Hi, Update Fans,
I feel that I can be a little light hearted tonight, as the Lord is so strongly at work here again today. Lea continues to do well. As I told you in the last update, she was able to breathe on her own for four hours last evening. When they tried to get her to breathe on her own again this morning, she labored very hard and her blood pressure and heart rates jumped way up.
She was put back on ventilator assist, but it took a couple of hours of waiting to get her blood pressure and heart rate back down to “normal” rates. It was decided that her lung muscles were probably sore from the exercise last night, and that she would have to wait a couple of days to do some more exercising.
She continues to collect fluid in her tissues, and they may try a little diuretic tomorrow to see if the kidneys will make enough urine to carry away the fluids. We’re still hoping for continued improvement in all her systems, and feel that she is doing very well. She had surgery #12 this afternoon, and Dr. Mah said after two or three more he may close up the left side of her incision.
She continues to be heavily sedated and largely uncommunicative. She will sometimes wiggle her toes on request, or open her eyes, but not as often as she used to. She is taking a narcotic to reduce her pain and keep her sedated, and one of the dangers is that she will go too deeply into sedation, and not be able to come entirely out of it.
Dr. Mah is having the nursing staff wean her off at a rate of 10% a day to see what her tolerance level will be. It will have to be some balance between the amount of pain she can tolerate and how much medication they have to give her to help her tolerate that level. She is going to be in pain from that point on, because they want to wean her as much as possible, to ensure that she can be brought out off the medication as she heals.
It will be touch and go for some time, as the right levels will constantly change between surgeries, after surgeries, etc. I would like to ask you to pray for rapid control of her pain through miraculous healing. God has already worked such remarkable progress in her that the surgeons have marveled at her improvement. (Marveled was their adjective, not mine.)
I must confess that I marvel, too, but more about the wide-ranging effect Lea’s illness is causing in the lives of so many wonderful, caring people. God is touching my heart with love and compassion as I read your messages to Lea. When this is all over, you’re coming to my house for a party!
With sincere appreciation,
Larry
Surviving God's Woodshed 
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March 28, 2007 at 9:55 am
Pray-ers
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN
FROM: David
Aug 11 @ 7:31 AM
Hello Karen! By God’s good grace, things have changed miraculously. Barring any setbacks, she appears to be ready to be weaned off intensive care. They have a “half way house” called Step Down, which is still considered a critical care unit. When she moves out of Step Down, she will be considered a Hospital patient
and can be considered in recovery.
Everything is very iffy, very delicate, but signs are improving. One thing we have to guard against is that when she comes out of this long of sedation, it is VERY hard on the system and patients are often disoriented, sometimes become violent and this can harm their progress. Link has been praying for peace and we all need to do that. Nurses have commented on the peace and calm they feel when they enter Lea’s room. Total trust in God’s will is visible and Larry has ALWAYS given God the Glory.
I’m delighted that the prognosis is good for your sister in Phoenix to donate a kidney to your brother in the next few weeks. Please allow us the opportunity to support you as the transplant process continues as they both fly to Madison, Wisconsin on August 29th for further testing and when you have a surgery date.
I return to Atlanta on Friday. Kona on Tuesday. We still have the basement and Carriage House to tackle, along with a lot of outdoor maintenance. We hope to show the house to potential buyers this weekend. Pam & Jim are coming from Wilmington on Friday and will be there through Monday. Aunt Charlotte & Kim plan to be there Saturday. It is possible that Lea’s sister Kathy will also be there, although she will just be checking to make sure we don’t sell any family keepsakes. I wouldn’t turn down the help, but I can’t say that we will be desperate. If you come, we’ll promise a nice meal and a little better working condition without as much stress!
FROM: Karen
To: David
Aug 11@ 7:49 AM
Hi, thanks so much for keeping in touch. We all know what the power of prayer can do, I did e-mail Larry last night also,my sister is Phoenix is a avid reader and she has read several books to help her thru Lea’s ordeal, and she has given me several names of books that she said would help Larry thru the process, all of my family and friends have been praying for all of you guys and it is so wonderful to know that God does listen and answer prayers we know that first hand, he does have wonderful people that we all love dearly that
we are asking over and over for support.
We won’t be able to make it over this weekend, Robert’s Aunt passed away yesterday afternoon and we have family coming in for the services on Monday. Ironically, Paul and Betty Bruns who are cousins of Robert’s also knew Lea and Larry very well from being around us a lot when we lived in Danville and continued our friendship over the years and I have been sending Betty the updates daily also and last night when we were over at the house, the first thing Betty said was have you heard today how Lea is and I said no, but there
will be a note either in the morning or yet tonight, Betty’s mother was 93 and had been in the nursing home for a few months, so it was a blessing that God took her. Betty is doing fine with it.
Say, in the night I was worried about a closet that we forgot to pack with coats in it, it is under the open stairway in the long foyer, I remember finding them there as we were heading back upstairs with boxes and then just last night got to thinking about the house, so you might want to double check that closet. Thanks again for your return note, really appreciate your keeping in touch.
FROM: Barb S
Aug 1135 PM
Hi! We are so glad to hear you are doing better. You keep up the good work so you can come home to all of us soon. We are more impressed each day at what a fighter you are. Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. I know they are watching over you right now with much pride. In fact, when I was going through the rest of mom’s things, I ran across mom’s mother’s ring. I told Larry to let me know when you were ready and I would get it to you. I only wish you were able to have it now as a reminder that mom and dad are with you, helping you fight right along with the rest of us. We say our prayers and they are the guardian angels watching over you. What a powerful support team!
You take care and hurry back to Larry. He is waiting patiently to see that smile and hear your voice. (I think he is getting tired of listening to himself! LOL!) We love you!
FROM: Angela
Aug 11 @ 7:32 PM
Dear Larry and Lea, I’m Ro’s soap & lotion partner here in Middlebury IN and I just want to let you both know how much I’m thinking about you. While we’ve never met, Ro has talked about you all so much over the last couple of years, I feel like I know you. She reads your update letter to me every time she receives one and I truely admire you both for your courage. Please tell your friend who is also in the hospital that we think of him and his wife and follow his progress. May the Lord stand with all of you during this terrible time and give you the strength and comfort you need.
FROM: Sherri
Aug 11 @ 8:03 PM
Hi there! Word has it you are starting to improve and the doctors have discovered you have a strong and fighting spirit and the WILL to get well. I am so happy to hear you are improving. I am anxious for you and Larry to return to Indiana… so you can recover surrounded by your family and friends.
Terry S called me yesterday. She heard you were sick and wanted to know more details. As I began recounting your story (and Joe’s) – I told her as unbelievable as it was all sounding, it was all true! She is very concerned about you and asked for your phone number. I laughed and told her you weren’t accepting calls right now – but gave her the contact info for the hospital, and the daily status line for you. No doubt, you will be hearing from her soon.
In addition to talking on the phone with her, I ran into her at school – it was registration day for 8th graders – Alex and Hannah are 8th graders. Now, Tyler is starting 5th grade – but Allison is already a 6th grader – so Terry has 2 kids in middle school. Seems like just yesterday you were hosting baby showers for us – I remember her cake read “O Hannah Day”, and mine read “Sanford and Son”. Nobody but you could come up with those captions!
Alex, Jim and Tyler are all at scouts tonight. Tyler turned 11 on Tuesday of this week, so he is eligible to join the Boy Scout troop, which is just what he is going to do tonight. Soon, they will ALL be leaving me during Boy Scout camping week – I can’t decide if that is a good thing or not. On one hand I love the peace and quiet (good, uninterrupted reading time), but you know me, I like having both of them at home… so it is a lonely time for me as well. I’ll have to work on that – give me some of your ideas to fill my time. I remember hearing about when you were the Cub scout leader for your boys. Get this… Jim wants a Boy Scout shirt for his birthday… Won’t that be a picture?
School is starting soon – and maybe it is time for me to think about going back to work. Really concerned about my confidence level – who is going to want this not so young person, – whose brain may or may not work very well anymore. At Irwin, I knew many of the answers because I worked there so long – but now I won’t even know where the bathrooms are, let alone how to solve any problem that arises. I am having a real low self esteem period – and I am afraid it will show during an interview – provided I can get someone to interview me. In the scheme of things, it is a very small thing to worry about – so I will work on getting it into perspective. Your situation has helped many of us get things into perspective. Although, with my family history, it is usually pretty easy for me to realize what is important and what is not.
I am thinking of you every day – many times a day and asking for God’s wisdom and will to present itself to everyone. I pray you and your entire family (and Joe and Pat for that matter) feel his loving arms around you. How could anyone not feel safe with God’s loving arms around them? I am so thankful you have Larry with you – to give you words of encouragement, tell you of his love – and to so articulately give us a synopsis of your days away from us. I know God is working with Larry – telling him what to say – how to encourage and support – and what to do to make you more reassured and comfortable. God Speed, my friend….
FROM: Link
Aug 11 @ 5:42 PM
Well, it’s about time!
FROM: Dean
Aug 11 @ 6:18 PM
Larry, Thanks for the update and I am really glad to hear about Lea’s continued progress.