Friday (day36)

Good evening all. Shawna continues to coast along in the step down unit of floor 6. Today they downsized her trachea but haven't removed it completely due to the light secretions they have to remove with suction. Shawna absolutely hates those moments. When I was present this afternoon I could feel her tensing up even at the mentioning of suctioning. Still a good sign of awareness. She went downstairs to have a contrast chest and brain CT scan. The chest cavity drain was no longer draining anything and they wanted to see if there was any more isolated pockets of infection. Dr Wells wanted to see if there were any pockets of water in her brain and check the blood flow for obstructions in case there was anything more he could do for her. No results as of yet but Shawna came back to her room and didint need any more drains installed( maybe at this time). She was breathing without oxygen assistance at 99% before they turned on the hose to give her some humidified air so the airway doesn't get too dry. We also learned from a recent exray at the physiotherapists request that she did have a broken arm just above the elbow. At this point it is calcified and almost healed. It healed just a freaction out of alignment and may require surgery later to reshape the bone. At this point there is no need to operate as it is pretty close to being healed and will not need to be casted. Shawna again continued with the hand squeezes when asked and again move her feet a bit when asked. I could almost say I made her smile when we told her how proud of her we were and then she went back to sleep. It is quite exhausting for her and we are thankful for the care she recieves in the step down unit. Above all we know the care that our Father has for her that not a hair can fall from her head without his will. We have been richly blessed by the sparing of her life and her constant recovery. We are also thankful for even the small amounts of communication we can have and I'm sure she enjoys that too. She doesn't hyperventilate or get super excited when I talk to her but she continues to try to open her eyes. A rich blessing that she can remain calm. We'll let you know more when we hear from the doctors about the CT scan. Thankyou for your prayers and messages. Al and Deb

Thursday (day35)

Good evening all. Shawna is having a restfull day. Nothing new to report. She is still moving her arms and toes etc. Its a beautiful thing to see. She changed rooms last night because the room she was in (we were spoiled) was a single bed isolation room and someone needed to be in isolation. Now she's in a room with two other patients. The patient next to her is the same one who was with her in ICU. Nothing changes, he's still trying to climb out of bed. Only now he's tied down even though he's heavily sedated. She is receiving a quite a few visitors plus the noise next bed keeps her pretty awake. We are asking that you do not visit her from 3pm to 5pm as she will be resting after being in her neuro chair and its very important that she has down time to rest. We remain thankful and patient with what the Lord has given us. Thankyou for your messages and prayers. Al and Deb

Wednesday (day34)

Afternoon all! After a rather difficult night of stress we arrived at the hospital to a fresh day. The medicine that Shawna received seemed to put her a step back in consciousness. There was not much reaction or movement this morning. The nurses assured us that the siezures which were small are just something the body will do when the brain starts to settle down. It also could have been triggered by not having food for 6 hrs and all the movement and stimulation. After lunch Shawna spent 2 hrs in the neuro chair. When Jessica Bartels was visiting Shawna seemed to be a little more conscious and was moving both arms and feet and legs a little bit. I tried to get Shawna to respond to command by asking her to move her left foot. After 3 or 4 seconds she did it. I tried to get her to move her right foot but that was not succesful. After a few minutes I tried again with the left foot and she reponded by moving it again. We were so excited that we told the physio therapist who just entered the room and she was amazed and asked if we could try again. I asked her to move her foot again and after a few seconds she moved both feet an inch or so. Now the physio therapist was excited. It was a very good sign. Now when ever we talk we are sure hears us depending on her level of consciousness. This happened yesterday as well with her left index finger but we didn't attach too much hope on it. We are very thankful to our Heavenly father for these small steps and continue to wait patiently. Al and Deb

Tuesday (day33)

Good evening everyone. Shawna made another move today. She was taken down to the 6th floor (trauma) as they are better trained to help with her physical injuries which are more of a concern at this time. She is exhibiting more signs of slight alertness for example body part movements. She may have been overstimulated today with a two hour sit in the "neuro chair" and the move onto a stretcher and again a move onto her present bed. A whole lot of moving going on! As a result they are going to give her a sedative for siezures as she was experiencing a few as she settled down for the night. It could have been too much stimulation for today because it also occurred when I put the earphone for her MP3 in her ear. She is now in the stepdown of floor 6 as she is not ready to have her tracheostomy changed and still having secretions suctioned from her trache. We remain patient as God continues to unfold his plan of mercy regarding Shawna. He took many years to grow His beautiful flower to this point and so we wait to see where He takes us. Thank you for your prayers. Al and Deb

Monday (day32)

Good evening all. Not too much to post. Shawna continues to rest. Her white cell counts are coming down nicely.....infection is going away. They are no longer giving her oxygen. They are also starting the process to remove the tracheotomy. During this first stag if she can continue for 24 hrs they will move her out of stepdown on floor 7 to the trauma ward on floor 6. This will most likely happen tomorrow. The shawna watch begins with watchers through the evening to give a little help to the nurses who are not always in the room as they have 4 to 6 patients under their care. This happened a bit faster than we anticipated but it means again she is well enough that they are confident of the move. We thank God for her progress and continue to lay her needs before his throne of mercy. Again just a little housekeeping. If you are feeling ill or any of your family is ill please do not visit. If you do visit you must clean your hands with the solution provided. We've had a few scares in the last few days as visiting conditions are becoming relaxed. Yours in Christ. Al and Deb

Sunday. (Day31)

Good evening all. After a night of uneasy rest Deb phoned me from the hospital to tell me that Shawna had a very good nights sleep. She was in a very deep sleep. Her lungs breathed slow and deep and her heart was beating nice and slowly. Later on when I came to the hospital after worship services Deb filled me in on what had happened today. More of her reflex actions for her eyes are now present. When Deb did the physio work her eyes were trying to open approx halfway(not that she's conscious). There has also been a lot of body part movement starting with fingers, a bit on arms and slightly on legs and toes. Later when we saw her she was tired and starting to sleep again. In this room there is no hustle and bustle and at night everything is dark. It is definitly a better rest for her. They will be keeping her in the step down for quite a while and she is placed right in front of the nurses station. They keep a very close eye on her. In this respect Deb feels very comfortable to come home for the nights to be with us. Again we as family witness the blessings God has given us today. God bless you all as you remember us in prayer. Al. And Deb

Saturday (day 30)

MOVING DAY! Praise be to God who gives all things in his time. Shawna has been deemed stable enough to go to the stepdown unit of floor 7 (neuro) this afternoon. Step down is one nurse to three patients. She will stay there till they feel they can remove the heart and breathing monitors safely. Then she will be moved to the ward and slowly weaned from the oxygen supply tube currently set at 28%, which is close to the 21% you and I breathe. They have warned us of the possible return to ICU for complications due to infections and pneumonia, which happens to patients who are immobile and do not have full circulation. They have pulled a couple of the drain tubes from her chest cavity as they are not draining anything anymore from behind her lungs. The less infection points the better. The nurses are feeding her food by the feeding tube a much as can be delivered to a person Shawna's size(which isn't as much as mine but it's still a goodly amount). The food has been succesfully absorbed over the last day and a half. We will know in a couple of days if we can have round the clock attendees to monitor her as the nurses may be too busy to watch her full time. This may be a needless worry as she is very stable and has had no difficulties breathing in the last three days. The suctioning of her lungs has also decreased as there is a lot less fluids being generated as her lungs heal. The main reason for round the clock monitoring would be for stimulation and just being there when she wakes up. We remain thankful that our almighty Father and Healer continues to provide for our daughter, His child. We continue to receive bessings of strenghth and patience as we wait for His unfolding plan. Thankyou for your messages and prayers. Al and Deb

Ps. We won't be at the hospital tonight till later(Wil and Katie's engagement party)