Cassie has had a busy week in her recovery. On Monday Cassie went back to the OR (her 17th trip). The plastics team continued to spend time preparing her residual lower left limb for a prosthetic. The plastics team was very pleased with the progress of this residual limb, and were able to close up all of the other wounds remaining from her fasciotomy. The plastics team did also confirm that there will be some form of amputation that must take place on her lower right leg. No surgery will be happening for a few more weeks as they continue to evaluate how to approach the amputation.
Cassie continued to spend time each day working with Physical Therapy, they sat her up on the side of the bed for 10-20 minutes and moved her arms and legs, They also placed an emphasis on strengthening her core and neck muscles. Occupational Therapy has also visited each day working to increase her hand dexterity.
Cassie has continued to work daily with the respiratory team to increase her ability to breathe on room air. She has been able to breathe for 4+ hours on room air. The 4 hour mark of room air was a significant milestone, as the Speech team then were willing to evaluate her for a speaking valve. She was able to speak her first sentences to the family today, stating how much she loved us, she missed us, and how she is ready to go home!
Cassie has transitioned away from CRT (Continual Renal Therapy) which is constant dialysis that she has been on since the original surgery. She transitioned to PRT (Partial Renal Therapy) from 6 PM – 6 AM for a few days, and today is beginning intermittent dialysis. The intermittent dialysis is currently scheduled for every other day. While she has had some breaks off of dialysis, the medical staff believe her kidneys are jumping back into action as she is able to offload her own fluids.
Cassie continues to fight through her recovery, tackling each obstacle with her infamous smile. She is working so hard to regain her strength to get her voice back so she can let loose, with all the thoughts that have been pent up in her mind for 6 weeks now. We wish you all a blessed Memorial Day weekend! 🇺🇸.
A huge thank you to the Van Buren School district for the incredibly inspirational video. Cassie absolutely loved it and made her smile ear to ear. A link to the video is below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wA4EV_FJl0wDjJ0yXzVXJpyDoOxgJUdc/view?usp=sharing
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