every day when we read your cards and comments to her.

Thank you.

Jim and the kids

Tuesday March 24, 2009

Today was a frustrating day for Lisa. They performed a video evaluation of her swallowing and determined that she still has muscle weakness in the throat related to the mechanics of swallowing as well as the need to re-develop the muscles instinctive responses. As you all know this does not sit well with Lisa. She continuously expects to be moving forward and knows this is an essential step toward getting home. It is a minor setback and they have a plan to try and help stimulate and strengthen the muscles. Meanwhile we will have to deal with her frustration and know that tomorrow is another day!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support and please know that your freindship, support and prayers are what sustain us through this journey.

Jim, Josh & Melissa

Monday March 23, 2009

Mom had another swallow test today. They gave her a full meal and though it started off well, she began to struggle part way through. Tomorrow they will begin more tests to assess the cause of the difficulty.

As each day presents new challenges, we are continuously grateful of your thoughts and prayers. Thank you all for your support.

Melissa & the Fam.

Sunday March 22, 2009

Today was a quiet day. No new tests today. Lisa spent the day resting for the most part. She did have Physical Therapy today so she was able to sit up on the side of the bed and stand up twice with help from the Therapists.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Jim, Josh and Melissa

Saturday March 21, 2009

Another step forward today! This morning, they de-cannulated Lisa (removed her tracheostomy tube) and she is doing just fine. She had a swallow evaluation today with dry foods which didn't go as well as hoped but they are hopeful that as her throat muscles build strength and her salivary glands start to kick in that she will be able to tolerate dry foods. Meanwhile they will start feeding her soft foods next week which should also help the process. Her spirits remain high and she is looking forward to getting home and understands that it will be a journey of many steps.

we all (including Lisa) remain thankful for the continued prayers and support from Team Lisa and all of her friends. (Lisa also wants to thank her dear friends for the special "support"):)

With Love and Thanks,

Jim, Josh and Melissa

Friday March 20, 2009

Mom got to have pudding today!!! She was a little disappointed that it was only vanilla but she'll take it where and when she can!

I can’t tell you how excited we all are to be reporting to you that she's eating pudding. It sounds trivial but to all us who have been following Mom through this journey we see it as a celebration of how far she's come.

In other news: Today was once again filled with great steps in the direction of healing. She's practicing her hand strength so that she can get her handwriting back on track (you all know how meticulous she is about that stuff) and the doctors continuously report that it’s going to be a long process but she's doing what she needs to, to be well again.

Once again, sincerest thanks for all of your loving prayers and support.

Melissa & The Fam.

Thursday March 19, 2009

Mom had an excellent day. She has been able to sustain sufficient blood oxygen levels without any assistance from a respirator or having any additional O2 support. She is now effectively breathing on her own. The best news today was that, if her progress continues they are hoping to be able to feed her some sort of solid food tomorrow! (It won’t be her favorite from CPK, but after not having food for nearly 7 weeks, I don’t think she’ll mind!)

I know we say this every day, but please know that we truly mean it when we say thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. Mom has come such a long way, and although there are still more hurdles to overcome, we have truly seen the blessings that abound from having a strong support team. Know that you have all been an essential part of her healing, and now that she is able to communicate with us again, Mom wants everyone to know how grateful she is for all of your love and support.

With Sincerest Appreciation,
Melissa & The Fam.

Wednesday March 18, 2009

Lisa had another good day today. They changed her trache again to a smaller diameter, which will be the last one. They capped the trache tube so she is now breathing entirely on her own with only a light oxygen flow through a nasal canula. she sat up again today on the side of the bed, stood briefly and then sat for over an hour in the cardiac chair.

Thank you to all of you for your continued support and prayers. We read your comments daily to Lisa and we cannot begin to tell you how much your comments lift her spirits.

With love and thanks, The Stephenson Family.

Tuesday March 17, 2009

Mom continues to do well. She continues to work with the Physical, Occupational, and Respiritory Therapists daily. Today they had Mom standing with assistance. The ventilator has been completely removed from the room!

Thank you all again for your support, comments, and prayers!

Sunday March 15, 2009 & Monday March 16, 2009

Mom has been doing well the past two days. She is now speaking with a one way valve. It sounds great to hear her voice again! She was able to sit up for two hours today! Mom continues to work daily with the Physical, Occupational, and Respiritory Therapists. We've been catching her up on the past month of our lives, which primarily consisted of living in a hospital.


Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!

Saturday March 14, 2009

Mom is still doing well. She remains off the ventilator with no plans to put her back on. Today Mom was able to talk for the first time in over a month. They used a speaking valve over the trache to allow her to speak.


Thank you all again for your continued prayers and support!

Friday March 13, 2009

Mom had another good day today. She spent all day off the ventilator and the doctors have no plans to put her back on because she is doing well. Mom was also able to sit up in a chair today for about an hour.

Thanks again for all of your continued prayers, comments, and support!

Thursday March 12, 2009

Mom is doing well. Today she finished phase 14 of the weaning process. She spent several hours today without the assistance of the ventilator. She was just as strong at the end of the trial as she was when she started. Tomorrow the the therapists will run two tests to determine Mom's lung effeciency. If the tests go well they will attempt to leave Mom off the ventilator for the entire day. If Mom remains strong after a full day off the ventilator, the therapists will attemp to allow her to reamain off the ventilator for up to three days. If that goes well they will then remove the ventilator from the room altogether.


Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!

Wednesday March 11, 2009

Mom had another good day today. She has now completed 11 of 19 stages of weaning off the ventilator. Mom was able to sit up a couple of times today. She has continued working with the Physical and Occupational Therapists daily. Today Mom's oxygen level was lowered down to 21%. This is the same percent of oxygen that we breathe without the asssistance of a ventilator.


Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Tuesday March 10, 2009

Mom had another good day. She is now on phase 9 of 19. Mom succesfully underwent 3 steps today. Mom sat up again today and was able to stand very briefly twice. She has steadily been regaining her strength. She continues working with the Physical and Occupatioinal Therapists and continues to make progress daily.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Sunday/Monday Update

Hey all,

I’m sorry for the delayed update on this but we were having some trouble accessing the log in last night. Mom is doing very well at the new facility and continues to improve each day. She advanced to step 6 out of 19 last night and all of the doctors and nurses that we have spoken to have similar hopes for her progression to continue. Yesterday she was able to sit up on the side of the bed (the first time in 5 weeks!) and was ecstatic to be able to do so.

Thank you all so much for your continued concern, thoughts and prayers. We truly appreciate each and every one of you!

With love and appreciation,
Melissa and The Fam.

Sunday March 8 & Monday March 9, 2009

We apologize, the last two days we were having difficulty accessing the blog. Mom has been doing good the last two days. Yesterday she ha completed phase 6 of 19. Mom was able to sit up on the side of the bed with assistance (She was really excited about that). Mom has been working with the Physical and Occupational Therapists an. Is getting stronger everyday.

Thank you for all your continued prayer and support!

Saturday March 7, 2009

Mom is doing well today. They started weaning her from the ventilator today. She did well during the first phase and is now entering the second phase of nineteen. Mom's stats and vitals still remain good.


Thank you all for your continued support and prayers!

Friday March 6, 2009

Mom had another good and quiet day. The doctors have determined that they will start weaning Mom from the ventilator first thing tomorrow morning. Mom continues to be alert and responsive.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Thursday March 5, 2009

Mom has settled in well at the new facility. They have lowered her oxygen to 30%. They plan to start aggressively weaning Mom off the ventilator tomorrow. The pulmonologist thinks that the chances are good for weaning Mom off the ventilator and removing the trache tube. The longer part of this journey will be rebuilding Mom's physical strength.

Thank you all again for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Wednesday March 4, 2009

Today was another good day for Mom. She continues to progress as she did yesterday. She has now been transferred to a facilty that specializes in respiritory rahabilitation.

Thank you all again for your prayers and support!

Tuesday March 3, 2009

Mom had a good day today. The Doctors have indicated that her pneumonia is in the healing phase. The Doctors have continued weaning trials throughout the day. Mom needs to continue building strength and rehabbing. Within the next two days Mom will be transferred to respiratory rehab facility.

Thank you all again for your continued prayers and support!

Monday March 2, 2009

Mom had a good day today. Today they continued weaning trials throughout the day. In addition to four hours with just pressure assist, she had two hours on c-pap, which is basically oxygen flow only. In addition, Mom's white blood cell counts have continued to improve. We are currently negotiating with Blue Shield to find a location for her rehab.


Thanks again for all of your continued prayers and support!

Sunday March 1, 2009

Mom had a good day today. The doctors continue to wean Mom from the ventilator for short periods of time. Mom continues to make progress with her breathing. As of today, the x-rays remain the same.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers!