The next step...

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
--Ps 100

September 19, 2008

Aloha Kakou,

Your prayers are making a difference! Mahalo nui loa....the last few days Chance has been peaceful and resting. His color is coming back and the Dr.'s are happy with his progress. We are also overjoyed with the progress he is making. On Sept. 18 at 5pm Randy and Tanya met with the entire medical team that is caring for Chance. Dr. Yim wanted to reassure them that they are all committed to seeing them through his recovery. They also discussed the progress Chance has made and what steps will be taken next.

They have his agitation under control and attributed it to withdrawals from all the heavy doses of meds he was receiving up in PICU, namely Versed and Morphine. They have him on two meds to wean him off what was given to him in PICU. Since they found the right balance he has been calm and resting. He has stopped grinding his teeth!

Since the first week, Uncle Daniel who is a Physical Therapist has been working with Chance to keep him limber. After an accident that causes trauma to the brain the bodies natural reaction is to stiffen up. Randy and Daniel have been working on Chance daily and it is making a difference in keeping him comfortable. The hospital PT and OT staff are working with Chance doing passive Range of Motion exercises.

He is still responsive to verbal cues. Dr. Yim said he blinked on command today! The meeting with the Dr.'s was very encouraging.

This is the plan for his care in the next few weeks.

• Continue to slowly wean him off all meds over the next two weeks
  
• At the end of next week once he is more awake they will call in Speech Therapy to do a Barium Swallow to determain if he can still eat and drink through his mouth. If he can't and the liquid is going into his lungs and not his stomach they will need to insert a gastric tube (G-Tube) near his stomach so he can be fed. We are confident that his gag reflex is already working and that he will be able to eat/drink through his mouth. Chance does swallow/gag when Tanya brushes his teeth or puts water to his lips with a sponge and when his mouth is being suctioned out for mucus.
  
• Physical and Occupational Therapy will continue to work with Chance to meet the criteria of being able to go through 3 hours of PT/OT a day.
• Once Chance is at the level of 3 hours of PT/OT a day he will be transferred to Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific for in-patient care. In most cases patients really blossom at Rehab Hospital. They work with them daily for hours.
• Currently there is no in-patient rahab facility on Maui to care for Chance. So he will need to stay on Oahu for now.

We are still believing that Chance will be healed and has already surpassed the Dr.'s expectations. Thank you for continuing to stand with us in prayer for restoration and healing to Chance's body, mind and spirit.