Sorry it has been so long we have been very busy. i have been moving. we are unable to keep the house we are renting so we are trying to get out by DEC 1. Chris is doing very well. his trake came out in the first week of rehab and is healing very well. he is down to 3 liters of oxy full time and still getting daily nebulizer treatments. he is eating normally now. his right side is almost completely caught up to his left and almost all the shakiness is gone. he still has his go,go, go, attitude. yesterday was his third day of walking and he walked 260 ft with a walker and stood up out of his wheel chair by himself. we also learned how to get him in and out of our truck. the kids and i have gone down several times. his speech and short term memory are doing great most people would not know he had suffered strokes.his weight is down to 250. after being in rehab for about 5 days they said he was no longer diabetic because he had perfect numbers and stopped checking his numbers at all. the staff and i discussed this and he is still being checked before breakfast everyday again, his numbers are staying down with diet and exercise. next week i am going to go see him without the kids and we get to go out and have dinner. we are hopeful he gets to come home around the 9th of Dec. he is expected to come home with a wheelchair and a walker and a few other pieces of other home equipment including oxy for just a little while. the kids have fun helping tote daddy's oxy tank for him. thank you again to everyone. its been really busy lately. i have been packing and moving every day. i will try to update again again soon. hope everyone had a good thanksgiving yesterday. the kids and i drove down and back. happy holidays to all

Amanda


TCCH ICU: when he is home and walking good you will see us again for a happy visit, promise.

move to Santa Barbara

Good morning. big positive changes have occur ed.on monday the 9th chris left the ICU at twin cities hospital by ambulance transport,and went to cottage hospital rehab in santa barbara. the move went well. his dad mike and i followed in the truck. the kids stayed with the barnhills. cottage is a rather large facility. chris has a room to himself with private 1/2 bath and a private shower room. he has his own touch screen tv on a hydraulic arm and his window overlooks the parking structure next door. the staff seems very nice. mike and i didn't leave until a bit after 7pm. it was really hard to go knowing we would be 2 hours apart. tue the dr changed his trake out to one with no cuff and special holes in the tube. then they put a red cap on him. which means he is completely breathing through his mouth and nose now. they have had him up in his wheelchair and scooting about. they are doing lots of therapy he was worn out and ready for bed by 8:30 tue night. he and the dr are hopeful that maybe by this weekend they will take the trake out. he has not gotten to take a step yet but getting closer fast. chris called me several times yesterday, so he is doing well with his verizon cell.
we also have a bit of difficult news to report. we are looseing the home we rent. we have been struggling like so many others in the nation since chris was laid off in june. we will find a way through just as we have before. we are just happy chris is alive. a house can be replaced. chris cant.
the kids and i will go down to see him on the weekends. a month of rehab seems like such a long time. the therapists goal is for chris to walk 200 yards. i cant wait to see him walk. the kids and i miss him so very much.

we will chat again in a few days
Amanda

First Meal

Super news. Chris no longer has any iv's chest tubes, or life support. he is merely on a basic oxygen line on a low setting. he can talk now and this morning he had a swallow x-ray test and now he can eat real food.
Monday he had an MRI to try and figure out why his right side is not coming back as fast as his left. the MRI showed he has has several substantial strokes in the front, middle, and back of his brain on both sides. most likely during the 3 weeks he was asleep. with some therapy he should be able to recover fully. it is the most likely cause of the right side and has affected his speech ever so slightly.
the best news of the day is he will be going to cottage hospital in Santa Barbara this weekend for about a month of therapy. then he should be home. i will not be able to go with him but i will try to go down on the weekends.
After all that has happened he also has a new outlook on life that is much brighter and more positive, and a bit more relaxed. i look forward to our next 90 years.

Chat soon
Amanda