Bill, Monday August 5

Today is Bill and Ayn's anniversary.  Bill drew a (sort of) heart for her.  And he has been saying, "I love you," first thing in the morning.

A one-way valve was put on the trach: air can pass in through it, but exhale goes completely up and out.  If that looks good after 24-48 hours, they can put a cap on it, and then possibly remove the trach completely in another 24-48 hours.

Bill is doing a lot of talking, whispering, almost too much. He tries really long complicated sentences. We have to back up, "Say one or two words at a time," and to over-enunciate because the mouth muscles are out of  shape! He was trying to say, it turned out, "I want to make sure she gets albuturol," referring to Ayn needing a refill (which was taken care of several weeks ago).

He is definitely enjoying ice chips. Yesterday he wrote, "So thirsty."

Wednesday might be the transfer day to skilled nursing.