Hello again and thank you all for your faithful support and compassionate attention to Joy’s healing journey. I have to admit that I feel torn about how to best communicate our increasingly similar days. I almost said “routine” but while we do have, “a routine,” for most days, the gains and setbacks of Joy’s recovery process keep us both guessing and needing to be ready to adjust as Joy’s physical and emotional state varies day to day and sometimes hour to hour. I hope and pray, that while our updates will become less frequent, that your prayers will remain as fervent and earnest as always, because we need them now as much as we did in the beginning. So I will thank you in advance, for your continued willingness to hold Joy in your thoughts and prayers for the long haul.
We had a good holiday weekend enjoying more hand in hand walks outside and spending special time with our children, grandsons, and granddog. Yesterday we resumed our therapy schedule and, because of Joy’s progress, received a completely updated set of Physical Therapy homework, and then in OT, a new eye exercise method to try in our continued efforts to encourage Joy’s eyes to strengthen, align, and heal. As I’ve mentioned previously, we are so thankful for the therapists and resources we have been blessed with, they are a great encouragement to us.
Then, this afternoon, we received some very encouraging news at our visit with the ENT physician. After examining Joy’s right ear and it appearing “normal,” they conducted an audiology test and found the ear to have only slight hearing loss compared to the left which is still in the normal range. The testing suggested it was from a conduction issue, but not severe enough to even suggest hearing aids and/or surgical intervention. This was such a blessing after the initial grim prognosis we received regarding Joy’s right ear due to the trauma it sustained. Then, more good news…
The appointment had been set up solely for assessment of the right ear, however, Joy has been troubled by the sound of her voice, which has been somewhat high pitched and airy since her intubation and tracheostomy. We had discussed it with our Speech Therapist, and while that is something they work with, they had expressed concern that, due to Joy’s emergency and extended intubation with an endotracheal tube, perhaps her vocal cords had been damaged. The ENT physician graciously offered to exam Joy’s vocal cords, so after nasal anesthetic, she scoped Joy’s larynx and was able to report that her vocal cords looked healthy with no damage. There was some evidence of muscle constriction/tension, the name of which escapes me, but which is something that Speech Therapy can definitely address during the course of treatment. Needless to say, both Joy and I were so thankful and relieved and again thank God for his grace and mercy and all of you for your faithful prayers. We celebrated when we got home with a walk, hand in hand, around “our lake” in the beautiful afternoon weather.
While I knew today presented the possibility of “big news” from the ENT, our days ahead are more of our “new normal” of therapy, therapy homework, daily living and house tasks, time with friends and family, and repeat. So… I plan to be posting less frequently, unless of course there are major developments. However, as I asked above, please don’t let up on the urgent prayers still needed for Joy’s still long road to recovery. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for being there, for your love, care, compassion, and faith. Keep an eye out for the update notices and I will do my best to keep you posted on our marathon journey.
