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Thank you all for your prayers! It's a wonderful when God's people come together in prayer! I received an update from Tom late last night: "Hello everyone-- First, HJ and I would like to thank all of you for your prayers. We've felt them holding all of us up during this difficult time. We also want to thank all of you who stayed up all night with us both at the hospital and at home praying with us and for us--we can see the results in what's happening with Ian. Today has been a mixture of good news and OK news. The good news is that Ian's surgery went very well last night and the doctors feel like they have repaired the skull fracture and controlled the swelling. He had a fairly eventful day today, with docs probing, poking and scanning to check the extent of his facial fractures and any complications that might come from those. One major problem arose, concerning his right eye. There appear to be some issues with how well his pupil reacts to light--a contrast CT ruled out one possible cause, but we still need to keep watch. Most everything else appears hopeful, and though it has only been 24 hours since the accident, we are remaining optimistic and praying as hard as we can. Right now, he's still being sedated and is breathing with the help of a respirator. They tried to take the tube out today, but he just wasn't strong enough to go all the way through with it. We'll try again tomorrow. You should know that he seems to be able to hear, process and respond to information--this is a good thing. We're praying for a lot of progress on this front tomorrow. God has provided us with a great group of physicians, nurses and technicians who are working hard to give Ian the best care that can be provided. The speed of response to the accident was nothing less than phenomenal--Ian was on his way to the hospital within minutes of the accident. God also sent help in the person of a physician who was the first person on the scene who helped Tom and Ian--and took HJ's car to the hospital. The other person who stopped is a trained first responder from Dean Health who helped take care of Reagan, contacted HJ and made sure HJ and Reagan got to the hospital. We know the lady from Dean (who told us she stayed up all night praying for us), but we don't know the name of the physician who stopped to help us--we pray that we get a chance to thank her for her care. Miraculously, Reagan's injuries appear to be relatively minor. She's got a few bumps and scratches, a knot on her head and she's very sore, but she was able to go home on Friday night. She was incredibly brave at the scene of the accident and did her best to help Ian maintain an open airway while we waited for help. We are so proud of her. Please pray that she is able to work throught the very scary memories and that God will give her comfort and peace. As for me (Tom), I sustained a pretty severe head laceration. It bled a lot, so it looked scarier than it was. I was released from the hospital today. Aside from a pretty big bump on the head, a laceration that will leave a nasty scar (hey, they add character!), and a headache, I seem to be reasonably OK. There are assorted other bumps and bruises, but I don't think any of them are anything major. We'll see how sore I am tomorrow. So, there's the update. We continue to ask for your prayers for Ian and our family. We thank you for your prayers and support over the last couple of days--we know God's power is unlimited and we know he is watching over Ian. Thankfully, Tom and Heatherjane"

I'm a little behind on updates-sometimes it gets a little late to be on-line!

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!

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