Update #96

Dave finally got to meet his heroes! Bill and Matt, the guys from Ludlow, Kentucky who saved Dave's life on the side of exit 141 off of I-75 in Oneida, Tennessee over three months ago, along with their wife/mom Lori, came to Drake last night, and Dave finally had a chance to shake their hands and thank them for what they did. The guys gave a little bit more detail about the accident and told Dave over and over again how good it is to see him doing so well. Afterward, Dave's parents and I went to dinner with the family, and although Dave couldn't join us, we did bring him back a root beer float (which he loved, Bill, although the ice cream was melted by the time we got back). Now that we are back in Cincinnati, we hope to be seeing them much more often, and hopefully most of you will get to meet them at the wedding! Bill and Matt, once again, thank you for being where you were and doing what you did - Dave would not be where he is without you.

The only drawback to Bill and Matt coming last night was that Dave had a really rough day yesterday and was not feeling very well during the visit. Some of the issue seemed to be related to his infection, which hopefully will be resolved soon. The main reason for his exhaustion, however, was physical therapy. On the positive side, Dave got to go outside in a wheelchair for over an hour yesterday afternoon; on the negative side, the excursion ended with him throwing up, possibly from exhaustion, possibly just from the change pressure on his wound. Either way, the nausea and fatigue continued through the afternoon, which made it difficult for Dave to enjoy his visitors.

Dave did get some rest while we were at dinner and seemed to be doing much better last night when we got back, but the past week has been rough on him. Please be praying that things will slow down and fall into a manageable routine very soon.

One more prayer request: yesterday afternoon, a physician's assistant who helps with rehab stopped by to check Dave's strength level, and she informed us that he has something called drop foot (the nurses in the ICU had warned us about it). Basically, Dave can push both of his feet down like he is pushing the gas pedal on a car, but if you ask him to pull his toes up toward his face, he doesn't have the strength. Sometime soon, he will be undergoing a test called an EMG to determine if he has nerve damage in his ankles or if the lack of strength is simply muscle weakness as a result of too much time in bed. Be praying for the latter.

More tomorrow...