Riza requested that I share this latest update.
We had two meals in the dining hall today. It has a great view and good facilities, but it makes a third-grade recess look tame by comparison. Riza is in with some rowdy folks. (That seems an explosive combination!)
Riza asked Phyllis, who had been there for a month "Does it get easier?" Phyllis said "yes," which seemed to put Riza at ease.
Sharing meals is great, and she continues to improve every day. Her therapy sessions are difficult and she is extremely fatigued most of the day. She is nervous but still in pretty high spirits.
In tube news, she lost the catheter and IV this week. All that's left is the stomach feeding tube. She knows that she loses that as soon as her calorie count goes up. She had a cake-and-milkshake lunch today to try and hit her numbers, but she is still about half of her required intake.
I tell her, this isn't going to last forever, hon -- people begging you to eat more calories. She gets the joke but still eats pretty lackadaisically. Janelle, her speech therapist says that that is common.