Dear Friends

I have been informed by the Nursing staff at the hospital where my mum is a patient that she is making good progress.

The tracheostomy tube has been removed as have the stiches/staples in her neck and chin. She is able to get about and is now able to sip a little water. She is being fed through the PEG, which is a good thing right now because she really isn't up to eating. She managed to eat some ice cream yesterday, but it took absolutely ages to get it down and she had to wait for it to melt completely in her mouth to swallow it. She found it quite difficult.

The speech therapist comes once a day and has informed me that she is very pleased with Mum's progress. She said that she thinks Mum is doing really well considering it has only been a week since her radical operation.

However, depression has set in big time. I can't cheer mum up. She feels so frustrated because her speech is not the same. At the moment she has to put her hand over the hole where the trachy was because it hasn't healed over yet. Her voice sounds very deep. She says her tongue feels very heavy/thick and she struggles to move it around in her mouth in order to talk. The speech therapist has advised her to keep up with the talking and says it will get better with practise and time. Mum is not convinced.

I think she is expecting too much from herself too soon. What do you think? How was it for you after your operations? Did you feel depressed?
Did it get better? Did your tongue feel heavy?

What can I do to make her feel that the operation wasn't a mistake? She says she wishes she had never had it done now.

Kathleen