SamBeller.org

Monday, February 06, 2006

A Week of Ups and Downs

Although Sam is home from the hospital, he is not *well.*

It has been a roller coaster: one day he seems healthy, the next he needs lots of supplemental oxygen, extra breathing treatments, and lots of suctioning to keep his airway clear--plus calling the doctors for advice on care strategy, nurses orders changing. Normally we have 12 hours of nursing a day, this week we’ve needed them 16-18 / day. And once they leave, Kelly and I take over… Not much sleep. Lots of anxiety about hearing his ventilator and oxygen alarms in time to get him cleared up.

He has also been having some difficulty with bowel function… mostly irregularity. Obviously, it makes him uncomfortable, but it also contributes to high heartrate, etc., and make it more difficult for him to breathe.

Prayer Requests are much the same as last week:
- For Sam to stabilize
- For Mom & Dad to rest/recover from the past weeks’ challenges
- Sam’s trach stoma to shrink back to normal size. It’s enlarged so he has an air leak.
- Airways to heal. Presently tender and inflamed.
- No bleeding in his lungs, throat, nose from treatments/suctioning

Also, a more difficult prayer request: For Kelly and me to cope emotionally with his illness and his “close call” last Saturday. If you have ever had a near miss car collision, you know the feeling of relief mixed with horror because you *almost* got clobbered. It is difficult to explain our feelings, but emotionally, we’re tense because “it could have been worse” and “what if that had been it” and how soon until it happens again. We’re optimistic, but all the “what ifs” attack us like Hitchcock’s The Birds… We want to trust God. Pray for us to be able to.