Joye's Update 6/14/08

A pretty good day today. Andrew weaned for 4 hours, got up for 2 hours, and then weaned again in the afternoon. He was very tired and went to bed early tonight. The kids and I printed out some pictures that Drew's aunt Tawnee took of the kids (thank you Tawnee), and we put them in frames for Andrew's room . . . for Father's Day tomorrow. We will try our best to make tomorrow a special day for Andrew. Andrew is supposed to do a full wean tomorrow while sitting in his chair, and by the first of next week they are hoping he will get in a full 8-hour wean in. After he masters that, he will begin doing weans in the night while he's sleeping. Thank you for your prayers . . . I believe it's so obvious that God is hearing all of our prayers and is answering them as Andrew is doing so much better than anyone (except me) expected. Our faith is in the Lord and that He will grace Andrew with this miracle. Good Night and God bless. Joye

Joye's Update 6/13/08

This post is being composed by the kids (Drew and C.J.); I'm typing because I spell better :)

This morning Andrew weaned (Drew says winged) for 4 hours . . . Drew also says, "What a weaner." Andrew also talked today because they put a special thing on his trach tube that allowed him to speak. We (Drew and C.J.) were in Andrew's room and Andrew had us call Joye so he could speak to her and he told her to come over to the room so he could talk to her in person. Then Joye called her sister (Darla)for Andrew to talk to her and he joked around and called everyone "crack heads," as usual. Then Andrew got up in his chair and went to therapy and was up for 4 hours, and during the time he was up we gave him his homemade juice. We left the room tonight while Andrew was still weaning, so we'll find out how long he weaned tomorrow. Thank you for praying for Andrew and please continue until he walks again. Drew and C.J.

Joye's Update 6/12/08

Andrew did well again today. He weaned for 2.5 hours this morning, was up for 2 hours for physical therapy, and then he weaned for 3 hours tonight. He's very, very tired and I'm sure he'll get a good night's sleep tonight. He's doing great and his faith is his strength. Thank you all for you prayers and words of encouragement. Good Night and God Bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 6/11/08

Another successful day! Andrew weaned this morning for 2 hours, got up in his chair for therapy for 2 hours, and then weaned for another 2 hours this evening. He ate scrambled eggs for breakfast and had some freshly brewed (organic) vegetable juice and fruit juice for lunch. He was too tired to get up to eat or drink any dinner tonight. His tube feed is only going half time now (as of today), so that should increase his appetite. He is definitely the talk of the floor with the doctors and nurses with how well he's doing on his weaning . . . everyone is very impressed and surprised at how quickly he went from doing 20 to 30 minutes to 2 hours. It's much harder for patients with only half their diaphragm working to wean and eventually get off the vent, and he's obviously doing much better than expected. I'm very proud and very relieved for sure. I thank God for this improvement and I thank all of you for your many prayers and faith. Good Night and God Bless. Joye

Joye's Update 6/10/08

A pretty decent day today. Andrew's early (2) weans were not as good as he's been doing because they are now trying to incorporate weaning and getting up in his chair at the same time. It is much more difficult to push the diaphragm up while sitting up in a chair, so this too will take some practice. I'm actually in the room with Andrew now as he's weaning his third wean today and it's been 1.5 hours so far and his goal is 2 hours. He's having no trouble so far. I've been reading (as usual) about spinal cord injuries and how important nutrition is to recovery; therefore, I've decided (with Andrew's and his dietitian's okay) that I am going to take over his nutritional needs. It's not that the hospital isn't feeding him okay food, but it is "hospital" food and from what I can see, not so nutritional (weird huh). Andrew really has very little appetite and because he still does not breath through his nose or mouth, he's unable to smell and taste is quite limited as well. Of everything I've read, it appears that juicing organic veggies and fruit is the most beneficial way for him to get good nutrition (easily). So, I immediately bought a juicer and ordered a juicing book for healing recipes. I will also do my best to get organic "lean" meat into him as I can, but he has a hard time chewing with his c-collar on (which he still has to wear while sitting up). Legumes, some dairy, and whole wheat products are also quite important and will be incorporated into the menu as well. Everything will have to go through his dietitian as it's also VERY important for Andrew not to gain weight as extra pounds can cause stress on his skin and Andrew has only lost somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds since his injury, so he has no room to gain at all. I'm very excited to get started on this, and so is his nurse as she's been trying to get him off the feeding tube for a while now, but has been unable to because with his low appetite he isn't consuming enough calories to warrant it. We're still keeping the faith and have no doubt that in His time, God will heal Andrew. We're so happy to hear and read that so many of you are praying; so many of you have touched our hearts deeply. Good Night and God bless you all. Joye. PS: In 10 more minutes it will be a 2 hour wean (another record) :)

Joye's Update 6/9/08

Another successful day today! Andrew weaned twice (so far), once for 1 hour and 10 minutes and the other for 1 hour and 30 minutes. He will most likely have another wean later tonight as he got started late today due to the respiratory team being so busy early on. He felt as though he could have gone more than an hour and a half, but his doctor's orders only allow him to go 90 minutes at this time. His orders will be changed as he is able to do some consistent weans in this time frame. He was also able to get up for about 2 hours and he only had an appetite for breakfast today. I really believe Andrew's recent improvement on his weaning from the vent is due to every one's prayers and faith in God to heal him. Andrew's own faith has gotten stronger and he's so calm and so focused, it's truly inspiring. Thank you so much for your faithful praying . . . it's meant the world to Andrew and the difference in his recovery. Good Night and God Bless you all. Joye

Joye's Update 6/8/08

A very nice day today. The kids flew in at 3:20pm and we were back to the hospital by about 5pm. Andrew was happy to see them, and they are (surprisingly) very good at reading his lips. Andrew weaned 3 times today and he chose not to get up in his chair as I wasn't able to be there with him during that time, because I was picking up the kids. He isn't to the point where he wants to get up without me there to be able to sit with him. Please continue to pray for Andrew . . . God hears our prayers and will answer them in His time. Good Night and God Bless. Joye