In regards to today

The sole purpose of this blog is to keep people posted as to mike's recovery and not to pass judgement on mike, ericka, their family or innocent people. If these comments continue, there will be no other option but to shut down the blog.

Update

From Ericka:

Just talked to Mike's nurse and the ortho doctor made rounds this afternoon. The decision was made to take Mike's neck brace off. This is wonderful news. Please continue to pray for Mike as he continues his road to recovery.

Memorial Day Weekend

Mike looked healthy and we had a wonderful visit. I brought Mike one of his ball caps and after putting it on him, he used his right hand to reposition it. It was awesome. We were all looking at each other in amazement. I put Mike's glasses on him and it was so neat to see him reposition them, take them off, try to put them on, and constantly be messing with them. He would touch Wesley's eyes, mouth, hair, shirt, etc... He would reach out to Wesley and pull him toward him and push him away, this process went on and on. All I could do was smile and cry. The girls took pictures with their dad and got to sit with him in bed. Mike loves to touch anything. He is constantly moving his right hand and leg.

Mike continues to be total dependent. He can not move his head to look at you but he continues to keep his eyes open and he will reach out to you. The Botox injection has loosened the muscles in his neck somewhat and he does not lean as severely to the right. Occupational and Physical therapy continue to work with him twice a day. I spoke with the speech therapist and she was very encouraging. She stated that when placing two objects in front of Mike and asking him to reach for a specific item that he will show signs of reaching for what she has asked. We brought several more family pictures down and as well as a new package of chewing tobacco for the speech therapist to use in hopes that he might identify texture and smell. The nurse told me that speech and eating would be two of the last things that Mike would accomplish with time. So for right now, Mike continues to be on a PEG tube which means he is on a liquid diet.

Mike continues to be healthy and we continue to be prayerful and blessed that God continues to show us daily that he is in control.

Update - May 20th

For the last two days the physical therapist has noticed that Mike has helped push himself up to a standing position. What I mean by this is that when the therapist brings Mike from a sitting to standing position, the therapist can feel Mike's muscles tense and contract which show that he is showing signs of helping. This morning his nurse, Sarah, came in and told him good morning and said "give me some skin" and gave him a high five and and he gave her a high five. Sarah has been Mike's nurse for the past week and has been a true blessing. She is so kind and upbeat. Each time I talk to her she is so positive and you can tell that she truly enjoys taking care of Mike. Please continue to pray. These small things are small miracles that continue to show me that God is in control during this long journey ahead of us.

Update 5-16-08

From Ericka:

"just talked to nurse taking care of mike today and wanted to share this.

She told me that she was washing his face with a cool wash cloth and dropped it and it fell to his lap. She waited and he reached with his right had and felt around and picked it up and brought it up to his face and began to move it around on his face. He then dropped it and it landed on his chest. He began to feel around for it and brought it up to his mouth. Of course this whole process took a while but WOW!!!! How amazing is God?"

Update from Ericka

Mike has had a tendency to lean his head to the right since his halo came off and the doctor called yesterday and discussed several options. End result: Mike will have a Botox injection on Thursday (May 8th) to the muscle on the right side of his neck in hopes of relaxing the muscles so that the neck will straighten. This may take up to two weeks to see results. Results can last up to 3 months.

Spoke with case manager today and she went over notes from meeting yesterday. Once a week there is a staff meeting regarding all patients and she will usually call me with an update as to Mike's health. Overall Mike continues to be healthy and is now at 133 lbs. Speech therapy reported that in the last week he responded 3 out of 6 times in simple commands, with either blinking his eyes, reaching forward, or raising a finger for yes or no. They also reported some facial expressions when going over family pictures and that Mike did reach for the picture of our son Wesley.

Update from Ericka's visit

Copied from an email from Ericka:

The trach came out Monday---yeah! The weekend was good, i actually felt good when I left Sunday. the kids did good when they visited each time. I can tell that his muscles are more relaxed and that he is not as tight as he has been. He continues with therapy and has responded to a few single commands but they have been inconsistent. He really did not respond to us at all but I was so pleased to see that he looked so much more healthy. He had gained 9 lbs. He actually kept his eyes open the whole time we visited each time and would close them from time to time but would open them again so that was nice.

foot surgery went good. They look great. This was done so that when it comes time for him to stand or walk, his feet will be flat on the floor. The echo was normal. he has a small aortic valve leak but the cardiologist said nothing to worry about and that his function was good.