Hello all! 

So much to update...day 2 was the hardest day ever for Chelsee. She was given a lot of breathing treatments to try and get some of the secretions up and out with the goal of weaning her from the trach eventually. The problem is that it increases the difficulty for Chelsee to breathe because the secretions are coming up. Also, they started to get Chelsee on a bathroom regimine , but to do so, she must turn on her side and this makes it hard for her to breathe and hurts her shoulders and neck immensely! They also got her up into a wheelchair and this was hard because Chelsee was feeling a lot of sharp pains in her neck, while operating on very little sleep.

With all of this happening, she started to feel really sick and felt like if this continues, she will die of pnuemonia or something. We expressed this to the nurses and they listened, but explained that they are not there to make her miserable, rather to move her through this stage and on to the next. She cannot sit idle and expect results. With the breathing, she has to participate in all of the treatments so that her body can begin to manage the secretions on its own. With moving her with less support, the goal is for Chelsee to build the muscles to support herself so that when the collar is removed, she will be able to manage the weight of her head. They decided tto let her rest a bit and so Chelsee went to sleep exhausted.

Yesterday, Chelsee awoke with renewed strength! She participated in her breathing treatments and went above and beyond what they were asking. When physical therapy came in, she worked through the pain and made visible strides in flexibily. Her boyfriend came to visit, which always makes Chelsee smile and then the docs came in. They asked about her day the day before and shared with her that even though the chair was uncomfortable, it was so critical to improving her breathing, regulating bowel movements and blood pressure. Then they changed her trach to a new, more flexible, smaller version which lends itself to Chelsee being able to talk more easily, get her coughing to be more productive and get speech therapy for strengthening her muscles for talking and swallowing, which equals eating!!! 

After the procedure, her voice was stronger and she was stoked. She and I were able to have an hour long conversation where she did most of the talking, a little singing, and some laughing. It was so special for me to experience!

After that, she was put into her chair, holding her head high and strong. She positioned her arms on the arm rests with much determination:). She took a tour of the rehab unit and even met another young female in a wheelchair. We laughed some more and she stayed in the chair for about 2 hours visiting with her mom, brother, boyfriend, mom's friend (Jennifer) and me!!! Woot woot, with no complaints. I went and got some decorations for her room, and her mom and Jennifer put them up.  She went to bed incredibly tired, but fulfilled.

Today she is tired and frustrated, but she has her first appointment with speech therapy and with psychology so that she can talk and work through all that she is feeling. It is not sunshine and lollipops everyday, but those glimpses of joy are so precious!

At no point has Chelsee been disillusioned about the reality pf the situation, but even with ideas of the worst reality she is so much stronger than she even knew she could be. She is speaking up, making decisions, and advocating for her care. If you ever met Chelsee before the accident, she was meek, mild and pretty ok with others calling the shots when the stakes were low. Her empowerment is inspirational and is making me and others around her better people.  The rollercoaster ride is crazy, but so worth it all!