Thursday through Sunday:

Brenda moved from Kindred to Miami Valley Rehab Thursday afternoon. She is in room 4210, Zone A. That afternoon they started their evaluation. The first piece of information that they provided was her meal schedule, breakfast at 730 am, lunch Noon, dinner at 4:30 pm and visitation hours, starts at 5 pm and ends at 8 pm. Rehab starts at 8 am Monday through Friday and some Saturdays. Rehab consists of Physical, Occupational, Speech, and Recreational rehab. The Occupational rehab interviewed her to determine what she wanted to accomplish and that is what they will work on, example dressing. Physical rehab set goals with Brenda, example stand up and walk. She was able to stand up straight in a normal fashion with very little assistance, best ever. This week she had rehab on Saturday, she moves into a wheel chair to do Occupational and Physical rehab. Speech works with her on exercising her swallowing and brain exercises, example she used the alphabet to provide male and female name per letter. Recreational goal is to develop her hand / eye coordination through the use of games. The respiratory therapist will work with Brenda on capping the Trach; she will need to remain capped for Forty-eight (48) hours before they will remove her Trach.[...]

Monday, the speech therapist had Brenda swallow 4 ounces of pudding and grape juice each. A swallow test is going to happen this week, the purpose is to verify and quantify her swallowing. Completing this determines what type of food she will receive. She is wearing the Speech Valve all day, but not when she is sleeping. The respiratory therapist has the smallest trach in place, this will help her when she is Capped. She was capped Saturday for about Forty-five minutes and she was very anxious. The physical and occupational therapists took Brenda to the rehab room where she worked out on the Elliptical machine. She did her best time today: 10 minutes![...]

Friday, the speech therapist worked with Brenda on swallowing. The respiratory therapist had the speaking valve on for the day. Then the physical therapist took Brenda to the rehab room where she worked out on the Elliptical machine. The occupational therapist worked on her stretching today. We learned that she is scheduled to be discharged next week. She is applying to Miami Valley rehab and if she does not meet their requirements then she will go to Dayton Rehab. Phil and Kathy Scherer stopped by for a visit. Brenda was happy to see them.[...]

Thursday, the speech therapist had Brenda do another swallow/dye test which will be monitored for Twenty-four hours. If this is successful then Monday she will do an X-ray to verify if her swallow cycle is working correctly. She was Capped for most of the day and she spoke on the phone to Jack and Chris. What a surprise! The occupational therapist had her shave her leg today.[...]

Monday, the speech therapist had her capped for a short while. The focus was on swallowing. She did 8 half spoons of blue die and apple sauce. The respiratory therapist will monitor her secretions for blue die to determine the success. She got anxiety towards the end, but for the most part it was good. She did wear her pressure mask for about an hour. The occupational therapist gave her a chest massage and had her workout on the hand machine twice for a minute and half each time. The respiratory therapist removed the Ventilator this morning as her vitals are within acceptable range.This is the second day she went without the Ventilator. The physical therapist and Brenda made the trip to the rehab room to use the parallel bar while she worked on standing up. She did the stand up exercise three times and stayed at her peak position for minimum of ten seconds. She went back to the room and she moved herself, with help, to the stretch chair where she remained for two and half hours.[...]

The Speech Therapist had Brenda on the Passy Muir Valve for 30 minutes today and she continued to work on her swallowing. The Physical therapist took Brenda to the rehab room where she worked out on the Elliptical machine for 4 minutes and 35 seconds. Then she went back to her room were she moved onto the stretch chair for about 2 hours and 35 minutes. The Occupational therapist worked her arms today and she did not see any stiffness.[...]

Monday, the Speech Therapist worked with Brenda first and I am happy to report that she stayed on the Passy Muir valve for 25 minutes. This is great improvement. However, she is not comfortable and that is the main reason they stop. The Occupational Therapist worked on her upper body today. Then she was placed into the stretch chair for 2.5 hours. Last, the Physical Therapist worked with her legs. I have observed that she has increased moving her body by herself more often than another point in time. She had visitors, one visitor on Saturday and MOnday evening. She really enjoyed the visits so it is encouraged![...]

Friday was a normal day with all therapists working with Brenda for about 35 minutes each. She has a fever so they are running a urine test and blood cultures to identify the issue. Saturday through Sunday is limited hospital activity. She is off the Ventilator during the day but back on at night. She welcomes visitors, but you are required to wear a yellow gown and gloves while in her room. They are available in her room.[...]

Friday was a normal day with all therapists working with Brenda for about 35 minutes each. She has a fever so they are running a urine test and blood cultures to identify the issue. Saturday through Sunday is limited hospital activity. She is off the Ventilator during the day but back on at night. She welcomes visitors, but you are required to wear a yellow gown and gloves while in her room. They are available in her room.[...]

Tuesday the speech and physical therapist worked with Brenda in the morning. The physical therapist did an assessment of the range of motion in her arms, she was able to do most of the request. Speech CAP'd her for 4 minutes, the purpose is to get her experience with breathing with the Passy Muir valve on. Occupational therapy did an assessment. Wednesday, Doctor Perry stopped by to review their plan for weaning Brenda off the Ventilator and their plan for therapy. He requested that they take a very aggressive approach with her. Occupational therapy work with Brenda's range of motion with both arms and then they placed her in the stretch chair for about 3 hours. The goal for the week is get her into a wheel chair and be able to travel to the Rehab room. Speech had the Passy Muir valve on for about 8 minutes, they did that twice yesterday. Respiratory Doctor stopped by and informed us that her lungs are improving but still have a long way to go. His plan to reduce her time on the Ventilator each day for as long as she can tolerate it. Thursday, the speech therapist had the Passy Muir valve on for 15 minutes while she worked with Brenda. The occupational therapist worked with her and she was in the stretch chair for 2 hours. Later, the Physical therapist had Brenda sitting by herself at the side of the bed for 15 minutes. She is having trouble wearing the pressure mask, we are really concerned because she does not understand the importance of it.[...]