Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Dear Friends,

Please forgive me as I know it has been several days since I have made an update, but after spending hours each day at the hospital and trying to do the bare minimum at home, I don't have much energy to sit at the computer. As today is the fourth of July, I plan to take a little break from the hospital and let Everett take over. And, Sarah is also off for the next several days so she will be able to spend more time there as well. I will go over sometime this afternoon.

We are thankful that the culture from the fluid drained from Kevin's lung on Friday came back normal.

Physical, occupational, and speech therapy is coming along. I arrived yesterday morning to find Kevin fully engaged in all three therapies. They had him sitting in a wheelchair, pedaling bike pedals while seated in the wheelchair. He did arm and leg exercises and they had him standing and walking using a very tall walker. He was shown flash cards of familiar items which he was about 90% accurate in identifying. Speech therapy was also able to get him to eat a cup of applesauce. This is to try and get him ready to eat solid food again and get him off of the feeding tube. It is necessary to make sure he is fully capable of swallowing. They are hopeful that by the end of the week he will be able to eat a full meal. Yesterday's therapy was the longest session yet. He was up for almost three hours.

All of this may seem very mundane and easy to accomplish. But, it is extremely difficult when you have a patient who cannot fully comprehend what has happened to him and why people are making him do things he doesn't want to do or understand. After eight weeks of lying in bed, Kevin is very weak, has probably lost around 25 pounds and has lost almost all muscle tone making exercise quite exhausting and painful. He cries in pain and frustration at a situation he cannot understand, and as a mother it breaks my heart to watch. I just want to just kiss the "Boo Boo" and make it go away, but I, too, can only watch in pain and frustration.

Kevin has had a few visitors but only relatives and very close friends. Uncle Mack, Aunt Kitty, and Grandma Ozzie enjoyed time with him. Ken Wood, who performed Kevin and Sarah's wedding ceremony, and his wife, Michelle, visited Sunday. Kevin's good buddy, Kevin Dalafu has visited several times. It is encouraging to see him recognize each one. He has also had visits from Kevin and Sarah's pastor as well as our pastor. We know many others would like to visit, but we ask that you contact Sarah, Everett or I before you do. At this time, we really believe visitors should only be those Kevin would readily recognize. We thank you for your understanding in this matter.

This past Sunday before going to our own church services, Sarah, Everett and I visited Kevin and had our own worship service with him. We prayed, read Psalms to him and sang some worship songs. What was so thrilling was to see Kevin, who doesn't sing, actually remember the words to the songs and join me in singing them. That afternoon when Ken and Michelle were visiting, Ken asked him who Jesus was and he replied, "my Savior". For me, this is the greatest blessing that Kevin has not forgotten who Jesus is and that he is still trusting him.

We want to thank everyone who has sent him cards. We read each one to him and they help to jog his memory. He is still overwhelmed that so many people care about him. I should add we have even had him read some himself. Yes, thankfully, he can still remember how to read.

As stated in an earlier blog, Sarah, Everett and I are going to visit the Centre for Neuro Skills in Bakersfield on Friday. We really need yours prayers that we will feel confident having him somewhere so far from home. Sarah and I are already feeling separation anxiety as we anticipate the next step. We know God can give us full peace about it.

Blessings to all,
Tami

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It's 12:30 pm. I just received a call from Everett. The respiratory doctor was in to see them and said the fluid around Kevin's lung has returned. He does not want to have to put in a chest drainage tube as this will immobilize Kevin too much. He plans to watch it for the next couple of days as Kevin will then be off of antibiotics. If the fluid does not go away by itself (which it could as Kevin is up moving around more) in the next few days they may have to put in the chest tube and take another culture it to see if there is infection. We would of course like your prayers that the fluid will go away on its own and that there is no infection.
Tami