Remain Steadfast

I am sorry for the lack of updates this past weekend. Aunt Maureen wrote an email which better depicts the past few days and where Uncle John is today:

Yesterday Uncle John was able to breathe mostly on his own for 6 1/2 hours on the CPAP setting. That means that the ventilator is only providing some pressure to help expand the alveoli of his lungs, but no oxygen and John is doing all of the effort of breathing on his own. He had a good day yesterday and is day by day regaining more of his sense of humor and his ability to communicate with his family and friends. That of course is dependent on our ability to read his lips. He has learned to be a very patient man. He enjoyed his visit with our old friend Joy Solow from Pennsylvania. Joy was relieved to see that John hasn't lost his sense of humor or his personality. Today, John continued to get stronger. He was able to breathe on CPAP for 7 1/2 hours and sat in a chair for 2 hours. Matt came to visit from Towson and John was giving him knuckles and learning some new handshakes. Matt was able to witness John moving his left leg and hand even more. The doctors told us on Saturday that the fluid that had been tapped off of John's left pleural effusion had returned, and on Sunday they put in a chest tube and were able to remove 1300 cc's of fluid. The doctor's have explained that the fluid that keeps recollecting is not an uncommon side effect from the type of open heart surgery John underwent a month ago. They may also treat him with a short course of steroids or other medication to resolve the inflammation that they feel is causing the fluid collection. John understands that the fluid needs to be drained and is hopeful that this course of action will finally resolve this issue. The doctors believe this may be preventing him from getting off the ventilator completely. John's progress over the last month is no less than miraculous and we are acutely aware that God has in his mercy given us all a second chance to enjoy the gift of John's life. For this we are truly grateful. This past week, John has regained a bit more of his independence by standing on the side of his bed, drinking a few sips of water for the first time in a month and enjoyed a few brief visits from friends. He is daily showing us his determination to keep fighting and working hard to recover. We are eternally grateful for his will to fight through all of this and his patience with the slow and sometimes frustrating process of healing. Our continued prayer is for his lungs to be completely healed and for him to continue to progress and regain his strength and function through the daily sessions of physical therapy. We need to pray that he can remain free from infection and continue to strengthen his breathing muscles so that he can breathe on his on and move on with his recovery.


I think Aunt Maureen said it all perfectly. I wanted to share quickly that throughout everything John has been through, he remained a whole hearted follow of God. Even when things didn't go his way ( before and after the initial event), he remained steadfast in his belief and love for God. This is such a powerful lesson that we must really hold onto especilly as Uncle JOhn continues to face these hurdles to get off the ventilator. We cannot believe and honor God half heartedly only when things go our way. We have to continue to trust and pray that God will walk with John as he fights this latest battle. It seems like Uncle John keeps having to face problem after problem, but if he can remain faithful so must we! Let's continue to pray through the good times and bad!