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