3-14-04
“Great is the Lord and most
worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
Psalm 145: 3
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been quite a while since I have been able to write anything encouraging
regarding Tim’s condition. However, over the past few weeks, we have been
noticing a few new responses. But, I hesitated to write about them because the
doctors have said all along that Tim might be able to follow a few commands. I
think, too that the kids and I are almost afraid to get excited for fear of
being let down or disappointed. So, we just observe and wonder.
In my heart, I made the decision not to mention Tim’s responses unless I was
100% sure that his movements were not reflexive (like gripping your hand, making
chewing movements, lifting his head from the pillow). A bona fide response, to
me, is also something that he should be able to repeat. So, what I am going to
share with you is the REAL thing, no doubt about it.
It actually started a few weeks ago. Tim shut his eyes when mom asked him to.
Over the next few days and weeks, he began to follow this command nearly every
time he was asked. The interesting thing about it was that his response was
immediate. There was no delay in responding, whereas before, his responses
sometimes took 30-45 seconds. He also seemed to be getting better, more smooth
control over his left arm. I began asking him to let go of my hand and move it
away, rather than squeezing or gripping my hand, which is sometimes reflexive
for Tim. He seemed to be getting this response down, too.
Wednesday morning, Becky and I went to visit Tim and found his diaper soaked.
Since he has the catheter, it shouldn’t be wet, so we informed the nurse that
his foley might be blocked again. She said she would change it. When Dad stopped
by later on, they had just finished changing it and Tim was fine. Mom stopped by
after work and she said Tim was fine then, too. I stopped in shortly after Mom
left and Tim’s foley tube was full of blood. I got the nurse who decided to
irrigate the foley in case there was a clot or something blocking it. As she did
this, Tim nearly sat up in the bed with a look of pain on his face and
immediately grasped his lower abdomen! Nicole and I looked at each other - wow!
We have seen Tim have a generalized response to pain, but have never seen a
direct, right on, “it hurts right here” response. Tim ended up in the ER that
night, getting the foley situation under control. He was pretty upset and in a
great deal of pain - heart rate and respiration were quite high. Another
interesting thing…every time a doctor or nurse came in and started telling us
and Tim what they were going to do, Tim’s heart rate and respiration rate went
up even higher. Mom said, “Gosh, it’s like he hears everything and knows what is
coming.” Tim was able to go back to Palm Valley early Thurs. morning (1 am). He
was still having pain and on pain meds, so was resting most of Thursday. When I
arrived Friday morning, he had his eyes wide open and seemed pretty relaxed, but
I figured he still needed rest, so I read to him a little, gave him a shave and
just sat with him. A bit later, Lisa (nurse’s aide) came in to check on Tim and
as she said, “Hi, Tim!” - his eyebrows shot up. I laughed and said, “Hey, he
knows your voice!”. I have seen him do that when we walk in, too, lately.
Realizing he was “alert”, I asked him to raise his eyebrows again. He did - that
is the first time he has done that for me. Not only that, but he followed that
command 3 times in a row. Then I asked him to stick out his tongue. I had seen
him stick out his tongue the week before, not as a result of a command, but just
something new his body could do, so I have been asking him and asking him to
stick out his tongue for me since then and he hasn’t been able to. Well, as soon
as I asked him to stick out his tongue, he did! He needed a little rest and then
was able to follow that command again. He began moving his mouth in a new way,
so I asked him if he was trying to say something or smile. He smiled with the
left side of his mouth. I said, “Tim, you smiled! Can you do it again?” He
smiled the same way. The third time I asked him, he gave me a full smile. (Yes,
I was bawling by this time.) He did a couple of other things on cue and then I
started to try to get a “yes” or “no” response from him. We weren’t having any
luck there, so I finally said, “Tim, can you do something to communicate? Move
something? Blink? Anything?” I had been holding his hand and as soon as I asked
him that he very firmly, deliberately squeezed my hand 3 times in a row! I was
on the phone to the kids, my mom, out in the hall telling all the nurses and
anyone else who would listen! By this time, Tim was pretty tired, so I said I
would come back later with the kids.
When I got home, it was kind of hard to remain calm. We don’t know what this
sudden flurry of activity means, but after seeing very little over the past few
months, we are definitely encouraged. I am especially encouraged because while
the doctors have said that Tim will be able to follow commands, they have also
said that he will not be able to communicate. I believe that Tim definitely
communicated with me for the first time in nearly eight months.
I wish I could say that Tim’s responses have been as dramatic since then, but he
hasn’t been feeling very well and we don’t like to pester him when he is in
pain. Still, when the kids and I went back to his room, even though Tim was not
feeling real well, he tried so hard to do what we asked. He lifted his eyebrows,
stuck out his tongue and moved his arm. Mom said that when she stopped by, he
was tired, but when she asked Tim to smile, he sighed and reluctantly smiled. We
could just hear him joking, “What am I? A performing animal? Leave me alone!”
The doctors at the ER started Tim on Levaquin (stong antibiotic) again, so
hopefully in a few days he will be feeling much better. He still has a UTI and
some pain from the trauma he went through on Wednesday. He has a very slight
temperature (1 degree) and respiration is a bit elevated. A positive note - I
saw his pressure sores Thursday and they looked smaller, as if they were healing
up. Thank God.
Thanks for continuing to pray for Tim. You are so faithful! And Lord, so are
You.
The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.
The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The
Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He
fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.”
Psalm 145: 13,14,18,19
Love,
Carole and the kids