November 26th, 2007

Hello all, this is Kal.  I just got off the phone with Jitka.  I am so extremely proud of her.  She is so strong.  She is remaining so positive!  I held the phone up and tickled Kellan (my 6 month old son) and he let out a fit of hysterical little baby laughter.  When I put it back to my ear, Jitka was laughing the same way.  So good to hear.

On a medical note, they took her tracheostomy out today.  That is a terrific step.  She is still working on swallowing, though.  They have her fairly restricted when it comes to liquids.  She loves her water.  We talked a bit about how powerul a sensation that thirst could be.  She told the nurse: ” I would tell you what is wrong but my tongue is stuck to the  roof of my mouth.”  At least she can joke about it. 

Jitka is always stating and restating how grateful she is for everyone’s support.  I hope that she will be able to participate a little more in the blog.  It is still a little difficult for her to talk on the phone.  That, in addition to the fact that they have her in therapy for pretty much the entire day.  She says it is like “boot-camp”.  She is glad to be learning to once again become independent.  She has always been the epitome of independence-she will be again.

Have a good night, everyone.  Look forward to hearing from you all.  If there are any messages that you would like to send to Jitka, just attach them to the blog, or feel free to e-mail me at kal.ismail1@gmail.com.