TIRR Update

Hello all, 

Mom has been at TIRR now for three and a half weeks and her recovery continues, but at a very slow pace. They originally had set a discharge date of 11/14 but have today moved that back to 11/21, which will hopefully allow Mom to be home by Thanksgiving. 

Mom still has her Trach in and continues to have swallowing difficulties. She can get a few words out with the Trach capped but speech also continues to be very difficult. They will continue to work towards removing the Trach, but this will be dependent on her ability to clear things from her throat which she cannot do now.

Another challenge is the development of a bed sore which will require additional treatment to heal. 

Mom's therapist's are focused hard on improving her posture and head positioning. This led to a series of Phenol injections yesterday into her right and left pectoral muscles in an attempt to relax the muscles and nerves and improve her range of motion. They seemed to have worked, and we now need to concentrate on holding her head upright and begin to improve her overall posture. This is also essential to help her with swallowing and speech. 

As we have seen since her first surgery, these brain stem neurological issues effect so much of what we take for granted, and in Mom's case everything is connected and incredibly challenging. 

The therapist's are also concentrating on her left hand to allow her to open up her fingers and she will be fitted for a hand and arm brace that she will need to wear for a long time. 

The Doctors continue to have hope that she can improve, but we also know that this will take very hard work for a very long time. For this we give thanks to all that continue to send Mom their thoughts and prayers. 

Rachel and John Sedlak