We are grateful for our first week at Midtown Select Specialty Hospital in ATL! We had been at a nursing/rehab facility in Douglasville for about a month .. where Glenn was getting stronger but NOT being weaned from the ventilator .. when we were “sent out” to the local hospital for some issues. God bless the amazing ICU team at Wellstar Douglas Hospital who - instead of merely getting Glenn stable and sending him back to nursing/rehab - thought Glenn should have another honest shot at getting weaned. They worked with Glenn and our insurance company to qualify him for another round at an LTAC (Long Term Acute Care) hospital. Coach Lindsey still has a loooong way to go - but the important thing is that he is making progress and we have another chance!!!
He is breathing at roughly the same level of support as a cpap machine and has daily trials breathing on his own with some slow & steady progress. Following their protocols - he did just qualify for ice chips & water (yea!) , but is not yet permitted to freely eat & drink as he was doing at rehab. He also is not currently permitted to voice until their protocols progress him up to it. We miss hearing his voice and I am back to being a total failure at lip reading — which is frustrated for him AND me.
We have a semi-private room which is challenging (at least the other family is nice - and I hate to sound like a 1st world spoiled brat … but seriously!!!). I am back to “commuting to work” each day since family members are not permitted to overnight. We are one block over from The Fox. I see the back of the Georgian Terrace from our window. Traffic has not been horrible and parking is secure and free. Even though I have lived in the ATL area my whole life, I drive “through” ATL on I-85 and know NOTHING about navigating the surface streets. I have learned a lot already and will try to make a point to take advantage of my location and explore some new things. Adrian and I walked a few blocks this week to have lunch at Mary Mac’s Tea Room — my first time there even though it’s been a famous place in ATL longer than I’ve been alive. And side note on current ATL fun … Did you see the news of a water main break in ATL on Friday? A bunch of venues, events and restaurants have been closed. While our hospital is still operational, Glenn couldn’t have ice chips since the ice machine was compromised and I have played Russian roulette for two days hoping to find a toilet that flushes. But ice and toilets are also first world problems! Life is never boring.
We still need your prayers - and don’t need anything else. The most wonderful outcome to hope for is that Glenn can be completely and totally weaned from the ventilator. This will give us a lot of options for a nursing/rehab situation close to home as our next stop.
So, please pray for Coach Lindsey to be calm and BREATHE and be weaned from the ventilator while simultaneously getting stronger to be able to sit, stand, walk. And also the simultaneous & miraculous healing of his pressure wound (bed sore).
God is God and I am not. But, surely (as my feeble mind reasons) God has not gotten us where we are without a plan to get us SOMEWHERE positive. From miraculously surviving three back-to-back codes on January 2 to orchestrating another chance at LTAC this week … and everything in between that God has done for us … surely we have a hope and a future... and a story to tell. Thank you all for your continued prayers!!!
