Leaving the Hospital

Today was Dad's big day.   He left the hospital after spending nearly six weeks (39 days) there.  Here he is on the elevator:

 Here is the scene on the rehab floor as he left:

 Most of the nurses and therapists lined up in the hallway to say goodbye to my parents as Elvis's Jailhouse Rock played through the loud speakers.

Before Dad left, the therapists all conducted his discharge tests.  They all agree that he has made a ton of improvements since entering rehab.  Physically, he could barely walk a few steps assisted or sit up in a chair by himself when he entered, and now he can walk up stairs and all the way through the hospital unassisted.  He does still have some balance concerns and needs to keep working on rebuilding strength.

Cognitively Dad has also made great strides.  He went from not remembering all of his family's names, not knowing what month or year it was, and not remembering much of anything from one day to the next to being able to answer all questions easily about his life and family and the time of year and day, talk about past memories with ease, and use his reasoning skills to win board games.  He still struggles a bit with higher levels of reasoning, with some short term memory, with paying attention to things that are not interesting to him, and with perseverating on certain topics. 

When Dad entered rehab he was only able to say a few words while using a device hooked up to his trach.  The trach is gone and he is now speaking with ease.  His voice does sound different than before.  It may be that the vocal chords were injured while intubated, and it may or may not correct itself.  Time will tell. 

At the beginning of rehab we did not know if Dad would ever be able to see out of his right eye, and the whole right side of his face was paralyzed.  We now know that he has some sight in that eye and the movement is slowly returning back to his face.  Today an EMG test was performed on his facial nerves and they found that although parts of the main nerve died from compression during the injury, the nerves are still viable and will rebuild.  Within 8-9 months it is possible that he could have full movement back on that side of his face.   Dad will probably always struggle with sight issues and mobility of his right eye.  His left eye also has a permanently dilated pupil, which may or may not correct itself (hence the sunglasses). 

Dad has made great strides.  The one area of most concern now is still with his eating.   He just has no appetite or interest in food, even when the feeding tube is turned off for a day or two.  This is very concerning to the doctors and to us, and seems to be unusual.  We are definitely praying that his appetite will return so that he can go home.

Of long term concern are his sight and cognitive issues.  The doctor said that it is possible that he may not ever be able to drive again and may not ever be the same as he was before.  Time will tell. . . With how much he has improved already, our family has high hopes that he can make a great, if not full, recovery.  For his sake, we all hope he will be able to drive again, as he has such a strong sense of independence!

Dad is currently housed at the Compass Rehabilitation Clinic located at 1371 West South Jordan Parkway.   We do not have any idea how long he will be there.  Hopefully not too long as Dad is anxious to return home. We just need to get him to eat!  Visiting hours at this clinic are open, so feel free to continue the visits. 

As a family we would like to thank all of the talented and amazing staff members at Intermountain Medical Center.  Especially those on the 5th floor (ICU) and 12th floor (Rehab).   The ICU doctors and nurses saved Dad's life, more than once, for which we will be forever grateful.  The rehab therapists and staff helped him regain some quality of life.   Thank you, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!  We hope to bring Dad back when he is all recovered to thank you himself! 

Now on to the next step of recovery . . .   We will keep you posted.