Dwight Hare

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Big step forward today. Steph walked down the stairs, out the door, and into the car for a drive to visit our friends Margaret and Paul. First time out of the house on her own in 6 weeks. But not quite strong enough to attend the Mainly Mozart Gala tonight. She is disappointed.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

A lot of progress. Steph has gone up and down the stairs twice. She is off supplemental oxygen most of the day, whenever she is quiescent. If moving around a lot she goes back on oxygen. She is becoming much more self sufficient. We hope to take a trip outside the house soon.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph is walking! Today she walked from the bedroom to the kitchen then to the living room with only the support of holding on to my arm. Previously she needed the walker. Still on supplemental oxygen, looking for a portable unit so she can leave the house.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph is spending most of the day out of bed and can walk short distances with her walker. She is getting stronger every day and we're slowly lowering her steroids. Still on supplemental oxygen.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph is on minimal oxygen and taking a boat load of medications. She can't walk yet but we will be getting her out of bed and moving around. Concentrating on getting her weight and strength back. Will not tweet daily any more, only when there is something significant.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph is home!! Details tomorrow.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Transport scheduled for 7pm (formerly 3pm).

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

The doctor has signed the order for Steph’s discharge. We are getting everything arranged including transport. More later.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph is coming home in the next few days. She will need physical/respiratory therapy which we are arranging. We had hoped she would be off oxygen before coming home but she'll need to continue using it esp. when moving around. She's thrilled.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Not much change today. We are accumulating stuff at home we’ll need while she recuperates (e.g. walker). She is working on her exercises and moving from the bed to the chair. Still tires easily.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph's oxygen down to 1/4 of yesterday's, next step is off oxygen entirely. Now talking about going home and what needed to support her there. Biggest issue is her lack of strength after fighting the infection, being bed bound, and difficulting eating enough while on oxygen.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

@Martelman987 Simplified for Steph (not my favorite recipe): Can diced tomatoes pulsed in food processor, simmer until added to beef (see ahead). Saute diced onions, chili powder, cumin 5 min in skillet, add minced garlic. Add ground beef and cook til done, add tomatoes and simmer 15 min.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Big step today, they switched Steph from the high flow nasal cannula to the low flow one and reduced her oxygen air pressure to 1/3 of previous. I cooked beef chili for her which she liked - needed something high protein but soft and easily swallowed. She also ate some cheesecake

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

@dmackey She is at UCSD La Jolla Jacobs. I’m sure she would appreciate a card. But no flowers, not allowed for someone with breathing issues.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Today Steph moved to the chair late morning and is having lunch. She breathes better when she is sitting up. She's is tired of the food offerings here so I'm going to cook something for her tomorrow. She is slowly improving day by day.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Today Steph moved from the bed to a chair where she is now sitting up and reading a book. Her lungs function better when she is sitting up and she has to make an effort to stay balanced which helps strengthen her system.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

They've decided that Steph can now eat solid food (she's been on pureed food all this time). The air pressure has been reduced enough that she is not at risk of the food being pushed into her lungs instead of going to her stomach. She's thrilled. Will help her regain weight.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph's having a good day. Her oxygen has been lowered a bit and she got a lower dose of steroids. She got up and stood next to the bed this morning and is doing a set of exercises while in bed. They're starting to talk with us about what support we'll need when she goes home.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

We had a video visit with Steph's endocrinologist who has been tracking her blood sugar and insulin treatments. She told us that Steph's blood sugar is very well controlled for someone on high dose steroids. She agrees it has sometimes been higher than we'd like but overall OK.

[Dwight Hare @dwighthare]

Steph got a massage this morning which she really enjoyed. The doctor said they plan to reduce her steroids tomorrow and hope to lower it each week. Her blood sugar continues to be better behaved.