Small, steady steps

It's been a bit since our last post, but in those intervening days, Melissa made small, steady progress.

• The trach is capped during the day and she just has a nasal cannula for oxygen.

• The size of the trach is now as small as it gets before it is removed entirely.

• Physical therapy has her up and out of bed taking a couple small steps with a walker. She also was able to use the walker to pivot and get in a chair.

One thing we noticed is that when speaking, Melissa's voice is quiet and a bit hoarse. This is actually a side effect of the aortic arch repair. There is a nerve involved in speaking that is very close to the aorta. The nerve can be impacted during surgery, which can result in vocal cord paralysis. In Melissa's case, the left vocal cord does not move like it should. This can be temporary or there are options for dealing with it later.

Other than that, we are hoping the pace of physical rehab will start increasing so Melissa can get physically stronger. We are grateful the ventilator weaning went according to plan, and have the same hope for physical rehab.

Thanks again for all of the prayers and support!