Wednesday (day26)

Oh how rich are the blessings we receive from God each day! Today Deb called me at work excitedly to let me know that Shawna was taken off the ventilator and breathing on her own. There is a tube that supplies oxygen across the trachea which she breathes in and exhales on her own. She no longer has the ventilator keeping the damaged lung inflated and pushing air in. She seems to be doing pretty well on her own. Later at night they will reconnect the ventilator to give her a rest. Shawna also now recieves blood thinners to reduce the concerns of blood clots developing in her upper body. The body cavity infection seems to be under control. One problem which the doctors and nurses are working on is trying to get Shawna's stomach and digestive tract functioning properly. Although she recieves nitrients via IV it would be more advantageous to her to receive nutrients through the gut. When Deb and I look back and see how far the Lord has carried us from when Shawna had her accident we can only stand in awe of our great God. We continue to be surrounded and strengthened by the Communion of Saints from across the world.

Many have asked what happened to Shawna as it has not been spoken of directly. She was involved in a single motor vehicle collision. Her car was wrapped around a tree on the drivers side door. Traffic reconstruction dtermined speed of collision at 40 to 50 km/hr. She was tended to at the scene of the accident by several passerbys who kept her warm till she was extricated from the car and airlifted to Hamilton General. The extent of her injuries were unknown until the doctors performed emergency surgery to stop the bleeding almost 7 hrs later. We now know that her injuries are broken pelvis and damaged socket, 7 ribs broken on left side, cracked shoulder blade, smashed spleen, ripped,scraped, and deflated left lung, punctured liver and severe brain trauma, and some very deep cuts in her legs and ankle. When we look back at the overwhelming amount of damage that happened to our daughter we can only stand at her bedside in amazement at God's mecy. God is good, God is great! At this time it looks as if she is quietly sleeping.

Antother misconception some have is that the skull cap which was removed to allow the brain to swell has been replaced. This is not the case. Normally with head trauma when the surgeons can they remove the skull flap and insert it into the patients abdomen to allow it to receive nutrients and antibodies. In Shawnas case her body was too damged to do this so they put her skull cap in a freezer. She will have to be in tip top shape before they even think about replacing it as the danger for infection will be very great.

Thank you once again for your continued prayers. Al and Deb