Sunday 12-31

today was another one of steady progress in speech and general responsiveness. steve is progressing also in reading and reciting (months of the year), but it has been a rough one on mom. steve is receiving a brain stimulant as part of the normal course of action, and dosage is tricky. he has been hyper-active all day. all of the staff and the docs say that this is just a regular part of the process, but some things are very difficult for a parent to watch. more tomorrow-tom

Friday

Greetings. Before I get into Steve's lastest improvements, I just wanted to clarify something. Lately we've had several people asking us when Steve is getting out of the hospital, and if we think it will be soon. Even though he is making vast improvements at a rapid pace, he is going to be on the rehab floor of the hospital for atleast 2 and 1/2 more months. After that things are really up in the air. So, even though he is doing so well, he has a lot more to go. Two days ago Steve started using his voice for the first time. He's able to do this now because the hole where his trach was is almost healed and so are his vocal cords. It's awesome to be able to hear him talk instead of trying to lip read or catch what it is he's whispering. Because his brain is still in the healing process, about half of what he says are just random words or phrases that don't make sense. At this point he's just working out memories and information swirling around in his head and trying to make sense of them through talking about them out loud. He still responds to questions and is more sociable, but it's when nobody is speaking directly to him that he tends to do this random muttering to himself. Of course he continues to be very active, walking on the treadmill and stationary bicycyle now and participating in wheelchair races with his friends down the hall. The eye doctor came by a few days ago and discovered that Steve's field of vision is only 50% in each eye. He thinks this is something that will heal itself, so we pray that when he comes back to check on his eyes next week, they will have started to heal on their own.

Tuesday

Merry late Christmas! Steve continues to do well, of course. He has totally stopped getting tube feedings and is eating real food now, feeding himself, and he loves it. Although today it seems he has the stomach virus, so anyone who was thinking of visiting might want to hold off til tomorrow. Pray for his healing! Anyways, he continues to be very active-walking lots and walking well, climbing stairs, scooting himself around in the wheelchair, all with minimal assistance. He's also mouthing a lot, but as his trach hole is still in the process of healing and so are his vocal cords, it's mostly just whispering. Yesterday mom showed him flash cards of his first and last name and numbers 1-10 and he recognized and said all of them. He has lots of dexterity in his left hand now that he has to use it for almost everything, but he also uses his right hand every now and then for fine motor actions such as pulling off his sock with his pointer finger and thumb, which is amazing considering the condition that wrist is in and the fact that he's barely used that hand in the past month. We are starting to see more emotions from him. Yesterday when he was trying to say something and dad couldn't hear him and kept asking him to repeat it, he finally got ticked off and yelled whatever he was trying to say (a whisper yell, although you could hear a little bit of his voice). His natural self reliance is going to work in his favor because he insists on doing most things by himself without help. As I write this blog I look back on the previous one to make sure I don't repeat anything, then I realize that that is not possible, seeing as how the things he was doing 3 days ago are old news now. He is making tremendous progress, but still has a long road ahead of him. Keep the prayers coming! Steve really responds well and even participates a bit when we pray for him, and they are most definitely working!

Saturday

Sorry, I got a little behind. Much has happened the past few days, although as dad previously stated, we didn't get to see any of it until yesterday thanks to awesome Colorado weather. Anyways! Steve continues to talk a little bit here and there. He does more whispering than he does actual speaking, though, for two reasons. One, he has experienced some vocal cord damage because of the tubes he had going down his throat and inbetween his vocal cords those first few weeks. This should heal in time, but heal completely, we aren't guaranteed. It's another wait and see thing. Also, even though his trach was removed on Wednesday, the hole still hasn't completely closed up yet, so when he attempts to speak, some air is still escaping through the hole, thus making it difficult for his voice to have some or any volume to it. The hole should close in the next few days. Last night Steve was able to name his occupational therapist when dad asked him to, even though he hadn't seen him since that morning, which says a lot about his daily memory starting to come around. However, we know he won't remember atleast the week leading up to his accident, and probably a lot further back, but it's too early to say to say for sure. He is able to count numbers in correct order and can perform daily living tasks such as showering and shaving, with some assistance. During speech therapy yesterday, a spoon of apple sauce was put in front of him and he took it and ate it. Today the same was done with bacon and scrambled eggs, and he ate all of it without being prompted. He still gets tube feedings for the time being, until atleast next Tuesday, but he is able to eat during his speech therapy sessions. On Sunday we plan on giving him Graeters ice cream that was sent to us from the people of KBC (thank you so much!). He is able to tell us if and where he is having pain. Last night dad asked him if his head hurt, and he said "slightly" in a whisper. We thought that was an interesting word choice considering the level he is at right now. Steve continues to do better every day in physical therapy, walking up and down flights of stairs and the hallway several times per session. While he is doing better with answering questions, he is definitely still confused from time to time. Yesterday when the speech therapist asked him where he lives, he said "Ohio state." He uses a lot more expressions now and can focus on a person or object for far longer than he could several days ago. We ask for prayer for the pain he is having in his head, the healing of his brain, and that his vocal cords would heal so we could hear his full voice someday soon!

wednesday

this is tom, not beth. as you can see, i no longer slavishly conform to rules of capitalization and other such trivial matters-that is why beth insisted that i identify myself. on mon. steve went up two steps, on tues. he climbed 2 flights of steps. today he walked the hall accompanied, but unassisted, washed himself in the shower, and spoke, saying "good morning" in response to the physical therapist. the tracheotomy tube is now out and the coughing has subsequently ceased. thats a lot of progress for 48 hours. unfortunately i wasnt able to hear my son say his first words this time around, as beth and i have been unable to get out due to a blizzard,colorado style-4 ft drifts, 60 mph wind for the last 12 hrs and will continue all night. i was out in it for 2 minutes and had to lean forward like one of those weather guys reporting on a hurricane to keep from being blown over and could not get a breath-this is real weather here. thank you everybody for everything-prayers, $, favors, wonderful food prepared and delivered to our door(PIERCED people are the real thing). beth, georgina and i are struggling under a big load, but we would have been crushed by it were it not for the support of YOU.

Monday

Well it looks as if Steve's strength is going to improve some everyday. Each day he walks for longer distances with less and less help and does more physical therapy than the previous day. In fact, his physical therapist said he did better with his afternoon workout today than he did this morning. When she asked Steve to step up onto the mini staircase, he stepped up, and then when she asked him to take a step backward, he stepped up onto the next step with a little smirk on his face that seemed to say "I'm just going to do it my own way." That seems to be the way he feels about a lot of silly commands or requests nowadays. He's always eager to get up and do something productive, like go for a walk, but if you ask him to hold up a hand if he understands you, he either will or won't, depending on what he feels like doing. He is definitely aware of what is going on around him and who is present and can focus better than he could a day or so ago. Today his trach was capped, meaning he is breathing 100% completely on his own, through his nose/mouth. This means he can also talk, if he wanted to, but he's not quite there yet, though he did mouth "bye bye" when his pulmonologist said bye to him today. If he continues to breathe well through his nose the trach will be taken out within a few days.

Saturday

We've seen some great improvements since Steve has been in rehab. Thursday he walked for the first time, Friday he walked about 20 feet, and today he walked about 40 feet, some while pushing a grocery cart. He did all of this with assistance from the physical therapist, of course. His attention span right now is super short- about half a second. But yesterday, while looking at a picture collage of himself and his friends from high school (thanks, Niki) he stared at it for almost five minutes. At one point he even pointed to a picture of himself. We don't really know what's going on in his mind right now, but it was very interesting to see him do that. Thanks to everyone in Madeira who sent gifts for Steve!

Friday

So Steve has been in rehab for almost 2 full days now, and we've seen some great improvements. He can stand up almost completely on his own, and, when he sits in the chair (for several hours at a time) he is able to pull himself up when he starts to slip. His legs are very strong - if you stand too close to him he will probably start kicking you. He's getting a lot of his body strength back, but his neck is going to need the most work, considering he was lying in a bed for 2 and 1/2 weeks, all day long. He's been sleeping the past few nights, with help from sleeping medication. His reactions have been a lot better, maybe because of this. Several times, during physical therapy, he has responded to questions by shaking his head yes or no. He can definitely hear and understand what people say, but he doesn't always respond or do what you ask him. He has people asking things of him all day long so we think sometimes he just doesn't feel like doing what he's told, which is understandable.

We want to give a special thank you to the people in the Christ Hospital lab and Plant Operations. Your continued support (emotional, spiritual, financial) has meant so much to us and we are so grateful for all that you've done.

Today

Finally....Steve made it into rehab today. Hallelujah. He's on the eighth floor, room number 814. It's preferable that visitors come after 4:30, as he is going to be receiving 3 hours of therapy everyday at anytime from early morning to late afternoon. His bed is more like a tent, with a sort of net-like contraption hanging overhead and down the sides. This is to keep him actually in the bed - he can get very fidgety sometimes. I think he's ready to be out of a bed for good. He's still doing good with everything else. Steve even kissed dad's cheek when he asked him to, and we saw a few new facial expressions from him today. As of now, his body is way ahead of his mind, so we ask for prayer that his brain would continue to heal.

Tuesday

Steve still didn't get assessed for rehab today. We figured out that he's not hardly slept in about 3 days, and this is why his responses haven't been ideal the past few days. Tonight is the first night he is going to be taking some sleeping medication, so hopefully that will help solve the problem so that when the rehab doc comes around in the morning, Steve is ready to respond. Today he did get into a chair for about an hour and a half, and he started to pull himself up and out of the chair when dad asked him if he wanted to get back into bed. He's also grabbing onto the bed rail on the right side with his left arm (the good one) and pulling himself over onto his side to lay more comfortably. Until just a day or two ago his nurses had to turn him every few hours to keep him from getting bed sores, but now he is taking care of that on his own. We ask for prayer for him to be able to sleep, because without sleep, his brain can't continue to heal.

Several people have mentioned wanting to send cards or various other items to Steve. All of our mail is being forwarded to us in Colorado, so if you want to send him something just mail it to our home address: 7331 North Timberlane Dr., Cincinnati OH 45243

Monday

Today was a pretty uneventful day. A doctor from the rehab department came by to evaluate Steve, but he was out cold and didn't seem to want to wake up, so we are going to have to wait until tomorrow to see what's going to happen with that. Even if he doesn't make it into rehab right away, we were assured today that he would be moved to another floor in the same hospital, and not to a different building downtown (which was a possibility). Steve performed well in physical therapy early in the morning. He was able to sit on the side of his bed again for several minutes and responded to most of the commands given to him. However, he didn't respond much to anything for the rest of the day, so maybe it's a blessing his assessment didn't take place today. On a better note, his daily chest x-ray has been discontinued now that his lungs are completely clear. We ask specifically for prayer that Steve would be able to respond to commands more consistently, especially for his rehab assessment.

Mom and dad have decided to continue to keep visitors out of Steve's room for the next few days. He's at a crucial point in his waking up process, and he needs to focus his energy toward healing his brain, and with visitors coming in and out all day it just slows things down for him. We are so incredibly appreciative of all of his friends that have come to support him and the family! Right now, though, it's in Steve's best interests that he uses his energy for other things. Again, you will still find me in the waiting room if you so wish to stop by!

At the end of a long day at the hospital, it means so, so much to us to come home to a pile of cards and packages from people back home. It is so encouraging to be reminded day after day that so many people are thinking about us and praying for us. Thanks, everyone.

Last Sunday post, I sware

The attempt to move Steve into a chair today was forfit because his nurse didn't have permission from the doctor to do so. His chest x-ray was clear for the first time in 2 weeks, and tomorrow he will probably be off of his current oxygen supply, and be breathing completely on his own. Today he was very active, especially with his legs. He seems to be getting very restless. Tomorrow he will be getting assessed by the head of the rehabiliation department to determine whether he is ready for rehab or not, so it is crucial that he is alert and responding to commands for this evaluation. If he does not get into the rehab program, it is sort of up in the air where he would be moved to, so this is a very important step for him. Because of this, my parents are asking that no visitors come back to his room to see him tomorrow, as he will need to save up his energy for when the doctor comes around. However, feel free to come by and keep me company in the waiting room!

We ask for specific prayer for Steve's assessment tomorrow. The family knows that he can respond properly to requests but we need him to prove it to the doctor.

A special thank you goes out to all of Steve's friends back home in Cincinnati. Your comments are very thoughtful and encouraging, and I'm sure Steve will love to read them someday when he is able to.

Sunday, again

Tom would like me to tell everyone to feel free to leave comments under any of the entries, if you have anything you would like to say. We love reading them. Thanks!

Sunday

There won't be any visitors allowed back in Steve's room today. We are going to try to get him into a chair today. This is going to be a huge step for him, and it's going to be time consuming and exhausting for him. Thanks!

Saturday

Sorry about the missed entry. Time got away from me. Anyways, today was another good day. In the past few days we have continued to see improvements, specifically in Steve's breathing and the clearing of his lungs. He may be off the ventilator completely by Monday. He continues to be very active - today he even sat on the side of his bed briefly (with the help and instruction of the nurse, of course). His eyes open wider and he continues to be able to focus and follow people and gives indications that he knows what people are saying and doing to him. He also sometimes turns his head completely to follow peoples' voices. We are all feeling very positive about what's been going on in the past day or two, and are hopeful that he will be moved to the rehab floor sometime in the near future.

Thursday

Today was a good day. Steve's lungs have continued to clear up and his breathing is even better today than it was yesterday (if you can believe it!). He was more active and responsive today than he's ever been. We ask specifically for the following prayer requests:
-The minor surgery on Friday for his tracheostomy and feeding tube in stomach
-Steve would respond to verbal commands from the doctors and nurses (so far he prefers to respond to family members' voices mostly).
-He would be admitted to the rehab unit as soon as possible (maybe even next week)
-continued prayer that his brain will heal properly
Again, thanks to everyone for all the prayers, cards, meals, etc. It continues to make a huge difference.

Wednesday

Alas, news! Steve is for sure getting a tracheostomy on Friday. If you do not know exactly what that is, this means that the ventilator tubing and the feeding tube in his nose will be taken out and a small tube will go directly into his lungs through a small opening in his throat below the vocal cords. The purpose of this tube will be to continue to clear his lungs out. Also, his feeding tube is going to go directly into his stomach through an opening in his abdomen. This will free up his mouth/throat and nose, it will be more comfortable for him, and will eliminate the possibility of damage to his vocal cords. Steve's chest x-ray looked more clear and his breathing and heart rate were better than yesterday, so it would seem that his lungs are finally starting to clear up. Mom (Georgina) says thank you to everyone for the prayers. She can really see and feel them working.

Tuesday

Because Steve's lungs continue to produce secretions, he is not able to be taken off the ventilator yet. He is still breathing on his own, and his breathing was a bit more steady today than yesterday. However, if his lungs do not clear up by this weekend, he is going to get a tracheotomy on Monday. This will make him a lot more comfortable and will prevent possible damage to his vocal cords that can be caused by ventilator tubes staying in for an extended period of time. It is quite normal for patients in his position to get tracheotomies, but ideally we would love for his lungs to clear up in the next 4 days. Being able to take the ventilator tubes out is a big step in his waking up/recovery process, and this is a step we are all eager for him to take. Continued prayer for the clearing up of his lungs is much needed and appreciated!

Monday

As will probably be the case with the next several entries, there are not too many changes to note. Steve is still breathing on his own, but because of the secretions in his lungs, a result of the pneumonia, he is not able to be off the ventilator yet. This is something we are just going to have to wait out until he is able to do things such as cough on command. He continues to watch people and move his eyes about the room. And watch football.

We ask for continued prayer for the healing of his lungs, and also that the family can stay positive and patient. Even though we have many reasons to be hopeful, it just gets very tough at the end of the day.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40:30