Thank you for your prayers! I see them at work every day, and I gain the strength from them to carry me through the frustration and disappointment of having a loved one go from good to bad and back again. It’s the “back again” that you have to have faith will happen. It’s during those downturns that you have to pray for grace, patience and the knowledge to do what’s needed to help.

Lea had a largely uneventful day, clinically, but it sure was stressful for me. It’s tough to see her nursing care reduced to a shared status, and to be in her room listening to alarms ringing for half an hour before anyone does anything. I don’t know whether to go out and snag a passing nurse, interrupt Lea’s nurse while she’s taking care of another patient, or exercise patience. When I asked about it, the nurses said to snag anyone of them if I had a concern. So, I’m going to get known as a worry wart, I guess. J

Lea spent five hours on ventilator assist this morning, in which she initiates a breath and the ventilator helps her finish it, if necessary, to make sure she is taking in enough oxygen. She did another four hours this afternoon. During the last hour of this morning’s session, and the last half of this afternoon’s session, she was breathing very hard, heaving her chest to take in a full breath, and working very hard. Her temperature went up during this period, so I kept swabbing her with a cool, wet cloth, and talking to her, giving her encouragement.

She really did very well. I am quite impressed at how hard she works. She has such strong will power, I have faith that she is going to survive. As I try to connect with her by talking to her, reading your messages at her bedside, washing and brushing her hair, rubbing lotion on her, I realize over and over how important it is to let your loved ones know how much you love them, and to talk about the things that are really important to you as a couple.

I recall when my father passed away years ago there were many things unsaid between us, hurt feelings that didn’t get resolved, and many barriers that we permitted to stand between us. When he passed, and the reality that I would never have the chance to resolve those issues really hit me, I was broken hearted. I should have searched for a way to communicate with him and resolve those issues. Now I live with the guilt of knowing that I wouldn’t have let that happen if I had a second chance.

Speaking of second chances your prayers for our friend Joe have worked! He is pretty stable now. The blood in his urine cleared up, his blood pressure has stabilized over the last few days, and he is scheduled to get an aortic defibrillator installed on Monday. If everything goes well, he will be transferred by medical airlift to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis on Tuesday, where he will be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

Thank you for your continued support. Your prayers are working!

Larry