Day 27 & 28

Brenda had a new trache put in yesterday. This one, when the doctor allows, enables her to speak. In fact, she was able to whisper hi, but it was so low only the doctor who was closest to her could hear. She was able to sit up in her bed for about 20 minutes. This is the first step in a long recovery for her speech. Her speech is not top priority, the doctors are more worried about infections and her skin grafts. Because she has gone so long without talking it will take a while for her muscles and things to basically "remember" how to speak. Later in the day she was able to sit up in her stretch chair for about an hour. This helps a lot with her breathing. 

Today she had her dressing changed. This causes her distress fro about 3-4 hours after the fact. Brenda is not exactly the type with a hgh pain threshold so as you can imagine, she is not happy about the dressing changes. During this time she has to be given medication in order to control her heart rate. She was able to sit up in her stretch table again today, this time for about 2 hours. She is producing more phlem, but the doctor said this is nothing to be concerned about. Her next surgery is scheduled for Thursday, December 2012. Dr. Perry is hoping that this will be the last surgery. She is still critical.