Not Really An Update...

Shortly after writing that we would have more to say, I realized that we really don't.

TJ was at least as awake today as he was yesterday, conversing, and still after a diet Coke they won't let him have.

It will still be a long road to recovery, and as noted, we still have that whole mitral valve bit.

The visitor policy is still limited, we really wore TJ out today.

Thank you all for your prayers, past and continuing, they really carried us through this.

TJ Out of ICU

They just moved him. We'll go for a further report later. He failed the swallow test again, but is allowed to eat things that has a consistency of honey at room temperature.

He is still talking, has had more than enough visitors so he's tired. But heh, life is getting good.

And for anyone counting (me), 32 days in the ICU. We actually got hugs leaving...

Morning phone call

I am going in a little later today but I called his nurse who has taken care of him for a whole 5 days in a row now! She said he slept very well after being up in the chair twice yesterday and is already on his quest for a diet coke. She asked him if drinks a lot of diet coke and he answered, "religiously." A video swallowing study is scheduled for around 11 am where they look at how much of what he swallows goes down the esophagus into the stomach and how much leaks into the trachea and then the lungs. Diet coke does not do much for pneumonia. This leakage is common after a long intubation and the tongue, mouth, and throat muscles are all weakened by the tube itself and lack of use.

Blessings!

Mary Ann

Renewed Request for 24 Hour Prayer for Healing of TJ's Mitral Valve

In talking to the cardiologist recently it appears that the plan for TJ's mitral valve is to wait until he is deemed stable enough for surgery and then go in -cracked sternum-open chest-open heart and replace the valve. The time line could get moved up considerably if for some reason his heart can no longer tolerate the level of leakage. The cardiologists are also somewhat vague on how they define "able to tolerate surgery." They have referenced "well along" in rehab, whatever that means (next week?)

Psalm 5 says:

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.

2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

With this attitude we would like to request a renewed 24 hour call to prayer (see side post) to pray specifically and expectantly for the healing of TJ's mitral valve. God has done amazing and truly miraculous things in TJ's illness, but he is not finished yet. For the sake of Your kingdom, Your name, and by Your grace we ask and wait expectantly, oh God!

Timeline

There is no real good reason for me to be up right now, but here I am.

I just finished putting together a timeline of TJ's hospital stay, which you can find here. It's hard to say too much about it except so much happened the events in the middle are already fading memories, almost like the shadows of dreams.