Let's Break Bread

Daddy passed his swallow test this morning and had his first meal in two weeks this afternoon! He's getting "transition" food, but it looked pretty normal to me: a shredded beef casserole, sliced carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, apple sauce, chicken soup and tea. The speech therapist sat with him for lunch, telling him numerous times to slow it down and not to take such big bites. Given his voraciousness she wants a family member around during meals times to ensure he takes it slow... right....

So long as he's consuming enough calories through "real" food he won't have to get PEG tube feedings anymore. He'll still have to deal with the tube for another five weeks before it can be removed, so staff will continue to utilize it for medications until they're confident he's getting everything down correctly. We are so happy to be (mostly) over that hurdle.

The swallow test messed up some of the morning scheduling so Daddy and I did a fair amount of waiting around this AM. We spent the time playing catch (everyone will be happy to know his football spiral has not been affected) and reading the paper (daddy looked like he was reading but didn't have on his glasses so not sure if he was really reading or just pretending). I made the mistake of parking his chair next to his bed during an hour break (he was told to stay in the chair) and he managed to get himself from the chair to a laying position in the bed. His chair and bed had been "alarmed" so that nurses come running whenever he pulls this sort of stunt (someone must have told the nursing staff he's a run risk). I turned off the alarm, narrowly saving him from strong reprimands, so I guess I'm an accomplice. At least I now know better than to park the chair next to the bed...

PT (Ms. T) worked on his ability to use his trunk and legs without over relying on his good left hand; for example, they had him hold onto a ladder standing up and move bean bags from a lower step to the top step (he couldn't lean on that left hand since he was using it to pick up the bean bag). Ms. T also had daddy holding onto the ladder and doing shallow squats to work on his balance.

OT (Ms. S) bragged on Daddy and his ability to get through the morning routine. She's helping him to get dressed, teeth brushed, showered, etc. and said she saw notable improvement in his abilities since yesterday. Later in the day Ms. S worked on that right hand which is still looking pretty flimsy. She also practiced getting him in and out of the chair, which will only further encourage him to break the don't-get-up-by-yourself rules.

He's impossible, just like he always was.

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