Little Sis Plays Cheerleader

Dad's little sister Sally is on the watch while Mom is taking a break and making sure the sheep are being fed at home.  Here is Sally's dispatch from the field today:

"Denny was a champ today. He was able to pull himself up and stand tall and practiced pushing himself along in a chair. His beautiful blue eyes were alert and twinkling and the hospital staff are extremely pleased with his progress. Is he a handsome dude or what? (I think it's genetic!)"

A Sigh of Relief

We hit a huge milestone today.  Dad's trach tube was removed and he is now fully breathing on his own!  We are so excited and know that he will be too once he rests tonight.  It was a busy day of physical therapy, a stroll with Mom around the hospital grounds and the trach removal.  After weeks of ups and downs, we are all relieved to have a solid marker of his forward progress.  This should make it easier for him to focus on his physical therapy and regaining his speech and mobility.

Putting in the Work

After dad's slight setback over the weekend, he is completely breathing on his own during the day and having only slight assistance during the night.  He practiced sitting up today with his occupational therapist and did exercises with the physical therapist that strengthened his core. He was able to lift his left leg as well as shift both hips, which is huge news as we were told at the beginning that he would be completely paralyzed on his left side. 

 

They have capped his trachea, so he was able to talk a bit today. He gave a brief lecture on Sea Dragons as that was the shirt of the day that mom had brought him to wear. Jan, the occupational therapist, learned that they are only located in Australia and that the San Francisco and Chicago aquariums have the sea dragon on display. He is making great strides in his ability to converse.

 

Christine was visiting the last couple of days and kept dad entertained by reading a couple of chapters of a Louis Lamour mystery.  We hope he continues to progress this weekend.

Well, Dad had a bit of a tough weekend. He has been fighting off an infection and was pretty exhausted. He was briefly back on the ventilator and had to take a break from therapy on Monday. Everyone from St. Joe's to this facility has reminded us that the recovery process is often two steps forward, one step back. We are certainly experiencing that firsthand.  The good news was that Cathy and Ron Maher (Dad's sister and brother-in-law), and Kevin (his son). visited this weekend and were there to give Dad and Mom some good family support. All of your thoughts, well wishes, cards, and emails also make the rough days a little smoother, so thank you all.

Slow And Steady

Dad has had a few solid days of progress this week. He has been in physical therapy each day, and is breathing on his own again for the most part. He is also working with a speech therapist, and appears to have a lot he wants to say. He is practicing shaving and combing his hair again, but still needs a bit of practice. He really seems to enjoy all of the letters and cards that friends have been sending and we are all bouyed by the fact that we have had a few positive days in a row. Let's keep up the momentum!

Special Day for Our Favorite Couple

Today is Mom and Dad's 47th Wedding Anniversary and I think that today's post will be about Mom.

She has been by Dad's side every day since the stroke and has been Dad's number one supporter. She has also been a rock for us kids, showing us how much confidence she has in Dad and his will to recover. Every time Dad hears Mom's voice, feels her hand on his cheek or receives a kiss, you see him relax and feel more at ease.

He was in Physical Therapy on Friday and while Mom was cheering him on as he tried to sit up, he winked at her. As she told me over dinner on Saturday, they have always had fun together from living it up in the Bay Area when they were young (seeing the Beatles and Tony Bennett) to driving in their VW bus across the Southwest. They are an amazing couple who will have many more years together and next year, Dad will owe her a dinner out for their 48th. Thanks Mom for being there for Dad. He is a lucky fellow.

Hello Friends,

This week Dad made some great progress. He has been getting up every day for physical therapy. This usually involves working with a trainer for a half an hour or so as well as working against gravity sitting in a chair. He is working to build his core strength back up to help him sit unassisted. He did so well yesterday that we were able to take him for a stroll around the facility in his chair. He has also started a bit of occupational therapy -- he will be working on doing familiar things like brushing his hair and washing his face.

The big news, however, is that the tracheostomy incision has healed enough that they were able to put in a 'size 6' trach. This allows air to move through the vocal cords, which means he will be able to try to speak. Dad hasn't talked in three weeks, so, as you can imagine, things are rusty, but he is trying. It is still somewhat of a whisper, but as he is a Cahill, we are sure that will be 'telling us all about it' very soon.

It has been a pretty exhausting week, so Dad is resting this weekend. Luckily, he has the company of wife Pam and his favorite blue-eyed daughter, Christine. We've been reading him all your wonderful cards and emails. Thanks to all of you who are keeping him in your thoughts.

I thought we could all use a little inspiration:


CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who suffered a stroke in January, released a second video message Sunday showing improved mobility and speech and detailing his work to find a replacement for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.
"I wanted to make sure we could update the people of Illinois on my progress against this stroke," the 52-year-old Kirk said in the video. "The progress I have made has been very encouraging — learning to walk again and improving my speaking skills."
The three-minute video (http://bit.ly/NuuErR ) features footage of the Republican walking on a treadmill and up stairs under the close supervision of a rehabilitation specialist but without a cane he had previously used. It shows him walking faster than a previous video, aided by a harness extending above his shoulders. He speaks at times with a stutter and sometimes struggles to form words during the video, which was filmed both at his Fort Sheridan, Ill., home and at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Kirk said he recently finished a nine-week mobility study at the institute where he walked nearly 15 miles and climbed 145 flights of stairs. He said a high point of his recovery was walking up all the stairs of the institute and that it was good to be at home during his recovery. He was moved to outpatient rehabilitation in May.
The senator suffered a major stroke on Jan. 21 and underwent emergency surgery that included the temporary removal of a 4-by-8-inch piece of his skull to allow for swelling. Surgeons also removed two small pieces of brain tissue destroyed by the stroke.
Doctors have said the stroke was expected to limit movement on his left side and perhaps in his facial muscles, though they expected him to make a full mental recovery.

Dad moved into a new room today. It has a nice view of Mt. Shasta and the Trinity Alps. He had a very active morning and was communicating with his thumbs up and ok signs, as well as blowing kisses to his niece. After some therapy (we are working on strengthening his core with some sitting up), he was pretty tired. The doctors are primarily focused on getting him fully off the ventilator (which he is on at night) and healing the trach wound so he can swallow.

Dad is improving in small increments each day.  He has been sitting up longer and even tried to brush his own teeth!  Our fear of him not knowing anyone in the rehab center compared to if he was located in Eureka has diminished since one of the nurses is Matt Richards, a St. Bernard High School Alum.  All three kids came to visit dad this weekend as well as his sister Cathy and brother-in-law Ron.  Cathleen asked him if he was feeling okay last night  before she was going to leave, and he held up his hand signing "OK".

Dad is settling in to the new facility.  They have him sitting up each day to help with his breathing and are doing daily arm and leg movements.  He remains tired from the journey, but we are pleased to see that he appears motivated to recover.  Mom met with the doctor and nurses today to discuss his new routine.  She too is getting settled into her home away from home with help from her niece Megan and Megan's husband Chris.  We continue to feel blessed for all of the support that we have from the community.  Dad is grateful too, he gave Meg a wave goodbye as she left his room.