Update #106 on Kevin

What can I say? Temp nurses are like a box of chocolates…..you never know what you’re gonna get. Last night’s nurse left waaaay to much to be desired and today’s wasn’t much better. Angie stayed up here last night and she literally had to ask for everything that was done last night. His meal time was 2 ½ hours late. Angie had to ask for eye ointment to be put in the eyes almost every time. She found his feeding tube open this morning after that nurse had gone. There was liquid food all over Kevin’s gown, etc….. Today wouldn’t have been better if not for some other staff members who stepped up and filled the gap.


Tonight has been good. Shift change was at 7 PM. When there is trust with care staff, you can relax. They know Kevin and they know what they are doing. You trust and then you can breathe.

Kevin is laying in bed and relaxed. He moved back into bed from his neuro chair about an hour ago. He is settled and had dinner through his feeding tube. I just looked over and he is alert and eyes wide open, so I turned on some TV. He may not be sleepy now, but when he gets his next dose of Benedryl, he’ll probably be knocked out.

Today, I met with the insurance adjuster about some of Kevin’s stuff. We have some of his stuff in storage, as we have time to sort through it to determine damage. Not sure when we’ll find time to do that, but several pieces of furniture we were able to show the adjuster today. I also showed her some electronics that were on the floor and damaged by the water. She was very sympathetic to what is going on with Kevin and was a pleasure to work with today.

Before that, I had went to an area minister’s meeting. Lunch was good, fellowship was good and the message was impacting. Angie and I, as missionaries, are supported by several of the churches that were represented. Several of them have also helped tremendously in ways beyond our imagination. A minister from one of our supporting churches brought a devotion about things he has learned in ministry. I’m going to put a summary below…

A. Ministry is really really really really hard. (Christ promised us it would be hard).
B. Trust the Gospel. (It’s God’s kingdom, Sometimes, we want to stand over a seed and yell. To try and woo the seed to grow. We have to trust that God will be Lord of our life, whatever it consists of).
C. Trust your call. (Our call is to follow God, wherever He wants us to be).

All those points hit home for various reasons, but what really stood out was what was said to support the third point. It is that to trust our call, we have to ask ourselves, “Am I interruptible by God?” Abraham was interrupted by God. Jonah was interrupted by God. Mary was definitely interrupted by God.

Mom was released from St. John’s Hospital today. The swelling in her leg has gone down, but it is still a little red and sore. She has to take some prescriptions to continue to the treatment.

Kevin seemed to finally be dozing, or at least receptive to the idea. I failed to mention yesterday, that he is in room #110. But you might ask at the front counter, in case they move him again.

Thanks for reading and praying,
Matt, Angie and family
_______________________________
http://www.prayforkevin.com/

Update #105 on Kevin

So, the staff at Meadowbrook has moved Kevin again. They did it because they are testing Kevin for tuberculosis. TB is a potentially serious infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs. They started testing Kevin for TB on Saturday with a skin test and samples. The odd part is that they didn’t move him until today. The room has negative pressure, which means it cycles the air out so that it can be filtered. If he does have TB how many people were infected? He doesn’t seem to have many of the symptoms of TB, except coughing and the occasional fever, although I appreciate them checking under every rock. The lung doctor just came in and said she doesn’t think he has TB, but I don’t think that was the final verdict. She said his chest X-Rays looked better, and that is pneumonia may be clearing up. She said it was most likely where he had aspirated (swallowed fluids into his lungs).


When you come to visit, you have to wear masks for the airborne possible TB, then gowns and gloves for the staff infection, which even though is colonized, still comes across as an isolation factor. One plus for moving into the negative pressure room isolation room is that it’s a private room again.

Kevin has both eyes closed right now and seems to be really resting. Usually, he doesn’t close the right eyelid on his own. Sometimes he does though and this is one of those times. Sitting here, I have seen his right arm move a little, his left arm twitch, his head rock back and forth a bit and just now his right foot moving. I remember the first few days just wishing to see anything move.

My mom is still in the hospital. They started treating her for cellulitis. Then for staff infection. Now they have her foot on a cold pack and can’t figure out what is causing the swelling. Angie and I finally got to see her yesterday afternoon. We took her a Sunday paper and went to tell the nurses they left the water out of mom’s ice/water chill pack. They have her on Vancomiacin for whatever it is that they don’t know yet. They have Kevin back on Vancomiacin for the pneumonia and possible TB.

Kevin is also on benedryl. If his physiology is anything like mine, it will make him drowsy, which he seems to be. Hopefully soon, we will know if Kevin has tuberculosis or not…that way we can get rid of these hot and humid masks.

Thanks for reading and praying,
Matt, Angie and family
_______________________________
http://www.prayforkevin.com/