Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Dear Friends,

A Very Merry Christmas from Denny and Pam!

Thank you for all of your love and support over the past five months. We’ve been truly blessed by the gift of friendship from all of you throughout these trying times. The many cards have brightened up Denny’s days, and the visits, prayers, and good wishes have surely helped in his progress towards recovery.

Here’s hoping 2013 will be a year of health and prosperity for us all.

Happy Holidays!

Love,

Denny and Pam

PS Dad enjoyed a brisk Christmas walk this morning with daughters Cathleen and Christine.

 

Dear Friends of Denny,

There's bad news and good news this week. The bad news is that the doctor put in the button in place of the trach on Monday. Dad did well for a few days, but he had some issues on Friday night and the doctor decided to put the trach back in on Saturday. The good news is that his stay in this facility was extended and all three of his children, Cathleen, Christine, and Kevin, were able to visit together this weekend. Classmate Barbara Westlake also spent the afternoon with him so Pam could check out other options for his next move. Other visitors included Jack and Nona Nash as well as his brother, Paul, and Ed Conley.  We are hopeful that this was just a bump in the road, and that Dad will continue the progress he has been making at this facility for the past two weeks.

Safe travels to all of you who are on the road this week.
All the best,
The Cahill Family

Dear Friends of Denny,

Dad has had a good week at the Kentfield facility. Mom says he is visibly stronger after a week there. His lungs are very clear, and they are even talking about taking out the trach tube on Monday. As I mentioned in the previous update, they gave him a dye test to check his swallowing last week, but he didn't do well. After a week of speech therapy, they gave him another, and he was able to swallow some applesauce. They have decided that it might help the healing of his throat muscles if they remove the trach tube, but leave in a "button" that will keep the hole open just in case. The other exciting thing about the button is that he can talk with it because it allows air to move through the vocal cords.

He's been keeping up on his physical therapy and getting up into his wheelchair eveyday. In fact, they've even let Mom take him out for a spin on the running path behind the hospital. They have enjoyed walking down to the town of Ross. His occupational therapy is moving along as well. He was able to clearly write out his full name (Dennis Richard Michael Cahill!) for the therapist. He has been enjoying daughter Christine's company, and this weekend, son Kevin came to visit as well. 

We're very happy with his progress. The only downside is that according to Medicare rules he has recovered from the condition that brought him to Kentfield (the pneumonia), and they have to release him. (Medicare is an imperfect system, but on the whole, we are happy to have it). We are hoping that they won't release him for a few days, but in the meantime, we are looking at facilities. Because he may not have a trach, our options are wider.

Thanks again for keeping Dad in your thoughts.

Dear Friends of Denny,

Dad had a good week. He had physical and speech therapy everyday.  The speech therapist did two different swallow tests that had not been done yet at any of the facilities he's visited. The tests demonstrated that his muscles are very weak and not ready for swallowing, but he has not been given consistent speech therapy to strengthen those specific muscles.  The therapist has developed a  program aimed at working them, and they will give him the swallow test again in a few weeks.

The doctor's goal for physical therapy is to get him standing up. His blood pressure tends to drop a bit when they get him out of bed, but they are closely monitoring him and hope that this will get better as he gets stronger and gets up more often. He had to have a small procedure today to unblock his feeding tube, but did his therapy for the day beforehand. On a more positive note, his lungs seemed to have cleared up nicely.

He also enjoyed a very nice visit from his friend and fellow SBHS Class of 1957 alumna, Barbara Westlake this week.

Dear Friends of Denny,

Dad is settling into the Kentfield facility, and we are cautiously optimistic. The doctors and staff there have been very attentive, asking many questions about his case and settings some good goals for him. This weekend he enjoyed a visit from his sister, Sally, and Pete. They talked Notre Dame football (go Irish) and Sally helped him do some of the exercises to strengthen his muscles. The doctor (neurologist, I believe) told her that he had very good movement in his left hand (the side that was affected by the stroke). His brother, Paul, and Ed visited today and kept him company. He'll be back to regular physical therapy this week, and the doctor may recommend that he receives it 6 days, rather than just 5. We're hoping that this will help him build up his strength.

Please keep all your good thoughts coming!