[nagdu] Listening in the Wings

[Tamara Smith-Kinney]

Toni,

Wow!  I am so sorry to hear that you are going through all of this.  Glad
your husband came through the surgery well, though, and that he is making
some proress, even if it's slow.  The stress from his frustration may be
counterproductive in some ways, but is sure shows his will and fighting
spirit.

So here's sending some virtual cheers your way.

Do let us know how is's going when you have the time and energy.  You my our
best wishes and hopes on this unexpected and arduous journey you are taking.
I am glad you have Hazel to guide you and provide comic relief through
crotch sniffing.  /grin/

Oh!  Mitzi wants me to tell you to remind Hazel that toe licking is also an
excellent way to mortify your handler while making everybody else laugh and
say funny things.  /grin/  She remembers you fondly and wishes you well.
She is also grateful for much advice you gave her handler!  /grin/

Cheers and well wishes!

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Toni Whaley
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 11:39 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] Listening in the Wings

Hello!

Although I've been reading all the messages and have found many of the
threads very interesting, I haven't had the time or energy to respond. Two
months ago my husband had 12 hours of heart surgery to repair a whole
between the ventricles in his heart. Fortunately, the surgery was
successful. Unfortunately, many complications have slowed down his progress.
These include: fluid on the lungs, extreme physical weakness, inability to
swallow food. He is unable to speak above a whisper, an this speech is for
the most part unintelligible.Sometimes he's able to communicate through
child-like writing which doesn't helpp me unless someone is there to read
it. Until last week he was still in the cardiac-pulminary ICU. He was, and
still is, too weak to participate in strenuous physical therapy of the type
given in most nursing facilities. Yet he had made enough progress so that
the insurance companies wouldn't pay for him to remain in the ICU. So he was
transferred from a hospital about a mile from my home accessible by taking
one bus to a rehab hospital 21 miles from my home accessible by taking three
buses. Fortunately, I can get to this hospital by using paratransit. 

At this writing my husband's condition has changed very little. His
inability to do much for himself makes him extremely anxious. This causes
his speech to be fast and choppy, increasing its intelligibility. The speech
therapist and I have created a speech board in braille and print which
contains his most frequently requests. This is helping some. 

Hazel has done well spending long days in the hospital, and we're educating
a lot of people at both hospitals. She has also provided several occasions
of amusement to me. One day I was walking with one of the surgeons back to a
conference room. As we passed a man walking in the opposite direction, Hazel
quicklly took a sniff of his crotch. Of course, I corrected her for this.
But the surgeon showed some understanding of dogs by saying, "I guess you
can't take the dog out of the guide dog." All of the nurses in the ICU
enjoyed Hazel. Indeed, they were extremely disappointed on those few days I
didn't bring her to the hospital. The staff at the new facility are now
getting to know us as well.

Toni



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