Day 7

Hey everybody,

To begin, let us say thank you for all of the notes and comments so far, they have been wonderful.  We read a few to Burt today and will read more tomorrow.  They really help make him feel supported, so please keep sending them when you can.  For those of you who sent us emails, we really appreciate it, but please post them to the blog in the future instead.

As for the report, day seven began with a bang.  After a much needed visit to the chiropractor Connie choked on a few nuts at breakfast and David promptly respond by giving her the Heimlich maneuver which dislodged the offending nuts while also bruising her rib.

A few minutes later we received a call from the nurse who passed us the message that Burt wanted us to hurry up.  Guess we have to wake up a little earlier. We made haste and brought in a dozen freshly baked cranberry scones to bribe the nurses into giving Burt a few extra mouth swabs.  We are quite demanding, but doing our best not to over-Stern them too much.

The day was spent doing double duty as David stayed with Burt, while Gregory journeyed with Connie through the emergency room for the various X-Rays and cat-scans for her ribs.  It is a confusing hospital, but we are getting the lay of the land quickly.  David rubbed his eyes a few too many times today and the hand sanitizing solution in the hospital gave him a skin rash.  In response, Gregory has decided to wrap himself in plastic.

Anyway, as for Burt, it was a mixed bag.  He got a better night sleep, but not as good as we would have hoped.  He was more alert in the morning then we have seen him before.  We asked him to look to the left and make eye contact, which he could do, which was great to see.  He is running a mild fever and we should know the cause tomorrow, but hopefully it goes away before then.

The food tube was cleared for use today and he began to be drip-fed a tasty looking white liquid.  Hopefully, this will translate into energy for tomorrow and he will need it for the rehab.  He spent an hour with the rehab team today and they got him to the edge of the bed and let his legs dangle for the first time.

He did not get dizzy which is a great sign and said it was the best he has felt all week.  He worked extremely hard and with assistance sat up for ten minutes.  The physio team was really impressed with his diligence and said that the muscle tone in his left arm was much better.  Also, when he sticks out his tongue it seems to go a bit straighter.

Rather then tell you the highlight, here it is in Burt’s words: “The highpoint of the day, other then the IV's… which were terrific, was the aspirin suppository — that was a plus.”

After physical therapy, Burt was thoroughly spent and passed out, which is where we left him.  This is being written as we ride into the sunset, Chinese food, Benadryl and Percocet in tow, to begin again tomorrow...