Joye's Update 5/8/08

Well we made it. I can see why they call this Gods country . . . it's beautiful here. The ride in the jet was okay. Everything was fine until the moment we got over Colorado and the clouds caused a lot of turbulence. Then as we got into Denver we had to fly through a thunderstorm and that was really rocky. I just closed my eyes and prayed. Andrew did fine, it was me who was air sick. The crew kept teasing him, telling him that I was flying the plane. It was a tiny little jet that barely fit Andrew, me, the pilot, and two nurses. I'm so glad that part is over. They were ready for Andrew at the hospital and immediately began doing there assessments once we arrived. EVERYTHING is different here. I don't mean that in a bad way because they were great to Andrew at Select (Good Samaritan). They have lifts for moving him and all kinds of devices specifically designed for making someone with a spinal cord injury more comfortable here. His breathing is a little different here as the altitude comes into play. They say it takes 24 to 48 hours to acclimate. The have already confirmed one suspicion that arose in the last couple of days in Phoenix . . . he has pneumonia in his left lung. They had already started antibiotics in Phoenix and they are now giving him big breaths from the ventilator, plus they will do a different kind of vent tomorrow that is called a coughing ventilator to take care of the pneumonia as Andrew is unable to cough enough to loosen up what needs to be. They aren't too worried, just wanting to get it taken care of asap so that they can get on with weaning him off the vent. Andrews skin is in perfect condition; they did a great job at Select making sure he was turned often and given good skin care treatment during his stay there. Everyone was very impressed (almost shocked) with how good his skin looked for the amount of time he's been in bed now. While doing their assessments, the nurse asked Andrew a lot of questions . . . one of which was "what is the goal you'd like to reach during your stay at Craig?" He said, "To walk out of here." Then he was asked, "if that cannot happen, what is your next highest goal you'd like to reach at Craig?" He said "To walk out of here." She said, "Okay then," and went on with her assessment. He's still quite focused and determined. He's not actually talking when he answers, just moving his lips, but they are all very good at reading lips around here. It will be more assessments tomorrow and then rest to take care of the pneumonia over the weekend. He's happy to finally be here and is just looking forward to working hard to get on his feet. Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging posts . . . it means so much to both of us. I feel that God's purpose is being revealed with so many of you praying and worshiping in the Lord. We know that God did not make this happen, but He is definitely seeing Andrew through this. Good night and God bless you all. Joye