Long nights

As of the last update Stacy had just contracted another upper respiratory infection. After a couple of experiences with this already we have a good idea how to deal with it and within four days it was brought under control. Also this time Stacy was not as hard hit during the infection and was able to continue eating and drinking small amounts in the days fallowing that first really high temperature.

Whist the initial infection symptoms are scary and uncomfortable the lasting affects are the major concern. Stacy's respiration, swallowing and ability to clear mucous are all further impaired following this infection.

Currently there seems to be flem and mucous sitting in Stacy's throat and upper respiratory tract that make her feel like she is perminantly teetering on the edge of chocking. This means that we are kind of on full time chock watch as at any point Stacy may need to quickly sit up and get help to clear her throat. 

It's a pretty scary situation for Stacy as she can't really make noise When she does need help so she doesn't feel comfortable without eyes on her all the time. Fortunately I don't have much on my agenda at the moment, and looking at Stacy has always been one of my preferred activities.

The last two nights have been challenging as Stacy has had to spend long periods of time sitting up trying to clear mucous from her airway in order to feel comfortable enough to drink. This is hard on her as holding her head up while sitting up is really tiring. We haven't be able to get to sleep until deep into the a.m. the last few nights and fluids have been all she is capable of getting down.

It's a rough period however the hope is that with time she will be able to clear her airway more and feel comfortable enough to get some more substantial nutrients happening.

Thanks for all the communication from the community recently, I'm into it. 

Love from us and feel free to do something Stacy would do today, I've always found it to be worth it.

Difficulty

Here is the deal with seriously difficult situations, they can test your ability to cope and your confidence in your competency. The opportunity that exists with a difficult situation is that if you can hold fast and find a way to make it through there is a significant benefit for confidence building available.

For me every difficult day that we get through makes me feel a little more confident that next time things become challenging we'll be able to handle it. These days the next difficult day is pretty much guaranteed to be tomorrow. The lesson of persistence and survival has been well learned by Stacy and I.

This week has been pretty difficult. Six hours after I posted that last update Stacy woke up with a really high temperature and another respiratory infection. It was not a good morning. We are however fairly well prepared now and with an early start on antibiotics and quick additional medical interventions it seems like we will be able to kill the bug quickly this time. The real difficulty is Stacy's respiration is really labored and intermittently blocked by mucous. Stacy describes it as terrifying.

I've said this before, and i imaginge i will again, it's been the most tiring few days. Really tough. The good news is I'm totally confident that no mater how difficult it gets we'll be able to manage it. That is the beauty of a difficult situation.

Hey thanks for the massive response from last week's update. I'm glad so many people were happy to hear some news, hopefully I'll be able to keep some info coming.

Mike

Breaking the inertia

I'm a little shocked to see that it was two years ago that we last wrote on this blog. It is well and truly clear that the world is full of people who care about Stacy and I. Thoughts, prayers, flowers, frisbee tournaments, well wishes and loving sentiment continue to remind us that you are all out there, and in a more figurative way, in here with us.

I know you understand, however I feel the responsibility to reciprocate the communicaton as I'm sure many of you are interested in some information about Stacy and about our life at the moment.

My intention was to write a recap of events since our last post however that task now seems too involved so I guess I'll just dump a bunch of stuff down here and that will do.

Life was cruising along in the middle of 2012. We were spending a lot of time at home however short trips out were possible and worth the significant effort required. Whilst difficult Stacy and I were able to navigate our days indipendantly. Eating, communicating, pain medication, moving around the house, a bit of online shopping and two energetic sausage hounds filled our days but were within our capacity. At the time it was brutally difficult and monotonous however looking back now it seems like an in control and somewhat acceptable time.

In September Stacy contracted a throat infection. Things changed radically. Stacy fought off the infection with the help of antibiotics however all of her systems were heavily affected; eating, talking, breathing, siting up in a chair and even drinking all became either not possible or very hard. Debi flew out on really short notice and with the help of our GP, daily nurse visits and a big effort from the golden girl herself we battled back to close to our version of normal.

Three weeks ago Stacy's inconsistent swallow contributed to an infection of the upper respiratory tract. I expect it's too hard to imagine what that was like and I'm afraid my description will fail in the attempt to make it clear.

Stacy started eating again three days ago and she continues to scrape and claw at the challenges that fill the day. It is a heartening demonstration of the tenacity of life, I'm finding it uplifting as well as exhausting.

That's it for now. Thanks for the love.

Mike