What Happened

As many of you are aware by now, my husband, Andrew Langley is in need of your prayers. Andrew went into a planned surgery for a neck fusion due to a degenerative disorder he'd developed and needed to get fixed. The surgery was last Wednesday, April 2. His doctor felt everything went fine after, and we had him on his way to recovery. On Thursday he began doing laps around the nurses station (1.5 laps on Thursday and 1 lap on Friday). Later in the day on Friday, his head was pounding hard and he could only get some relief by sitting upright in the recliner. That same afternoon, Andrew complained that his legs were numb (like going to sleep numb) so I left the room to speak to the nurse about it; it was decided that he should get into the bed and stretch out a little better. After I returned from speaking to the nurse, Andrew told me he was having trouble breathing. I called for the nurse and after a minute of watching him continue to struggle to breath, I ran to get the nurse. When we both returned, Andrew was not able to breath and the nurse pressed the blue code button for a crash team to come. The crash team arrived momentarily and immediately began chest compressions and intibated him. (Please understand I'm writing unfamiliar words that I may be spelling incorrectly and may be mis-using as I do not work in or around the medical field; I've asked as many questions as I can and I'm doing my best to get this as accurate as I know everyone just wants to know what happened). Anyways . . . they were able to get him stable and breathing very quickly and I was told that his heart never stopped beating, the problem arose when his blood pressure dropped dramatically to nearly nothing. He was then moved to the Critical Care Unit (CCU) with a ventilator and at that time he had full use and feeling in his body. He did well in the early evening in the CCU until about midnight when he began to lose sensation and strength very slowly in his body below his neck. By about 2am Saturday, it was determined that he was paralyzed from the neck down and that he would need to have another surgery so that doctors could determine why this had occurred. He went into surgery at about 8am Saturday morning and a blood clot was immediately found near the surgery site on the outside of his muscles. It was removed and a drain was put in that would drain fluid from the site for a few days. He slept a lot of the day Saturday after surgery and once fully awake, it was again determined that he had no feeling or mobility below the neck. Sunday was a little better as Andrew was able to feel down to about his mid chest area but still nothing below there nor in his arms. On Monday another step forward with Andrew being put on C-Pap instead of full ventilation which really he's doing all the breathing; the machine is just assisting a little due to the tube being in the air passage way. (Again, don't know if I'm spelling some of this correctly as I'm only hearing it rather than reading it). We were also excited to hear that Andrew may get off the ventilator completely and get the tube out on Tuesday as he'd made great progress with his breathing. Also, an MRI was also done this day to see how the swelling looked. The results showed a lot of swelling around the surgery site and this was NOT bad news; this gave us hope that once the swelling goes down, he has a chance to regain use and feeling again. Today (Tuesday), a test was done to see if Andrew could get off the ventilator. He did okay on the test, but after being on C-Pap for the last 12 hours, he was getting very tired and finding it hard to continue. It wasn't a set-back, just a precaution and a chance for Andrew to rest a little. They plan to try to get him off the vent tomorrow (Wednesday), but won't know til' then. Andrew is hanging in there incredibly well. He's very strong emotionally, and unbelievably determined to beat this. Doctors don't know if it's permanent or not, but we say it is NOT. Andrew is focusing only on getting better . . . on being able to feel and move and be strong again. He's leaving no room for doubt in his mind. You all know Andrew's will. Andrew also has a very strong faith in God and he knows this is only an opportunity for us all to witness God's glory and God will heal him. We do not waiver in this thought. Andrew was happy to see those that have visited, it has helped him immensely. In the next few days (trying to get off the vent) Andrew will not be able to take as many visitors as he will have a lot of work and concentration to attend to. He will need to focus only on breathing and rest and although the tube will no longer be hindering his speech, he will be unable to speak for quite a period of time to prevent swelling in his throat. We need to do whatever it takes not to get him back on the vent once off . . . so please, we ask for your understanding that if you do stop by, you may be unable to actually see him; this is a big hurdle he needs to get over without hinder. I'm able to stay in Andrew's room which he is pretty insistent on. I see him peek out one eye periodically throughout the night to make sure I'm there. I'm also able to communicate with him pretty effectively by reading his eyes and expressions . . . it's amazing how easy it is to know what he's saying. I know I haven't met so many of you that are out there pulling for him. I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers more than I can say. Those of you who know me know that Andrew is my world and I love him with everything I have. Although it's difficult to remember to eat and sleep is not easy, I'm doing my best to take care of myself so that I can be there for him 100%. A lot of people are asking about our children and if they are being cared for and if I'm in need of anything. The kids are now back in Yuma as it is just a waiting period for now. We have care for them and we can get them here easily if necessary. The house is also being cared for, which I'm so appreciative of. My family is very close to us in Wickenburg and are here every day to provide me with clothes and they also make sure I eat. My brother-in-law is with me most every time I meet with the doctors to make sure all the questions we have are asked. My entire family loves Andrew as I'm sure no one is surprised . . . he's so easy to love. I will do my best to update this blog daily for you all (please understand if I miss a day or two). I will also read to Andrew any posts you would like to make to this blog. You can post by clicking the little pencil at the end of each post, and then you have to create a google account in order to sign in to write your post. I will title all of my posts "Joye's Update" for ease in finding the updates. Again, we so appreciate all of your thoughts, prayers, and very caring offers to help. This means so much to us and it's really keeping us going. Andrew's a fighter and he will beat this . . . we have no doubts. I'm so very proud of him; he's remained so strong and focused on getting better. I'll close for now . . . I hope this helps everyone to be informed. God bless you all. Joye