Pudding & Progress!!

This weekend has been an incredible one for Bob! He has been out of his bed several times sitting in the chair in his room. The longest he has been able to do it has been about 45 minutes - which is fantastic!

He also spent the majority of the day off of his ventilator. Normally he has an oxygen tube down through is tracheotomy tube, but today his lung function was incredibly improved. All this work made him sure worn out - enough that he asked specifically to have sleeping meds.

Still - it was such a great day for him. Of course, in the non-medical world we could all tell he was doing better because he watched a healthy amount of sports and news! Given that he has not been interested in watching television, this is a good sign that he's getting back to himself.

The chocolate pudding is still calling his name - so he works hard on his throat exercises. Hopefully in the next few days he'll get his wish! Sure makes the rest of us grateful for what we get to eat, drink, and do on a daily basis.

Visitors

Since Grandpa Bob is now in the intermediate care room it means his visiting hours are different. Grandma Joyce would like people to let her know if anyone plans on visiting. He loves having the company but he can really only have people for about 10-15 minutes before he gets tired.

If you are planning on a visit, give Joyce a call to get his room information and let her know about your visit.

Thanks!

Intermediate Care!!

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that Grandpa/Dad/Bob has been moved to Intermediate Care. This means that he has made some progress to get out of the ICU!!

My Dad (Paul), and my two kids (Will & Walker) and I arrived last night to spend some time here in Utah. Grandpa/Dad/Bob had a little bit of a rough night and they were worried about his heart. They did some testing though and there are no blood clots and everything looks good.

He has a great nurse on this floor, Justin, who has already (in the short two hours he's been in here) built a nice rapport with Grandpa/Dad/Bob. Justin was called in just to work with Grandpa and one other patient, so we feel good about the care he is getting.

Grandpa is still really hoping for food (esp. chocolate pudding) but he is still not swallowing properly. He continues to work on his exercises as directed by the speech therapist, so hopefully in the next few days he can have something more than ice.

I will update this as there is news!!

Love,
Shelly
(Kaye's daughter, Bob's granddaughter)

Dad/Grandpa Update from Patti

Dear Family and Friends,

Can you tell by the length of time between emails that things have been incredibly busy? It's true, they have. Our cute Dad/Grandpa/Friend is amazing.

Today marks day 23 of ICU!!! He if fighting the good fight for sure. There have been so many times that I've thought that Dad would slip away only to find out that he has more fight and more life to live.

After four days at home, I flew back up to Utah late Thursday. Dad had a tracheotomy on Friday. I sat in the waiting room and cried wondering how he could possibly go through this procedure in his weakened condition. The surgery was scheduled at 10:30AM and occured around 3:00PM that in and of itself gave me more time to get more worked up. However, our cousin Dr. Ron Stoddard came to visit Dad and I was able to talk to him in the hall for about 10 minutes. He assured me that we were all seeing Dad in some form of sedation and that he wasn't really as weak as he appeared. Ron went through the benefits of Dad having this operation which basically boils down to the fact that Dad will be able to be more mobile and that is what can help his lungs.

Ron had previously discussed the procedure with Dad on a couple of occasions and Dad said he wanted to have it done. With that said, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were very rough on Dad as he was healing.He definetly had his aware and participatory moments during that time. The nurse was frustrated late Sunday afternoon with all the visits Dad was having. She told us he can only heal when he is sleeping,resting and not being so stimulated. I peeked in on him sleeping and then left for the airport Sunday night. The nurses are amazing and I know that they have Dad's best interests in mind.

Mark and Nancy, Kaye and Dory came in during the weekend. Kaye reported yesterday( Tuesday)" Dad has the sparkle back in his eyes" enough thatwhen his Doctor came in the room he said to Dad, "Bob you have your sparkle back".

Our family has two missionaries out Jeff (Gene and Joan's son) and Ann. They both get home next week. Dad wants to see them as he does all the grandkids. I know it is hard for everyone to fly out but I am asking that all the grandkids send cards, pictures or letters. One of the rituals we have done is to read his mail to him. Dad thoroughly enjoys this, he'll point to the cards and we read them over and over. I never really realized just how much love is packed in a "thinking of you" or "get well" card.

I'm so proud of our Dad/Grandpa. He is truly amazing and I feel honored to be in his presence. Our dear Mom/Grandma has been strengthened by the Lord in this trial too. She is plugging along and her love and devotion to Grandpa is very sustaining to him. Mom is blessed by the outpouring of love and concern by so many people.

Ann flys in on Wednesday, October 3rd and then we have tickets to fly to SLC on Friday, October 5th for the weekend. We are scheduled to leave for New York from SLC on the 8th. We'll just have to wait and see what's going on with Dad before we proceed with our plans.

Please know of my love and appreciation for each one of you. I'm aware of some of the blessings and challenges that you are receiving and facing at this time, thanks for keeping me updated on what's happening in your lives.

I love each of you and am sustained by your love and concern.

Patti
(Bob's daughter)

The dreaded...

The Doctors have decided that Dad/Grandpa/Bob is strong enough to do the dreaded colonoscopy.

Bob has been a trouper through most of these medical procedures - but this is the one that he has been the most resistant too.

As uncomfortable as it might be, the reality is that this test will hopefully give everyone some answers as to what was going on with Bob to bring him to the hospital in the first place. In case you don't know, he was admitted to the hospital not for the respiratory issues he is now facing, but because he had been unable to keep any food down and had been loosing weight.

The results from this will not be available for at least a week but might provide some needed answers.

Tracheotomy

Today is the day of Grandpa/Dad/Bob's tracheotomy. This will allow Grandpa to start using his mouth and to work on building up his throat muscles. He needs to be able to do this in order to start drinking and eating again.

Patti is at the hospital with Grandma and Grandpa and will stay through the surgery. Dory, Mark, Nancy and Kaye will also be there throughout the weekend.

His Doctors feel that he is strong enough for this surgery and that it will help make a difference for him.