Day 19

So amazed at God’s grace. Each day there has been encouragement and hope. She is such a force of nature!! She is HOOOME!!!! Praise God. One step closer.
From Rob-
“Day 19 of recovery; Rhonda spent about 7 hours riding to her rehab hospital today, but she is there now and settled in. The transport was supposed to begin at 8:30 am but instead we learned, the transport was not scheduled and they did not have a driver. More waiting, more patience, more faith needed. Well about 10AM ,we were told the transport would pick Rhonda up at 1pm. We both made it safely back to OC. She is at Encompass in Tustin.”

Thank you for all your cards and texts and encouragement. She appreciates the love more than you all could know.

Love,
Michelle and family

Day 12 11/23

Dear Nanni,

So much to praise God for. One day closer to giving you a big BIG hug!!! Keep fighting.
Here is Robs update:

Day 12 of recovery: Rhonda continues to progress. Her PT is going well and the therapist is very encouraged. She is now eating pureed foods, but is not too hungry yet. Her voice is stronger. The best news is this: the ball is in motion to get Rhonda into a rehab facility in Tustin. First, a shout out of thanks to Michelle and Melinda (I love them both so much. God has truly blessed Chad and Jerome with these ladies)for being my eyes and voice for locating a promising rehab facility named (get this ) Encompass). It is an Acute therapy center and the Stanford team authorized Rhonda for this type of rehab. It is much more intense than a skilled nursing facility. Our insurance and Encompass are workout the details as I write this; transportation will be set up next. If all goes well, we could be back in OC before Thanksgiving. Just a couple of more hurdles to clear: feeding tube needs to come out, meaning she needs to be eating solid food; breathing needs to improve too, but she is working on that. With the way God has worked so far, I anticipate clearing those hurdles and winning the race.

This is just so exciting. They also updated me you had a couple bites of mashed mac and cheese. I can see why you only took a couple bites;)
I love you!

Michelle

Day 11 11/21

Dear Nanni,
Today, Melinda and I went rehab shopping.  There was no one screaming bloody murder, and everyone was very helpful. Most importantly, they aren’t stingy with food. And we know you like your meals;) It was refreshing knowing we have at least 2 fantastic options for you. Now we pray your insurance and case manager agree that you need to be at an acute rehab for best results. NOT skilled nursing. Well whatever Gods will is we will accept, but I am rooting for acute.

Here is today’s update from your man:
Day 11 of recovery; today has been a good day; they took the triple lumen pic lines out of her neck this morning; she has had two respiratory treatments today ; the best news is regarding her PT and OT; both of these showed much more flexibility and strength than we have seen previously. The surgeon came by again and told us the CT scan was clear with blood flowing well to her brain and the intestines/kidneys. I saw him give a little smirk and I think he knows what a tremendous job he did in saving Rhonda’s life. I certainly do and yet it is God that provided his skill and wisdom. I am so thankful for that gift.

Keep fighting! We love you.
Michelle

Day 10 11/20

Dear Nanni,

We are already on day 10. You are a rockstar. Keep it up!

Another Rob update:

Day 10 of recovery; Rhonda was moved out of ICU yesterday and got settled into the Cardiac Care floor; she is now in room J540; slept slightly better; still working to get her breathing stronger; she kind of passed her swallow test, meaning she can have snack sized, pureed food and mildly thick liquids for the next few days; they will retest her on Monday. The surgeon came by again and was very happy with her progress; Rhonda asked him when she could be released and he said in about a week, which puts that at 11/27, the day before Thanksgiving. She will be transferring to a rehab center, which one is still TBD; Michelle is helping me with that decision. Rhonda is resting now, peacefully.

We love you always. 

Michelle 

Day 9 11/19

Dear Nanni,

This update is from Jeremy-he took one for the team and stayed with you to make sure you were protected and were doing ok. It was such a comfort to have him there.

From Jer: 

“She had better rest last night!  Still up every 90 min, but more comfortable!  I'd look over at her and could see a silhouette doing her leg and arm exercises!!  Very cute!! 

Her voice and speech has taken a bigger step this morning. Louder and more words spoken between breaths.  You can pretty much make out what she's saying from across the room!!  She had a nice room, with a beautiful view.”

From Rob:

Day 9 of recovery; still in ICU but just waiting for a bed to open up in Cardiac Care unit; surgeon came by again today and was pleased with her progress; still not sleeping well at night; OT/PT came in again today and worked with her about 30 minutes; Rhonda is still very weak but working hard to get stronger; she stood and sat down with help 3 times and has sat up in her chair twice today; her breathing needs to improve and she is receiving respiratory therapy to assist that aspect; the speech therapist came to check out her voice and swallowing; her voice is getting stronger but not yet normal; she can now take a sip of water, which is an improvement; tomorrow they will put a camera into her throat and feed her, while seeing how she swallows; if she passes, she will be able to start eating soft foods; she is more perky today and the staff is encouraged by her progress; big day tomorrow for the swallow test, so please add that to your specific prayers.

Day 8 Monday 11/18

Dear Nanni, 

We miss you so much! Rob has been updating each day, I am not with you-so this is what has been diligently sending each day. 

From Rob:

The doctors just finished the rounds;she is awake and thirsty; giving her ice chips; numbers are good; voice may be a little improved but still weak; plan for today is to get her mobility going; OT/PT not yet been to her room, so waiting on them before getting her into her chair. May be released from ICU today. Plan is to take the chest tube out today; also will give her a swallow test to see if they can remove the feeding tube; it is likely she may need more time on this. She needs to strengthen her breathing, so will be doing blowing exercises every hour while she is awake; they will be trying to get her out of bed to walk; Rhonda wants to try this even though she appears pretty weak still... still looking for faith over sight for me. Overall, this could be a big day. Please pray for all these.

Day 4 of recovery

Dear Rhonda, 

You had a non-life threatening event 2 nights ago that resulted in re-intubating. You didn’t like this too much, and were very agitated and accidentally pulled a tube out that allowed air into your chest cavity. To relieve the air, they surgically placed a tube into your chest cavity and it worked really well. Your lung partially collapsed but that had been corrected with this procedure. Yesterday they extubated you about 2:30 pm. You are now able to talk via a whisper and are getting pain meds to alleviate all your pain. Overall, good progress today after the little setback. Thank you Lord! 

Love, 

Michelle