More on Saturday

Eric is resting right now, which allows me a moment to post a note. When he's awake, he keeps us busy wanting his dry/erase board, his feet rubbed, his fan off, his fan on, the TV on, the TV off, a cool cloth on his forehead, his nurse for suctioning or sedation, and endless sponges of water to moisten his mouth and occasional sips of a flavored drink drizzled into his mouth from a straw. Flavor of the day -- Sprite. Yesterday was lemonade. Tomorrow, he's already decided, will be Orange Crush. He's restless when awake. Anxious. In attempt to wean from the morphine, the doctor changed his med to Vicadin. And he still gets Ativan occasionally too.

The visit from his teacher seemed to help his mood somewhat. He was more agreeable to attempting deep breaths, and seemed to truly enjoy her visit.

We're Getting There

Eric continues to slowly improve. His strength is slowly returning. He's been very stable. Our biggest concern, besides anxiously waiting for him to come off the ventilator, is his depression and lack of drive. Even though he desperately wants to get that tube out, he doesn't seem to have the wherewithall to work for it.

Today Eric's teacher, Ms. Defelice, came in and gave Eric an amazing pep talk. Like everyone, she loves Eric and says she'll come as often as she can to cheer him on.

So not much else to report. We continue to thank you for your prayers and concern. We couldn't get through this without all of you behind us, supporting us.

Not Just Yet

Eric had a very peaceful, restful night. We had hoped he might be strong enough to come off the ventilator today, but he's not quite there yet. Dr. Thompson is as anxious for Eric to come off the vent as we and Eric are. But he's not quite strong enough . . . not yet. And we need to work on decreasing the doseage and frequency of the sedation, morphine and ativan. Over the past two weeks, out of necessity and through no fault of his own, my son, who in 5th grade won the DARE program essay contest and swore he'd never abuse drugs, has become quite dependent on these medications. He no sooner wakes up from a drug-induced nap and he's asking for more meds. But we're cutting back. We have to. He needs to be awake to gain strength. And he needs to get off these meds. Consequently, Eric is very uncomfortable and agitated, restless. So we ask for your prayers for continued strength and mental fortitude, a supernatural sustaining.

Patience, Restlessness, Waiting

Eric has been very restless the past day or so. They're trying to cut back on his sedation, but when he's not sedated, he's uncomfortable in the bed. He's tired of being in bed. He wants the tube out of his mouth. He wants to talk and eat. And he's having such a hard time getting good sleep. Yesterday he asked for grape juice. The nurse, she's such a softie, got permission from the doctor, and we moisten a small sponge on a stick with juice and let him hold it in his mouth. Today, it's Sprite. His morning blood gas was not quite as impressive today as yesterday, but not horrible. I know the doctor would love to get him off the ventilator, but doesn't feel he's strong enough just yet. He lowered the pressure on the vent slightly. So we're still moving in the right direction. Eric's white blood cell count was up this morning, so the doctor ordered cultures on everything, sputum, blood, urine, stool, to rule out infection. I don't see any of this as setbacks, but part of the difficult waiting healing process. So for those of you who pray specifically, Eric needs strength, both physically and mentally, patience, and a strong ability to hang in there and not give up. I can't even imagine how hard this all must be for him. And he's such a trooper, still so cooperative and pleasant to his caregivers. But his frustration is mounting. We continue to thank you all for everything.

Good News

Eric had another quiet night of healing. His breathing continues to improve. The doctor came in this morning, furthur decreased some settings on the ventilator, and said he'll be taking the breathing tube out "in a day or two." Incredible! Three, four days, a week ago, I never dreamed Eric would start to recover so quickly. God is good. Physical therapy has already been here and will come back again this afternoon, so Eric is gaining his strength back. And he's been complaining he's hungry, despite his tube feedings. I know he can't wait to get off the ventilator just so he can eat. And talk. Communication has been frustrating to him. Please pray there'll be no setbacks. Coming off the ventilator will be the hugest step in Eric's recovery. Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

Happy Mardi Gras

Above is a photo of my family. Eric is the tall handsome guy to my left, towering over me. To my right is Eric's twin brother Andrew. And my husband Bob.

Big day here in Lake Charles, as well as all of coastal Louisiana. It's Mardi Gras! Bigger than Christmas, though I've yet to figure out why. It's a state holiday, and the town celebrates with parades, carnivals, balls, and general merriment. Today actually marks the end of "Mardi Gras season," which always starts 12 days after Christmas and ends the night before Lent starts. We're sorta oblivious to the festivities here in the hospital, though lots of staff are wearing Mardi Gras beads, and Eric has some beads hanging from one of his IV poles, shiny bright strands of purple, gold, and green.

Another good day for Eric. The doctor came in and saw Eric's (relatively) awesome morning blood gas. He decreased the CPAP from 8 to 6 and the PSV from 30 to 25. In other words, we decreased the pressures on his ventilator, meaning more steps on the way to getting him off the breathing machine. So far, he's doing great on these new settings. Also, physical therapy came in to see him today. They actually sat him up on the edge of the bed for about a minute. Eric didn't like that at all. Naturally, he was very dizzy. And he's so weak. PT also did some light strength training and range of motion with him. It's another step on the road to recovery and getting his strength back. But he was exhausted. Eric took a world class nap after that.

God is definitely answering all your prayers. And we thank you. I'm very encouraged. As they say here on Mardi Gras, Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Holding My Breath

Just a quick note to let you all know Eric had another good night. And that pesky PaCO2 that was 87 yesterday morning (40 is normal) . . . was 61 this morning. Halleluiah, we're heading in the right direction. Prayers have been answered. I'm cautious to be too optimistic. The night nurse assured me that, while he obviously is much better than he was, she doesn't think he's out of the woods yet and setbacks are common in ICU. Nonetheless, I'm feeling good this morning. Thank you for your prayers for Eric's continued healing and strength, both physically and mentally/spiritually. Now that he is no longer heavily sedated, he's rather anxious, agitated, restless, bored, and frustrated because communication is difficult, etc. Who wouldn't be?