Crazy Crazy

Dad is doing really good. he is no longer hooked up to any mother ships. No cath or IV or trech or anything. He got up this morning all by himself. today he made it half way to the bathroom on his own before his knee gave out and they had to get him a wheal chair. he sat up in the chair today for about 3 hrs. There is a chance he could be going home next week and will have a home helper coming to help him there. Its a good thing mom knows Physical therapy seeing as she us to do it back in the dad in the hospital, so dad wont be getting away with much, but he will be happier at home instead of infested germ hospital. He will be able to love all over his cat and dog. 

GRANDDAUGHTER IN 3D

DAD GOT TO SEE HIS GRANDDAUGHTER IN 3D TODAY. 

I HEARD HE REALLY LIKED SEEING HER.  

SHE KEPT TRYING TO HIDE AND PLAY WIHT HER HANDS,

BUT WE WERE ABLE TO CATCH A LITTLE .

DAD GOT TO SEE HER REALLY CLEAR, HOW COOL IS THAT.

DADS GRAND BABY

DAD GETS TO SEE HIS GRANDDAUGHTER MOVE A LITTLE

DADS BIG ESCAPE

FROM THE BED THAT IS.

DAD SITTING UP ALL BY HIMSELF

AND THE WINNER IS

KAREN CLARKSON

she was the one to send dad his 200th email.

Dad got in trouble today when he pulled himself up into a sitting position while there was no one in the room. He wanted to do it to show he is fighting, and going to get out and down into rehab soon. His food is pretty much baby food, Its all pureed but he's eating it and says its not to bad.

He has no more little droids all over him and no longer has the pulse ox. All he has is the IV and his cath.  He  is doing great. 

HALLOWEEN FOR DAD

Dads been transformed for halloween.

 not the best work just a quick 5 min costume 

CRAZY DAD

Dad sat up on the side of the bed and in the chair today. he ate all his food and even got a hair cut from mom today. He is close to hitting 200 emial's  I got to talk to him twice today and the phone and he's hoping to be out of the hospital and in rehab by the time i get there. which is in just a few weeks. He's doing a great job, I am so proud of him. 

Going to eat his way out

Dad finished everything on his pate to night, even though I'm sure it was nasty ( its hospital food)

He really wants that feeding tube out of his nose and wants to go home. When mom showed up this morning dad no longer had the tracheotomy in his neck. They had just removed it, no down sizing. Dad seams to be doing ok with it. just working on his physical strength and eating now. 

THERE'S A MONKEY IN DADS ROOM

OH WAIT THATS JUST HIM

Dad has a new monkey bar in his room to help move himself.

He is a little grumpy, mom says his pain meds are wearing off and he's starting to feel every little thing. he's now the prince and the pea. He had his first drink of water today and is eating soft food (not that great he says, boy don't I know it) they are still waiting for the order of a new trach so they can start weaning him off the tube. Mom says one docs think they might not need it and could just take it out, only because he hasn't been on it as long as they thought he would have to be. We will just have to wait and see how he does and what the docs plan to do. 

He missed out on pet therapy because they didn't tell them he moved, I think that would have helped with the grumpy monkey, now hell have to wait till they come in  next time and hope they get the memo. He sat up in a chair twice to day and is doing really well, and I think he's out smarting the docs ha ha ha. 

FOOD

dad hates the food, Its like puréed bird seed mom says. thought he did try 2 bites of everything before pushing it away. Mom is having to do battle with workman's comp, just one more thing that she really doesn't need to deal with right now.  If anyone has any ideas or knows about workman's come and their politics let me know, maybe it will help mom in the fight, THANKS

RUNNING AWAY

WELL AT LEAST FROM THE ICU.

DAD IS LEAVING THE ICU AND GOING TO 5A TODAY!

YAHOO

So remember when emailing him at the hospital to change the unit from ICU to 5a instead so we make sure he gets them.

DAD TALKS TO

THE BEST WAY TO HEAR IS TO  HIT STOP ON MUSIC PLAYER AT BOTTOM AND TURN UP SPEAKERS 

DADS TALKS

Mondays update

Being on the trach (tracheotomy) collar means that Donald is off the ventilation machine- which means breathing on his own!  They took the vent away for good this morning, so that is GOOD NEWS!  They also took the huge lift machine out of the room because he's been able to help turn himself better.  So now we're not tripping over it and it isn't creeping Donald out having that thing hanging over his head.  All the IV drips are gone so the only line going into him is the central line (for quick medicin applications), the food tube to the stomach and the trach.

Here's what has to happen before they move him out of the ICU and into a regular room:

1. Regulate his blood sugar.

See that- only one thing is keeping him in the ICU!!  The doc's and nurses are continually amazed at how well Donald is doing so quickly.  He wants out of here!

Once he's out of the ICU they'll start stepping down the sizes on the trach tube to eventually wean him off it.  The hole in his throat will close up on it's own once the tube is gone.  When he goes down to the next size he MAY be able to speak, but not much because he can damage his vocal chords with the balloon that holds the trach in his throat.  We want to be able to hear him sing eventually so we'll have to encourage him to stay quiet.

Donald is gaining strength in his hands and arms little by little.  He can press the button to call the nurses and change the TV channel on his own now.  He's getting better at the communication board, but those buttons aren't as sensitive to touch (duh, who though of that?) so he points at the letters he wants and we push them for him.

Emily is probably going home Wednesday (she's flying stanby so it depends on how full the flight is).  The docs say they wouldn't be surprised if Donald moved to a regular floor in a couple days, so she may miss the move.  We were asked in an email who exactly Emily is: she's Donald and Sara's niece on Donalds' side of the family.  Donalds' sister Debra is her mom.

not much for today

as of right now (1:14 pm) the trach collar has been on for 27 hours

and 23 minutes! Way past the goal of 14 hours!

This all I heard today not much, didn't get to talk to mom this is just what emily sent me. doesn't quite make sense to me but will ask about it next time i get to talk to mom.

They also sent me the link to a few articles on the crash. 

warning there are photos of the crash on it just to let you know.

http://www.uticaod.com/archive/x1366183173/2-trapped-seriously-hurt-in-2-vehicle-rollover-accident

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/28533384.html

When they showed your dad a newspaper article on the web about the crash. Dad asked shortly after that to have someone come give him a blessing, so someone from the church will be coming later on when they're done with the tithing.  The doc's say his blood sugar is looking pretty good but they're going to give him just a bit more and see how that goes.

hope to hear more tomorrow.

photos 4 the day

Dad was pretty upset this morning because mom and Emily couldn't get him into a comfortable position fast enough.  His assigned nurse went to get something to eat (they're only human after all) their we're not allowed to use the lift.  They finally got him settled down and resting. He won't have any physical or occupational therapists this weekend so your mom and Emily will be working with him when he's awake.

He's coughing less and bringing less gunk up which is a good sign that his lungs are clearing out. They turned the news channel on for him today so he can get caught up on what's going on in the world.  Emily is sure he doesn't like everything he hears but at least it keeps things interesting for him.

 Just as Emily report that he's not coughing as much, what does he do but cough and wake himself up! They had told him earlier that he had 5 emails come in this morning but he wasn't ready to hear them right away, so mom read them to him later that day.  Emily and mom enjoy the emails as much as he does!

Mom's been promising Emily a deer sighting since She got there but hadn't seen any until this morning.  while they were eating a late breakfast she saw a deer in the clearing through the window over mom's shoulder. (The photo is posted above) They come around a lot. we had a baby come walking straight up the drive way while i was their last winter. 

The picture with the smile and the thumbs up is his message to me.  Emily told him She was emailing me and asked if he wanted to say anything.. first she said he made a kissy face, but wasn't able to catch it. Then he gave me a thumbs up and a smile. she translates it to: "I love you. I'm getting better and I hope you're taking care of yourself, Ed and my grand-baby!  

she also sent a picture of mom mopping dad's head.  His face was so blissed out!  She tried to catch it but was not sure she got the best shot.  She tries to stay in the corner out of the way of the nurses and her phone can't zoom in. 

They are taking dad off the insulin drip and put him on a long acting insulin instead.  So now he will only have his fingers stabbed every 4 hours instead of every hour- yay! I bet he is happy that finger prick is painfully annoying and blood drips all over. NO FUN AT ALL

MORE PHOTOS

DAD WORK THAT ARM, WAY TO GO DAD

WORK MEN OUTSIDE DADS WINDOW, HE CAN SEE THEM BUT THEY CAN'T SEE HIM

MOM WORKING WITH DAD I THINK WITH THE CONTROL BOARD 

THE CONTROL BORED 1

THE CONTROL BOARD 2

DAD WORKING HIS ARM WITH THE GREEN BUNGIE 

When mom and Emily came in this morning he told them he wanted to go home for the

weekend. They had to get the head nurse to tell him what the plan was

before he could leave. Every day he tells them he wants to go home.

Then he told Emily and mom he was in the chair with the communication board and

mouthed that it was for two hours. He also told them that he had been

scheduled for something this morning and it hadn't been done. They had

to figure out what it was and realized he was remembering the

occupational therapist Josh telling him yesterday that he would be

here this morning. Josh came in about two to tell him he got

sidetracked because he had to fill in for some other people, but would

be back to work him in about an hour. Dad's blue squeeze

sponge went missing overnight and he signaled to Josh he needs a new

one, but wants it heavier so he's getting a two pounder when Josh gets

back. Dad is in a hurry to get stronger and get out of there! Emily

asked him if he was bored and he nodded and rolled his eyes. Emily says she thinks the

part of his body he's moving the most are his eyes!

While Emily was telling me this dads physical therapist Jay was there and dad was

moves his legs up and down while my mom sings like he's a girl in

the chorus line of those old movies. Emily says the staff there get a kick out of mom. Jay also works his arms, but dad doesn't like the splint on his left arm because it's so heavy. Emily figures it just works those muscles even more.

After a workout dad sounds like frog vader because it brings the

"hooey" (as mom calls it) up.

He has 150 emails so far! He loves hearing from everyone so keep them

coming! It helps break up the monotony of the day to day experience of

the ICU.

They got an email from Betsy beech ( A GOOD FRIEND OF THE  FAMILY) this morning. Her husband Grant went into the ER in California last night.

They're not sure what's wrong but I heard he is in a lot of pain.

It would be much appreciated if we could keep them in our prays as well as dad.

I hope  hope he feels better soon a hospital is not a fun place to spend  lot of time in.

As for my Baby we just found out it was a girl friday, I am not due till march 7th how ever dad would like me to be a week late and have her on his birthday. I will be going up to see dad in november. when mom told him i was coming she said his eyes almost popped out of his head. 

DAD n PHOTOS

IN THE CHAIR

HENRY AND SALLY VISITING

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

DAD AND ARM

the staples are out of his arm

just found out they took out the stitches and staples out of his lower

arm the other day so with the ones out today he has no stitches or

staples left!

He's trying to get some sleep but it's kind of noisy in the icu.

50 FIRST DATES

For all those who have seen the move 50  first dates, That is what mom says its like with dad. She has to tell him all over again why he is in the hospital and what's been going on every day. She says it will be this way till all the sedation and drugs they have giving him wear off.  As for those who haven't seen the movie its about a guy who falls for a girl who is living the same day over and over again so every day he has to try and make her fall in love with him again and again and again. I wont tell you the end incase you want to see it but it all works out for the best. Mom will tell me more later she was on her way to see dad when I called her with the news that dads going to have a Grand Daughter. so will keep you posted on the grumpy monkey.

DADS WINDOW BUDDY

THE WINDOW IS DURTY FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OUT SIDE BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE HIS LITTLE FRIEND.

Gargoyle pose

Food in his mouth

Profile

Leaving

DADS ROOM

Grumpy pants

dad made it six hours off the ventilator today. He's in a chair

right now for two hours. He's a little mad but he'll be back in bed

soon.

Emily says we should see dad when mom and her can't figure out what he's trying to

say.  He rolls his eyes and just looks at them like their two dumb broads who

can't figure out how to read his mind. They have a communication board ready for when he's

strong enough to hit the buttons. 

Dad also tried writing for the first time yesterday. He wanted a kiss from mom

10-2

Dad has gone from 10 tubes town to 2  mom said the nurses told her all he wanted to do was get up and get out of bed and leave last this morning.  They have been working with him and his tracheotomy so he can talk, last night the nurses were plugging it for him and he wouldn't stop talking it was all he wanted to do. Mom had to go in this morning and tell him why he couldn't get out of bed and that he had to behave.  They go back and forth on the ventilator to give him time off from doing all the work breathing so he can heal better. Dad is doing great and They keep reading his emails to him and some over again because he wasn't all there when he heard it the first time. Mom says he has to get better his puppy is starting to miss him and get confused and do funny scary tricks at night. He has 3 days before he finds out what his grand child will be so Lets hope that keeps his spirits up.

GREAT NEWS

DADS DOING GOOD. THEY CAPED OFF THE TRACHEOTOMY, AND HE IS DOING ALL HIS BREATHING ON HIS OWN. HE MAY BE ABLE TO TALK JUST A LITTLE IN A FEW MORE DAYS. HIS SISTER BERTHA AND HER HUSBAND RON ARE BACK THERE, AND WILL BE THERE FOR A FEW DAYS. HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS EMILY SENT ME.

Ron

Dads sister Bertha

Mom giving dad some water on a stick

The stick has a sponge on the end with ice water from the cup for him  
to suck on. He really likes his sucker-he grabs it with his teeth when  
you try to take it back

WIDE AWAKE

Mom left me a message that dad is awake wide awake more awake then he has ever been. will call me later with more info.

DUFFY AND DAD

Friday late night update

Dad got his new tracheotomy in mid day. Physical therapy came in and was really impressed with him. all the swelling had gone down in his hands and feet because mom and emily had been working on him rubbing them and getting the blood flowing, which seamed to help. Mom said he had been moving his hands and feet a lot at at some points he looked like a little drummer boy. They have been slowly taking him off the ventilator because he is doing a lot of breathing on his own. Mom says they are slowly going to take him off sedation as well. Mom says he is doing good and that they took another tube out of his chest.  He has now gotten over 100 emails which mom said he was shocked to see so many. 

pix

Dads Lenard boots

dads glowing earring

Thirty-one staples!

LETTER FROM MOM

Don woke up yesterday. He was full of questions and no way to ask. Talk about frustration! I gave him some info on the accident,and  told him the other guys are praying for HIM! He was moving all of his arms and legs and squeezed my hand hard with his left hand. He mouthed to me that he was concerned that he couldn't lift his head. I told him to not even try because there was a tube in his throat that could fall out AND that he had been laying in that bed for 3 weeks so his head was a bit heavy.  His eyebrows went up at that. I know he was assessing the damage and was trying to understand where he was and why. We developed a blink response for yes and no questions. He let  me know that he was in some pain and he was scared. I reassured him that he was being well taken care of and that I was there for him as well as all of our friends and family. I showed him all of his mail and his eyes popped  again. I let him know that he is loved and that he will get through all of this. I told him he has a lot to do to get out of that bed and that, for now, this will be his work. His job will AIS will be there when he is better and the guys have his tools. It was an emotional day for both of us and not without tears. I knew when he eventually woke up it would be hard for us, but what a sweet blessing after all these weeks to have a real moment with him. We had to end his "sedation vacation" and put him back on meds to calm down his heart rate. We appreciate all that has been done for us and that Donald has been able to tolerate everything so far. His new custom trach should be here Thursday, and they ordered a spare! I have let all the nurses and Drs. know that he is a SPECIAL guy, not a special needs only guy. He is loved by a lot of people! I will do all I can to get him better, and have had to raise a ruckus more than once to see that things get done right! So don't worry about the little things, just keep sending positive thoughts and prayers and love this way! It obviously has been working. When I get too tired, God steps in and carries us. I have to use more faith than I ever did! THANK YOU for all of your LOVE and SUPPORT!

Love,

Sara

SORRY FOR THE DELAY 

here is what has been going on.

Dad is still in lala land. He is sedated while we wait for a custom built trach system that wont fall out and will actually fit. they call one of his meds milk of amnesia! we had visits today from phys. therapy. we have a long way to go, so no lazin' about.

TODAY.

mom says he is on sedation vacation and is awake. he has tried to talk and took mom a while to find out that he wanted water. his mouth is really yucky feeling im sure. he has been trying to lift his head and moms had to tell him no. Dad has also been moving his hands and feet and mom is working on sign language with him. he is scared and still not sure what happened or what's going on. Mom says all his breathing has been on his own lately and hes doing good. only thing is his heart when he comes to, is to fast because he's stressed and to sure about everything.

He is doing good right now.

LAST I HEARD

OK LAST TIME I HEARD FROM MOM THEY HADN'T DONE ANYTHING WITH HIS TRACHEOTOMY YET.  BUT HE HAD AN INFECTION IN HIS CENTRAL LINE AND THEY WERE MOVING THAT AND PUTTING IT SOME WERE ELSE.

WE DID OK AT THE YARD SALE AND HAD SEVERAL BLESSINGS ALONG THE WAY. WE FIRST HAD NO SIGNS DUE TO THAT HELP BACKING OUT ON US AT THE LAST MIN. THEN WE HAD NO CHANGE AND THEN THERE WAS THE WEATHER.

WE SOME HOW WERE ABLE TO BRAKE OUR FIRST 20 HOW EVER WE KINDA PANICKED A LITTLE AFTER THAT BECAUSE THEN ALL WE HAD WAS THE 20 BUT SOME HOW FOR THE NEXT FEW CUSTOMERS THEY ONLY PAYED WITH ONES AND CHANGE AND BY THE TIME THE NEXT 20 CAME AROUND WE WERE DOING OK AND WERE ABLE TO MAKE CHANGE.

THE WEATHER TURNED OUT NICE THE COOL WIND AND CLOUDS MADE OUR DAY A LITTLE EASIER WE HAD PLANED TO CLOSE AT 2 AND RIGHT AT 2 IT STARTED TO SPRINKLE JUST A LITTLE. LIKE HEY ITS 2 TIME TO CLOSE UP. SO WE PACKED UP AND WHEN WE GOT EVERYTHING PUT AWAY IT STARTED SPRINKLING A LOT HARDER.

AS WE LEFT WE NOTICED YARD SALE SIDS AT THE END OF THE STREET FACING OUR WAY AND SET FOR TODAY.  SOMEONE ELSE WAS HAVING A SALE DOWN THE STREET AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE TRAFFIC FROM THEIR SIGNS. 

BLESSINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES AND WE DID ALRIGHT. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED WITH THE SALE. ITS GOING TO HELP MOM AND DAD OUT AT LOT. WE ARE THINKING ABOUT DOING IT AGAIN ON THE 17TH BUT WILL LET YOU KNOW SO IF YOU DIDN'T GET TIME TO HELP WITH THIS ONE AND WOULD STILL LIKE TO LET ME KNOW.

I WILL TRY AND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DAD EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. HE BETTER JUST BEHAVE.

BUMP IN THE ROAD

Sorry its been a day since i updated thing. life has been crazy busy trying to get everything ready for the yard sale. so here is the news.

Dad was doing good he went in friday morning to have the tracheotomy put in and everything was great and he was doing well. This morning I got a call from mom.  She lost it,  the hospital called her this morning at 5Am her time with not so great news. Dads tube had come out of his neck and his breathing was off. They have to order him a special tube for him because his is to small. Right now they have him stable and are waiting for his to come in. Mom says we almost lost him last night. she expected some bumps in the road but not like this. She is so grateful for all the emails people have been sending, they have been a great help to her and dad. Mom also appreciates all the love and support everyone is sending along with their prayers.  

I will Try and keep you posted as i hear things or you can come see us at the yard sale we will be here till about 2PM 

were at 

1720 N. MILLER ROAD 

RIGHT OFF MCDOWELL RD ACROSS FROMT HE PARK

THURSDAY NIGHT OCT 2 UPDATE

Not to much to report on. dad will be going in for surgery to have the tracheotomy done Friday morning. he's still paying  around with the rhythm of his heart and the breathing of his lung so he better knock it off. other then that he's doing good. 

WED UPDATE FOR THE 1ST OF OCT

Dads fighting to stay awake and doesn't want to sleep. Mom was reading him his emails and he started to drift off to sleep so she stopped and was going to go out for a min, but he opened his eyes fast because he didn't want her to leave. He is doing good and looks like he will go in on Friday for the tracheotomy. 

***REMINDER*** 

We will be having a yard sale on saturday to raise some money to help mom out. If you have anything you don't want anymore and would like to donate let me know. I have several places you can drop it off at,  chandler, scottsdale, and off I17 or I will find a way to pick it up.  This will be this saturday the 4th of oct so I will need to know soon. 

Thanks for all your help with this.

Mom also wants to thank you all again for your loving emails.