Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Update #15

We have good news to report. On Sunday LaRee's NIF level was a 28! This is unbelievable to see someones breathing levels jump so quickly like this. So Monday they put her on initiated breathing for 2 hours. Meaning LaRee initiates the breath and the machine does the rest. This is the beginning of the weaning process! This process is long and slow building back the muscle strength around the lungs to sustain 24/7 breathing. And this process is exhausting to the patient as well. If a patient is weaned to quickly it could set them back a couple of weeks with muscle weakness, and severally discourage the patient.

LaRees infection that she contracted last week seems to have gone down as of Tuesday, Hurray! And LaRee in general is still the same with all the medication they give her she is pretty tired and confused at times but that is to be expected.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to go LaRee!! We are all pulling for you!! Your strength is so amazing!

I gave Chloe a big hug this morning. She was in high spirits. :)

Miss you, see you soon!
Love, Kalyse

Unknown said...

LaRee,
we are praying for you!

Ralph and Chris Davison

Becky Z said...

Tell LaRee we're thinking about her, sending lots of positive get well thoughts her way. Just learned about her condition yesterday at the dentist office. Deep breathly, girl so you can go home soon. Love from Chris, Becky, and Sara Zegstroo

Randy said...

Laree,
Courtney, Candra, Charles, and myself are so happy to hear that you are doing so well. We too have been touched by GBS - my Mom. Short version is that she made a full recovery just like you will. Courtney helped out alot on a daily basis with her recovery so we have experienced it first hand. On to the family stuff...
The strike is over so I'll be going back to work by Monday. Candra did not recover enough from her ankle surgery to play volleyball in the fall but she will play select this winter/spring. Charles continues to grow at an accelerated rate and will be 6 monthes old this Sunday. On Halloween he dressed as a bear. After trick or treating down at my moms' place we noticed that we forgot to bring a sleeper for him to change into for the drive home. My mom had some Christmas presents upstairs for him and so we borrowed a sleeper. Other than having to roll the cuffs on the sleeves up it fit him perfectly - Size 18 Months! Courtney is busy planning a trip to Disneyland the first week of December with Candra and Charles so you know she is excited. Take care and we will stay in touch and see you soon.

Prayers and Love,

The Ellwangers