Mais Ligado

Let's get the good news out first: Bob was able to swallow food for the first time today! It was the consistency of baby food, and he didn't gag. Only the speech therapist can give him the food because as she feeds him, she monitors his swallowing with a stethoscope; she also monitors his oxygen levels to see if the food is going down the correct pipeline.

Bob tried to move his oxygen meter from a finger in his left hand to a finger in his right hand. This is significant because previously he acted as though his right side was unidentifiable or nonexistent. 

I spoke with Juliana and she said that what is keeping Bob at the hospital is his feeding tube. She said it is good that Bob is still in a hospital setting because when he gets discharged he won't have access to physical therapy two or three times a day or speech therapy once a day. So there is no rush to get Bob out of the hospital because he is benefiting from being in that environment, but being able to swallow food is a step towards independence.


Tia Rita, my mom's sister and guardian angel for the moment, is back from São Paulo, where she lives. She spent all of last weekend by my parents' side and came back again to help. I spoke with her on the phone and she said she saw big improvements from the time she left. Hers is a unique perspective. One that has spent some time away and come back can notice the incremental changes more easily than someone who is there watching the grass grow so to speak. Tia Rita said Bob is participating more, moving more and is "mais ligado". This phrase is hard to translate but roughly means more with it. Tia Rita joked that Bob smiled plenty for Juliana but not so much for her when she arrived. When I called in the afternoon Bob was surrounded by women: my mom, Tia Rita, Juliana and the physical therapist. He was happy. Tia Rita brought some flash-cards in English for Bob to study from. She has been an amazing help and is very supportive of my mom and Bob. Tonight and tomorrow night she will sleep at the hospital to give my mom a chance to sleep a bit better at my grandmother's house.

Juliana also thought Bob was understanding things more. She witnessed my mom asking Bob to take off his glasses using just words, no gestures or pantomimes and he did. Bob stood up again today, being helped on either side by my mom and the therapist. I was lucky to be sent a picture of that occurrence and as difficult as it is to see him in a hospital gown again, it was great just to see him. He was looking right at the camera and had a face that said "are you seriously taking a picture of me right now?" Those of us that know Bob can probably picture what that looks like.

Bob gets frustrated when my mom doesn't understand what he is trying to say. She said he doesn't know that the sounds he makes don't come out like words. He gets visibly upset when he is not understood. I am told Bob is very motivated to do the physical therapy exercises but not so much the vocal exercises. 

My mom read Bob some more emails from friends and family today. She asked that when you send them, to keep them brief, just a few sentences as to not tire out Bob. He really seems to enjoy them so feel free to send emails. If you would like the address, email me and I will pass it along to you. Thanks for reading and keep the positive thoughts and prayers coming.