Joye's Update 5/19/08

Another pretty good day today. Andrew weaned twice (30 minutes each), and they were going to try and get another wean in tonight after I left for the night. I wanted to begin tonight having Andrew listen to the audio book I have for him "90 Minutes In Heaven," but instead, he wanted me to begin reading the other book I had ordered "The Miracle Man" written by Morris Goodman. It's a true story about a man who crashed a small airplane and should not have survived and though he did he should never have been able to do anything but lay in a bed on a ventilator. He not only survived, but he now breaths and walks and has recovered beyond anyones (including doctors) wildest expectations. I will read Andrew a chapter each night; Andrew listened very intently tonight to the first chapter. It's a very inspirational story of a mans will to recover. I know that Andrew (too) has the will to recover and with his faith in God, I have no doubt he will be the next miracle man. I told him that when he recovers we will write his own book called "The Miracle Black Man." He laughed and thought that was a pretty good idea. Please continue to pray, God hears our prayers. Good Night and God Bless. Joye

Joye's Update 5/18/08

We have a new record! Andrew weaned today for 30 minutes straight. He was very tired after, but it is a really great thing that he's able to do this now. He also sat up in the chair for 2 hours. He did end up with a headache, but I rubbed him and coaxed him into relaxing a little and the headache didn't last as long. I know it doesn't seem like a lot is happening, but these little improvements are really huge. It will take a little while, but I know Andrew can get off the ventilator . . . he's improving everyday with it. His determination is amazing and he's keeping the faith. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. God is good and is his healer. Good Night and God Bless. Joye

Joye's Update 5/17/08

Andrew had a pretty good day today. He weaned twice and was up in his chair for 2 hours. He had a headache for a small portion of the day, but is learning to relax his shoulders better to help with that. They've determined that his headaches are as a result of a lot of tension in his neck and shoulders. Andrew has to remember to relax and let his shoulders down to keep the headaches from happening. I rubbed his shoulders a lot today and that seemed to work pretty well at getting rid of the headache. Andrew still has an iron will and he is still very determined to beat this. We've had a lot of opportunity in the past few days to communicate, and Andrew has relayed to me that his faith in the Lord is still as strong as ever and he believes God will heal him in His own time. Andrew also said that he feels very blessed that so many people are praying for him. Thank you so much for that. Good Night and God Bless. Joye

Joye's Update 5/16/08

Another pretty quiet day today. Andrew had a headache again today. He still was able to get up for about an hour and then he was pretty wiped out the rest of the day. It will take a while for him to get over his headaches until his neck and shoulder muscles are in better shape as he's getting up regularly now. Hopefully he will feel better again tomorrow. Thank you all for continually lifting Andrew in prayer . . . it's what is needed most at this time. Good Night and God Bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 5/15/08

Andrew is back on track again. He felt much better today. His head still hurt a bit, but nothing like it was yesterday. He got up in his chair for 2 hours and 10 minutes. He then slept for a while and then he did a vent wean. He is scheduled to have a swallow test early in the morning to determine whether he has use of the right muscles to swallow correctly and then hopefully he will soon be able to eat food again. They will just have to put a different kind of trach in to allow this function. So lets pray he has use of the right muscles for that. He is also scheduled to be up for a longer period of time tomorrow and he should have at least 3 different vent weans scheduled as well. The book (90 Minutes In Heaven) should be here tomorrow and Andrew's actually looking forward to listening to it. The TV in his room has not been turned on one time since we've been here; Andrew's had no interest in watching it so far . . . which, for those of you who really know Andrew know this is completely out of character for him. I asked him why he doesn't want to watch anything and he says he just doesn't know why, only that he doesn't want to. He was in a pretty good mood tonight, joking around with everyone; so I know he's definitely feeling better. He still prays all the time and he continues to have 100% faith that he will walk again . . . his strength is amazing. I didn't think it was possible to love him anymore than I did, but I love that man more and more everyday as I watch him fight this fight; he's so wonderful. Okay, I got gushy there for a moment :) I was able to finally catch him up after a few days on your posts today . . . he was happy to hear from you all. Thank you again for all your prayers and words of encouragement, it is making such a difference in his recovery. Good Night and God Bless. Joye

Joye's Update 5/14/08

Well, Andrew had kind of a hard day today. After he was up in the chair yesterday he started getting a headache, which is not unusual. He had the headache all night last night and it really got bad by this morning. They were worried at first because his head hurt worse in the front rather than the back, so they ordered a cat scan to make sure he didn't have any bleeds anywhere in his head. That test came back negative, so that was a relief. The headache slowly moved from the front of his head to the back of his head, which kind of told them that it was more of a tension migraine. They figure his muscles in his neck and shoulders are tense due to being up in the chair yesterday for so long. The physical therapist massaged his neck and shoulders for a while and they are giving him some meds to help his muscles relax. He was finally feeling some relief by the time I left his room tonight . . . so hopefully he will feel better tomorrow and will get back on track with his weanings and getting up in the chair. I know that God is healing him, and He will return his body back to the way He intended it to be . . . I have no doubt about that. Keep praying; it's the answer to everything . . . God is listening. Good Night and God bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 5/13/08

Andrew had a very busy day today. He did a vent wean early this morning, and did very well on that. Soon after, he had his trach cuff deflated (a balloon type thing in his throat that keeps air from going in or coming from his nose or mouth) so that he can start to get used to having it open to begin talking and eating. It will be very hard for him to get used to the feeling of having air come through his mouth and nose from the ventilator . . . it will take time and practice to get used to this. It was weird to hear his voice for the first time since April 4th, although most of the sounds coming from him were from him coughing. Then he went through a very intense neuro assessment, and finally he was lifted out of bed with a special lift and placed into a wheel chair for 1 hour. While in the chair, me and his nurse gave him a tour of the hospital. Once he was put back in bed, he was very tired and his head was hurting pretty good. This is normal as he had extra pressure on his neck while being up. He was supposed to have another vent wean at that time, but they postponed it until tonight due to the headache. He's improving with every weaning. Today was very cold . . . it snowed early this morning and rained the better part of the day. It's clearing up now, and it's supposed to be warmer tomorrow. Well that's all for now . . . I'll check in again tomorrow. Good Night and God Bless. Joye