Update #37 on Kevin

My family’s tradition is to go to lunch together every Sunday after church. Even on Sunday’s when we were at different churches, we would call or text each other to connect up so that we could decide where to go. This morning, several in the family went to church together. Then we went to lunch together. This is the first time we have gone to lunch together after church since Kevin’s accident. Since we are all going through this together, we were able to drop any guards and be ourselves. Through this tragic experience we have had to learn how to laugh together, even when at first it feels like you will never laugh again.


I keep thinking about the movie “Sleepless in Seattle”. I won’t ruin it for you but there is a person dealing with a tragedy. When asked how he deals with it, he replies with the following reply…

“Well, I'm gonna get out of bed every morning... breath in and out all day long. Then, after a while I won't have to remind myself to get out of bed every morning and breath in and out... and, then after a while, I won't have to think about how I had it great and perfect for a while.”

Whew….straight to the depths of my soul. We have felt incredibly blessed by how God has provided for the family during this amazingly difficult time. We have also felt God soothe us, after dealing with stress after stress throughout this situation. That does not mean that things feel normal for us.

Kevin had been somewhat still today, but tonight Angie started challenging him to cough. After a bit, he started coughing and opening his eyes some. It seems to tire him after awhile, but Angie kept pushing him to cough. It shows cognition, understanding and the ability to respond. Respiratory told us that it is more painful if they have to stick a suction down his trach than for him to cough it out on his own. So we encourage him, even when it seems like such a long slow process.

We were told by the night nurse coming on duty that Kevin had finally had a B.M. today. It must have been around the time of his bath, since the family didn’t know about it. I’m looking forward to speaking with Kevin’s doctor tomorrow, since he has had a replacement over the weekend.

We have the TV on now for Kevin. It is on an arm attached the wall. It is sitting directly in front of Kevin’s face. We will be trying all sorts of stimulation.

We’re still looking forward to him getting over isolation from the C-Diff (intestinal illness). At Meadowbrook they will look for one negative test for C-Diff from a B.M. before taking him out of isolation. They said that once he is out of isolation, there is a possibility to take Kevin outside. That will provide other stimulation. Once per month, they have a pet day where you can bring pets to see the patients. Brinkley would love to see his “unca” Kevin.

Thanks for joining us on this journey. It means so much for you to go along with us. Thanks so much for the long emails, the short messages, the notes of prayer, the quoting of scripture, etc….. You have meant so much to us.

Thanks,
Matt, Angie and family
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http://www.prayforkevin.com/