Update on Mom

Mom made a lot of progress over the weekend. She began to respond to us by nodding or shaking her head lightly, she would lift a finger when asked to do so, etc. It was so exciting, and our hopes for her recovery soared.

Yesterday we hit a bump in the road when they decided to take out her breathing tube. They didn't know, but her vocal cords and throat were so swollen that when they took the tube out, the swelling blocked her airways and she began to struggle for air. It was a painful, tramatic experience as she struggled for breath for ten minutes while they tried to re-insert the tube. She had a lot of complications after that which left us really worried.

Today, despite her 104 degree fever, she did remarkably well. She began responding again and even kicked her right leg several times during her physical therapy session. It goes to show what a fighter mom is.

The worry right now is that the threat of vasal spasms (sp?) is high (vasal spasms are when the veins in your brain constrict, not allowing blood to flow through them, causing more strokes). This morning they found some brain wave activity that indicates that there she is in high threat and so not only are they monitering her closely, they are also keeping her blood pressure really high (today they had her diastolic pressure between 160 and 180). This causes the veins to have to open up because of the increased flow of blood running through them. It's scary to have that high blood pressure, but even scarier to think of the effects more strokes would cause her.

Tonight the doctor told my dad that they are afraid to take the ventilator tube out again for fear of her not being able to breathe again, so they have decided to insert a temporary trachial tube tomorrow. They feel that the only way her throat and vocal cords will heal are if they remove the tube. We are praying that this procedure will go smoothly and will help mom continue on her road to recovery.

My mom is still battling for her life, so we still need all the prayers we can get in her behalf. Thank you to all of you who have put her name in the temple and have kept her in your prayers. I truely believe they have helped sustain her through these difficult days.