November 13, 2019
On Halloween Day, Kathie had a dental appointment. Dental appointments mean minor surgery for her, with intubated anesthesia and a trip to a local hospital. This was Kathie’s 5th dental cleaning so we are pretty prepared for the process. Everything went well except her post-surgery recovery. The scar tissue from her tracheostomy area and a breathing tube down her throat created some kind of problem and Kathie is just now finishing up a cough that was very painful and went on longer than some of her chest colds. One of the the good things about working with Kathie on her cough over the years is that I have become good at suctioning her throat and helping to clear whatever she coughs up. In spite of her brain injury, she seems to understand that I am trying to help, she opens her mouth when I ask and I keep talking to her throughout the process. At the conclusion, I always let her know what a good job she did! When I personally have had a cough and I’m lying in a bed, I try to imagine ...