Update #108

This week has gotten progressively better. The new breathing treatment continues to help Dave clear his lungs (thankfully, the respiratory therapists have decided to skip the 4:00 a.m. treatment to let him get some rest), and because he has not had a fever in a few days and his white blood cell count isn't too elevated, he is no longer on antibiotics either! Whatever was happening on Sunday, pneumonia or otherwise, is definitely well on its way out.

PT and OT are progressing really well, and Dave has been bumped up from a 30 minute PT/OT co-treat per day to a full hour. He stood twice yesterday, the first time for a minute and thirty seconds, the second time for a minute, and during the stands, Fran (PT) had him start bending his knees and shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the first step in preparing to walk - yeah! As always, although Dave's arms and legs tire quickly from the effort, it is his breathing and low lung capacity that force him to sit down. Please be praying that his lungs will continue to clear quickly and that the muscles that control his breathing will get stronger to compensate for his damaged diaphram so his breathing doesn't hinder his progress anymore.

As for OT, Maura is really working to strenthen Dave's arms (his progress is evident in how quickly he is getting from his bed to his wheelchair recently). Yesterday, his exercises included the hand bike, lateral pull-downs and a tricep exercise. Today, we play Wii! I guess we weren't kidding about Wii-habilitation. :-)

Dave's wound care continues to go fairly well, and each dressing change is lasting about a week. We are meeting with another surgeon this afternoon (a different surgeon comes every week, but Dr. Muskat will be Dave's surgeon for his fistula) to get an update on plans for his wound, but at the moment, it looks like it is "stay the course" with the current wound vac dressing, tube feed (no TPN - yeah!) and PT/OT until his body is ready for another surgery in December.

One of the wonderful things about being in a rehab hospital is being able to move more and more toward a "normal" life (although I have to admit, it's scary how "normal" the ICU at UT had begun to feel after 11 weeks). Last night, for the first time in almost four months, Dave got to participate in the Bible study that has been such an important part of our lives and such a huge support through this whole situation. We sang, we prayed, we discussed relying on God as our Source - and although Dave was tired after a long day of rehab, we both definitely appreciated being a part of the study again.

One of the passages that came up in study last night was the "Do Not Worry" section of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. After a week that started out so overwhelmingly and is moving toward such an amazing end, the passage seems particularly applicable. Dave's recovery is a day-by-day process, and sometimes the two steps forward really are accompanied by a step back. But God continues to be faithful, and I'm working to use the occasional steps back not to worry but to remind myself to pray without ceasing, knowing that we never walk alone, and tomorrow is under control.

His Spirit, His will, His peace, His glory...