The nurses are noticing that dad doesn't remember what happened the day before. So the doctor is putting dad on Aricept. Actually dad was taking it before he went into the hospital. You don't have to have Alzheimer's disease to benefit from this drug. We should be able to tell in a couple of days if it is helping dad.
Today the doctor decided to switch out dad's trachea tube with a permanent one -- however it isn't really permanent it can be taken out if and when the person doesn't need it anymore. The new one is called a metal Jackson Crack Trachea. I couldn't find anything on the web that explains the difference between that one and the one dad did have other than it is metal and the old one was plastic.
After replacing the tube they don't want to dad to try to talk any tonight. But tomorrow they will put a "plug" in it that will enable dad to start to talk again. With the old trachea you had to put your finger over the opening so he could talk -- not such a good thing because you cut off the oxygen when you do this. With the new Jackson trachea they can put a plug in it so that daddy can talk and somehow oxygen still gets in. Not as much oxygen but that's ok. You don't need the amounts of oxygen the hospital gives you when you are sick.
Nurse S said that things will start to move a little faster for daddy now. However she did make sure I understood he still had a long way to go.
The main thing right now is for dad to cooperate with the nurses, doctors and therapist. He is stubborn and really hardheaded. Hopefully he will realize that everyone wants what is best for him and that he will try to do what they want and to behave himself.
Keep those prayers going up for dad and me.
Kathy
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