Freaky Friday

GOODBYE FEEDING TUBE!!!  WaHoo!!!  Today Mom passed her swallow test and is cleared to eat soft foods.  This is exciting!!!  She had more applesauce today as well as some of Jim Jr.'s ice cream from lunch.  Beginning tomorrow morning she can have soft foods, such as scrambled eggs, hot cereal, pancakes, baked potatoes, pasta, etc.  After almost a month without food, this is a milestone.  Mom was asking for peanuts, her favorite, so it's a good sign that's she interested in food.  

Also today, she had therapy and they bent her knees more than 100 degrees.  It's pretty brutal to hear her calling out for help as they bend her knees, but we know it must be done.  She also went for a ride in the halls in the special stroke chair.  It's so exciting to have her out of the room and seeing different sights.  As we passed another room, someone was having a coughing fit, and Mom said, "What is going on?"  Jim told her, "Mom, we're in a hospital and there are sick people here."  She seemed genuinely surprised.  

Tonight as we were leaving, we had a family prayer. Dad asked Mom if she wanted to say the prayer and she said she would like that.  It was very tender to hear her faith as she thanked Heavenly Father for all her blessings and the joy in her life.  When she got stuck, Dad helped her finish.  What a sweet experience

Now for the freaky part.  On the way home from the temple later tonight, Randy and Cheryl stopped by the hospital to see Mom.  The nurses were just finishing giving Mom a bath, and noticed quite a lot of bleeding from her ulcerative colitis.  They were alarmed and quickly decided to call the MET team (medical emergency team).  Randy said it was nothing short of spectacular to watch this team of about 25-30 medical experts suddenly converge upon Mom's little room and go to work assessing her situation.  There were several doctors, along with specialists of every kind.  He likened it to when the Life Flight team arrived up at LDS Hospital to transport Mom, except that there were 10 times as many people this time around.  Anyhow, they decided that the blood thinners Mom is on for the heart procedure are most likely causing the problem, so they are adjusting the medications she is receiving.

So much for a restful evening.  However, Randy said he felt at peace as he watched the situation unfold.  We're just glad he and Cheryl were there.  More tender mercies.