Better late than never....

The title of this blog refers to both me and Uncle John. I am sorry I am so late in updating the blog, but better late than never. And I know Uncle John wants to be back to his healthy and strong self a lot sooner than it is happening, but all I can say is BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! For those that don't know me, I currently work on a cardiac floor as a nurse, and this past week we had a gentleman lose his life from a similar complication that Uncle John experienced. He too was in his 60's. My purpose is sharing this news is simply to remind everyone that Uncle John's journey TRULY is a miracle by all accounts. According to medical knowledge and standards, he should not be here. However, thank heaven that God is above all human knowledge, because obviously He has a lot more work to be done with and through Uncle John.

Now for the update...well, Uncle John continues to make great strides each day. He is working VERY hard with occupational and physical therapy to regain strength. He continues to get more and more stronger everyday in his left side. As Aunt Maureen described, 'He is now lifting his leg and bending his knee and getting those muscles ready for his next tee time'. He is very lucky to have a future PT (his son Matt) in the family, which has been very beneficial in helping John with his daily exercises. The doctors have also started to downsize his tracheotomy since Tuesday, and the plan is to completely remove the trach today or tomorrow. What an amazing accomplishment on Uncle John's part. This is once again another example of what a tremendous fighter John is because this was no easy task. The next step is to move Uncle John in the next few days to an acute rehab facility. We need to pray that their are no further complications, and that he can continue on with this new phase in his recovery.

His spirits have been up this past week, and he has enjoyed spending every waking moment with his family. He is on less pain medication, so he is much more engaged these days. His boys are on spring break so they have been keeping him company and helping him with his March Madness bracket. I can't say it enough, how good it is to hear that Uncle JOhn really is back.

I will leave you with a kind message from Aunt Maureen to all of you:

We have learned to treasure John and one another. We have also learned to appreciate all of those who have helped us along
the way. There is no way we can ever repay you for all you have done to carry us through this, except to tell each of you we
love you and are forever grateful. There is no doubt in my mind that John is drawing much strength from knowing that so
many are praying for him and loving him through this journey.
Maureen

We love you Uncle John, and we too are forever grateful for the lessons you have taught us these past few weeks. You have touched our lives more than you will ever know. Keep fighting because there are a lot of people that need to see you outside the walls of a hospital with that famous smile on your face!