May 13- Joe is clean shaven now but they won't let me take a camera back there in ICU and get a current picture. I told him he looked 10 years younger! We'll see if the compliment will carry any weight later on.
We learned tonight (Thursday) that he is scheduled to go back to surgery on Friday for them to work on his left leg, and maybe some other places they didn't get to do on Wednesday. He chatted and joked with the nurse about the computer she was using in his room. I'm so glad he is able to laugh and talk with us at times when he's not under the influence of medication.
Joe is getting lots of cards and enjoys hearing Kay read each one to him. He can't use his hands much because they have them bandaged up most of the time. Sometimes they fix them so you can see the tips of his fingers and he does move them. His thumb and forefinger on his left hand are not burned.
May 14: This morning when we got to the hospital, Joe was a little restless because he knew they planned to take him to surgery today. He was thirsty and he couldn't have anything to drink. At 12:00 noon we saw him briefly before the whisked him away to surgery at 12:15 P.M. Right now (2:30 Eastern time) we are just waiting for the surgeon to come out and talk with us when they are finished.
It's almost 5 P.M. now and we were told about an hour ago that Joe was in recovery. We are still waiting for the doctor to come by and talk with us. We are praying that they don't have to leave the ventilator tube in his mouth. He hates that thing! Visiting hours are usually at 5 P.M. but we won't get to see him at that time today. Maybe we can come back and feed him something at 8:30 tonight.
We learned tonight (Thursday) that he is scheduled to go back to surgery on Friday for them to work on his left leg, and maybe some other places they didn't get to do on Wednesday. He chatted and joked with the nurse about the computer she was using in his room. I'm so glad he is able to laugh and talk with us at times when he's not under the influence of medication.
Joe is getting lots of cards and enjoys hearing Kay read each one to him. He can't use his hands much because they have them bandaged up most of the time. Sometimes they fix them so you can see the tips of his fingers and he does move them. His thumb and forefinger on his left hand are not burned.
May 14: This morning when we got to the hospital, Joe was a little restless because he knew they planned to take him to surgery today. He was thirsty and he couldn't have anything to drink. At 12:00 noon we saw him briefly before the whisked him away to surgery at 12:15 P.M. Right now (2:30 Eastern time) we are just waiting for the surgeon to come out and talk with us when they are finished.
It's almost 5 P.M. now and we were told about an hour ago that Joe was in recovery. We are still waiting for the doctor to come by and talk with us. We are praying that they don't have to leave the ventilator tube in his mouth. He hates that thing! Visiting hours are usually at 5 P.M. but we won't get to see him at that time today. Maybe we can come back and feed him something at 8:30 tonight.
May 15: We learned that Joe had his first skin graft during his surgery late yesterday. They took skin from one of his thighs and grafted his right hand, which has 3rd degree bruns. Last night at the 8:30 to 9:30 visit he seemed to be doing as well as he could. He chatted with the male nurse about school, work, etc. When asked about his pain on a scale on 1 to 10, lying there bandaged from neck to feet in blood soaked wrappings, he said "about a Three" and agreed to take something to take the edge off the pain. He is a much braver patient than I would be!!
This morning when we came to visit, they were wheeling him away to surgery again. He has developed some bleeding under the temporary donor skin, which needed to be repaired and his arms are bleeding too much and maybe they can do something about those, too. I'm so ready for him to have a couple of days when they are not doing something to him so he can rest and eat!!!
May 16 Sunday: When we went to the hospital to see Joe at 9:00 A.M. he looked rested and told us that he had slept all night long! That was a Blessing! We brought him some breakfast from Waffle House but he didn't want that or the hospital breakfast tray. They had the bandages off his arms and just covered with towels. This afternoon they plan to re-dress them with dry dressings which they said would be more comfortable. They have been keeping him wet down and he said it doesn't feel too good to stay wet all the time.
Jeep and I left Kay at the hospital and we attended the 11:00 A .M. worship service at Marvin United Methodist Church, which is not too far from the hospital. We were greeted by lots of friendly people and felt very welcome at their comtemporary service. The only part I didn't like was that we were asked to stand all the time while they sang about 5 or 6 songs we didn't know. I'm currently suffering from Plantar Fasciitis (pain in my heel) and I thought I would have to sit down before it was time to sit down! The next time we will try to get to the 8:45 A.M. traditional service, which will be more our speed.
This is Marvin United Methodist Church. It is a little stone church, which was established in 1891.
We talked with the Greeter as we entered and as we left the church and he gave us his card and very generously offered to do anything, (and he repeated, ANYTHING), to help us during our stay here in Augusta. He said if he couldn't do it, he knew people who could! He sincerely wanted to help. Another member talked with us before and after church and told us to call the church office if we needed anything. This is one of the many churches in this area that supplies free food at the retreat for the families who are staying there to be with family members who have been burned.
May 17- Monday: All of our days can't be spent on the mountain top, although that's such a pleasant place to be. Some of our days have to be spent in the dark, and sometimes lonesome valleys, where we learn to humble ourselves and cry out to God for help and comfort in the midst of our pain and misery. We learn to be sympathetic with the suffering of others and to accept help when we had rather just do it ourselves.
How can we question why a bad thing happens to us, unless we also question why we are so blessed with good things most all the time???
Today, I'm thankful that God promises to go with us THROUGH the dark valleys and one day we will come out on the other side. We don't have to STAY in the dark valley.
May 19 - This morning Joe told us that he had another good night of sleep. He ate a little cold cereal, Mandarin Oranges, Orange juice and drank his protein drink.
At noon we didn't get to visit him because they were redressing all his burns and taking out staples where the donor skin had been attached but left the skin for now. They told us to wait until the 5 o'clock visiting time to come back.
May 20 - Some days were good and some not so good. May 20th was one of those down days. Joe had a fever, an infection and was just feeling really low. The next day he was feeling a little better. Kay got to see him briefly as they wheeled him to surgery. One of the workers told her she could go with them and stay with him in the holding area until they were ready to do his surgery. They took Joe to surgery about 11:00 A.M. Dr. Hassan came out and gave us a
positive report. They took skin from his arm and grafted his left hand. They said the right arm they had been so concerned about looked better than expected. The large burn on his stomach is healing and they don’t think it will have to be grafted. The ventilator tube had to be left in because Joe wasn’t breathing enough on his own to bring the oxygen level up to where is should be. This is supposed to be a short term thing and they hope to have it out by morning. They think this trouble with his breathing is caused by the paralyzing medicine they give to do the surgery. Since Joe has rarely ever been sick or had to take medicine of any kind, he is reacting differently from most people. So, now we are in another valley when we were expecting to be on a small hilltop! We are praying that all will go well tonight and that tomorrow will be a better day.
May 22nd Saturday morning: Joe’s employer, and his wife, came to see Joe this morning. Joe is still on the ventilator and is unable to talk with them. They have cut back on it some and he is breathing about 50% on his own. Hopefully, they will be able to remove it today. We get our hopes up and then we get brought to our knees again. Maybe that’s what this is all about...maybe God wants our attention and our praise.
May 23, Sunday: We were told that Joe has an infection and they are trying to determine exactly what it is, but they are going ahead and giving him lots of antibiotics. He also has some pneumonia! This is where I hit the rock bottom of the deepest valley and I slipped away by myself to the little Chapel on the first floor. I have been here before a few times and have never seen anyone else here. There is a long, narrow table with an open Bible in the center and candles on either side. Another table holds several New Testaments and other reading material. The windows in the small room are too high to see outside and they go almost to the very high ceiling. There is a floor lamp and six chairs. I knelt, using a chair to lean on, and poured out my prayers and my tears. I know I could have prayed anywhere, but in this special place. I felt I could be alone as I sought peace, reassurance and comfort from God.
May 24th: Joe had surgery to clean everything and get ready for the grafts. He did well. Jan, the Physician’s Assistant, said the grafts on his hands looked good and that he didn’t lose much blood from the cleaning. We were delighted that they didn’t have to leave the vent tube in!! Because Joe did not do well on the paralyzing drug, they worked out another way to do these surgeries. Joe and the whole family appreciated this very much!
May 25th : Joe said he slept well last night, in spite of having an infection and pneumonia. They want him to rest at night, so they were giving him something to make him sleep until they found out that he doesn’t do well on those drugs either. They changed and started giving him Melatonin, which is a natural sleep aid. Joe ate some of his breakfast and drank a lot of orange juice, Sprite, Ginger Ale, etc. They are giving him a lot of broad spectrum antibiotics. We are hoping he will have a restful day and build his strength because they plan to go ahead and do ALL his grafts (using the CEAs and some of his own skin) tomorrow. The CEAs, ( Cultured Epidermal Autografts- grown from some of his own cells) have arrived from Boston and there is a small window of time for them to be used. We are nervous about him having so much done while he has infection and pneumonia, but we trust that they know what they are doing and we trust God to take care of Joe.
At noon we didn't get to visit him because they were redressing all his burns and taking out staples where the donor skin had been attached but left the skin for now. They told us to wait until the 5 o'clock visiting time to come back.
positive report. They took skin from his arm and grafted his left hand. They said the right arm they had been so concerned about looked better than expected. The large burn on his stomach is healing and they don’t think it will have to be grafted. The ventilator tube had to be left in because Joe wasn’t breathing enough on his own to bring the oxygen level up to where is should be. This is supposed to be a short term thing and they hope to have it out by morning. They think this trouble with his breathing is caused by the paralyzing medicine they give to do the surgery. Since Joe has rarely ever been sick or had to take medicine of any kind, he is reacting differently from most people. So, now we are in another valley when we were expecting to be on a small hilltop! We are praying that all will go well tonight and that tomorrow will be a better day.
May 22nd Saturday morning: Joe’s employer, and his wife, came to see Joe this morning. Joe is still on the ventilator and is unable to talk with them. They have cut back on it some and he is breathing about 50% on his own. Hopefully, they will be able to remove it today. We get our hopes up and then we get brought to our knees again. Maybe that’s what this is all about...maybe God wants our attention and our praise.
We met with Joe's medical doctor today and he talked with us at length about his overall condition. He has sepsis (infection in the blood) and pneumonia. They are agressively treating him with antibiotics, etc. After the surgery yesterday they left the ventilator tube in to help him get enough oxygen, as he was not breathing on his own enough to bring the oxygen level up where they wanted it. They decided to leave it in, rather than to take it out too soon and have to put it back in later. He said Joe's being healthy and strong before the accident was a big thing in his favor. Hopefully the medicines will knock out all of the infections and they will be able to take the ventilator out soon. Thanks to all of you for your prayers, comments and the cards you have sent to him. We like the doctors and the staff very much and they really take good care of the patients. We trust Joe into their very capable hands and the loving hands of our Lord.
May 23, Sunday: We were told that Joe has an infection and they are trying to determine exactly what it is, but they are going ahead and giving him lots of antibiotics. He also has some pneumonia! This is where I hit the rock bottom of the deepest valley and I slipped away by myself to the little Chapel on the first floor. I have been here before a few times and have never seen anyone else here. There is a long, narrow table with an open Bible in the center and candles on either side. Another table holds several New Testaments and other reading material. The windows in the small room are too high to see outside and they go almost to the very high ceiling. There is a floor lamp and six chairs. I knelt, using a chair to lean on, and poured out my prayers and my tears. I know I could have prayed anywhere, but in this special place. I felt I could be alone as I sought peace, reassurance and comfort from God.
May 24th: Joe had surgery to clean everything and get ready for the grafts. He did well. Jan, the Physician’s Assistant, said the grafts on his hands looked good and that he didn’t lose much blood from the cleaning. We were delighted that they didn’t have to leave the vent tube in!! Because Joe did not do well on the paralyzing drug, they worked out another way to do these surgeries. Joe and the whole family appreciated this very much!
May 25th : Joe said he slept well last night, in spite of having an infection and pneumonia. They want him to rest at night, so they were giving him something to make him sleep until they found out that he doesn’t do well on those drugs either. They changed and started giving him Melatonin, which is a natural sleep aid. Joe ate some of his breakfast and drank a lot of orange juice, Sprite, Ginger Ale, etc. They are giving him a lot of broad spectrum antibiotics. We are hoping he will have a restful day and build his strength because they plan to go ahead and do ALL his grafts (using the CEAs and some of his own skin) tomorrow. The CEAs, ( Cultured Epidermal Autografts- grown from some of his own cells) have arrived from Boston and there is a small window of time for them to be used. We are nervous about him having so much done while he has infection and pneumonia, but we trust that they know what they are doing and we trust God to take care of Joe.
We made sandwiches and ate at the apartment. Jeep and I went to WalMart to pick up his medicine and a few items. Back at the apartment for about an hour, Jeep took the opportunity for a short nap. I think we are getting more exercise than usual, since we make the four visits to the hospital, walk a little in the parking lot, walk a long hall in the hospital and the apartment is up two short flights of stairs. Anyway, it's enough exercise that it makes us sleep well at night.
At the 5 o'clock visit Joe ate some of his supper and drank a Boost. He seemed to be feeling a little better. Then tonight at the 8:30 visit he was sleepy, feverish and not feeling so good. They re-wrapped him in wet bandages this time. They warned us when he was admitted that it is a roller-coaster ride back there in the ICU. Now we are seeing what they meant! It's 6:00 PM and we have just now found out that Joe is back in his room but we are still hoping to talk with the doctor. We are still waiting and trusting that everything went well with the surgery.
At the 5 o'clock visit Joe ate some of his supper and drank a Boost. He seemed to be feeling a little better. Then tonight at the 8:30 visit he was sleepy, feverish and not feeling so good. They re-wrapped him in wet bandages this time. They warned us when he was admitted that it is a roller-coaster ride back there in the ICU. Now we are seeing what they meant! It's 6:00 PM and we have just now found out that Joe is back in his room but we are still hoping to talk with the doctor. We are still waiting and trusting that everything went well with the surgery.
