G-TUBE G-O-N-E! Removed!

November 17, 2008

O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things...Isaiah 25:1



Monday was another great day for Chance! His G-Tube was removed. He is eating well and loving everything. God has been moving and each day is a new miracle!

When I walked in to the hospital room, on November 5th, Tanya was on the phone. So, I asked Chance how his test was (the Barium Swallow); his response was "I passed!" The first night he could have "real" food, he ate some of what Tanya and I were eating. The teri beef tasted WAY better than the chicken and potatoes the hospital brought him for dinner. That same night, we put in the Selena CD and Chance was singing all the songs to me...we had joked for weeks that he was going to sing to me. The first song he sang when he started talking again was his A, B, C's. Here was the song list for the evening...Blue Moon, Dreaming of you, I could fall in love, One more time, and Bidi Bidi Bom Bom! He did try to sing a few more but didn't remember all the lyrics....what he did remember was AMAZING! He also danced with me...well the best he could do from his bed. He was holding up his right arm and moving it back and fourth across his chest, while kicking his right leg to the beat. We were all laughing so hard and no one could erase the huge smile Chance had on his face that night.

For the first few days, he ate ground up food but it didn't take long for him to be able to eat again. He was drinking from a straw and able to manage his fluids well. Usually when patients start eating again they give you this powder thickener for everything, so they won't aspirate. Chance really didn't need it (we didn't know we were supposed to use it) and he did fine without it.

Last week, Tanya called me and said Chance asked if I could bring him a Zip Pac. He ate almost the WHOLE THING! After that, Chance was really fidgety...Mikela asked him what was up. He said he was bored, so I asked what he wanted to do. He said "Do you want to watch the Selena movie?" So I set up the DVD player and Chance, Mikela and I watched the Selena movie. I am sure he has seen it many times and even watched earlier that day but that didn't stop him from singing along (HE LOVES SELENA)! I kept translating the Spanish bits in the movie for Chance. I asked Chance why the non-Mexican (me) was translating Spanish for the part-Mexican (him)! He laughed and said he wants to learn Spanish. So I guess I will start teaching him some Spanish!

On Saturday night, we had some Pepperoni Mushroom Pizza and spicy Buffalo Wings with ranch dressing. During the week he asked for Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Poke, Tony Roma's ribs and Hagen Daz Coffe ice cream! He has a growing list of things he wants to eat now.....and he is not shy about asking.

You can see his teenager personality emerging...he has been able to talk on the phone with family and friends with some pretty witty humor. The other night, he was talking to his dad, Randy, and the rest of the family back on Maui. It is truly a blessing to hear him speak and hold a conversation. His speech is getting better daily. He is even a little sassy at times. While at Kapiolani Hospital seven weeks ago during an extremely tough night Tanya said to me "I just want to hear him say HI MOM again." A few days ago I asked her about that night and how God had answered that prayer. We laughed, cried and rejoiced in God's faithfulness.

He is standing and taking a few steps in PT. One day last week, he stood up by pushing himself off a table top and reached for the green balloon to touch it. He scratched his eyebrow, tried to dig something out of his tooth and in jest pretended he was digging his nose the other day.

Chance is not being released from Rehab Hospital as he is still progressing enough to keep him there (once a patient plateaus in his treatment they are released). Rehab Hospital is the best place for his recovery right now. He is evaluated weekly and granted extensions on his stay depending on his progress. Please pray that he is granted all the extensions that he needs to stay and fully recover before returning home to Maui. I know his family there misses him dearly but they also want him to have the best possible care.

We rejoice with you for all the answered prayers of the saints and the faithfulness of our LORD! Please continue standing with us in prayer for Chance's full recovery. He is on his way for sure. Thanks also for the special care he is given by his nurses, doctors and the staff at Rehab Hospital. A special thank you to Auntie Desiree for loaning us the DVD player and the movies.

All glory to Jesus, Chance's Lord and Savior....on the phone with his dad the other night he asked Chance what his scripture was. Chance's reply "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." --Phil 4:13 Amen and amen...no earthly explanations only answered prayers. Thank your for loving Chance and his family.