Settlin' into Patience

The title of this post comes from the book "Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry. Wonderful book, in many ways. Highly recommend it.

We seem be moving from constant drama into a routine, however long it might last. The medical staff tells us that the goal for the stay at Emory is to stabilize, to gradually wean Walter from the various tubes and get his body to working on its own. More visible progress should come once he moves to Shepherd's and begins the various therapies. We are prayerfully settlin' in.

The staff encourages us that Walter is not evidencing anything right now that is out of the ordinary under these circumstances. His eyes are open much more, but he does not seem to have control over them and they're not tracking. He indicates in answer to questions that he's seeing double. He has a patch over his right eye right now, in an effort to strengthen the left one. A nurse said that the eye situation may also be addressed later, if needed, by surgery. In a swallow test last night he was unable to fully swallow ice chips, so he's not at the point of handling real food yet. Since he still needs nourishment through a tube for now, the plan is to remove the tube from his nose and install a tube directly into the stomach. That arrangement should be more comfortable; Walter has indicated that his throat is sore.

Dad shaved him again this morning and massaged his feet. We received an email earlier suggesting that stroke patients enjoy having their feet held; gives them a sense of grounding. Walter's response seems to bear that out.

Love to all.