after 8 pm visit

What a difference a few hours made! When we entered Clem's room tonight, Clem was comfortably laying in his bed, his head was elevated, his favorite body pillow was supporting his left arm and side, and his gown and all his linens were freshly changed. Better still, he was sleeping peacefully. MUCH better. The night nurse was a very capable and caring professional MAN, a far cry better than the day nurse (I won't get into that one--let's just say, my feathers got ruffled and mama bird figured out the pecking order and stuff started happening; nuff said). Seems his night nurse figured out what was making Clem so uneasy and took care of it. 

Later he told us that they may actually take the ventilator out in the morning if he met certain criteria for his breathing. I know I've said it before, but join us in praying that THIS will be the time. Clem will be able to talk after they remove it, raspy at first, then clearly. It will be interesting to hear what he will say. Pray for our responses, too! He could ask some tough questions, especially about his left leg. I'll tell ya'll what; pray, Pray, PRAY. We're as excited about having the ventilator removed as we are apprehensive about breaking the news. 

Thanks to all the people who have let me know how much help this blog has been for keeping up with Clem. And thanks and praise our God for His perfect will and His faithfulness. Blessings to all. DV

Sunday evening

Back from the late afternoon visit. Clem is OK but this wasn't his best day. Some infection was detected in the area left open in his abdomen and they also determined that he wasn't ready for the ventilator to be removed. Clem is becoming increasingly annoyed with that tube in his mouth and moves like he is ready to get out of bed! He also let me know that he had some pain and the nurse gave him an extra dose of pain meds. Add to that some congestion in his lungs that was causing him to cough and we had one unhappy camper. It took 3 times to suction out his lungs.  Boy, did he not like that! I told him to pinch me if it made him feel better. But the gentleman that he is, he opted just to squeeze my hand during the process. On the plus side, after they cleared Clem's lungs, he was more comfortable and rested. 

To make ya'll feel better, however, the doctors did tell us from the beginning that we should expect good and bad days. On the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst, I'd say today probably would only be about a 6. Easy for me to say, eh?

Anyhoo, Sunday morning service lifted my spirits and I know that the prayers offered up to God were effectual. So folks, keep your eyes focused on the prize; Clem's completed recovery. And remember--there is no such thing as "just prayer"! Keep the faith, ya'll. Love ya, DV 

Good Morning 12/29 Sunday

Didn't post last night because I got a chance to come home and to attend Sunday Worship services. Then it's back to the hospital. They have changed Clem's sedative and have almost eliminated it. This allows us to "communicate" with him. As of last night, the ventilator tube was still in place and he wasn't able to speak, but Clem talks very well with his eye and hand motions. We are so thrilled to see Clem showing his personality; poking his nephew, squeezing and playing with mine and his sister's hand, waving goodbye when visitors were leaving. Very exciting and hopeful stuff! 

For a little while we are requesting that visitation be limited to immediate family members for various reasons. We'll let you know when we reopen visitation to extended family and friends. We are trying to respect Clem's rest and private time until he can more fully communicate his wishes. What a great place to be standing in front of--full communication and another big milestone in the road to recovery!

Nothing planned medically as far as I know this morning, but we are hopeful that the ventilator tube can be removed. This depends mostly on whether any surgery will be performed in the immediate future. Please join us in prayer for Clem's left hand and arm; so far so good, but we're not there yet.  All your prayers are coveted and appreciated during this time. Our God is a mighty and awesome God. Much love to all, DV

Saturday, Dec. 29

It's morning and we are getting ready to head over to the hospital. Haven't heard from the hospital so that is good news. I'll let you know when we find out what's next for Clem. Keep praying, praying, praying because God is listening. Love ya'll. Debora

December 28, pm

     What a long but eventful day. From 10 am until our 2 pm visit, we were able to spend time with a progressively more alert Clem. Almost immediately after they stopped his sedative, he awakened to greet us by blinking his eyes. This was a thrill after 9 days of looking at a sleeping Clem! He recognizes us, squeezes our hands, even smiles with his eyes. When we clasped hands and gathered around Clem for a word of prayer, he pulled his hand out from under the covers for us to hold his too. Precious. 

     Late in the afternoon, the anesthesiologist hunted me down to sign a release for surgery on his left leg. That was a surprise. At that time they had scheduled the surgery for 6 pm, but of course, actually doing it at that time depended on if there was an emergency that would bump Clem out of that spot.  To make a long and confusing story short, he went into surgery at 6:30 pm (we found out at the 8 pm visit; they didn't tell us beforehand) and came out with a leg ready for a prosthesis. Just a small portion of it was left open for drainage. We got to see him post op at about 10:15 pm.

     This is great, ya'll. Please pray for a quick and complete healing process. The surgical team will determine when they will do the second surgery on his arm. 

  Love to you all. God is working miracles on our "miracle man Clem" in answer to the prayers of so, so many caring people. Without a doubt, we feel the power of God. He is so faithful!

     

Thursday, 12/27

Hallelujah! Clem's surgery revealed great news. No infection, viable tissue, nothing suspicious at this time. Congratulations--we have an arm and a hand! The surgeons placed what they call an "external fixator" around the area to keep everything in place, which is a temporary fix versus pins which are permanent. There will be further surgeries later to remove the fixator and to close the wound on his wrist. Swelling prevented them from doing that today. Anyhoo, we are delighted with the news which once again confirms that we serve a great God and that He is faithful. Please continue to pray for Clem's continued recovery and to request that it be free from complications. Much love and blessings to you all. DV 

December 27, a.m.

Well, this is the day. We'll most likely be at the hospital all day waiting for surgery, the surgery itself and Clem's recovery. Just wanted you all to know that if I don't comment you back, I am a computer idiot and still haven't figured out how to return comment for comment via this blog! So bear with me. If I don't respond back, it's not because I don't want to--just can't figure out how! (It's a miracle in itself that Terri got this blog off the ground in the first place) Love you all. Keep our many needs at this time in your prayers. DV

9 pm, December 26

   Good news! The doctors have cleared Clem for surgery on his left arm and hand for tomorrow 12/27. As far as what time, that is always left up for grabs. We did get to speak with an orthopedic surgeon that is familiar with Clem's case. He said it probably would be early to late afternoon. Most likely, they will "wash" the wound and check for dead tissue, viability, etc. The surgeon seemed confident that the arm is viable and assured us that orthopedics' do everything possible to restore upper extremities

   After recovery from the surgery, it looks like they may remove him from the ventilator. We would appreciate ya'll praying and focusing on his hand and arm. Your prayers have been effectual and have already brought us a long way along the road to Clem's recovery. Many thanks and blessings to you all, DV

morning, December 26

Clem is becoming aware of people in the room and is responding by his facial expressions and his eyes and moves his mouth. Of course, he can't speak with the breathing and feeding tubes, but they may be removed within the next few days. I am excited to see him later this afternoon. Much love to so many I couldn't name you all! Your prayers are being answered by our great  and awesome God. Please continue in your prayers as they are a fragrant offering to Him. DV

December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas to All!

Clem has been improving steadily every day. Doctors say that he is a week ahead of where they thought he would be, which thrills all of us. The surgery on his arm has been put off for about a week. On Monday, Clem had another of many surgeries to come. They flushed out his abdominal cavity then decided to leave his abdomen "mostly" closed so they could keep an eye on things for a little while longer. After this the surgeons begin refining his left leg in prep for final surgery on it to make it prosthesis ready. Of course, it will take time to heal, but this is a great step forward. It was also very encouraging to see Clem move his head, his right arm and move his lips to speak. He has been responsive to familiar voices and this makes his family and I hopeful. We are so thankful for all your prayers; we are seeing many miracles and they are lifting us up to keep us strong and focused. Please continue to pray for the upcoming surgery on his left arm and hand. Because there is life in it, things are looking up and I KNOW that this is due to your fervent prayers. God is so good. We love you and blessings to you all, DV 

December 23, 2007

OK, friends, the time has come for the orthopedic surgeon to work on Clem's left arm. As you know, we have been praying fervently that they will be able to save his arm and his hand. He has been cleared for surgery, which means he is able to have the surgery.

Please offer up a prayer concentrated on a successful outcome. There is blood flow through the arm, which is a good sign, but there is so much that is unknown. 

December 22, 2007

Today we were thrilled that Clem was given a feeding tube and is receiving the equivalent of an Ensure shake.

Anything that we consider "normal" is exciting during this time. It's like when a baby gets its first tooth and we ooh and ahh! I guess you could say that today was uneventful and under these circumstances, that makes for a great day.