August 20th (Monday) -8:15pm

Sam Here –

I am writing to you from quarantine where I sit with that vicious malady…the common cold. In pilot parlance, I am grounded. Were I at home I wouldn’t even miss work but here there is no way I’ll put Mom and Rich at risk. If this goes another day, Mom’s room is on the first floor and I may go “stalker” and stand outside her window just to look in and see her. I’ve spoken with Rich on the phone daily.

Thanks to the reports from Joyce and Erica and the patient nurses that I call multiple times a day, I do have an update other than my scratchy throat to report on.

Mom and Rich’s medical conditions have, somewhat, settled into less dramatic turns and we’re thankful for that. Each has good days and bad days relative to their conditions but nowhere near where we were a few weeks ago. There are those often mentioned “numbers” that give us concern or relief depending on which person and which day.

Rich continues to make good progress but we are reminded that his health is still far from perfect as he had a fever for a few days and slightly elevated heart rate. The docs did find a urinary tract infection and have him on IV antibiotics. He was dehydrated as well. While this isn’t a serious setback it’s a reality check that Rich’s immune system has been severely compromised and there’s still work to do before he can “blow this joint”. He’s pushed very hard to find out when he’s getting out but this reminds him, as well, that the best place for him is in the Rehab Unit of Providence where his medical condition is continually monitored and he can work diligently on getting stronger and healthier. Joyce and Erica are doing their parts to get some weight back on Rich by bringing delectable sweet treats daily…this is the type of therapy Rich really likes!

As John mentioned in his last update, treatment decisions with Mom are always complicated - risk vs. benefit. While she had a few “down” days with a slight fever and nausea related to efforts to effectively and consistently treat her pain, today it seems the medical team is closer to finding that balance of “comfort”. In fact, Mom sat up today (so I’m told…sniff, sniff) in a chair. It’s a special chair that starts out flat like a bed then is raised incrementally until she’s fully sitting up with her legs straight out. It can take a lot out of her but she tolerated it like a champ. It gets her lungs “vertical” and further strengthens her. As she was sitting there, two teams of physical and speech therapists were just waiting for her vitals to calm down from the effort to start working with her. The St. Elias team is dedicated to her rehab. Previously, she sat up like this one time at Providence and she didn’t want to get out of the chair showing her determination to work hard and improve. There’s that tenacity of hers we recognize and expect. I also suspect she appreciates the change of scenery. This afternoon Mom was back in bed looking out the window enjoying her beautiful view of the woods. After that, she was sleeping quite a bit – tired after a busy day.