Joye's Update 7/6/08

It was a nice day today. We went to church this morning, Andrew weaned for 16 hours, and he remained up in his chair for about 6 hours today. Church was nice; each week a different pastor from bible based churches in the Denver area conduct the service here at the hospital. Today's pastor actually once was a patient here at Craig as he was hit in his car by a drunk driver about 25 years ago. He was standing tall and able to walk and only had slight signs (physically) of ever having had a spinal cord injury. He preached on the topic of prayer and how by faith and God's grace can a miracle happen . . . he was proof of that. It was an inspiring sermon for sure. God is good and I know that He will heal Andrew. We have to continue to pray in faith that God can and will do this for him and He will show us all His glory. Good Night and God Bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 7/5/08

A pretty uneventful day today. Andrew weaned for 16 hours, got up in his chair for about 6 hours, and we basically just hung out in his room today because there are no classes or therapies on the weekend. We are planning to attend church tomorrow morning, and Andrew is really hoping that on Monday his respiratory doctor decides to up his weaning time. His respiratory therapist that he's had for the past couple of nights told me tonight that she felt Andrew's cough is really becoming strong. That is really good news because a good cough can mean the difference in whether or not he will be able to get his trach out. If his cough is not strong enough, he may have to keep the trach in for suctioning secretions in his lungs even if he is able to get totally off the ventilator. His home care will be much easier and safer for him if he's able to get the trach out. We are now on the list to go into a room on the east side of the hospital. That's where he and I will live together in a small apartment type hospital room so that I can become accustomed to taking care of him throughout the night, on my own. This will really prepare us for home. I believe we should be able to get into one of those rooms sometime in August. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm a little nervous too. The good thing is, a nurse is only a few steps away as there is a nurse's station right outside the room. We continually pray that God will heal Andrew, and we also pray daily for the Lord to take care of us as we go through this life-changing ordeal. We know that God will heal Andrew in His own time and we definitely feel the Lord taking care of us each moment of every day. We could not get through a minute of this without Him. We also know that your daily prayers are being heard and answered . . . we thank you so much for that. Good Night and God Bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 7/4/08

We had a pretty good 4th of July today with exception to the news that Andrew's X-ray came back that he has a small fracture in his foot from our wreck yesterday. There isn't any really bad swelling and, of course, Andrew is in no pain. There isn't much they can do about it except keep it elevated and they will have to be careful when they lift him and transfer him. I feel just terrible about it, but Andrew is still just laughing and joking about it that it's my driving. The hospital had a barbecue today that we went to and then tonight there was a 4th of July celebration on the roof of the parking garage with music and fireworks. It was nice and Andrew had a good time. It was also nice to know that I can handle things with Andrew on outings without all the support of the hospital staff. I was nervous about it, but it all went fine and I managed not to break any more bones. I pray that Andrew will continue wanting to go out on outings and will be up for that type of thing once we get home. Well, that's all for now . . . I'm exhausted; it's been a very full day. Good Night and God Bless. Joye

Joye's Update 7/3/08

Another good day today. Andrew weaned for 16 hours, had therapies, and rehab on his jaw. They are still working with me to prepare us for home . . . there is a lot to do. We will have to do some modifications to our home and there is a lot of equipment and supplies we'll need as well. They are doing a great job at preparing me for all of that. Andrew is trying to decide what kind of chair he wants, so they are letting him try all the kinds there are to choose from. I was trying to move him from one side of the room to the other today in one of the chairs he was trying and it moved forward and I couldn't get it to stop. I ran him into a cabinet and it turned his foot inward a bit. They don't think anything happened, but he'll have an X-ray tomorrow morning to make sure. I felt terrible . . . I hope it's not broken. Andrew has never broken a bone in his life, and I may have broken his foot while the poor guy was in a wheel chair. He just laughed at me and called me a "woman driver." Andrew's nurse told us many other stories about many other patients who've wrecked in chairs around here . . . it didn't make me feel any better though. His foot hadn't swollen or anything by the time I left his room tonight (thank God). And, his occupational therapist looked at that chair and did find a problem with the attendant driver on it . . . it still didn't make me feel any better either. We continue to pray for God to fully heal Andrew and Andrew's faith is strong in that the Lord will take care of him. We have not given up on God whatsoever . . . by becoming prepared for going home; we just know that we have to go on living and make the best life for us and our family as we can until God heals Andrew. Andrew is doing very well with this and is going to make the best of things; he has no intention of giving up or not enjoying his life or his family. He's at peace with things and knows God will see to it that he is taken care of. He is doing so well with his situation . . . I'm very proud of him. Thank you for all of your prayers . . . God is hearing them and He is working on this, I'm sure of it. Good Night and God Bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 7/2/08

Another successful day! Andrew weaned for 16 hours, was up for 6 hours, and also had class and therapies. They will keep him at 16 hours for a while longer until they feel he can move on from there. His CO2 numbers are looking good, so I'm sure he will be able to proceed. We have met a lot of other patients and their families here at Craig. Believe it or not, there are many who are in worse condition than Andrew . . . I feel so bad for them and their loved ones. I pray for all of them. There are also a lot of people who are here and have literally lost everything (house, cars, jobs, etc.) due to their injury. We also see many people who are trying to make it through this journey without the Lord. I really pray for them . . . I could not imagine going through a tragedy like this without God. We feel so blessed to have so many of you praying for Andrew and sending your encouragement and love to us each day. We thank God for you. Good Night and God Bless. Joye

Joye's Update 7/1/08

Another pretty good day today. Andrew weaned for 16 hours, was up in his chair for 5 hours, had 2 hours of therapy, and we had 2 hours of class. He also had an hour of therapy for his jaw. He says it's starting to feel a little better, but that will take a lot more time to heal. The classes are very informative and will definitely help us to make decisions of what will be needed for Andrew to be comfortable and well cared for at home. We continue to pray for healing and we have concentrated our prayers on Andrew's weaning. His doctors continue to be amazed and it's so evident that God is answering our prayers. We have learned that it is very difficult for a person to breath with only half a diaphragm for as long as Andrew is able to, and especially doing so without causing the side that is not working to become unhealthy. Andrew's left lung is doing very well, which means he is using his ability to breath in a healthy way by drawing air from his trach, mouth, and nose . . . and most importantly, by not drawing air into the right side that works from the left side that does not. It's very common for patients who only have half a diaphragm to do this and it causes the non-working side to collapse. Andrew is breathing very strongly and is quite determined to get off the vent. We thank God for this and we thank you for all your prayers. Good Night and God Bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 6/30/08

It was a good day today. Andrew weaned for 16 hours and was in his chair for over 6 hours. We began our classes today that will prepare us for going home. We will have these classes every weekday for the next 4 weeks. Andrew seems to be feeling positive about us beginning to prepare for going home. I feel that we are so blessed to be in this place that is so well equipped to help us get home with a lot of training and information; I cannot imagine not having this support. I believe that God is seeing us through this very difficult time and I also believe he will heal Andrew in His time. Please continue to pray for Andrew . . . God is hearing you and is taking such good care of us both. We both feel truly blessed. Good Night and God Bless. Joye