Kathleen Lynch & Dad

Dear Friends of Denny,

Dad had another good week, but, as you can see from the picture below, he's been working really hard!  PT continues to focus on his leg exercises and core muscles. He's been standing for 5 minutes at a time.  They have also started giving his left arm some electric shock therapy to help strengthen the muscles. He's been doing some puzzles in occupational therapy and continues with his speech therapy as well.

Mom finally convinced them that Dad didn't need a sedative during the day(!), and his sleep pattern appears to be getting back to normal. He slept for seven hours in a row last night. This has really made a difference in his therapy regime (he isn't half asleep for one thing and can keep his eyes open). The physical therapists, in particular, were very encouraged by the progress of the last few days.

He also enjoyed a visit from long time family-friend, Kathleen Lynch, this week while she was in town for her Great-Aunt's birthday.

We hope you all have a great weekend.
All the best,
The Cahills

Denny standing with Joey, his occupational therapist

Ann & Steve John visiting Denny

Dear Friends of Denny,

Mom reports that Dad has been having a good week. They have established a therapy routine, and he's been working hard. He starts off with speech therapy, sits in his chair (which strengthens his core), has lunch, then physical therapy and occupational therapy. The speech therapist has been working with him on swallowing food. He is doing a good job, but can't completely close his throat muscles yet. His voice seems to be getting a bit stronger as well. We are beginning to be able to hear some what he is saying when we talk on the phone, even with the trach. The physical therapist works with him on the standing machine doing two sets of stands for 4 minutes at a time. The occupational therapist is excited because his left arm is improving a lot!

His sleep pattern is still a little off, and he has been a bit of a night owl recently(according to Mom, there's too much night life with the nurses). This makes him pretty sleepy during the day, but he is still doing his exercises. The doctor is trying to adjust his sleep with medication, but it taking it slow, which we appreciate.

Dad had a few more visitors from Eureka this week. Ann and Steve John stopped by to say hello. It was great to see them.

We hope all is well with you and yours!
The Cahill Family

Denny, Tom & Reta Libs

Dear Friends of Denny,

The past few days have been busy ones for Dad as he has had a number of special visitors.  Son Kevin came down for the day on Thursday. Kevin saw Dad at Christmas, but was impressed by how much stronger he seemed in just a few weeks.  The next day, Dad's sister, Sally, Pete and their daughter, Katie, visited. They report that he did a terrific job in physical therapy. The therapists have been working on standing muscles and especially his posture. They have him stand up between two horizontal bars in front of a mirror for intervals of a few minutes. He is encouraged to focus on using his muscles to stay straight. This is clearly helping and he is getting stronger each day. Kevin reports that he was able to help get into his wheelchair with just one attendant and was able to use his legs to push himself up when he began to slump in the chair.

He is also more focused cognitively and has been asking for the newspaper each day. He really enjoyed the reports of the Orca sightings off the coast of Humboldt County and the news that the first giant squid has been filmed in its ocean habitat (that footage will be aired on the Discovery Channel. We are working on how to get him a copy as he doesn't have that channel in the hospital).

SBHS class of '57 has also sent its share of visitors! On Wednesday, Mary Jean (nee Campbell) Wagoner and her husband had an enjoyable visit with Dad. Today (Saturday) Tom and Reta Libs spent the afternoon with him (see picture). Dad is beginning to be able to whisper pretty clearly, even with the trach in, so soon he will be able to give us all his words of wisdom.

A big thanks to everyone who took the time to come by and see Dad. He always appreciates your visits, and it is a big help for Mom.

Dear Friends of Denny,

It was pretty quiet weekend for Dad. He did not have any therapy over the weekend,  generally weekends are more short-staffed and therefore he has less therapy. We are hoping that he will be able to at least have some PT on Saturday next weekend. He did have a visit from daughter Christine, son-in-law Bill, and granddaughter Ila. They, along with Mom, explored the area around Dad's new facility on Saturday. It turns out, he is just a few blocks from the beach, his favorite place! It also has a beautiful view of San Francisco that you can just see in the background of the picture.

Mom met with the nutrionist today, and her goal is to help Dad start gaining some weight. The speech therapist is thinking about doing another swallow test with dye to see if he has improved in the last few weeks.We'll keep you posted.

We also have some pictures from last weekend's visit with sister Cathy and Ron before he left Kentmore. You can see the difference Dad's haircut makes. Enjoy!

We hope all is well with you and yours in this second week of 2013!

An addendum

A brief addendum -- the name and address of Denny's new facility is

The Alameda Health and Wellness Center
430 Willow St.
Alameda, CA 94501

He is in room # 11 in the subacute wing.

The last few days have gone well, though there have been a few adjustments such as needing to find a new bed for Dad because the first one was too short (everyone is always shocked by how tall he is). But overall, he is looking good and doing well with his therapy each day.

2013 The Year of New Beginnings!

Dear Friends,
Happy New Year!

To start the year off, Denny moved into a new sub-acute rehab facility in Alameda. He arrived yesterday afternoon, and had a great day today. An auspicious beginning!

His new room has a courtyard view, and his bed is on the window side. Last night when he began to get restless, they used that energy to good effect by getting him up in his chair and rolling him to the nurses' station. There he was able to sit with another night owl and watch the goings on. This is the first time anyone has tried this method to deal with his restlessness, and it seems like a good one. In fact, he is already getting a lot of attention from the nurses and staff. The respiratory therapist even volunteered to cut his hair -- it had been almost 6 months and it was getting long (sorry, Glenda, he couldn't wait, though he did ask me to call you the other day). He was thrilled with his new haircut.

In every other facility it usually takes several days to a week before they evaluate him and start him on his therapy regime again. Here, the physical therapist came in on his first day and did an evaluation. He talked with Dad and Mom about their goals and Dad's previous therapy. The occupational therapist also came in and did 45 minutes of OT! Once again, we are hopeful that things will continue in such a positive and professional manner.

Before he left the Kentwood facility, Dad enjoyed a number of special holiday visitors. All three of his kids, Cathleen, Christine, and Kevin, were able to be with him before Christmas. And after Christmas, he enjoyed the beautiful weather as his visitors took him outside for walks along Corte Madera Creek. His sister, Cathy, and Ron Maher came down and visited him last Saturday. While on New Years' Eve day he took his longest walk yet, down to the estuary of the creek and the bay. He was joined by three of his four grandchildren, Cecilia, Lincoln, and Ila. They enjoyed rides with Grandpa and throwing rocks in the water. He was in fine form, identifying birds for us and even attempting to throw a rock in the water himself.

As we happily bid 2012 adieu, we are reminded of the silver lining of the past five months: the realization that we have been blessed by being part of an amazing community of friends and relatives. We are also thankful for those medical professionals who did their best for Dad, and didn't give up on him. And we are once again grateful for Dad's determination and strength (another way to put that is his Irish stubbornness!) And we can't thank Mom enough for being by Dad's side to be his advocate, fighting for him against the less helpful people we've encountered along the way.

We hope that you and yours have a happy and healthy 2013!