Joye's Update 6/10/08

A pretty decent day today. Andrew's early (2) weans were not as good as he's been doing because they are now trying to incorporate weaning and getting up in his chair at the same time. It is much more difficult to push the diaphragm up while sitting up in a chair, so this too will take some practice. I'm actually in the room with Andrew now as he's weaning his third wean today and it's been 1.5 hours so far and his goal is 2 hours. He's having no trouble so far. I've been reading (as usual) about spinal cord injuries and how important nutrition is to recovery; therefore, I've decided (with Andrew's and his dietitian's okay) that I am going to take over his nutritional needs. It's not that the hospital isn't feeding him okay food, but it is "hospital" food and from what I can see, not so nutritional (weird huh). Andrew really has very little appetite and because he still does not breath through his nose or mouth, he's unable to smell and taste is quite limited as well. Of everything I've read, it appears that juicing organic veggies and fruit is the most beneficial way for him to get good nutrition (easily). So, I immediately bought a juicer and ordered a juicing book for healing recipes. I will also do my best to get organic "lean" meat into him as I can, but he has a hard time chewing with his c-collar on (which he still has to wear while sitting up). Legumes, some dairy, and whole wheat products are also quite important and will be incorporated into the menu as well. Everything will have to go through his dietitian as it's also VERY important for Andrew not to gain weight as extra pounds can cause stress on his skin and Andrew has only lost somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds since his injury, so he has no room to gain at all. I'm very excited to get started on this, and so is his nurse as she's been trying to get him off the feeding tube for a while now, but has been unable to because with his low appetite he isn't consuming enough calories to warrant it. We're still keeping the faith and have no doubt that in His time, God will heal Andrew. We're so happy to hear and read that so many of you are praying; so many of you have touched our hearts deeply. Good Night and God bless you all. Joye. PS: In 10 more minutes it will be a 2 hour wean (another record) :)