ChloeWatts.com

Sunday, Jan 31,2010

February 1st, 2010 Posted in Daily News Post

Overnight last night went well. Chloe slept through any of the suctioning I had to do and that wasn’t too many. Surprisingly none of the machines went off last night. I think that’s a first. She slept in until about 10 AM.

Dr. Cockrell came in to discharge her from rehab and readmit her to acute care. Now we just have to wait and see if OHP picks us up to go back in Rehab. Emmanuel really wants her to stay in Rehab as there is only one other kid in there right now. This is a paperwork battle between the insurance company that Chloe has, Emmanuel and OHP. Dana has the paperwork in but there has been no decision made. It would be great if being accepted by SSI and by OHP were the same thing, but they aren’t.

What we were told in the meeting last Tuesday was “we are hopefully optimistic” that OHP would pick us up. What the heck that means is anyone’s guess but the body language was that of knowing there is a possibility of craziness in decision making. IF we are accepted it will mean that we will be in acute care on paper for a short time and then back in rehab.

Dana and Chloe had a good afternoon of stretching, weights, walking and being together. Neither of them is overly happy when they are apart. And put the fact that Chloe is bummed about being in the hospital during her birthday, things have been a little sad lately. She actually indicated she’d rather not even have a birthday celebration of any kind if she couldn’t eat. We’re working on that.

Dr. Cockrell was really surprised by the advancements Chloe has made since she last saw her. It’s been a few weeks and Chloe’s strength is way up there. I had her move her tongue from side to side for her after she noticed the tip is still stuck down. She was happy to see that improvement and noted that things wake up from the back forward and from the unconscious to the conscious. For instance, Chloe can swallow a bit if she isn’t being watched or thinking about it. It’s not enough to eat but it’s a start.

Karen Preston has put together a calendar on the Helping Hands website. If you’d like to become involved in some help for the family follow these directions:

1. Cut and paste the following address into your browser:

http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/621517/

2. Once it takes you to the website, click on “Interested in becoming a member of this community?” and request to be added to the community.

3. After a coordinator adds you as a member, the system will send you an email with your *own* sign-in link. Click on the sign in link and follow the directions given there. (It will take 24 to 48 hours to be added, so don’t be alarmed. Your participation is appreciated!)

4. If you are unable to gain access doing the above, email Karen Preston at b2krn@yahoo.com for help being sure to retype your email address in the body of your email to her.

This should help quite a bit. BTW… when Dana is at home she is there for R&R. I know everyone would love to see her, me included, but she needs that alone time to rebuild for the next round of shifts. I’ve found that visits, by non-family, at the hospital tend to work best if they are 10 minutes or so in length. Anything longer than that and, depending on timing, she gets overwhelmed and exhausted. And she is too “nice” to let you know it’s running long. Maybe just telling her to let you know when she’s tired would make it easier for her. At home though, please let her have her space with no calls or visits unless set up in advance. I hope you all understand. It takes less and less time to become fried when doing 24/7 care.

I guess Chloe’s friend wore her Peace Sun shirt to school the other day and lots of kids want their own. Whomever wants one just needs to get in touch with me through ronhorton21@msn.com and I’ll send out the information.

Thanks to all of you who have helped through your actions and or prayers. Oh, and Chloe will be the name of a new filly being born soon in Wyoming. Thanks Cliff, that gave her a good smile.

Blessings,
Ron