Posted on 12/09/2006 8:48:18 AM PST by knittnmom
Copywrited site-but this family attends my church and needs prayer urgently.
God is good!!!!! What a testimony to God through your faith and prayer showing the people within the hospital community what a powerful force faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is....
Yes, Dmitry, he's a fighter! He's also much loved. One of his nurses said she's sometimes overwhelmed by the number of people coming to pray for him and talk to him or sing to him. :-)
Thanks for the update. Let's get those nasty tubes outta there!
Praying for Ian and the whole family.
Thanks for the good news! Continued prayers for the family.
Beautiful news !
COntinuing my prayers for Ian, and also his Dad and sister!
I am literally clapping with joy and praise on my side of the keyboard! Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus!
BTTT
Carolyn
Thank you! That's a beautiful image! And in such contrast to the day I learned, via e-mail, of the accident! God bless you!
Tom asked me to extend their thanks for all the prayers, visits, and kindnesses shown. Their hearts are overflowing with thanks.
Today was a very, very good day. Ian passed his breathing tests, so the tubes are out of his throat! He has been awake for long periods of time today, and responsive. He drank apple juice earlier today. When I got there (about 5 this evening), he had said "Hi" a few times, and had sat up in bed unassisted. A friend of the family who works at St. Mary's (Terry) was visiting with HJ.
A little later, another friend brought his sisters Meredith, Shelbey, and Regan in for a visit. Once Meredith started coaching him, Ian talked a LOT. First, he said "Uh oh" clearly enough that we all heard him. HJ said that's the first word he said when he was learning to talk!
Then he said: "I love you." "Do you love me?" "No." (three or four times - I forget what he was being asked.) When Morgan called, HJ put the phone near Ian's ear, and Morgan (one of his sisters away at college) asked "How are you doing?" and he answered: "Good" He called the girls by the little nicknames he has for them.
His daytime nurse told HJ that she could order some food for him! So he got to eat some ice cream (high protein), apple juice, and a little applesauce. He also had some mashed potatoes, but didn't care for those much.
After eating, and spending more time talking with his sisters, he was showing his tiredness, so HJ persuaded him it was time to say "Night Night". He burped, swallowed hard, and then carefully and deliberately said "Night Night".
Sondra and Marco stopped by - Sondra is the person who works at Dean Care who stopped the day of the accident, and gave HJ and Regan a ride to the hospital. They were really relieved to see how great he looks, compared to the day of the accident.
He may have some permanent damage to his vision, but that won't be known for a while yet.
Now that he's conscious, and active, he'll be starting rehabilitative therapy. The doctors and nurses have advised Tom and HJ that it will be intensive, and exhaustive for Ian, and he will need to rest as much as possible. They will also have a great deal of studying to do, and will be helping him with the therapy sessions.
So, the hospital asks that we hold off visiting until later in the day, and that we not stay late. I'll still be getting updates from HJ, and posting them here.
Prayers for continued blessings for this little boy and his family.
Oh, that's great news for Ian - yet my heart still hurts for him and all that lies ahead. *One day at a time* is definitely the watchword. Prayers continue.
Thank you Lord Jesus.
That's welcome news! Continued prayers for them all!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Christ is risen from the dead and He is Lord! O thank You, Jesus! Thank You, Power and Life, the Resurrection! Thank You, Christmas Joy, Who has come, Who will come again, and Who Is! Truly, Jesus, Thou, the Glory of the Father! Amen!
BTTT
Prayers continuing for Ian and his family.
For December 13:
When I got to the hospital last night, Ian had been moved out of ICU! Marty V. was there, and HJ said he'd helped with moving all the stuff - the wonderful stuffed animals, the bright, colorful balloons, cards, and other personal stuff.
Ian was resting, and HJ said his evaluation went well that day. One of the therapists said that children frequently remember numbers better than words, and names, and HJ told her that Ian loves numbers. So, the therapist counted, 1, 2, and paused, so Ian said "3".
Pastor Bill and Rose stopped by just after Marty left, and talked with Ian for a while. (Ian stays with Rose on Wednesdays while his mom takes part in women's ministries at church, so he knows Rose really well.) Rose showed the pretty cards the kindergarten class made for him.
Doug, Patty and their daughter Rachel, stopped while I was there. They are friends of the family, and Rachel is on Regan's team. HJ told them about the numbers with the therapist, and Ian was looking awake, so she asked if he wanted to show them. So, HJ started signing the numbers, she said one, then Ian carefully and slowly said, two, three, four, five, and then he raced through saying six, seven, eight, nine, ten. It was awesome!
He talked some more while they were there, and when Erin or Morgan called (sorry, I forget which of his sisters), she asked him a few yes or no questions, and he answered them all appropriately. The nurse (Linda) heard, and was delighted!
He drank two cartons of apple juice right down, and seemed to be hungry, so we checked to see if it was okay for him to eat. Linda said it was, so we ordered a Power Pack milkshake (a UW-Hospital special--high protein milkshake to build up his strength), and some macaroni and cheese. It arrived shortly after Doug, Patty, and Rachel left. HJ fed him some of the milkshake, and then got a phone call, so I asked to feed him. He would eat several bites, then roll over away from us and rest a few minutes. When he was ready for more, he rolled back onto his back and ate several more bites, until he had finished off 8 ounces of shake. Each time he rolled onto his back, I asked if he wanted more shake. HJ and I think his throat may be a bit sore from the tubes, so the shake feels pretty good. He tried a taste of the macaroni and cheese, but didn't care much for that.
Side note: When I got home last night, I figured out why he blinked to answer my yes or no questions. On Tuesday morning, before the tubes were taken out, I suggested to him that he blink twice for yes, and once for no. Tom revised it to blinking quickly for yes, and slowly for no. So, whenever I asked if he wanted more shake, he blinked rapidly several times! :-)
After resting some more, he seemed to be thirsty, so HJ asked the nurse for more juice and he drank a carton of grape juice, almost without stopping.
HJ said that at his eval, the therapist brought out a Mr. Potato Head. When she handed him the eyes, Ian put them in the right location. She offered him a choice between two sets of feet, and he chose orange and put them in the appropriate location.
He does not seem to be experiencing pain, but the cut on his forehead and the incision in his scalp are starting to itch, so HJ is applying antibiotic ointment to ease his discomfort, and keep him from scratching. His nose is broken, but I could not tell that by just looking. The bones in his face are fractured, but not displaced. As Rose included in her update, there may need to be surgery later for a bone fragment behind his right eye. He definitely has no vision in that eye, but God's people continue to pray for him. He recognizes people when he's alert. The specialists have advised HJ and Tom that he will have periods of being alert, and then fall asleep. He should have about 20 hours per day of rest, to allow healing to take place.
HJ showed me some of the literature on brain injury. There are stages, (five, if I remember correctly) and he has been assessed at being in stage 3, with some indicators of stage 4. At stage three, there is some amnesia - he may forget where he is, and need to be told. He also needs to be told he is safe.
Tom's sister in law, Ellie, flew in yesterday, and drove Tom home so he could spend some time with the girls, and take care of the mundane things that need done, regardless of the situation. Erin drove down from Ripon, arriving about 8 last night, and HJ drove her car home to get a few things. I left at the same time, but HJ planned to get back to the hospital late last night.
Thank you for continuing to pray - it will be a long road to recovery. But, as HJ was telling one of the people who called, yes, it will be a long time, but "I have him. We have the rest of his life for him to get better." I find it inspiring to spend time with the family, and to watch God's miracles unfold in Ian. God bless you all.
For December 14:
The update for today is fairly brief. As I arrived at the hospital (about 5:30), Tom and HJ were waiting for Erin and Tom's sister-in-law, Ellie, to arrive, so they could attend Regan's game - the first she's played in since the accident. HJ was on the phone with Erin, and when she saw me peeking through the door, said: "Maybe I could ask Sheila to stay with Ian until you get here." I nodded yes, of course, so she told Erin I'd be with Ian.
When she got off the phone, she told me that Ian had two seizures during the day. He'd had a CAT scan done, and they were waiting for the results. He'd been given an anti-seizure medication, which made him drowsy, so he was sleeping. Then Dr. Albright stopped in, and said that the seizures are very likely due to the accident, and not permanent. In most children, they prescribe anti-seizure meds for a month, and the child never has another seizure.
They raced off to see Regan's game, and I sat with Ian until Erin arrived. She explained that Ellie had taken a wrong turn, so was going to be later. They'd driven separately, as Erin needed to drive back to Ripon - she has more finals on Friday. When Ellie arrived, she let us know she'd met Tom and HJ, so that Meredith could switch vehicles and also attend Regan's game.
We visited for a little bit, and I decided that, since there was plenty of family around Ian, and it's a fairly small room, I would not stay long.
God bless you all for praying, and I hope to post another good update tomorrow!
PS - to be added to or removed from this ping list, please send me a FReemail. Thx.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.