That Was A First

I got a call from Dan's cell phone, with Garrett on the other end, saying that Dan was on his way to the hospital.
[Gulp] . . . "What's going on?" . . . "Dan has been up since 3 a.m. with high blood pressure." . . . [Oh no, not again!]

This was the first hospitalization without parents being around, and I was mentally in the car, zooming toward Ohio. Do the Dr's know about AD? His pacer? How about the nurses? Will they have his Nitro paste ready if his BP spikes again? How often will they check it? What are they looking for? and the brain raced on.

I was able to talk with the ER nurse, and then Dan, who assured me that he currently felt fine, and was taking care of everything. We discussed what was possibly going on with his high BP, [it was low the entire time I was there] and what specialists to bring in for consultation.

Dan was only hospitalized for 1 day, and the focus, possible causes for high BP is with his diet. There is something called Bowel Transit Time, which is severely hampered in Spinal Cord people.

Thanks to Garrett for his tireless care for Dan, and for Elizabeth & Morgan for spending time at the hospital, to give Garrett some needed R&R. Thanks for others who called and helped out in various ways.

God is Good

ps. keep Alex M [first pacer transplant] in your thoughts and prayers, as he has been in the hospital with a severe cold. Beth [the mom] has been running on overtime.

Feburary Happenings

I, Bill, was at CU this past week for my monthly visit: assessing Dan's health needs, nursing concerns, ordering medical supplies, shopping for grocery and supplies, tweaking Dan's care schedule, and mainly giving Garrett some days off.

A special routine that has been added to the schedule this semester are lunches provided by the ladies of Grace Baptist Church in Cedarville. Dan does not have classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and cold weather is not a friend to his health. Thus when Pastor Miller asked how the church could help, lunches were the logical choice. Mary Lynn heads up the entire program.

Tuesday they were cooked a delicious meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes & gravy, cooked carrots and home grown corn, and a few other items, compliments of Nedra Callan [she knows CU history]. This is just one of the special home cooked meals brought over by church ladies. [Judy, Kathy, Jewel, Cathy, Shelly, Patti, Mary Lynn, Pat, Nedra, Murtha, Chief and others] Thank you for your willingness to cook and help feed Dan. The food helps him physically, the conversations are fun, and he's very appreciative of your ministry.

Dan is still in need of a few people to help with his care. It could be students or local people.

• A scheduler - who can help to keep track of the 25+ individuals who help with Dan's weekly care. [someone who has access to the campus email is preferred]
• A few more nursing students, to help with weekend care.
• More help is needed [1-2 hr at a time] on Thursdays, to give Garrett a full day off.

Send us an email if you would would like more information on any of these areas of need.

Dan is doing well with his campus law class and his online accounting class. Many of the things that are easy for us can be very slow and time consuming, especially typing assignments.

I told Dan that he should be very proud of the progress he is making, despite constant physical issues like low blood pressure, sleeplessness, chairs that breakdown, [it took a month to get the tilt mechanism repaired], colds and extra suctioning, irregular diets, and the list goes on. He continues to persevere in spite of these obstacles.

Thanks as always for your prayers, and thoughts as Dan comes to mind.

Note from Mom: When I talked to Dan on the phone recently, his voice "lit up" when he told me about the 'lunch ladies' meals! Thank you ladies (and to our dear "Chief.")