Updates on Tom

 Dad has been on pressure support which is the step before trach collar and helps ventilate CO2. He does great on trach collar and was even capped for a day last week, but he's retaining CO2 and needs to ventilate the CO2 out. We are continuing to pray that his CO2 level goes down and remains low, that his spirits stay up, and for wisdom for the doctors and nurses.  They should be taking an ABG (arterial blood gas) in the next few days which will tell us his CO2 and PH numbers. Thank you for continuing to pray with us.  And, just a reminder that the Blog host said that updates will stop coming through email sometime in July, but they will still be here. "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." "You are the God who performs Miracles." Psalm 77:14 This is a very inspiring article my brother shared with me about an ICU nurse who got cover, spent 8 months in the hospital and just walked ou...

The big prayer request for dad right now is for his CO2 level to stay down. His oxygen saturation is great, but when he goes on the trach collar, his CO2 level has been raising. The vent helps ventilate and get rid of the CO2, so dad was on the vent last night to help lower it. The plan is to start weaning him again today as long as his CO2 number is low. Praying that dad's CO2 level stays low so he can continue moving forward to breathe on his own in the Name of Jesus. Thank you for praying for that with us! We're so grateful for you.

 I'm reminded to not get too low with the lows and too high with the highs. Dad's breathing has been great with the capping, but his CO2 level is too high. The way to decrease the CO2 level right now is to ventilate it out through the ventilator. So, they are putting him back on the vent and hoping he can get rid of the CO2 over the next few days and hopefully start on the trach collar again later this week. My prayer is that he won't have to go on the vent again after this time- that his CO2 will normalize and he won't need to. What helps him ventilate the CO2 once on the trach collar is time and strength. He has been on the trach collar a long time so praying that he is getting strong enough to do well on the next cap trial.  The general plan is:  1. Once he ventilates the CO2 well, to go on the trach. collar. 2. If he does well getting weaned on the trach collar, try the PMV speaking valve.  3. If he can tolerate the PMV well for around 4 days or so and his ABG sh...

 I had a great visit with my dad on Father' Day. I'm so thankful to have that time.  Dad is doing great. They actually capped his trach today and he's on a nasal canula!!! Praise God! I am so grateful. Praying he does great, and continuing to pray that he thrives in PT and is able to swallow well. So grateful for him doing so awesome today. I'll continue to keep you updated. Thank you so much for joining with us in prayer!

Praying dad can start moving forward. He's been doing well on a low setting of trach collar. Now, he needs to keep satting well when they put the PMV on (Speaking valve). Once he can keep the PMV in for a day or two and sat high with int, they can try capping the trach (which is closing the tube to see how he does without the trach tube). If he does well with it capped, they can look at removing it. Praying so much and hoping he can take giant steps moving forward so he can get the trach. capped and be able to remove it for good!

Dad is doing well on trach collar. Prayers for him to swallow well so he can eat and drink, to do well in PT, and to have a high oxygen saturation so he can continue to be weaned off the trach. And, we're continuing to pray for the Lord to protect dad's heart, mind, and body, and praying for the miracle of him fully healing. Thank you so much for praying!

This update is from my brother, Corey:  I s aw him yesterday. His oxygen saturation stayed 100% the entire time on 35% on the trach collar. Put PMV on (speaking valve that allows air to flow over vocal chords to speak) He has never tolerated that. Every time previous to that his 02 would drop immediately.   It stayed at 100% for 2 hours.  To hear his voice again was so great. I sat there as he told a nurse how my Mom and Dad met. Pure joy .  They lowered his setting to the lowest setting on trach collar which is 28% earlier today. He has never tolerated that, but has stayed at 100% today.  Dad's white blood count is also normal.  We're taking each day as they come and thankful for yesterday and the start of today. Praying, believing and hoping for continued progress. As I say with my dad who the grandkids call Papa T, "Papa T strong!" 

I'm so grateful that dad did great on 35% trach collar today! That is a really low setting. And, his white blood cell count has been normal.  I also wanted to let you know that if you have been getting updates via email, they are changing the setup so you will not get email notifications of updates anymore, but the blog will still be here and you can still check for updates here. Thank you again for continuing to pray for dad. I will never grow tired of thanking each and every one of you for walking this with us, praying with us, hoping with us, and believing with us. We are so thankful for you.

 Dad is doing well on pressure support so they’re trying air vo now which is not the vent! Dad's doing well on air vo and if he does well on air vo, the the next step is trach collar which is getting closer to room air.

 Dad was doing so well at 35% on trach collar, but because of an infection, they had to put him back on the ventilator for now so he can rest. Praying the antibiotics he started last night fight off the infection soon and that he gains new strength and is able to breathe much better soon, and able to do well on trach collar and is able to get off the trach for good, in the Name of Jesus we pray, amen.