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