Tuesday, May 20th

Unfortunately, it was a bit of a restless night for Heather. Although Dallas slept hard, her respiration rate dipped below 12 several times throughout the night, which set off the audible alarms. Heather noted that it often seemed like Dallas gave a little exhale right before each one, almost as if she’d been holding her breath for a bit too long.

The morning was rough. Dallas seemed unsettled and uncomfortable, even with light touch or gentle movement. Tylenol was given, and eventually it seemed to take the edge off and make things more tolerable.

Speech therapy today wasn’t the strongest session. Dallas was holding her saliva more than usual and didn’t seem interested in swallowing much. At one point she pressed her lips tightly shut, which felt like a clear and confident message to Kim (the therapist) that she was done for now.

A member of the surgery team stopped by to remove the last of the surgi-strips from the heart surgery. We’re now cleared to wash her incision area with regular soap and water. The doctor mentioned that soreness at the breastbone is unlikely at this point, but stiffness is very possible after so much limited upper body movement since surgery. 

In PT and OT, there was some promising progress. She did a good bit of hand squeezing, especially on her left side. Her middle finger was doing more work than the others, and she stayed more engaged than she had during yesterday’s session. Small wins, but meaningful ones.

PopPop, Dallas, and I spent some much needed time outside this afternoon on the courtyard, which was a great way to wind down from today and take in the afternoon sun and cool breeze.

Tomorrow we’ll meet with a representative from Levine Hospital (Charlotte, NC) to make a plan for when the transfer to their inpatient rehab might happen—possibly as soon as next week! This is a big and exciting step in the right direction, since it will open the door to more intensive therapy across the board.

That said, moving to Levine also comes with the need to place the g-tube. In order to be admitted with her current NG tube, Dallas would need to be taking in at least 50% of her nutrition by mouth, and we’re simply not there yet. From the medical team’s perspective, she’s medically stable and ready to begin this next phase of her recovery process. We’re grateful to take in this bit of progress and excited to form the plan to move forward… onward and upward!

“You can go your own way, go your own way.” — Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way”

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Wednesday, May 21st »