Jimmy passed his swallow test today. That just means when he takes something in his mouth, it goes to the right place. First request, Gatorade Zero. Luckily Joe was en route to the hospital and Suzie was able to catch him to pick up the delicious liquid gold.
Jim had some steamed vegetables for lunch. He requested that Suzie bring him some bone broth and an orange pepper tomorrow.
Good day!
I’m at the airport getting ready to head back to my life. Hard to leave Jim today. But it was another great day and I know I am leaving him in good care.
Huge improvement today on the vent. Down to 50% O2 and his blood oxygen was consistently 97. He got to have a few ice cubes and a couple sips of water. Scheduled to have a swallow xray tomorrow. If all is well he will start taking in some food and liquid by mouth.
I gave Jim a much needed beard trim. He looks really good.
Got a couple more episodes of Ted Lasso in but we didn’t get caught up. My little trick in keeping him excited to have me back!
Cheers
I am writing this from Jim’s room at the RML specialty hospital, watching him rest. I flew into O’hare early Sunday morning and will be leaving Wednesday night to head back to the Twin Cities. I have intentionally written these updates as a reporter. Jim’s father Joe and his wife Suzie have been giving me information and I volunteered on day 1 to disseminate the information through this wonderful platform.
This one will be from my heart. My son Bobby is leaving for his freshman year at Marquette University in Milwaukee in 3 weeks. Thirty-two years ago, Jim from Chicago and I from St. Paul met at McCormick Hall at Marquette. We lived down the hall from each other. We spent endless hours discussing and debating…everything. We lived together for the next several years. Rode Harleys across the country, which is still the best decision we ever made!
When my girlfriend broke up with me, Jim was there. When I crashed my Harley in Estes Park, Jim was there. When I needed the best man for my wedding, Jim was there. Anytime in the last 32 years that I have needed a sounding board, Jim has been there. I have always known that I was going to get honesty, never sugar-coated, although that would have been ok once in a while. I now have the awesome opportunity to be here for Jimmy.
Sunday was not a great day. Jim was fighting the vent and he kept telling me how uncomfortable he was. Finally at 6:30 pm they gave Jim something to calm him. He was asleep in 10 minutes and was still sound asleep when I left at 8pm.
Monday was a most excellent day. When I arrived at 9am Jim was awake and felt like he had a great night’s sleep. He was awake and comfortable the entire day. I was able to help him take care of a few things and we ended the day with 5 episodes of Ted Lasso.
Today, Tuesday has been a good day as well. As Jim’s brother John texted me yesterday, “4 out of 7 good days is a good week”. Progress is slow and there are some steps back, but Jim is improving. The focus at RML is laser focused on getting Jim off of the vent. This is what they do and they are the best in the business. But until that happens Jim’s life is very much like Phil Connors in Groundhog Day.
Every 4 hours Jim has a couphing machine and a metaneb treatment to loosen the secretions in his lungs followed by suction. The crud in the lungs inhibit the amount of oxygen that can get into the body. Also Jim’s diaphragm and other muscles used to breath are not all working yet. Every day the goal is to reduce the amount of work the ventilator is doing and have Jim do more of the work. The doc wants all of Jim’s energy focused on the work of getting off the vent, so there is no PT happening right now.
I can assure you that Jim’s intellect, wit and sarcasm are sharp as ever. The trach does not allow him to talk, but he is able to mouth words and I have become proficient at deciphering most thoughts. I did confuse “oxygen” for “ass” today, but averted any catastrophes.
I’ll update in a couple of days. Take care of those you love and let them know how much they mean to you.
Bob
Jim has had a couple of very productive days at RML. This place specializes in pulmonary rehabilitation, so Jim is at the perfect hospital to get off the vent. One of the pulmonologist lung specialists went to high school with Jim. Always helpful to have another familiar face. They are also using a machine to help Jim cough and they are using some “old school” techniques like patting his back.
Yesterday Jim was moved into a chair. A change of position and a change of scenery.
The normal stay here is 21 days, but we all know Jim is anything but normal!
Jim moved today from Rush to RML Specialty Hospital in Hinsdale. He will be here as long as it takes to get off the vent so that he can then get to rehab. Jim still has mucous in his lungs that he needs to get out, but there is less. There is some feeling in Jim’s left hand!!!! Not able to move much, but he is feeling sensation. Very positive that there continues to be an improvement, even if it is slight.
This is from Anthony Curran – anthony.c.curran@gmail.com
We have a group of guys/gals from St. Mary’s who’ll be out to help this Saturday.
Volunteer Opportunity
Bosco family help out
(Interior/Exterior “brighten up”)
This Saturday 7/31 9am-noon
[…]
Can’t make it?
Gift cards (Costco, etc.) donations accepted.
Thanks to all
Jim’s sister Joanne and his brother John have arrived in Chicago. Jim will be leaving Rush within the next week to go to a Long Term Acute Care facility. He will be well enough to be out of the hospital, but not ready to start working at the rehabilitation facility. Big hurdle is to get off of the vent. Jim continues to have good blood oxygen levels, but the mucus in his lungs is not gone yet.
He has been continuing with therapy in the hospital and is continuing to get a little stronger everyday.
This is going to be a long haul for Jim. But if there is anyone that has the grit to overcome an insurmountable task, it is Jimmy.
Keep the prayers coming and stay at the ready for when you are asked to help.
Jim got an ambulance ride back to Chicago Saturday and is at Rush in the ICU. So much easier for Jim’s dad and Suzie and Clara to be with Jim now. Visiting is still restricted as he is in ICU, but this is just another stopover for a week or two. We all want to go see Jim, but please be patient. He will want visitors and help for the long haul. Right now he has to focus on getting his lungs healthy so he can workout. Shirley Ryan Ability Lab is getting information about Jim and are very interested in welcoming him to their facility. He just has to be completely off the vent to be there, so that is the number 1 goal right now.
There continues to be a lot of production coming from Jim’s lungs. The respiratory therapist has been putting a solution in his lungs to help break up the crud. His oxygen level goes up after about 15 minutes, so it is helping. He had a bronchoscopy and he will be having a CAT scan of his lungs. The team at Rush wants to see what all is in his lungs. I’m still betting on a minnow!
He is receiving GREAT care at Rush
Jim had a new trach put in yesterday. All went well. He was weened off oxygen throughout the day and kept his pulse oxygen level good the whole time.
The plan is that within a week he will be transferring to the ICU at Rush hospital in Chicago. After a little more strength is gained he will go to an in patient rehab facility.
He is still coughing up beach and the new trach does not allow him to talk. He gets a little stronger everyday. Jim still needs lots of prayers to get back the ability to move his body.
Update from the last 2 days.
Each day has been more of the same. Sleep is tough at night. Still trying to dial in the trach and continue to cough up the the particles he took in from the lake. The current plan is that Jim is going to get a new, larger trach on Saturday. Clearly they didn’t take a good look at Jim before they put the first trach in. One size does not fit all.
Still working on getting strength back. Jim is working hard. There’s no quit in him.
The surgeon was in today and Jim was doing well. Suzie, Clara and Joe were all with Jim today. He spent 5 hours in his chair today. Right now, that’s Jim’s happy place.
Many have been asking about visiting Jim. The hospital he is in has a very restrictive visitors policy. When he is out of the ICU and on to his next place, I expect there will be a much more friendly visitor’s policy.
Lots of activity today. Jim didn’t have a great nights sleep. The vent being on caused more of the crap to loosen in his lungs, which ultimately is the goal, but makes for a rough nights sleep.
After OT this morning, the nurses used the hoyer lift to get him out of bed and into a motorized chair. He was very happy to be in the chair. A new position and he could look out the window. Although the view was looking at the adjacent building, a view nonetheless.
A flurry of specialists; PT, Speech, social worker, respiratory and OT come through. Jim was able to swallow a couple of ice chips and they were delicious! There is a plan for a video Xray tomorrow to see how his swallowing works. If all good he will be able to start eating and drinking.