Great News

I visited Christie first thing this morning. They had her out of bed and in a chair. She looked so comfy. It wasnt until several minutes later that I realized the VENT wasnt in the room. She in totally off the vent. She has a trach collar like Richard. They have a little bit of humidified oxygen hooked up to it. Thats all. I washed her face and she didnt like that. She moved her eyes around and scrunched her face up. When I came back to visit her later, she was back in bed and sleeping soundly. Now lets talk about Richard. I hung out in his room for several hours but he was asleep. So guess what I did. For those of you who know me well, I cleaned his room. I organized all his stuff, picked up some trash in the floor, changed his trash, then used baby wipes to wipe down all the surfaces. What can I say, I was bored. Then the coolest thing happened. The respiratory nurse came in and said she was going to "plug" his trach so he'll learn to breath through his nose. I told her I would leave so she could do her job. She said wait one minute, you'll love this. She plugged his trach and told him to say HI...and he did! He can talk with it plugged. I got so emotional I had to leave. I went to lunch to give him time to adjust to the new thing. When I returned my heart immediatley broke. I walked in the room and he plain as day said to me "Where is Christie, can I talk to her?" I told him she was sleeping right now. I was caught off guard and didnt know what to say. I changed the subject (thats what the RN said to do) and showed him pictures of the whole family. I pointed out each person individually and asked him who they were. He said he knew them but couldnt think of their names. Not even me. He pointed to my picture, then pointed at me but said he didnt know my name. Now this is funny...he pointed at my husband and said...thats Philip. Philip is the only one he recognizes. :) he again asked me if Christie could talk like him now. I said she is sleeping upstairs. Then he said Im tired, can I sleep too? I stayed until he fell asleep, then I came home. What a blessing that he can talk. I pray God gives me the wisdom to answer his questions appropriately.