I'm gonna knock your lights out

So a lot has happened today, and a lot will happen tomorrow. Dad has been diagnosed with pneumonia; and needs treatment. Because the hospital he is at right now is simply neurological; they want to move him to another hospital to treat his lungs.

We were all set to go; then insurance would not allow it. So after prepping him to go; by taking out all his iv's...they decided to keep him and they would then, if he worsened, move him back down to the sixth floor NICU for him to be put back on a ventilator and have a closer eye on him.

Well he is still in his same room tonight; and his numbers are fine and a few different antibiotics to treat the pneumonia are in him now. The problem is is that Dad's veins are really hard to find; which makes hospital visits awful! So they usually put a pick-line in his chest and all medications go through that. However, since he was doing so well they took that out and put one in his hand. Then removed that for transport, then had to put one back in tonight because he ended up staying.

So all in all, Dad has been picked and prodded at ALL DAY. He's tired, and frustrated, and the nurse he had yesterday was there today; and she's really rough with him.

She is so rough that when we were in there again tonight she said "OK, I'm done." And she asked "Is that better?" and he gave her a clenched fist! He's about ready to fight her! We all started laughing because he continued to use his hands in gesturing that she talks a lot and that he wanted her to shut-up:) That's my dad!

Anyway...Mom is on the phone with the hospital right now, trying to see if we can move back to main campus Jefferson, and not the other hospital I had mentioned earlier today.

Pray that the pneumonia heals quickly. That good decisions are made with the health of my dad. Pray that he gets rest! (Today they put a roommate in Dad's room now. And his family and nurses are very disruptive from what he has been used too.) Pray for me as I head out to Ohio tomorrow to spend two days with my brother, sister-in-law and kiddos. And come Monday Kevin and family will head here to visit for a few days....Pray for mom as she will be the only one at his bedside this weekend.

Pray for healing and recovery. Pneumonia slows down the road to recovery and diabetes slows all that down even more!

Correction...(pneumonia)

Dad is staying at Jefferson now because of hospitals, insurance and Dad's numbers.

Basically we need prayer that Dad's numbers (bp, sugars, respritory) stay the same or improve. They keep needing to up the amount of oxygen they give him; so he needs the antibotics they are giving him to work.

If his numbers fall they will need to move him back down a floor to the nuerological icu to be put on a ventilator.

Pray that his body will heal and the doctors will make a wise decision with all of this.

Developing Pneumonia

Dad is developing pneumonia, so he is being moved to St. Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia (1900 Broad St). He is doing adaquatly nuerologically at this time, so he will be moved to this hospital to treat the pneumonia, and then from there to rehab.

I'm not sure what room he will be in, and I don't know how long he will be there. If you were planning on visiting; it may be best to wait until he is in rehab because we know he will be there for a couple months.

Thank you for your continued prayer support!!!

Kissy Kissy

Oh my goodness my parents are making out now!;)

OK, not really...but today was the first day my Dad kissed my mom back! It was totally cute! He didn't want a kiss from me; only Mom:) But I kiss his hand anyway!

Dad had a very awake day today. He had more visitors today than yesterday, so he was definitely stimulated awhile.

GOOD NEWS!! He had a CTA scan on his chest and legs and both came back with no signs of PE which is pulmonary embolism a stoppage of blood flow in an artery.

This evening when I arrived he was being washed up; so we had to wait to see him. But when we got back in the room; the trach tube and gauze around his neck were bright red. (bloody mess) The blood didn't make us feel very good; so we talked to the nurses to find out what was happening. And they said there is an irritation probably in his neck after suctioning him out to get the flem that he usually coughs out.

I'd like to ask prayer for this 'irritation' because they talk like its nothing...which it isn't necessarily harmful to him; but it can't feel good! His head is very hot and his stitches are itching him; everyone is bothering him all the time, so a sore throat to go on top of all that is really annoying.

Before we left we prayed and said our "good night's"...and Mom asked "Did you hear me?" and Dad motioned with his mouth "What?"...we laughed and mom repeated herself and Dad again motioned "what?"...hehehehe...he smiled knowing exactly that he was just playing with us! (He cannot talk right now because of the trach. Once he's in rehab and continues to improve, he will have a cap put on the tube so he can talk.) Today is the first day he has tried to mouth anything so this is HUGE!:)

Praise God!

He's coming around:)

He is still at Jefferson, but most likely will be moved very soon; and we don't know when. If you want to stop by that's fine just send me an email and I can give you celly numbers to arrange times, etc.

Pray for his throat, a good placement in a rehab facility, more good communication!:)

Tired

Mom and I just arrived home from the hospital; and like everyday for the past two weeks I'm updating the blog right when I get in the door:)

Two weeks ago today this whole thing started...

Its been a long two weeks...

Dad's tired, we're tired...the body is weak...

Today dad was put in a wheelchair, helmet and all, and sat in there for a while. The physical therapist, Joe, worked on his arms. Dad's left wrist hurts him; so Joe is trying to flex it to help the tenseness go away. Dad's left shoulder moves when he coughs but that arm is definitely more stiff then the right arm.

When mom arrived at the hospital this afternoon dad's blood pressure was way too low! So she spoke with the doctor and he agreed they need to lessen the amount of medicine because he agreed with mom 102/52 is just too low;)

His blood sugars are high still and once they get them better under control then they can hopefully get him out of there...

One of the rehab facilities that are possibly going to take my dad, evaluated his status today. We don't know the results of that yet; but the other one is coming tomorrow and hopefully we will hear soon which one dad will be moving too.

Dad was very tired today. I think I get him when he's tired anyway because I don't get up to see him til after work; so he's been through therapy and sitting up, etc...so he's ready for bed by the time I get him. But I did get to see his eyes today and he squeezed my hand to tell me he loves me and wants to see me tomorrow:)

Lastly, when mom got there this morning, his eyes weren't open but she waited until he woke up and she showed him the pictures of his grandson! And he SMILED!!!:) He saw his grandson for the first time today! (Sorry I didn't get them printed until last night;)

Dad is having a CT scan tonight so I'll let you know what we find out from that when we do...hopefully there is no more bleeding, and hopefully the blood from the hemorrhage that caused all of this...has dissipated throughout his body.

Thank you for the continued support. I encourage you if you haven't left a message; please do so we know you are reading it. It helps knowing you are here for us.

Therapy here we come!

I know it has been a long time since I have posted, and I apologize for that. Saturday night I was honestly too tired; and then Sunday night, well, the power was out...so that's not my fault!;)

Anyway, Monday is now over, and I appreciate you who may have fasted today on behalf of my father. He is making steady improvements and may possibly be moved to rehab this week. So please check the blog in case you were planning or intending to visit because he may not be at Jefferson too much longer!:)

This weekend he is enjoying his new room...at least we are! It was strange on Saturday when we could visit him for 9 hours straight! Mom and I did some house cleaning and yard work Saturday morning before we headed to the hospital. He opened his eyes RIGHT AWAY! That didn't last long; but it was very much appreciated!

Sunday he didn't get any kind of physical therapy but he did today. Two occupational therapists smaller than my mom came in and sat him up for twenty minutes! And he really did very well at that. He has been categorized as "acute" but ready for rehab. One doctor said he would still like to get his blood sugar and blood pressure better; but that may not happen if someone could remember to give him his insulin...

Anyway...

He is becoming more and more aware of himself these past few days! They took off his restraints on his right arm; so now when he coughs he actually puts his hand over his mouth, even though, nothing comes out...because he has a trach in;)

He even scratched his head today which I thought was really cute! He has been a lifeless body these past few weeks so the simple things like scratching your head, are very amusing to me.

We ask him yes and no questions all the time; and he shakes his head ever so slightly to let you know his answer. A friend of mine wants to set me up on a blind date; and so I asked my dad what he thought of it; and he motioned with his hand "so-so"...he's still my dad, so what can I say?!;)

I cannot say this enough that he hears EVERYTHING that happens in that bedroom. So if you would like to stop by please speak kindly and quietly.

God has truly been encouraging my mom and I through this whole situation. Looking back over the life of my family you could say things like "Its your fault you lost your job, business, etc." "Steve has been unsuccessful in all or most of his dealings"...HOWEVER, this IS what God had planned from the beginning...and Oswald Chambers reminded us today about what it means to be successful...

My Utmost for His Highest July 28th

"We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; HIS purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end....His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now...God's end is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life just now. If we have a further end in view, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present; if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious."

If you love me, obey me. ~Jesus Christ (John 14:15)

We don't know what will happen later...that is not our concern right now. All we can do is be obedient to Gods word now. This very moment. Because that is all we have.

Fasting

I don't have much time this morning for a post; but I wanted to let you know that our church has made today

a day of fasting for Mr. Steve.

David Nassar is an evangelist and author who was recently at our church. He defines fasting as (I'm paraphrasing here)....removing something to concentrate more fully on God.

If you don't have time today to fast to more completly focus on God and prayer, then I urge you to consider a day this week. You don't necessarily have to pray only for my father, but you can pray for anything the Holy Spirit leads you to.

FYI: The power was out at my house for about 5 hours last night, that's why I didn't update last night. I will update later on today...

Thanks

Moving..

Everybody got moved around today...Brandy came home from the hospital; so the new family of five is home and doing well:) And Dad got moved to a step-down room on the same floor! So now we can visit him straight from 11am until 8pm! It is considered an intermediate ICU so the good news is that we won't be in the waiting room much anymore; but we are going to miss the patient to nurse ratio:) (2 to 1; now 4 to 1)

Good news is that his blood pressure is good; and his blood sugars are good:) Physical therapy came today and actually had him sitting up in a wheelchair for two hours! They probably won't do too much this weekend; but come Monday he will have a routine to start rehab!:)

The road before us is long...and how dad has gotten this far is AMAZING! God ordained that this week would come and he ordained for us to be in ICU that long...it was not an accident! Most people are surprised including the nurses that he was in this ICU this long because he has been stable for quite some time now. But we shouldn't be...because if we had moved over to the private step down unit earlier; then we would not have had the opportunity to talk about God with Karen. She did lose her father this afternoon; and we will remain in contact as Mom has certainly developed a connection with her!:)

I know most of my posts have been very encouraging; and positive. And if you know me at all; I'm not easily optimistic. So the reality check is coming: he cannot talk right now; he cannot walk right now; we don't know if he can read, or feed himself. We don't know what he will regain; and what he has to learn all over again. Please don't think that because he may be in a rehab facility in a couple weeks that he is "Mr.Steve" as you remember him. He has to wear a helmet if he is out of the hospital bed...so you may not see him like you used too. His left side still has not moved; so we are not sure of the condition of that side of his body. But as you and I know: ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!:) We are going to hold to HIS promises!:)

For the next couple days I will do my best to post; but no news is good news; so please continue to pray for healing and recovery. One of the things the doctors told us; is that his rehab might be very difficult because of the location of the injury. He will know in his head that he can do the things requested of him; but his brain isn't telling his body that; so he could get very confused and upset easily.

Maybe one day I will show you pictures of him that I have taken on my camera phone to see the before and after...but until the after is present; its best you continue to pray for healing...

However, here are some cute pictures of dad's new grandson and family....

It's really happening!

In the last two weeks I've had interruptions at night...last week my mom came in my room and said "we are taking dad to the hospital we think he had a stroke." This morning she came in at 2:30 am and said "They just admitted Brandy to the hospital; just thought I'd let you know." Both involve hospitals but entirely different meanings!

Brandy was in labor from about 7pm last night but they broke her water at 6:30am; and she had him an hour later...so things went quickly:) It is a blessing to have a healthy mom and baby! And at a time like this; well...its truly a gift that will not ever be forgotten!

Today Dad has tremendously made noticeable improvements! He now OPENS HIS EYES on command!!! I had to work today; so when I went into see him mom said "Open your eyes and see your daughter" and he did! We (and by that I mean, I) talked looking at each other...which hasn't happened in over a week!

Mom told him about Derek and he got a little upset...but he is doing better now. The best thing for him right now is not to ignore Derek coming into this world; but rather embrace it and let dad know that he is on the way to recovery and will see him very soon! Since he got upset this afternoon about hearing him; I was concerned that we shouldn't talk about him because that may get him more upset that he's 'missing out' on this time...but I spoke to a doctor who said it is this baby that will help him get healthy faster because now he has a goal!

Dad is still in need of prayer to make more and more improvements...more and more abilities to be alert; talking; moving, etc....the list goes on...but today we are very much in awe of what GOD has done in our midst!

Also just to let you all know; that this morning Karen's father had another stroke and they were told to say their 'goodbyes'. Pray for her family as they mourn the soon-to-be loss of her dad. (Most likely he will pass 24-48 hours). Praise God that mom has been given this opportunity to make friends and be a good witness of the goodness that Christ offers.

I cannot believe this is all really happening...God has such a funny way sometimes to challenge us; and why he chose us to be front and center of a miracle; I'll never know.

Here he is...

The dude:)

Baby Deichert:)

At 7:37am my sister-in-law Brandy, gave birth to their third baby...

A BABY BOY!!!:):):)

Derek Paul Deichert
7lbs. 5.8 ounces
19.5 inches

Due date was set for the first week in August but we are glad he came now...can't imagine how big he would be;)

Mom and baby are both doing well:)!

"one day at a time"

Here it is day eight. Each day we arrive at the hospital at 12:00 noon. We go in and see Steve for a half hour then wait for an hour and a half and see him again. This continues for 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00 and 8:00. Then we leave. There are some days that get rather long. Today was one of them. The DR said there would be days like this.... (Maybe someone could write a song with those lyrics...). His numbers are still fine. He is still reacting to the nurses commands and that is good. Robin his nurse for the last few days told me when we left that he is doing good. He is still progressing and that is good. It is just hard to be patient when the steps are soooooo small.

It is in these times that we are able to minister to others in the waiting room. Thanks to many of you - we take food up to share with others who are going through just as difficult times. We have seen the faces of families who have lost loved ones. We also see the tears of teens who have heard not so good news about their mother. We see the expression of relief on families who have heard from the DR "we got all the tumor". This is really a unique place to find yourself. Kimberly and I have come to know many of these families. It is neat to show compassion and the love of Christ to these people. When we share "war" stories they ask how we were able to get through last Tuesday and we are able to share that this adventure is God's plan for us right now and we will be fine. God placed another believer family in the waiting room today and that was a special treat.

Please pray with us for Karen and her family. The DR said that her father is hour to hour and that his recovery will take a very long time. As we left today - we whispered - I hope I see you tomorrow. I plan on going to lunch in the main building with her tomorrow. Then we can talk more.

The beginning and end of Jeremiah 29:11 are great for us right now ---"For I know the plans I have for you"....(and HE does)..."plans to give you hope and a future." I hope I am not taking this out of context, but this verse gives me strength to keep going.

By the way - this was mom writing again. Thank you ALL for your prayers for us. We feel God's peace. By the way - no baby boy yet.

Dad had the nurses laughing...

Taking the train saves you money; but it costs you in time. We definitely got back later than we usually do; but that's OK. I'm glad we have options to and from the hospital!

Its been a WEEK since our lives turned inside out. God has certainly strengthened us. My mom and I don't usually spend this much time one on one together; so that has been a blessing in disguise. I know I live with my parents and the 'roles' have changed a bit; but I still like my parents. We don't always agree, but I love them.

This morning it was hard to see dad. He was more swollen today then he has been in the past six days. It looked like he had gotten in a fight and his right eye was almost swollen shut. They did the PEG tube today. So he will be eating again tomorrow which makes my mom feel good. (There was a history at this hospital of getting pushed back for various reasons so we were hoping that wouldn't happen to dad.)

His blood pressure today is really good. They like how things are going. Its nice to see that more and more machines are turned off because he doesn't need them any more. The plan is to move him to a step down from the ICU that he is in now. It will still be considered ICU; but it has less critical patients. It will be on the same floor just down the hall.

It is abnormal for a tracheotomy patient to be on the collar the day after so that's a huge answer to prayer! Dad is not getting assistance and the machine is turned off all day!!

He still has not opened his eyes; but he is making improvements! He lifted his whole leg for the nurse today on command and that's what we like to see! He was seen by an opthamologist that's has prescribed some antibiotic ointment for his eyes because they are a little infected right now.

Dad gets cleaned up by the nurses in the morning; and some of them know that he knows whats going on and some of them don't...well today they definitely found out that he KNOWS what's going on! They had him on his side so they could clean him up; and he moved his leg so they could fix him up...and he helped move his gown so when they were done so he wasn't exposed!!! So they were laughing that this patient was helping them out!!!:):):):) That's my dad!!! (People think that because he's not talking and because his eyes are shut that he's not there; but he is!:)

Anyway...we are making friends with a family from Delaware in the waiting room. We saw them at the first Jefferson building we were located at for the first couple days of this episode; and now they have moved over to this building. If you could pray for Karen, the daughter and extended family I know they would appreciate it! Karen's dad has had multiple strokes and now has stints in...things are...well...not favorable...I did not realize how good of friends we are til we were leaving and she gave both mom and I a hug:)

Continue to pray that dad makes improvements and that he can open those eyes!

"open your eyes"

Well - tonight you have momma. The computer whiz just erased the entire blog that Kimberly just wrote and she is off to the movies with her cousin for a well deserved break. Oh well, as my dad always said, "the poor you have with you always."

Today has been a mixed bag of emotions. Steve and I began with devotions again. He enjoyed a selection from my "God for us" CD. He squeezed my hand a number of times during the song.
A selection from Facing the Giants by Max Lucado... His (God's) greatest gift is himself. Sunsets steal our breath. Caribbean blue stills our hearts. Newborn babies stir our tears. (No baby yet!)
Lifelong love bejewels our lives. But take all these away - strip away the sunsets, oceans, cooing babies, and tender hearts - and leave us in the Sahara, and we still have a reason to dance in the sand. Why? BECAUSE GOD IS WITH US!! (the emphasis is mine).

The trachenomy went fine. He was put back on the ventilator for the procedure and is still on it slightly so his brain can relax a little.

Tomorrow they would like to put a "peg" tube in. This is a food tube for us people who are learning. None of these procedures are permanent. They all can come out very easily. With all procedures - there is a chance of infection. He is sedated so we are a little frustrated that these procedures were not scheduled for the same day/time. Now he will not be able to get nourishment for a few days. Now we all know he has some stored up - but he could use some nutrition in the liquid form as soon as possible.

Prayer requests for the next 24 hours -

Pray for Steve that he will open his eyes fully. He did open them a little. Kimberly was holding his hand and I said - "open your eyes and look at your beautiful daughter" and he opened them half way. Maybe I'll get the full eye opening because technically who came first??

Pray for wisdom for the doctors and the nurses. They have been wonderful but more communication would be greatly appreciated.

Pray for our children - it is hard for Kimberly to see her Daddy this way. And Kevin and Brandy as they want to be here but NEED to be there. And Anna and Ella as they talk to Poppop but Poppop can't talk back. We try to let him hear their voices everyday!

THANK YOU for all you are doing for us. We love you all and I pray that God will bless you bunches for your faithfulness in praying for Mr. Steve and company!

Its the beginning of a new week...

God has certainly done AMAZING things last week! He allowed me to spend quality time car shopping with my dad. He allowed my mom and I to rejoice in the LORD, always. He gave me another day to praise him!

Psalm 146:1-2 says: Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul; I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

My mom would agree with me, that today was a good day for dad. He had a temperature this afternoon of 102...but he got that back down to 99.6 when we left. He is still responding to commands and Praise the LORD the blood pressure has come down.

His blood pressure still elevates at different times (like when they suction out his mouth, etc.)...but he is doing a great job on the numbers. They want the median number to be below 80. Yesterday it was over 100 so that is too high. But today while Mom and I were with him we read to him his daily bread and My Utmost for His Highest; his blood pressure was 69:) So he was very calm and peaceful while reading to him:)

During one of the visits this afternoon, I sang along with a song on my iPod. I said "Maybe I'll sing that song at church sometime." And mom whispered to me to ask him if he wanted me too, to squeeze my hand...and He DID!:) So trust me, he can hear every little thing we say:)

Being in the waiting room as much as we are...we have come to know the people who are there day in and day out. And today was not easy. One of the families lost a loved one today. Psalm 144:3-4 says "O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow." Just after it happened, mom actually prayed with the son before heading in to visit with dad. Its sad to see an empty bed across the hall; but I'm sure it will be filled tomorrow. The reality is is that people are in that unit for a reason. I will pray for that family and I encourage you to do the same. We aren't sure if they are believers; but grief is not meant to be carried alone.

The plan for tomorrow is that they will put the tracheotomy in so pray that surgery goes well. I'm not sure when it will be; but I'll let you know how things go. It seems a little premature to do the procedure; however, he will most likely be going through a lot of procedures in the near future that will be required to be intabated...so this saves them a step; and allows more comfort for dad. He really is irritated with the ventilator in, and I'm hoping that it will be easier for him to cough. Watching him try to cough hurts. All you wanna do is help him; but to do that, you could only get yourself in trouble with the nurses. And the nurses are supposed to be your best friends;)

Thanks for all the prayers and thanks for praying for us at church today. God has had this planned out since his birth. He knew that this day would come and may HIS name be PRAISED!

Continue to pray for Kevin and Brandy as they are awaiting the birth of their third; and wanting to be here at the same time. Pray for strength for Dad, for him to open his eyes! Pray for mom and I as we are going back and forth, and as I start working this week.

(I changed the look of the blog because its seemed too dark and impersonal; hope you like it:)

no change...no problems..

Good morning...Dad is the same this morning...Mom just talked with the nurse on the phone to give us all a little update. He is still having blood pressure issues; so they are still trying to work that out.

Yesterday I spoke with the nurse about his foot; and I had mentioned that he had Mersa, and evidently the hospital didn't know that. So because he has had Mersa in the past, as a percaution, they are isolating his room; and requiring gown and gloves, etc to see him. So this will definitly limit visitors....

Anyway....just thought I'd let you know where we are at...

Off to church then the hosptial...

gotta itch?

My dad is same but improving...He had a couple blood transfusions today which definitely helped him! His blood pressure was still elevated for the afternoon but it was lower when we saw him tonight.

I'm not sure if I've explained visiting him at all...but we are allowed to see him 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, and 8:00 for a maximum of 30 minutes! So we are there from 12 until 8:30 everyday but we only see him for two and half hours of that...so we are 'waiting' like the rest of you.

Visitors at this point have been few...and honestly, that's the BEST thing for him! My roommate from college had blood pressure problems while pregnant and the more people in the room caused her heart rate to go up...so I'd like to limit visitors to IMMEDIATE family only. He really reacts to a lot of people in the room, and that's not exactly what we want. We want him to get better and wake up...but not get overly excited. In time more visitors will be fine...but for now...lets keep it on the down low...

When we were visiting him this last half hour, he started getting agitated and wanted to itch...and he even moved his eye brows and pointed that he had an itch!! It is SOOO comforting to know that he's telling us of his discomfort! Praise the Lord!

Also I wanted to let you know that he TRIED really really hard today to open his eyes!!!! You could tell the creases in his eyes were trying really hard to move!! So KEEP PRAYING!!! He's ALMOST THERE!!! His left eye was open just a wee bit...but we will take what we can get!!!

Pray from mom as things are definitely difficult. Sometimes its really hard to talk to him because sometimes you don't know what to say; then others all you wanna do is say "I love you" but you burst into tears and you don't want to make him upset because HE KNOWS WHEN WE ARE THERE! He squeezes hands when he's in agreement with the question or comment:)

Pray for Kevin as he is away; and I know that I'm better when I'm at the hospital then anywhere else...so I can't imagine what he goes through...plus a baby on the way. Pray for Brandy as she's mom; mom-to-be, etc.

Pray for Dad to wake up enough tomorrow and Monday that they won't need to do the tracheotomy...I would prefer not to use it; but the ventilator is hurting his throat and that seems to be the best option...but MY GOD IS BIGGER THAN MY PROBLEM:) (My daddy always says that:)

Thank you for the food today...its such a blessing to be able to eat at the hospital...I really don't like going out if I have too:) Mom and I really do appreciate everything everyone is doing!

Here's lyrics to a song I've been listening too...its from an upcoming artist that I went to school with at Liberty...her name is Meredith Andrews and her single is "You are Not Alone"...here's the lyrics:

I search for love
When the night came and it closed in
I was alone but you found me where I was hiding
and though I'll never ever be the same
It was the sweetest voice that called my name singing

You're not alone For I am here let me wipe away every fear
My love I've never left your side I have seen you through the darkest night
and I'm the one that's loved you all your life
All of your life

You cry yourself to sleep cause the hurt is real and the pain cuts deep
All hope seems lost With heartache your closest friend and everyone else long gone
You've had to face the music on your own but there is a sweeter song that calls you home

sayin' You're not alone For I am here let me wipe away your every tear
My love I've never left your side I have seen you through the darkest nights
And I'm the one that's love you all your life All your life

another day..

This may not be a long post. This is Kevin, not Kimberly and I'll give you the facts as best I can. Dad seems to be progressing a little more each day, so that is a good sign. The swelling seems to be down in this arms and hands and he is responding to most commands (squeeze a hand, thumbs up, etc.) The doctors gave him a blood transfusion to increase his red blood cell count. Seems obvious, right?

They did a chest x-ray today and found nothing irregular, so that is good. The next thing up for Dad is a tracheotomy on Monday, although we are praying that that procedure will not be necessary. Most patients who are recovering from an AVM have tracheotomies put in as a term-perm solution in the event he would need help breathing. He continues to breathe on his own right now, but they still want to do the procedure. If you know Dad well, this isn't something he would want, unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. Even then, he might say no.

Ok, aside from the tracheotomy, we need Dad to start to awake from the sleep-mode he is in. The doctors say that this sleep is normal, after all, he did have BRAIN surgery. Nice thing to add to his long list of ailments, huh? But since he is my dad, I want him to wake up as soon as possible. The Lord always seems to have His timing and since He is in control, there is nothing more to do than wait and pray.

If you have stayed long enough to read the entire post, I want to ask you to pray again for Dad, Mom, Kimberly, Brandy and myself as this is still a very emotional time and a difficult one to wait and see. I am very thankful to all of you who are praying and continue to pray and be of support to us as a family. It is greatly appreciated!

Thanks again.

Holding hands:)

Today was a good day:)

Mom and I just got back from the hospital and the swelling has gone down in his arms! He is becoming more and more alert...but still in a sleep like state. When Mom and I walked in this morning, his whole right side of his body moved a lot! He moved his whole leg and arm! So much so, that the nurse came in a few minutes after because his numbers had risen so much...she said "He definitely knows you guys:)"! He squeezed mom's hand...(he never has a hard time showing love...he's definitely the "physical touch" love language;)

The update goes like this...the doctors would like him to come off the strong blood pressure medication; so they are giving him a new kind now to see how that does. His pressure is still elevated but OK.

Praise God they removed the drainage and bolt (brain pressure measuring device) from his head...so he only has the stitches in his head now:)! I tried counting them...but I don't think you want to know;)

He is breathing on his own and the ventilator is only on to help him not choke/gag on the tubes...they like to put the ventilator on at night to give him a little break...but all this numbers say that he's looking really really good! He's got a feeding tube and he is eating some kind a milky like substance from the "Kangaroo" company. Mom likes to joke that he's eating kangaroo food...silly girl, but I love her:)

At this point, he needs to wake up some more before they will do the a__gram (the thing up the leg to see the brain)

So its a waiting game...Over the next couple days we are praying that he wakes up and minimal damage has been done; but we don't know until he wakes up.

He has moved his left foot today when mom was agitating it! So he has some movement...but all this movement is predominately on his right side...

Martin, the new pastor at our church came by today, and we prayed together with him. As Martin was talking I asked Dad to squeeze my hand...and HE DID!!! REALLY TIGHTLY TOO!!! It was AWESOME to feel my dad hold on to my hand! I don't know how to tell you how much it means when you ask him to do something and he does it!! Its truly a blessing!! He gave my uncle a thumbs up to say good night before we left!

Its gonna be a long road...but I'm certain God has a purpose for all of this...I thought I was a strong person, but I'll be honest, tears come and go...but God has truly comforted me this week...and I'm actually excited to see what God can do!!

Needs to get healthy...

Mom has been talking with the nurses to let us know whats going on...

She said that he can still follow commands, which is good...He still has a hard time moving his left side. He does not have a fever but he is too drowsy to take off the ventilator right now. The doctors had talked about doing a surgery today but they don't feel that he is in the best of health to do that at this time. But that does not mean he may not be ok soon...

Pray that he can wake up more today. And pray that they can do the surgery soon. So he needs his blood pressure to come down! They don't want to take him off the ventilator because they need it in for surgery and it was difficult to put it in:) (My dad likes to be difficult in hospitals;)

Mom and I will head to the hospital to be there by 12 and we usually stay all day...til about 8pm...

Once I get more info; I'll send word...your prayers are important though; that's the best thing you can do right now...

My Finite Mind Grasping an Infinite God...

For the first time in my life; I've let myself focus on the days or months ahead and not on today. I'm always the one that when people say I'm gonna do ____ in a year I always say You only have today! I wouldn't say that I am worried about next month; but I think of it and I get upset to think my dad could possibly never same my name again. I know all the right answers, trust me I know. But I love my dad, and you could say, I like him. He's a really great guy; and it makes me sad to think of what could happen...(I'm a tell-it-like-it-is kinda person).

But I want to let you all know that he is doing really good considering all the previous days events. He is at Jefferson Hospital of Neuroscience in their intensive care unit. He is still on a ventilator but off of any sedation medicine! The ventilator machine is set to have him breath 14 breaths per minute and he was averaging 25ish during the day which is really good because that means he is fighting the machine and wanting to breath on his own! He responds to small commands like, squeeze my hand, etc.

The nurses held his eyes open, since he cannot on his own right now, and they asked him "how many fingers am I holding up?" and he showed them 1 or two depending...so that's a HUGE answer to prayer!!! He is making GREAT improvments. The grandkids said good night to him over the phone; and you could see his eyes moving and head leaning towards the phone. So he knows we are there, and he can hear us.

Here's the reality check. We talked with one of his doctors today and she let us know what we are looking at. The bleeding on the brain that he had which was caused from the AVM was quite severe and has an 80% fatality. So its a really big deal that he made it through it!!

However; where he is right now, is where he is at...There is no way to tell what he will be able to do down the road. Most likely he will have weeks of hospitals and months of rehab. He may not regain strength in his left side. He may never be able to feed himself. He may need a trachiotomy, etc...The list goes on and on.

So for me, I have to be reminded that GOD IS BIGGER THAN MY PROBLEM...and my mind can't grasp him recovering; but GOD CAN DO WHAT HE WANTS TO DO! Either way, God will get the glory and I will praise Him for all of His blessings!!

Continue to pray for myself, my mom, my brother and his wife as we are all trying to make sense of things, and make good decisions. Pray for doctors and wisdom. Brandy is almost full term with their third baby and is on bedrest. Pray that she can stay pregnant a little longer; and strength for Kevin as he wants to be here and there; plus doing double time watching the girls in the morning and working at night. Today has been tough for me, and my mom seems to be the strongest of anyone.

I cannot say enough good things about the staff at Jefferson! They really are fantastic people and they are taking GREAT care of my dad!

I will continue to update as more information comes available. I know that the surgeons are going to discuss an treatment option for the AVM in the morning and mom will probably give a verbal ok for it. The ___(I don't remember the name of it) will go up his leg round the heart and into his brain to see the AVM...if it isn't too complicated they will treat the AVM with glue and dispose of it later somehow. (They need to treat the AVM from bleeding out in the future).

Thank you for your continued encouraging posts...keep on praying...

progressing...

Just thought I would let everyone know that Dad is progressing nicely. He is still on sedation medicine and on a ventilator but will respond to commands. He was asked this morning to give a thumbs up and did for the nurse. My mom is in with him now and held her hand:) He knows when we are there; and he hears EVERYTHING! So we continue to speak to him even though it is hard to see him like this....

Right now he is being moved to Jefferson Hospital of Neuroscience which is a couple blocks down from where he is now. (900 Walnut Street, Philadelphia) He will be there for approximatly 48 hours so they can do more testing on him.

The doctors did a test today checking on his heart and the nurse said that everything is ok with his heart! The doctors don't usually talk to us after the test for some reason....so when we don't hear from them; that's a good sign;) They have not said as to what the slight fever was from yesterday, or if they found or are thinking there is an infection. At this point, we assume he does not have one.

Continue to pray that he makes improvments and that he will be able to move the left side of his body. The only movement that we have seen is his right side; and we are not sure if thats because he can't or if its because that's how he's positioned on the bed.

I'll try and update as more news comes...

Morning Update

The hospital called this morning. The doctors feel that there might be an infection so they are doing a esophogeal (?) cardiogram (going down his throat) to check his heart out. We'll let you know what happens.

BTW- A praise- Dad is responding on command...he gave them a thumbs up today and squeezed their hand!

Praise God for PAIN

Who would have thought that pain would be a good thing? Certainly you would agree with me that pain is not something we sign up for. Its not something anyone likes to be in. The slightest discomfort for an infant and it cries. It does not like pain; and typically neither do you.

Well yesterday at 5am...my father felt pain. He was not comfortable and asked for something for his head. My mother went to get the medication for him; and as she did my father fell off his bed and was unable to get up. My mom called my uncle who lives next door to help her move him to the bed. But it appeared to him, my uncle, that dad had had a stroke and 911 was called.

Once at the hospital a cat scan was performed and the prognosis was 'poor.' He had massive bleeding on his brain and needed specialized care immediately. The doctor called over to Jefferson hospital which he was airlifted within an hour. Upon arrival he was admitted to the ER because there was no bed available in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit. He was only there for approximately a half hour when a doctor informed us that he needed immediate surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. And for the next 5 or 6 hours we waited.

We saw him in his room around 6pm. Praise God he made it through the surgery! They took part of his skull off to relieve pressure from the brain. He has AVM which means: Arteriovenous malformation or AVM is a congenital disorder of the connections between veins and arteries in the vascular system. The genetic transmission patterns of AVM (if any) are unknown, and AVM is not generally thought to be an inherited disorder--unless in the context of a specific hereditary syndrome. He was born with this condition that we all did not know about until now. He was put on a ventilator at the first hospital; and still is tonight. We said goodnight to him last night hoping to see him in the morning; and Praise God he made it through the first day after having emergency brain surgery!

This afternoon we went back to see him and they had him sitting up in his bed. It is important for his head to be elevated to help relieve the pressure. He had high blood pressure and high blood sugar throughout the night. Today he had a slight fever and maintained the same high BP and sugar. Praise God that today he has been moving his right hand and right foot on his own. (He won't respond directly when you ask him to hold your hand.)

The prayer request at this point is to 1) get the blood pressure down 2)keep his body free from infection 3) get out of sedation

Everyone has been so good to the whole family through this time! I really want to thank everyone for the prayers and thoughts as we are in this wait and see what happens time. My brother goes home tomorrow to care for his wife who is on bed rest and could go at any time. (She is 35 weeks pregnant with their third baby.) You can also pray for them as they want to be here and there all at the same time.

Here's one story that gave us encouragement today...this morning my mom, brother and myself were in his room talking with him making sure he is OK. I said to them that I wanted to take a picture of dad so that when he gets out of this, he will be able to see what he looked like. My mom and brother agreed it was silly but my decision. So I held my camera phone out and said "Smile, Dad"...and his head and body all twitched!:) He knew what I was doing and knew that we were there...it really gave us all a reason to laugh!

Thank you all again so much for everything. I will be updating the blog as more information becomes available. But at this point; no news is good news. Keep on praying:)