ups and downs

I don't have a whole lot to report. Mom, and the rest of us really appreciated all your birthday cards and your love and support. Mom is having a little bit of a rough time. The breathing tube is still out, but she is having a bit of a hard time breathing without it. She just isn't keeping her oxygen levels high enough and her CO2 levels low enough. They have had to keep her on a CPAP maching most of the time, which has worked pretty good. They would love to only use that at night, so that she can sleep well, but want her breathing mostly on her own during the day. Her lungs just aren't quite strong enough for that right now. They are working on that though and doing everything they can to keep from having to put the breathing tube back in. One of the problems with the CPAP machines is that it is really loud. She still can't talk very well. She is really weak and her mouth is super dry (her swallow and cough reflexes are still not strong enough to give her water.) Because of that, she talks really quietly. It is almost impossible to hear and understand her over the machine and that is really frustrating to her and everyone else. She is also very, very tired all the time. Even just trying to say a few words wears her out. Although the last couple of days have been a little bit rough, we are still moving in a mostly positive direction. There will be bad days, that is just part of the process. We are just praying that her breathing can improve soon so that things will get a little more comfortable for her.