Friday, September 12, 2008


Big changes today...

This morning, Zack was discharged from Doernbecher and transferred to Legacy Emanuel for physical, occupational and respiratory therapy. Whereas at Doernbecher he was working with therapists a couple times a day, Legacy Emanuel has a focused program that will keep him busy most of the day. We arrived late this morning and are getting settled, meeting with therapists, etc. The rehab docs are saying we'll be here anywhere from one to three weeks.

We stopped by the Doernbecher ICU as we were leaving and were able to thank many of the docs, nurses and respiratory therapists who helped Zack. They were thrilled to see him, taking pictures and congratulating him...impressed he had come so far, so well. 

As of this morning, Zack is no longer using nasal cannulas for breathing. He's come so far in his healing to not need the extra oxygen anymore. And he's come full circle because he was using nasal cannulas the first week he was admitted to the hospital, back in mid-July. He isn't using a feeding tube anymore either so he's completely free of tubes (his chest tubes were removed this week, too). 

Zack's grandma went home this morning after nearly 8 weeks of being with us all day, every day. She arrived the first day Zack was admitted to the ICU (the second week he was in the hospital). There's no way to thank her enough for everything she did for us while she was here. Thank you, Grandma!

Grandma & Zack in the Quiet Courtyard, Doernbecher

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

HOORAY! What great news! Love to you both. You are always on our minds. Kim, Steve, Julia, & Stefani

Jen said...

YOU ARE AMAZING ZACK!!!!! Way to be a fighter! I am soooo happy for you and Mom (and the rest of your family and friends). this is such GREAT news! -Jen

Anonymous said...

Zack - I miss you , I miss you , I miss you - and Mom too. Good luck at Legacy.I know it will be great !! Love Grandma

Anonymous said...

I'm crying tears of pure joy, happiness and excitment. I love you guys and I am so proud of you both. Zack, I doubt there has ever been a stronger or braver person, you get that from your mom obviously. I am looking forward to hanging out, would you have any interest in watching Elf with me?I love you guys.

Miguel

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys, this is Carol from Pacifica, I can't believe how good you look Zack. I saw grandma but haven't spoke with her yet. Keep up the good work...you'll be out in time for Halloween!!!!!! Thanks Maria for keeping us updated and as always my prayers and good wishes are sent your way along with our good air!!!! God Bless you guys Love you Carol!!

Anonymous said...

Tears of joy and prayers of thanks coming from the LeFave (& Kaainoa) home! The LORD bless you both!
XO,
Desiree

Anonymous said...

Hey there Zack! Mocha and Maya here. We're up at Donner Lake with our mom and dad. Do you remember our trip up here a few years back? Those goofy pictures you took of all of us? That seems like a long time ago. And it was to us. They say that, as a general rule, one human year is equal to seven dog years (more or less). So, if that was four years ago to you, it was 28 years ago to us .. a really, really long time. Which probably explains why Maya, with her obviously limited mental capacity, can't remember the trip at all. Anyway, there is no snow yet .. we can't wait until there is. Maybe by the time there is you'll be well enough for another snowball fight with our mom and dad.

On a side note Zack .. do you know how tough it is to live with a cat? It really sucks.

Anyway, we are grinning from ear to ear about your progress and we hope to see you very soon.

Love,

Mocha and Maya (aka Mandy)

Anonymous said...

Hi Zack,
Hope you liked Ghostbreakers with Bob Hope! sent some games that should show up soon. Congrats on the speedy recovery to walking, talking and even eating real food. I'm really happy for you and proud of you.
L,
Bob Biig M little g

Anonymous said...

Okay so I spoke to Grandma today and she misses your guys terribly. But she is so happy with your progress Zack and is very proud of you and your mom and so are we...keep up the good work. I hear your moving now and getting around, so good for you keep on getting stronger and stronger and before you know it you'll be down here visiting! We have the whales down here blowing out in the ocean and flippin around Very cool... Carol

crllull said...

hey guys! zack - grandma told me you had an awesome day! just like all your days - thats amazing man! murphy can't wait to come see you:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/crllull83/mmmmm.jpg

we love you both and miss you very much :)

auntie and the murphinater

Anonymous said...

Hi Maria!
I feel like it's been forever since we were last in touch. How is Zack doing today? We miss you guys so much! Let me know what the latest is. We love you guys!!

Ines

Anonymous said...

Hey Zack! Your pal Frank is thinking of you!