Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Johnny,

You are doing so good! You got your trach in and that went well! The doctor suctioned your lungs and got a lot of stuff out that you couldn't cough up. Right now you are being given oxygen through your trach until you are strong enough to breath completely on your own. Last time I saw you I walked into your room and said hi Johnny! You stuck your tongue out at me. Jackie was with me and we both laughed out loud and you smiled. We had a great visit! Thank you everyone for praying for Johnny, we appreciate every single one!

Love you! XO Jen

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Please pray for Johnny, he is having surgery in the morning to have the trach put in. Pray for a speedy recovery. Pray that the Lord guides the doctors hands. Pray for a good nights sleep tonight for both Johnny and his surgeon. Thank you for your dedication and prayer! Jen

Monday, March 7, 2011

Update

Mom confronted the case manager and told her everything that we've been dealing with concerning the nurses and techs. She also told her that she wanted you out of that place as soon as possible. It's the families belief that if Diana hadn't been there last night you would have died. It was and is that serious! Mom has a call into the dr that will be putting in the trachea to see about getting you admitted asap. We don't feel like it will be a problem. Keep praying, johnny's not out of the woods yet. Thanks! Jen

Sunday, March 6, 2011

We are in need of prayers!!

Johnny is not doing good at all! Mickey and I took Ty to see his uncle Johnny today and when we got there we were told that it wasn't a good idea having the baby there so Mickey waited while I visited and then we left. Johnny was sleeping and usually I can wake him up just by saying his name but today that didn't work. I shook him, patted his chest, raised his eye lids ... Nothing worked. I asked the nurse if he had been given anything for sleep and she said yes that he was given something for pain. I didnt think anything about it ... I said my goodbyes and left. Dad and Diana visited after we had left and Diana has medical experience, she noticed his co2 level was real high ... This means that he's not breathing deep enough to remove the carbon dioxide again. The scary thing is that Diana had to tell the nurse that she needed to check that. The doctor was called and he ordered Johnny to be put back on the ventilator. They suctioned a lot of yellowish junk from his throat. He's too weak to cough it out himself. We fear the pneumonia could be back. It looks like Johnny getting a trachea is not a matter of if but a matter of when. I saw Johnny today ... He looked worse than I've seen him in a while. I really feel like if Diana hadn't shown up when she did and took charge, Johnny would not make it through the night. He really needs your prayers. Giving a patient who just came off a ventilator and is working on increasing oxygen level a sedative or any type of drug that relaxes is not good. He was so relaxed that he wasn't producing enough oxygen to be woken up when I shook him. He could have eventually just stopped breathing. Pray that Johnny can find the strength to fight. Pray that he overcomes this round of illness. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and nurses who are taking care of my brother. Pray for peace in the decisions that my parents have to make regarding my brothers care. Pray for Jackie, it's so hard for her to see her daddy this way and watch him on the roller coaster he's been on for nearly two years now. Pray that God's will be done ... It's hard to even attempt to understand! I miss my brother! Thank you for being so dedicated to Johnny. Jen

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

One giant leap forward!!

Johnny,

I feel like we're all playing the game of Johnny and you're making up the rules as we go along!

You did excellent on your blood gas test last night and this morning and as I type this you are having the ventilator tube removed from your throat. You will have the little tube thing that goes in your nose but it will not go into your nose, just rest there. I'm sure you will be more comfortable soon! Next hurdle is to decide where to send you for therapy ... Once your able to leave the hospital. I'm not sure if I posted this but your pneumonia is better and your off the antibiotics.

Praise God for answered prayers and thank you to all Johnny's prayer angels for praying so faithfully!

Love you! XO Jen

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

One step forward ... Two steps back!!

Johnny,

Last week you were transferred from the hospitals ICU to a LTAC (long term acute care facility). The week felt pretty grim! You still had/have the tube in your throat helping you breath. On Sunday we were told that you've been on the ventilator too long and that it's starting to damage the inside of your throat and mouth. The doctor said that the best thing for you is to have the trach put back in. This is something we absolutely did not want! Our fear being that if you have one again you won't be able to have it removed. Mom was told that we were given false information before and that it is possible to be weaned of the trach again. He also told her that it would be worse for Johnny having the ventilator any longer because of the tissue breakdown. So, you've been scheduled for a trach on Thursday.

Resent update: you were given a blood gas test today ... and you PASSED!!! A blood gas test is a test to see if the ventilator can be removed. Removing the ventilator means you will have to be able to breathe deep enough to remove the carbon dioxide from your lungs. This is really good news! If your able to breathe without the ventilator, you won't need the trach!! So, the doctor asked mom if she wanted to have the ventilator tube removed and mom said that she wanted another blood gas done first. You see, if you have the tube removed and then start breathing poorly, you'll have to have the tube again and then the trach ... Steps back! It's better to be safe and know for sure. So, you have time to study for your next test ... Ha! I know you'll do good because God answers prayers! Which leads me to my next subject ... God's will ... I've been having some trouble with knowing what exactly to pray for when I pray for you. I talked to a good friend about this and she told me that God already knows what we are wanting to pray about, even we don't . She left me a note in my mailbox this morning and I'd like to share it with you and those out there that are having some of the same troubles as me.

Romans 8:26
And the holy spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for but the holy spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the spirit is saying, for the spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will.

Our pastor said on Sunday:
The spirit of God searches every inch of our lives - He intercedes in prayer for us. He knows stuff about us that we don't even know!

There is comfort in knowing that when I can't find the words to express what I want or need, it's okay because God already knows!

Praying for you! Looking forward to some excellent test scores! XO Jen