Hi everyone,
basket here with an update on aitchdee, who has been in hospital for 2 and a half weeks now.
She is doing a lot better than she was during the first week!
Betsrutan and I visited her last Sunday, and we were able to spend some time with her. She has been extubated, meaning that she no longer needs to be on a breathing tube.
She is recovering from being extremely sick (we found out from her and from her nurses that she was very close to being lost at least once during those frantic first days) and was still quite weak when we saw her on Sunday. We fed her a little bit of Jello and some broth while she was talking to us, although we only stayed about an hour because she was tired and wanted to rest, and the nurses felt that it would be good to increase her oxygen levels and put her back on the BiPAP (I probably got the name of it wrong).
We told her about all the love, support, prayers, healing energy, positive vibes and good wishes that everyone from our Daily Kos community has sent towards her.
She says a big THANK YOU to everyone, and is very grateful!
We also let her know about Frances and Camoo. She was very happy that Frances has a home, and she understood about Camoo and agreed with the actions I took to help ease her transition. I have Camoo’s ashes with me now, and will give them to her at an appropriate time.
I went to see aitchdee on Tuesday morning (yesterday) to bring her her phone charger, and stayed to chat with her for a while afterwards. For breakfast, she had gotten some French toast and cereal with milk. The French toast was a little “aromatic” / spicy for her, but she really loved the cereal! I was very heartened to see that she was able to eat without needing assistance.
She has a pulley installed above her bed so that she can exercise her arms by pulling down on it, and the nurses encourage her to move her legs to keep them active. She was overjoyed to see me, and I could see it in her face, in her wonderful smile. I don’t have a photo, but that image will always stay with me.
The best news of all?
The doctors and nurses who are taking very good care of her are planning to move her out of the ICU into a general ward. This means that it should be easier for her friends to visit her and she’ll have more freedom and mobility (such as taking phone calls or using her laptop to get online). I think this has either already happened or will be happening today (Wednesday).
We’re still taking things a day at a time, but I’m very heartened by her progress and her fighting spirit!
And now for a little personal digression...
After Betsrutan and I left the ICU, we stayed outside talking for a bit and in the course of conversation I mentioned that I like and play ragtime in addition to classical and jazz piano. Her grandmother was active in a band in the 1940s, playing ragtime on the piano and she still has her grandmother’s piano. I am completely over the moon to find someone else on DK who likes ragtime!! :)
So, here are two little ragtime pieces for everyone’s enjoyment.
The first, “Pickles and Peppers” was composed by Adaline Shepherd (1883-1950) in 1906, and was the first rag by a female composer to become a best-seller. It was used as William Jennings Bryan’s campaign theme song in his 1908 presidential campaign. It’s a really fun piece to play, either solo or with a band!!
The second piece, “The Thriller”, was composed in 1909 by May Aufderheide (1888-1972), who grew up in Indiana. It’s a very fun and energetic piece, and I love playing it (though not quite as fast as in the video below!)