Meet The Gestapo

I went to the beach yesterday for a work outing. I know, sounds rough. That's my excuse for not writing. The truth is though that it was a little rough. Sitting on the beach, staring at the water and listening to the waves is a quintessential Pam moment. It's one of her all time favorite things. I just kept thinking I was going to look to my left or to my right and see her reclined in a beach chair, diet coke in hand, reading an overly complex book. Soon though. Anyhow, it wasn't terrible and I don't mean to be a sadsack, it was just a moment that made me think of her so I'm sharing it.

Moving on.

The new trach is clearly a winner. She's been talking a good amount and her voice is getting stronger. The speech therapist (who Rick has nicknamed "The Gestapo", which I believe is reflective of how seriously she takes her job, but both he and Dee have stressed how much they really like her, so I don't want you guys to fear the speech therapist)... anyhow, she explained that my mom has to work on taking breaths and pausing between every few words and sentences - otherwise she talks too quickly and runs out of steam. We end up hearing the beginning and not the end. It's like a balloon deflating itself very quickly. So they've been working on it and it's been a big help. But the BEST news is that she's laughing. I've watched and listened as she's bantered back and forth with my "charming" husband, because let's be honest, there's nothing like a Southerner to really get her worked up. No offense Southerners, it's all in good fun. The unfortunate news is that she hasn't had her ice cream yet because The Gestapo wants to wait a bit longer. And what The Gestapo wants, The Gestapo gets.

The last piece of exciting news is that they've started talking about rehab. They feel as though she will probably be able to move in the next few weeks. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves obviously, but to me that shows me that the people who know what they're doing feel encouraged by her progress.

Um, I just got a text message of Dee and my mom giving me the middle finger. SHE'S BACK!