Dear Friends of Denny,

Dad has successfully moved to his new rehab facility, the Kentfield Rehab and Specialty Hospital in Kentfield. He left John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek this afternoon and had an uneventful journey to Kentfield. Before he left, a doctor looked at an x-ray of his lungs and said that they look better.

Mom was impressed with the professionalism of the staff and doctors who met them in Kentfield. She was pleased to find out that the main doctor is a pulmonologist specializing in lungs/respiratory issues, which is one of Dad's major problems. The doctor also said that they were going to make sure that Dad got going on his physical therapy right away.

We are cautiously optimistic and will keep you posted. If anyone wants the address, it is below.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Please keep them coming!

c/o Kentfield Rehab and Specialty Hospital
1125 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
Kentfield, CA 94904

Dear Friends of Dennis,

Dad is still at John Muir hospital, though he moved out of the ICU on Friday. Thanks to in-laws and good friends who helped with dinner preparations, son, Kevin, daughter, Christine, and Mom were able to spend Thanksgiving Day with Dad. He also enjoyed surprise visits from niece Maureen and good friend Paul Bareilles.

At John Muir, he has been working with a wonderful physical therapist, Kristine. She has taken him down to the hospital's gym facility to work on his core strength through stretching and straightening. Kim, the occupational therapist has been working similar muscles, helping him sit up straight and lean forward while in his wheel chair.  She is also having him work on basic tasks like washing his face and brushing his teeth. Because he's been sick, these are actually pretty hard workouts for him, but he is determined. Mom has already noticed that he seems stronger as a result of the exercise during the past few days.

He has been okayed for discharge by the doctor for Tuesday. We've decided that we are going to try a different rehab facility in Marin County. We had tried last week to move him back home as this is what he really wants.  What we found out is the options that Eureka offers cannot provide the resources that Dad needs at this time.  We are hoping to get him strong and get back home ASAP.

The Marin County location will be closer to middle daughter, Christine, and has a reputation for its strong  physical therapy program. The physical facility is not quite as pretty, but we are hoping he will get better care than he has in Walnut Creek. We will miss the folks at John Muir as they have all seemed professional and caring.

Dear Friends of Dennis,

Happy Thanksgiving. Our family is so grateful for all of the wonderful doctors and nurses who have been so helpful over the past four months. We are also thankful for Dad's stubbornness (never thought we'd say that), and for all our amazing friends and family who have been so helpful and supportive during this ordeal. And we are especially thankful for Mom who has been right by Dad's side for the past four months fighting along with him.

Unfortunately, Dad returned to the ICU at John Muir Hospital on Monday due to another aspirational incident. Monday was a tough day, but since then he has been alert and recovering. The silver lining to this return to the hospital is that they have arranged for a gastroenterologist to examine him to try to determine why this keeps happening. Hopefully he will have some idea of how to stop this cycle.

We hope you have a good holiday. Hug your families and be thankful for your health.
Much love,

The Cahills

Dear Friends,

Dad returned to the Walnut Creek long term acute care facility on Sunday after a stay at the John Muir Medical Center to combat another round of aspirational pneumonia. The doctors and nurses at John Muir were really wonderful, and he was recovering well. By the end of his stay, he was alert, recognizing his sister, Cathy, when she walked into the room for a visit from Eureka. He was even able to do a crossword puzzle with Mom. He didn't get much physical therapy there, however, and so remains weak.

Unfortunately, the move back to the long term care facility was a rough transition, and he has had some trouble sleeping and readjusting to the new place. When he doesn't sleep well at night, it throws everything off. He becomes disoriented or so sleepy he can't do his therapy. Mom is working hard to make sure that he is getting the care and attention he needs to get back on the road to a strong recovery. Today was better. He had slept last night and was able to do both his occupational therapy and his physical therapy. They are working on various exercises to strengthen his arms, legs, and core muscles. He was also able to sit up on the side of the bed by himself and brush his own teeth today, both are good signs.  We are hoping that things will continue to improve as he gets stronger with further therapy. The speech therapist is also working with him. We learned at John Muir that one of his vocal cords is paralyzed, though there are therapies that can help strengthen it. Inspired by his interest in the crossword puzzle, she is also using puzzle exercises to work with him.

This has been a rough two weeks, and we continue to appreciate all of your support. Dad's certainly a fighter. He has been working hard despite all of the setbacks and frustrations. Mom, too, has been fighting the good fight as his advocate. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

ICU've Been Here B4

Team Denny,

Here we go again.....Dad had another setback and had to go back to the John Muir ICU on Wednesday of last week.  He aspirated and has been fighting off another bout of pneumonia. He's recovering well, and the doctors seem to be taking our concerns more seriously this time around. He's undergoing a battery of new tests and his sleep pattern is being analyzed to see if it can be made more regular. We are hopeful that he can stay at John Muir for a bit and clear up some of his chronic issues before continuing his recovery.

Denny's special visitor of the week was daughter Cathleen, who flew out from New Mexico to stay with him while Pam made the drive home. Cath made some breakthroughs on things that dad had been trying to convey to each of us. Nice work professor! She also updated him on the latest accomplishments by his oldest grandchildren. Christine and Bill enjoyed getting to see her too.