Wednesday's update

Steve has done well so far this week. He had a bit of trouble Monday morning with his stomach, but has been better since then. Today was his first day totally on his own : ) He texted me today and said that he was ok and everything was on good and right on track! It's funny how good that made me feel. He was able to handle his medicine and his feedings all by himself. His progress really is coming along nicely. He even went outside to enjoy watching his pigeons flying around today. He is tired now and is sleeping a lot but I think he enjoyed himself today.

Steve looks a little different than he did before surgery. I know that he is still healing and that a year from now he will look different still. But for now, I can't help but think how adorable he is. He is so sweet and loving, always worried about everyone else instead of himself.  

Steve is quite agile despite his leg. He is getting up and down the stairs very well. He wanders around the house trying to figure out what to do with himself. His attention span is not very long because of all the medicine he is on, but he is bored. He would love to have visitors, so stop by if you like. He is also using his computer a little bit more if you'd like to email him (stevebowman@bellsouth.net).

Lent starts tomorrow. Have you decided what you will add or take away to remind yourself of the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross? Will you pray more, do charitable deeds, give up sugar, soda, or coffee? Whatever you decide, do it with grace, humility and love. Have a great evening!

Good day!

We had a good day. Today was all about Rebecca. She had a fabulous birthday. The youth group at church came over to do some mission work in the yard. They celebrated Becca's birthday with her! She was the star of the day. Just what she needed. 

Meanwhile, Steve did very well today. His pain was a bit hard to control. His jaw is pretty painful, but I think we got it under control. His migraine is gone, so that is good. He was on the couch all day. He took a bath and felt really good this evening. His leg is sore - throbbing a lot, but he is able to walk around without his crutches. We have been able to keep his food down and has not had the chills at all. Praise god for answering our prayers! I know it will still take time for him to heal, but he just looks so much better now that the infection is under control, it is hard to hold my excitement in check. 

Thank you so much to our church and all the girl scouts who have been providing for so many of our needs. I cannot begin to express our feelings of gratitude to you all. We are honored and humbled by your loving kindness! God bless you all.

Steve is home again

I brought Steve home today about noon. He is doing so much better! We will work on getting a routine and schedule down for his food and medicines. He will be resting too. He is determined not to get down and out again. He told me today that if he lays down he stays down and he is not going to let himself do that again. Yes, he is getting back to his old self now. It was so nice to have a real conversation with him today. I've missed him. 

Take care and thanks for all your prayers!

Doing better

Steve is doing much better today! It is amazing what a difference 24 hours makes. He looks and acts the best I've seen him since his surgery. He was sitting up a good part of the day. He was walking around the room more on his own. His trache hole is closed up so we do not have keep the gauze bandage on it anymore. All of his surgery spots are healing nicely. We were able to feed him full cans today with no problems. His left shoulder is sore, so we are wondering if he slept on it funny or something. 

The doctors think Steve's infection is from the IV site that gave him trouble on his right arm. He seems to be responding well to the antibiotics. I knew he was back to his old self today because he was bugging the nurse about pain medicine, not giving him enough of course : ) He might get to come home tomorrow.

We had a visit from one of the chaplains. Steve perked up right away and had a long, interesting conversation with him. It was hard to tell who was "preaching" to whom - ha! It turns out that the chaplain was just diagnosed in November with bone cancer and is undergoing radiation. He and Steve were able to relate so well to one another. I think it was a blessing for both of them.

We praise God for our many blessings!  He answers prayers so faithfully. Have a good evening.

In a room

Steve was admitted to the hospital this morning. We got to a room at about 5 am. He is doing better now that he has fluids in him. They put a new end piece on his feeding tube so we will not have any more problems with leakage. He has a migraine and is noticing his pain again so they are working on that. The main concern is his chills that cause him to shake so badly. They think there is an infection causing this so they are still running tests to see if they can find anything. In the meantime they are giving him a stronger antibiotic that should work on the infection no matter what type it is or where it is. So now we wait for the results. At least he is more like himself and I know he is being taken good care of. 

Hopefully Steve will come home sometime this weekend. Sunday is Becca's 15th birthday and he told her his goal was to get home to celebrate with her: ) 

Emergency Room

Sorry for the delay in my posts. I have been so busy I just have not had the time or energy to blog. Steve has been doing a whole lot of sleeping. I had gotten him settled in his feeding pattern over the weekend. He saw a nurse and physical therapist on Monday. That seemed to go pretty well. I could not get him to feed himself though. He did okay Monday night. He was very tired from all the activity on Monday. So on Tuesday I let him stay in bed and sleep. Monday night his feeding tube came open and the contents spilled out. We got everything cleaned up and started over with liquids, food and meds. The same thing happened again on Tuesday night. 

Today I worked hard on getting water and food in him. Evidently it was too little too late. After talking to the visiting nurse and the doctors office, we got Steve in the car (which was a very hard thing to do), and I drove him to Emory to the ER. I realized in the car on the way over here that I should have brought him yesterday. It is so hard to know. Hind sight is 20/20. Steve is very emotional and irrational. He is hooked up to an IV and is calming down a bit. He keeps crying over his dad. He has these vivid memories about his dad being here before he passed away. 

We are waiting for the doctor to come see us and I imagine that we will be admitted tonight. The girls are quite upset over this whole experience. Please keep them in your prayers tonight and tomorrow. I know that we will be fine. This is just another part of our journey to healing. 

The other day I found myself writing some verses down and putting them in my purse for later. I had no clue why I did that until now.  I pulled it out tonight and found Philippians 4:6 - 7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I am the world's worst about memorizing verses. I guess I just I need to keep writing them down and keeping them in my purse: ) 

More later...

Weekend update

What a beautiful day it is outside! It is so nice to have the warmth of the sun shining in. Well, we have had a pretty good weekend. Saturday morning started off rough - Steve ended up vomiting the can of food I gave him. He was so weak after that (from exhaustion and not enough nutrition) that he slept all day on Saturday. I decided to try giving him the nausea medicines the doctor had prescribed for him to use during chemotherapy. I fed him a little bit of his food each half hour all afternoon and evening. By 11:00 pm I had managed to feed him 4 cans and he kept them down! That was progress! He asked me to cut his pain medication doses in half also. 

This morning he was more coherent when he woke up. He is still very weak and shaky on his feet. He has lots of chills, but no fever. I'm sure his body is working so hard on healing that it is taking all his energy and using all his white blood cells. Steve's leg is healing nicely and is not a big source of pain anymore. The swelling in his face has gone down a lot since he's been home. I keep telling him what wonderful progress he is making. I know it is hard for him to realize it because it is all so daunting and the path of recovery is so long this time. 

I will be returning to work tomorrow. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we are at the next step on this road - Steve doing a little more for himself. We are so fortunate to have friends and family who can help by stopping in to keep Steve company and remind him when to take his medicine and food. He can do it all himself, but when he falls asleep, he loses track of time and needs a gentle wake-up call! Have a great week. 

"Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)

And enter the nurse (me?!?)

It's been a busy couple of days. Steve has been doing a whole lot of sleeping. I am working to keep up with his medicines, feedings, dressing changes, nurses, supplies... need I go on - ha! My main concern right now is his nausea. I am supposed to be feeding him 5 cans a day but his stomach isn't cooperating. We are slowing down on the food so that he doesn't get sick anymore (it's very painful and weakening when he vomits!), but I worry about keeping his strength up. 

Also, he acts very groggy and "drugged up". I hate to see him that way. I miss his personality. We had a visiting nurse today and she thinks that he just needs to catch up on all his sleep. The doctor told me to lower his pain medicine now so that should help. Steve has not needed as much since we got home, so that is a good thing! I know that I am expecting too much from Steve because he has always bounced back so quickly in the past. His mantra is "if you lay down you stay down". But, this one is going to take longer. He is not pushing himself like he usually does, so that has me a little concerned. Time is the healer - I just need to be patient. 

I'm becoming quite the nurse if I do say so myself! I think I'll add that to my resume - although Steve would beg to differ I'm sure!! 

Steve is home!!

Steve came home yesterday afternoon! I was able to get him settled, get all the medicines (with help from my dad!) and get him started on a routine. He seems to have slept fairly well. The pain medicine they have him on has him talking in his sleep and waving his hands in the air as he talks : ) It is actually quite entertaining - ha! It is so good to have him home again. We all feel so much better now. 

As Steve said in the car, this is the beginning of our next step in this journey and we should focus our prayers on the healing and adapting now. His speech can be understood if you really concentrate and he slows down and enunciates. The girls are having trouble understanding him still, but in time they will be able to follow what he is saying. When he is asleep, I can't understand anything because it is slurred. (And I was hoping to hear some good secrets too!) 

Steve cannot swallow yet of course, but he believes that will come in time. He is getting around the house fairly well on his crutches. His leg is healing and while it is still painful, it is not as painful as it was. His trache hole will slowly close up. Steve has a red spot on the inside of his right arm from an IV site. It has gotten infected so they gave him some antibiotic. I wonder if this was the cause of his fever? 

I woke up yesterday with a sore throat. I bought some of that zicam stuff while I was at the pharmacy. Hopefully this will keep an illness at bay. I cannot afford to get Steve sick, or to be sick myself for that matter. I am off of school until Monday so I can get him all settled. By then he will be able to do most of his feedings on his own. I can still handle the morning pills, and the dressing changes on his leg and neck. 

While I pray for Steve's recovery and for strength for us all, I continue to pray for blessings on all the nurses and doctors, as well as all of you who have been praying for us and supporting us in so many ways. 

Here is my email again just in case: lkb0282@bellsouth.net. Have a great day!

Only one more day...

Today when I went to see Steve, he was very sleepy and groggy. He said he hasn't been able to get any sleep : ) He had another fever this morning. They ran a few more tests but have not found anything. The nurse had Steve use the breathing machine to see if his lungs were okay. The funny thing is that he got the little blue thing all the way to the top! I don't think I can do that and I'm "healthy"!  

I realized on the way home how tired I am of driving to the hospital everyday. It's such along drive and I would rather spend my time with Steve instead of stuck in traffic. The gasoline and parking fees are really adding up too!  

I am so fortunate to have a wonderful administration at my school who understands that I need to leave to check on Steve everyday. I don't know what I would do without my parents! They are always here to do whatever I need. They have become taxi's for the girls, hostesses to the wonderful people preparing food for us, and shoulders to cry/complain on : ) We have so many friends who have been helping with rides for the girls too. We are trying to keep things as normal as possible. It's hard for me to be in 2 places at once - even though I really want to.

I think my quality of sleep has been pretty lacking because I am sleeping 7 or 8 hours each night, but I'm still tired. I had to laugh tonight, because I was talking to God and telling Him how tired I am and that I can't do this much longer. I left the hospital earlier tonight in order to go to an advisement meeting with Becca. While I was grabbing a quick bit to eat, Steve's doctor called and left a message saying, "When you come to see Steve tonight, you can take him home." UGH! What a sense of humor God must have!  So, long story short, I get to pick him up tomorrow morning. God is good...all the time! Only one more trip to the hospital for awhile. YES!

Another day

We thought Steve might be coming home today, but things did not work out that way. Maybe tomorrow. Today the doctors took out the drains in Steve's leg. He was able to walk around the entire 9th floor twice with the rehab person. But then Steve "lost his lunch", got a pretty high fever(103 degrees) and had a rapid heartbeat. They ran all kinds of tests to see if they could find what is causing this. 

They couldn't find anything wrong. The thought is that his body was reacting to the drains being pulled out. If all goes well tonight then they will let him come home tomorrow : ) He is so ready to get out of the hospital! 

Every day is a holds so much promise. We'll see what God has in store for us tomorrow: )

Steve really looked good today. He is obviously feeling better - seeing the light at the end of the hospital tunnel. He is getting pretty good at using his walker. We took a scroll around the nurses station today!  This afternoon, the nurse unhooked him from the IV. His feeding tube is not hooked up to a machine anymore either. This means he is free of that annoying pole that has to follow you everywhere. 

He was able to sit up in his bed and in his chair much longer today. It was so good to see him grinning and joking. 

Have a great evening! God bless.

Some bad...some good

Sorry for the delay in my posts. I ended up spending the night at the hospital with Steve unexpectedly and did not have my computer with me.  Steve had a hard day yesterday. He was left in a chair for an hour without his call button. He began having a hard time breathing and by the time a friend of ours got there, he was in a cold sweat. I think he had a panic attack. He was pretty nervous and upset when I got there. I know he feels more comfortable with me, so he kind of let out all of his frustration. I was just glad I could be there for him. 

We had a good night. He got some rest and was able to keep his ensure type food down. This morning Dr. Grist came in and they took out his trache! He said that Steve looks good. I got Steve to use his walker a little bit. They want him to be able to get around on it before he leaves the hospital. Of course, he is so ready to go. He offered to come home and get the dishes and laundry done for me! Then when my folks were leaving, he tried to hitch a ride with them :). 

The best part of the progress we saw today was that Steve is able to talk a little bit! It takes a lot out of him, and is hard to understand, but he is already working on it! You truly cannot keep a good man down. Steve was joking with the nurse today. He told her that he would let her put in the new IV if she paid him $5! She was great and joked right back.

Please pray that Steve will keep having good days and feeling better. His migraines are getting to him, but he is trying to stay positive. I'm praying we are over the hump and that things will continue to look up. Thanks for all your love and support.

No News Today

Steve had a fairly good day today. He did get nauseous and throw up some later this afternoon. He was weak and tired this evening. They have put his peg tube feedings on hold for a little while to let his stomach calm down. He still has some pain spikes now and then. Various parts are hurting as they are going through the healing process. Other than that, it was a quiet day. 

Well, enjoy your Friday. The weekend is almost here and the weather here is supposed to be nice and warmer too! Take care.

Wednesday's update

Today Steve progressed a little more. His catheter was removed as was the splint on his leg. He was sitting up in a chair for a few minutes this afternoon! Of course this tired him out immensely so he got back in bed quickly and fell asleep : ) Although he is getting a little nutrition now, he is still very weak and tired. His breathing gets pretty heavy when he moves around or has pain surges. 

Steve's leg looks really good. Originally they had the splint from his knee to the middle of his foot. Now that they unwrapped the bandages and replaced them with only what is needed, I realize how little of the lower leg was actually effected by the surgery. Medical science never ceases to amaze me. 

I look forward to seeing what good things tomorrow brings. Have a great evening and remember to count your blessings, hug your loved ones and make the most of each new day God gives you!!

We're in a room : )

Steve had a bit of a rough time last night for a couple of hours due to pain and discomfort. Thankfully, we had another dedicated nurse who got him over the hump and even helped him improve some. She was "johnny on the spot" with the pain medicine. She sat Steve up so his head was elevated. By morning, his swelling had gone down a noticeable amount, his color was better and he looked more comfortable. About 3pm this afternoon they moved Steve to a room. I was nervous about the transition because the ICU had really done such a good job. The ICU nurse took us up and explained everything to the floor nurses - even how much to raise Steve's head : ). The move took a lot out of him, but he is so glad to be in a room with windows. He feels he has made progress!

They started feeding Steve late this afternoon. This will help his energy and strength level. His stomach has felt nauseous today because it is so empty. Each day brings a little more progress. We are encouraged that the doctors keep saying everything looks great. They had to remove about a third of the tongue that he had left, but he was able to move it around a little today! He constantly amazes us all by his strong will to live and recover! 

In my devotional this morning, one of the verses from 2 Corinthians stood out to me. "Let light shine out of the darkness." I thought of this whole experience we have had, especially the last 16 months. Each and every time that we have darkness, God uses it to shine His light. I like to believe that he takes the bad and makes good out of it. I have faith he will do this for us once again. 

A little improvement today : )

Thanks to all our faithful prayer warriors out there, we had a better day today. Steve is now off of the ventilator! They should be moving us to a room either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Steve's nausea was not a problem today, and he seems more comfortable overall. His leg is not the focus of his pain now, which seems like progress. His jaw is what seems to be hurting him today. He is starting to move around a bit in the bed from restlessness. 

Even though he is terribly frustrated and is still in pain, his sense of caring for others and his humor shine through. Since this is a University hospital, we have interns visiting constantly. Steve's surgery is new to all of them. He continually asks me to volunteer for them to learn from him by examining his mouth. He is writing notes to everyone and gets frustrated when we can't read his writing or understand his hand signals. He actually told me that I "suck at charades"!! I told him he had detention for using that terrible word and being mean to me - ha (the teacher in me comes out all the time)!!! 

All in all, it has been a good day. The doctors are pleased with Steve's progress so far. Hopefully they will begin feeding him through his peg tube tomorrow. He keeps saying he's hungry, bless his heart. 

I am so thankful for all of you! Have a great evening. Rest in the Lord.

Sunday's update

Today has been a bit of a rough day for Steve. He was doing okay this morning, but then had a really tough time with nausea. This would cause a problem for anyone, but add the mouth and jaw surgery along with the trachea and it was pretty bad. After that a migraine started to come on strong. In the meantime, his leg is very painful. I've never had any broken bones myself, but the nurses tell me bone pain is the worst kind of pain. They are trying so hard to keep his pain level down, but he has so many different things causing him pain!

Another issue is the ventilator. They have tried twice to take him off of it, but the pain medicine is making his breathing so shallow, they are afraid to unhook it. If he stays on the ventilator for too long, then the risk of pneumonia soars higher and higher. Evidently, three days is about the most they like to have anyone on the machine. So we are kind of in a "catch 22". 

Steve is getting bed sores because he has not been able to move much due to his leg and all the machines he is still hooked up to. They will test him again in the morning to see if he can come off of the ventilator machine and hopefully he can move around a little bit more. In order to leave the ICU, Steve has to be breathing on his own. In order to breathe on his own, Steve has to tolerate the pain more than he wants to. (His nurse says his lungs are very strong and clear!)

Please pray that Steve will be able to handle the pain a little more while they work to get him off the ventilator machine. Also that his migraine will subside, his nausea will go away, and his breathing will regulate. Then, as the doctors and nurses say, we can begin getting his system on its way to a somewhat normal state.  God bless you!