Update #18

GOOD NEWS LAREE IS OFF THE TRACH!

The following is an email that has been modified it was written by LaRee's sister in law regarding her most recent condition:


We send our greetings and love to you all. It has been awhile since we sent out an update—it seemed like there was little to report and Laree was kind of at a plateau as far as her recovery is concerned…but today is an important day!

In the moments Laree does have her eyes open she does cry and looks like she is unhappy but there have been a few smiles too. We seem to get a different report each time we visit as to Laree’s progress and although she has had what seems like the beginnings of pneumonia (they were testing for it) and is being treated for some infections as a result of being in the hospital – her NIFF scores continued to go up meaning her ability to breathe. The goal has always been to get the Tracheotomy tubes removed by Thanksgiving and at times this has seemed like an impossible goal to attain what with several setbacks in the weaning process. Weaning someone off a respirator is hard work and is exhausting to the patient we have been told as well the weaning process is painful but once the weaning process is accomplished we will have the ability to communicate with Laree once again because once the trach is removed Laree will be able to speak. I will keep this news short and simply tell you, Laree is off the trach!!!

Now that Laree can breathe on her own we can now move past the “life-support” stage and hopefully Laree can start to eat again at some point. (we have been told that she will have to get used to swallowing again and will have to eat simple foods that are ground up – but anything is better than where she has been with the feeding tube in her tummy and now we will move into the rehab stage. Laree still can’t move her arms and legs but we know that is coming and we rejoice with you this day and thank you for all your faith and prayers.

(LaRee is still on large doses of Pain medication and struggles to stay focused for very long so our conversations with her are short and sometimes confusing (due to the medication) but it is still wonderful to hear her voice!)

Update #17

LaRee is doing good. She is breathing remarkable well considering how severe her case is. The Dr's have been weaning her more and more each day this past week even with the MRSA. Her two infections have been stabalized for now which is allowing her to progress on her breathing. She is EXHAUSTED from the weaning process and has been sleeping most of the past 3 days with little communication. It is an absolute miracle and answer to prayers that she is able to breath this well at this stage! Yahoo!!! Good Job LaRee!!

Update #16

(This post has been modified from an email that was sent by LaRee's Step mom on Nov 4, 2008)

Hi Everyone,

The Bad News
As some of you have heard, LaRee has two staph infections in her lungs, MRSA and another one that they are still refining. She ran a fever on Saturday Novemer 1, 2007. They started antibiotics that day and the fever was gone Sunday. Although the cultures showed the presence of the strains, she is not presenting concerning symptoms at this point and is doing well. Her NIF level dipped to 20 Saturday night but was up to 26 last night. The secretions from her lungs are only slightly discolored and not enough to cause much discomfort. The respiratory therapist and nurse today were both optimistic that she will overcome this quickly. They are not weaning her right now but are letting her rest.


The Good News
This was the best we have seen LaRee feeling in the past two weeks. The respiratory therapist helped her talk to us through the tube. He let her have a wet swab in her mouth when she was thirsty, and then she asked if she could have a Dixie Cup of water (nice try, LaRee). She asked if she could go home in a couple of weeks, and she smiled a lot. She told us specific things we could do for her. The last couple of weeks she has mostly been unable to focus enough to do that. There were so many times she has cried and been desperate to communicate, but family, friends, and nurses couldn’t understand what she wanted. Today she was focused and patient with us while we figured out what she wanted. It was a joy to see her feeling better. She is moving her head from side to side now enough to see someone anywhere in the room. Her neck and shoulders are both moving, as well as her rotator cuffs. Her body can regulate her temperature now, so she isn’t hot like she used to be.

We can all keep praying that LaRee will continue to recover smoothly and will be out of discomfort soon.