My parents visit with John everyday, without exception. They report that he is conscious and aware of where he is. But lately, he isn't responding to stimuli. They wheel him outside for a change of scenery, but he just sits there. John is breathing well on his own and no longer requires any respiratory treatment. He only has a nose tube for oxygen.
I had a flashback to my stay in rehab, when a respiratory tech named Jorge would come in every afternoon and hook up a breathing mask, pour in some meds, turn on the oxygen, and put the mask over my mouth and nose. He then instructed me to breathe in deeply. The problem was that he wore the most awful-smelling cologne and if I breathed in through my nose, then I would start choking and my eyes began to tear up. Jorge thought that I was responding to the treatment and attempted to suction the non-existent mucous from my mouth. I learned quickly to breathe through my mouth until after he left the room. The funny thing is that the nurses were aware of this, but were powerless to do anything about it.
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