[Magdalen] Janice update; a modest milestone

[Lynn Ronkainen]

This is so big Don!  I am so glad to hear your status report on Janice's 
recovery and your shared news too!!

(gentle) hugs from Houston
Lynn

website: www.ichthysdesigns.com

When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not a 
single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave me." 
attributed to Erma Bombeck
 "Either Freedom for all or stop talking about Freedom at all" from a talk 
by Richard Rohr

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From: <thedonboyd at austin.rr.com>
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 9:56 PM
To: <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Subject: [Magdalen] Janice update; a modest milestone

>
> JANICE UPDATE 11 JANUARY 2016: This week Janice has continued to show 
> remarkable progress. She still has tubes attached to her body but is 
> regaining the strength she will need to do without them. She's able to 
> breathe a higher proportion of room air:supplemental oxygen all the time, 
> with 100% room air some of the time; she's making progress on swallowing 
> which will move her toward normal eating and removal of the tube the puts 
> Ensure directly into her stomach; she's gaining strength that will enable 
> her to get to and from the bathroom and on and off the toilet that will 
> allow removal of the indwelling Foley catheter.
>
> This week she has walked (my estimate) 180-200 feet several times each 
> day; she has swallowed cold liquids, ice cream, and mashed potatoes 
> successfully several dozen times with no coughing or choking; and she has 
> begun exercises that strengthen muscles in her thighs and upper arms. In 
> all of these the therapists report that she is gaining more rapidly than 
> they would have predicted for a person of her age with the kind of 
> injuries she has sustained.
>
> Pain in her broken neck is still a problem; a dull achy pain is never 
> completely gone and the doctor says that only the passage of time (another 
> four or five months) will eliminate that. Drugs sufficient to cover it 
> completely would so sedate her that she'd be immobilized. (My word, not 
> his.) The sharp stabbing sort of pain is now mostly controlled although as 
> I've said in the past she gets a twinge of it if she turns her head in a 
> certain way. I gather this is expected to improve sooner than the other.
>
> MILESTONE:  Janice and I completed a year of continuous sobriety a few 
> days ago, TBTG.
>