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Dacia Mitchell

📍 Oakland

Moving day

We spent the morning together and I packed up his room. Lego flower bouquet? Check. Coloring books for Arthur? Check. Every cable for every device? Check. After a slight delay, transport arrived to pick up Tyler and drive him the 30 miles to the Kaiser Foundation Rehabilitation Center. They weighed

♥️♥️ Valentine’s Day! ♥️♥️

Another day of waiting, but we finally got confirmation of a bed at the Kaiser Foundation Rehabilitation Center and he is scheduled to leave tomorrow. Another successful day of PT. Tyler got compression socks to help manage the orthostatic hypotension and a binder that helps him with posture and stability.

A whole lotta waiting today.

We are on the first day of an atmospheric river so we continue to wait for transport to rehab. it’s possible the ambulances were all occupied with various other accidents and traffic. (Insert joke about Californians not knowing how to drive in the rain) Today’s PT/OT felt

Kid stuff

Tyler finally got a good night's sleep. His pain is pretty much those pesky intercostals, some topical pain at the surgery site, and the sore throat. Thank you to everyone for your sore throat suggestions. Not that it matters too much, but it turns out the sore throat

Path to rehab

Things are moving fast over here, Tyler may start rehab as soon as this Thursday(!). We meet with the physiatrist (fiz-EYE-uh-trist) tomorrow and he will give us the full rundown of the transfer process to rehab. Once we have that, I can start planning for the type of help we

#GTFOICU, or Home Sweet Home (sort of)

Tyler slept just okay, but for great reasons, he’s in a new place! The EMTs picked him up at 9pm last night and what a change! First of all, the sound: Kaiser is so quiet. Granted, he is no longer on the ICU floor, but still, the vibe is

Escape!

Much to say, but the biggest takeaway is: We escaped the ICU! The order came late today, but at 9pm, EMTs came and got Tyler and he is now resting comfortably at Kaiser. More tomorrow!

The anxiety of pain/the pain of anxiety

The first goal today was to remove his NG tube. It appears the ileus is resolving, but we are still taking . . . [Ed., this is where I fell asleep in the middle of typing] . . . we are still taking drinking (and eventually eating) very slow. The biggest challenge is pain and anxiety

Progress!

I slept in, finally. Tyler has made great progress since yesterday. His lungs are clearing up, and he passed 💩💩💩overnight. Hooray! By the time I arrived, he was lucid and sitting in the cardiac chair. He managed to get a little sleep last night, and they even removed his catheter.

We need to GTFO of here!

Hey folks - I am absolutely cooked tonight so this one will be short. Tyler’s gut saw some movement for the first time in a week and we all rejoiced. 💩🎉 His lungs, according to the SICU attending look “AMAZING!” meaning, they are clearing up. Turns out he just had