They are HOME!!

Praise the Lord, Art and Stephanie are HOME!!!!!  They got home around 3 and Stephanie is adjusting well.  Thank you all who have signed up to bring meals.  We will post some pictures of Stephanie back home this weekend. We hope you all have a wonderful and Merry Christmas!

******NEED******

If you are able to shovel or help with snow removal...can you give Art a call?  530-414-1525. He really shouldn't be out there shoveling snow with his leg newly healed.

Prayer requeszt

Today Stephanie fell and injured herself.  She was in a lot of pain and medicated appropriately.  PLEASE PRAY that she recovers quickly and will still be released Christmas Eve.

Coming Home!!!

Yesterday we met with Stephanie's neurologist for a followup appointment.  She is doing absolutely AMAZING!!!  The doctor is just blow away by her progress.  He let us know yesterday that her most recent CT scan was free of any fluid accumulation on her left side of her brain (opposite side from her injury).  This was wonderful news, since that had been a concern.  There was still injury showing up on the scan...but he let us know that time should take care of that.
At the Rehab Hospital she is moving through the therapy programs.  She is learning to keep a "memory notebook" to aid in her short term memory.  She is learning how to get in and out of a wheelchair and more amble for her return to her normal life.  Speaking of normal life, we are excited to share that she is TENTATIVELY going to be released next week on CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!  We are so excited that she'll be home soon!!!!  Once she gets home she'll continue to have therapy through "Rehab without Walls".  They'll teach her how to really integrate back into her normal life by taking her through her normal routine and reteaching her how to do everything from her wheelchair and then her prosthetic once she is strong enough to use it.

Specifically, here are some prayer requests for now:
-Healing for the vertigo that she is experiencing that makes her very sick.
-That she would come home Christmas Eve
-That her stump would not hurt (she fell out of her wheelchair reaching for something the other day)
-That she would be patient as she relearns how to navigate through life.
-That we would have love, patients and unending support for her as she comes home.

With her coming home I (Jenn) am looking for a video style baby monitor to      set up in their home.  This will allow me to keep an eye on her when she in in     there by herself and I am upstairs in my home.  If you have one of these laying  around the house, that you won't be using for 3-4 months....could I borrow it?   
**MEALS**
Friends who would love to bring them a meal for two would be much                  appreciated.  Stephanie won't be cooking for the beginning of     her time home, and meals would help out A LOT!!!  I have set up a meal train    with address of people I have.  Please forward and share this train with those     you know who  would like to bring them a meal.  The meal train can be found at:                                
https://www.mealtrain.com/view/?id=qcHDoO%2bT%2fAc%3d                         
                                                                                                                    
You will need to make an account (or sign in if you have never used this             website).                                                                                                       
Thank you in advance for your help!!                                                               

If you are unable to log in to the meal train....please either reply/comment to this post or email Jenn & Jason at aquajenn@sbcglobal.net with the date and meal you plan to bring.

This was taken last night.  We are looking forward to getting 

ALL (13) of the grandchildren with her for a very special photo!!!

"Missy" Therapy

Come and see what our God has done,

what awesome miracles He preforms for people.

Psalm 66:5

This afternoon we went down to see Stephanie.  She is doing SO GOOD!!!!  It is amazing how every time we see her there is such a marked improvement.  Her memory is coming back and is pretty sharp for the most part.  She is blurry on a few areas of life and sometimes calls people by the wrong name.  We are so thankful that the Lord has healed her memory and continues to heal her brain injury.  Our good friend who is also a nurse at the rehab hospital suggested we bring Art and Stephanie's pooch down for a visit.  We did and what a joy it was to see Stephanie respond and be so happy to see her beloved puppy-dog, Missy. 

We enjoyed a very long visit with her and were able to take her, in a wheelchair, out to the front lobby to visit.  It was nice to sit with her in a "normal" environment and spend time with her like usual.  She is having hard time with eating.  Her appetite is minimal and she has great nausea and discomfort after eating, but we had the opportunity to sit with her during dinner and encourage her to eat as much as she possibly could.  This is definitely an area to pray for.  The nurse also shared with us she might have another hospital born virus of the intestine.  =(  She's having tests to deny or confirm this.

We are so overjoyed to have our "Miracle Mom" with us to enjoy this Christmas Season.  Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

Some specific prayer requests:

Eating/appetite.  That she would have nausea and discomfort after eating.

That she would have the hospital-born virus of her small intestine.

Continued improvement of her memory.

Praises:

Where to start.  She is doing great!  God is so over the top amazing good!!

Into Rehab

Today was another BIG day!!  Stephanie was released from the neuro floor of Renown Hospital and placed in the Renown Rehab Hospital.  This facility will give her intense therapies needed to re enter "normal" life.  In many cases they will be re teaching her the skills she needs to know.  We are so thankful for her quick healing and ability to go to this new facility.  Along with going to rehab, all of her tubes and such were REMOVED!!!  This is a HUGE, PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!  No more IV, feeding tube or trache!  She passed all of her tests and the medical staff felt comfortable removing these things.  She is now on a diet of foods that are the consistency of baby food and thickened liquid.  She absolutely can not have any (normal) water or food other than what is served her right now.  She can continue to have visitors.  Typically the therapy day ends around 3:30 pm and visitors after that time are a good thing to help wear her out so she will sleep well.  Part of her brain injury is keeping her awake for long periods of time, so helping her get tired in natural ways (I.e. Not sleeping meds) is good.  As of now she is in room 126, the same room Art was in...although we have been told she will probably be moved into a room a couple of doors closer to the nurses station.  Please continue to pray for her.   Pray specifically for her therapists as they work with her.  That she would keep moving forward in her healing.  Pray for visits with friends and family that they would be helpful to the healing of her brain.  Pray that her immune system would remain strong as we enter the cold and flu season.  Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.  Words can not express how thankful we are.

Hold onto your hats....she's FULLY alert, talking, and interacting

Happy Thanksgiving! What a HUGE day we are all thankful for.  It started this morning at 6:30AM when we got a phone call from Stephanie!!!  She said she was waiting for us to come pick her up and ready to come home.  We were floored that she was talking so well and so fluently.  Mind you she just had her skull put back together yesterday morning!  Art (dad) got to the hospital first and then the rest of us joined her before lunch and were A-M-A-Z-E-D!!  We spent the next hour talking with here and helping her understand what had happened.  Her short term memory is pretty shot (right now)....but her long term is great!  We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then came back for another visit before heading home.   Arthur (brother) took a video of her talking with us.  We hope you are encouraged and blessed as much as we were/are.

In the meantime she still has quite a bit of rehab to go through.  She's currently in ICU and will be until they remove one of her drains from her skull.  She also has a trache/speaking valve and feeding tube.  She needs to learn how to take care of herself and go through extensive rehab with walking and balancing.  There is still a road ahead of her....but we are more confident than ever that she will come through.  

Bone Flap back IN!!

Just got off the phone with Stephanie's ICU nurse.  She had her surgery this morning and was just visited by her neurologist and he is very happy with how the surgery went and how she is recovering!  PRAISE THE LORD!!!  This is her (hopefully) final major surgery for a good long while.  She will go in for a CT scan this afternoon/evening to just check on everything, but if all keeps on going as it is she should be moved back to the neuro floor tomorrow.  Thank you SOOOOOO much for your prayers this morning.

Look who was at the shop today!

Today Art started back at the shop.  He is excited to be back and looking forward to getting back into his normal life.  He'll be commuting up from his temporary home in Reno and spending the evenings with Stephanie at the hospital.  Here's a shot of him today with a couple of the grandkids. 

We also had a quick visit with Stephanie.  She is doing well, and even spent some time in a wheelchair!!!  The nurse shared that they were working with Steph today on shuffling her feet to move her around.  She is also talking SOOOOO well!  They encouraged us to "make" her use her words as much as possible, to strengthen her vocal chords.  On our way out, we ran into Dr Demeers, her brain surgeon.  He too was encouraged with her recovery and confirmed that he'll be doing her bone flap surgery first thing Wednesday morning, and has full expectation that she will do well with having the bone placed back in.

Continue to pray for her kinked neck.  It seems to be giving her headaches.  Jason and I have rubbed her neck and shoulders the last two visits, and she says it helps.

We look forward to giving a report on her, post-op, sometime Thursday or Friday.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Doing well, upcoming surgery

We are coming in to the week of Thanksgiving, and we have SOOOO much to be thankful for!  Stephanie is doing really well.  She was very interactive with Jason and myself today.  Using her speak valve to say things to us and asking us questions.  Her nurses are very encouraged about her.  On a side note, I (Jenn) had the privilege of meeting 4 of her therapist on Saturday at a church women's retreat.  What a blessing it was to hear stories and thoughts from these gals as they help her through therapy every day.  They said that she is such a joy to work with and so eager to try things for them.  The speech therapists told me right now they are trying to get her to pick up on a conversation and finish the line to a song.  A sweet story about this, was that the speech therapist said she was asking Stephanie about the business (Shepherds auto body) and wasn't really getting her to chime in.  Then she asked, "well, who makes decisions in the business?", her matter of fact response, "God.".  When you know Stephanie and Art, you know how accurate that statement is.  Her occupational therapists are trying to get her (hard-wired) memory/reflexes to kick in.  They shared that the knowledge is in there, it is just getting her brain to remember and "reconnect" that.

Back to the report from the hospital tonight.  She is doing well.  She has tolerated/passed all of the "blue dye tests" and now awaits a final test ( more on that in a moment) before they can begin the process of removing the feeding tube and trache.  Once again we were reminded how SLOW this process is.  On Wednesday she is having surgery on her skull/bone flap.  Once she is back in the neuro unit (she'll spend 24 hrs in ICU after her bone flap surgery), and she is stable and at her baseline, they'll do a proceedure that uses a camera and goes and looks at Stephanie's airway/vocal cords.  If they don't find any damage to those organs then they'll feel comfortable moving in the direction of removing the trache and feeding tube.  IF there is an abnormality/injury she will need a feeding tube into her stomach, and therefore, the feeding tube in her nose removed.  This is a requirement for her to be moved out of the hospital and over to the rehab hospital.  We are excited that they are talking about those goals for her recovery now!!!

Last week she did fall/get out of bed, but PRAISE THE LORD didn't have any injuries.  She is now seatbelted in to her bed (although she has figured out how to undo the buckle) to keep this from happening again.  She also needs to wear her helmet at all times, should this happen again (although they are taking measures to make sure it doesn't).  So, if you go to visit her and you see her helmet on her it's nothing bad, just protecting her brain.  She is scheduled to go in on Wed to have to bone flap put in.  

Her nurse shared this evening that Stephanie is such an upbeat and positive patient that those factors are really helping her progress....as well as all the love, support, and visits from family and friends!!

As far as how you can help her, right now...if you are able to visit and stay for 1-4 hours...we could use you.  Almost every day she spends time in the cardiac chair.  It is really needed for her to not be left alone while she's sitting in it.  If you are able, and willing, to go spend a chunk on time with her, would you give Jenn a call at home(530-550-8941)She'll call the hospital to find out the approximate time frame she'll be in the chair that day., It would be great to have someone with her during that time.  Take a book to read to her.  Cards or chess to "play with her".   She doesn't need much, just the company and watchful eye of someone who cares for her.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

*Surgery on Wednesday to put back in her bone flap in her skull.  Prayers that there would not be any sort of infection, guidance of the surgeons hands and that Stephanie's body would respond well.

*Continued healing and strengthening of there swallowing muscles.  That she would continue to improve and be able to have her trache and feeding tube removed.
*Her kinked neck.  Laying in a hopsital bed for 6 weeks will really do a number on your back and neck.  She has no neck injury from the accident....but was in a lot of pain and discomfort today due to a kinked neck and tight upper shoulders.  Pray that this discomfort would go away.
*Wisdom for the nurses and therapists as they work with her.
*Continued patience for our family.  Its pretty safe to say we are all pretty tired and just wanting Grandma home (although we know it won't be for a while).
*Comfort for our family as we go through the upcoming holiday week.  That we would be reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness and not experience pain, sorrow or fear as a result of the current situation of Stephanie.

Getting ready for another surgery

Just got off the phone with Stephanie's nurse.  She was a huge source of information.  She confirmed that Steph WILL be having another surgery on her leg tomorrow afternoon at 3:30.  This is the "routine" cleaning out the wound surgery.  Her injury takes a lot of time to heal and has to be periodically cleaned out of dead tissue.  Pray for her as she goes under for this process that she would come out as well as she has during her other surgeries.  Pray also for wisdom for the surgeon as they determine the best way to clean her wound.
Stephanie is also undergoing the process of (hopefully) removing her feeding tube.  They  have been injecting blue dye down her esophagus since last week.  Each day they look for any traces of blue dye in her lung secretions. So far there hasn't been any!  This is GREAT!!!  That combined with Speech Therapy working with her swallowing mechanism/muscle....they will hopefully soon be able to start giving her nutrients through her mouth and remove her feeding tube.  Simultaneously they are weaning her off the need for a trache.  This is a SLOW process, but it is good that she is strong and stable enough to be tolerating it.
Speech and Occupational Therapies as well as her nurses have been working with her regularly to have her "obey" commands.  As her brain heals, they are able to better determine exactly what injuries she sustained.  As many of you know her brain injury encompassed her entire right hemisphere of her brain...so the exact injuries aren't totally known.  She does seem to recognize family and friends when they visit as well as acknowledge "knowing" who someone is, when you ask her.  It is uncertain if she has any sort of specific memory loss.  God created a very complex organ when created the brain and it takes time to know what exactly has been disturbed.  Please pray for her caretakers as they help her through the healing process of her brain injury and our family as we walk along with her.  It is undeniable that the essence of Stephanie is back!  Her physical mannerisms and movements of the face convey a lot.  We are hopeful that when she is healed she will not have lasting effects of the accident.

Prayer Requests:                                                                                                                                        
Surgery on her leg tomorrow at 3:30                                                                                                           
Continued progression through the "blue dye tests"                                                                                   
Continued strengthening of her swallowing muscles                                                                                    
Continual progress with weaning off of the trache.                                                                                      
Her brain injury that her memory and all aspects of Stephanie would come back, and we would all        have patients in the meantime.                                                                                                                       

surgery went well

Thank you to all who prayed for Stephanie's surgery yesterday.  I spoke with Art this afternoon and he said that she is doing well and they were happy with the surgery.  It seems she had some infection setting in to her leg that they had to take care of.  Please continue to keep this in your prayers.  Our God has healed her so far and we are confident He will continue to do so.
Art also shared that he met face to face with Stephanie's neurologist and he explained that they will not be able to replace her skull bone flap until the infection in her leg is completely gone,  possibly a couple of weeks.  Either Jason or I hope to make a trip to the hospital this weekend and look forward to seeing the progress she has made.  We have heard from an occupational therapy friend (that has treated her) that she is getting stronger and we've heard from Art that she is able to talk more.  These are all such great things to hear!!  Thank you all for your prayers.

Surgery tomorrow

Please pray for the two surgeries Stephanie has coming up.  The first surgery will happen tomorrow afternoon.  This one is for her leg.  Please pray for the surgeons as they continue to work on her injury and that infection would not set in and the wound would heal well.  Her second surgery will be on Friday.  This surgery will replace the piece of her skull removed back on the day of the accident.  Please pray for her neurologist, Dr Demeres, as he performs this surgery.  Pray for his hands that they are steady and that the bone is "accepted" well by her body.
On the up note we get daily reports from Art, that Stpehanie is doing well.  She has been talking more and more each day, and according to him, "she's doing great!".  Please pray that she continues to make progress.

Back out of ICU!!

Stephanie was moved back out of ICU on Friday!  She continues to improve and a surgery later this week will put the piece of skull that was removed the night of the accident, back into her head.  As we have a more definite time for that surgery we will let you all know so you can be praying for that.

We had a good visit with her.  SIX of her grandkids came in for a quick hello and to give her a hand massage.  We are careful to include them in our visits without overstimulating her.  She is also enjoying some of her favorite music on an iPod, so she doesn't have to listen to the hospital stations.  As for her overall progress and health she is remaining steady! This we like.  She was significantly more alert and involved with our visit today, over just a few days ago when Jason and I visited her in ICU.

As for her overall progress..her leg wound appears to be healing well.  Please keep this in your prayers.  This is a significant wound and will take time to heal completely.  We are so thankful that infection has not set in to the wound.  Her lung infection seems to be a thing of the past, but she did/does have MRSA in her lung secretions....so if you visit her you will need to gown/ mask/ glove up!  This coming week she is scheduled for Occupational, physical and speech therapy each day.  Please keep these sessions in your prayers!  It has become even more apparent for her NEED to be able to communicate through more than just nods and shrugs.  Pray for her nursing staff to be sensitive to her needs (primarily for pain management) since she is unable to speak, yell, or really even mover her body much.  Pray for her therapist as they work with her.  That they would have wisdom and approach her therapy the best possible way.  Pray for our family as we continue to all make trips to the hospital.  We are all encouraged to see her improving, but anxious to just have her out and back with us.  Pray for patience and comfort as we wait for this to happen.

As for Art...he's doing great!  We are SO THANKFUL to friends who have lent out their spare bedroom to him.  He is able to get to and from he hospital daily and able to spend long amounts of time with his wife.  If you are in the area and would be available to take him to/from the hospital, please give him a call on his cell phone.

Thank you again for your much coveted prayers!  It is by no accident that they are both doing as well as they are.  Our God hears each prayer and is healing in His perfect timing.

Met with Stephanie's neurologist

This morning most of our family met with Stephanie's neurologist.  We were able to finally hear from him about her injuries, her brain surgery, recovery, and prognosis.
First, if you lifted Steph up in your prayers, God heard you!  He answered you and He spared her life.  Her Dr informed us that he was very excited and surprised to see that she lived through her injuries!! He didn't think she would make it when she was first brought in and operated on.  It is WITHOUT A SINGLE DOUBT that it was all of you lifting her up continually to our Healing Father that brought her this far.  THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!  He was also positively optimistic about her prognosis.  He did warn us (as other medical professions have as well) that her healing road will not be a short one, but one measured in months and years.  We are so thankful for his knowledge and care of her brain injury.  As for things to pray for:
*pray that the drainage tube in her brain will be able to be removed, and she can progress back to the neuro floor.  This morning her dr did say he was thinking he might take it out today.
*pray for continual healing of her lung infection.  Once that infection goes away, and no other setbacks come up, she will be a candidate for having the bone flap put back in her skull, which will aid in her progression of healing.
*pray for her ribs and pelvic fractures as they continue to heal.
*pray for the nursing staff watching over her and praying for her.  We have been so privileged to meet some amazing people who do a hard job very well, with love and grace.
*pray for our family.  As we have started settling into the "long haul" of her recovery, pray that we would have the grace, love, and patients to go through this trial and be a comfort, joy, and encouragement to those around us.

Thank you all so much for your immense love for our mom!

Art to be released SOON!!

Our family anticipates Arts's release from the rehab hospital tomorrow or the following day!  PRAISE THE LORD.  The rehab hospital has been so wonderful to him and our family, but we are excited that he is getting out.  The plan is for him to stay in Reno, at a friends (one story) house, to have easy access to the hospital for follow up appointments and therapy as well as to Stephanie regularly.  Many of the things he needs, wheelchair, walker, and ramps (to get into the house) are all taken care of.  There is one thing that would still be very helpful to him.  If you have a "medical bed wedge" that you are willing to loan him, this will make sleeping most comfortable until his ribs heal completely.  Please give Jenn a call at the house if you can help in this way.  530-550-8941

As he gets situated in his new living situation, we will figure out how to get visitors and meals to him.  

Saturday AM prayer Need!!

This morning we were notified by the nursing staff that Stephanie has had a procedure that has put her back in ICU.  A nursing friend has told us that it is nothing to be alerted about, due to her injury.  With that being said, please pray today for Stephanie's brain.  She had fluid/water removed today and placed back in ICU for observation.  Pray that the procedure works, she progresses and can move back to the Neurology Floor.
Thank you so much for your prayers, love and support for our Mom!  You all are such treasures!!

Progressing

Both Mom and Dad are progressing!  Dad is hoping to be released from rehab mid week next week.  He sounded good on the phone today.  He was again able to go see mom (more on that in a moment). Please continue to pray for the healing of his leg.  He has inflammation  that can be problematic and as of yesterday was on antibiotics for that.  Pray that he would heal completely and as he transitions into regular life, all would go well.
Mom has been moved out of ICU!  Praise the Lord.  Just shy of three weeks!  God is so good to be healing her the way He is.  PLEASE DONT GO RUSH TO SEE HER!!  We know that many of you want to see her and visit, but please be very considerate of the injury she sustained on her brain.  It was pretty traumatic, and will take awhile to heal.  Her nurse, this evening, advised 1-2 HEALTHY visitors, for a 10 minute visit, then give her at least a 20 minute "rest" before someone else visits.  The time will come when she will benefit greatly from visits from all of you who love her so much, just realize...now really isn't that time.  Please continue to send cards, notes, pictures to the house and we'll make sure one of us gets it down there and read to her.
Now for her update:
She is regularly responding appropriately/correctly to the nurses with hand squeezes, nods/shakes, and mouthing words.  The nurse said she tried three different times to have mom used the speak valve, but each time seemed too overwhelming to her, so the nurse put it away for the day.  Her respiratory infection seems to have healed!  Praise the Lord!  Now for the sweet story of the day.  Dad was able to go see Mom.  The nurse said that when she saw him come into the room, her face lit up and she smiled the greatest smile she had seen from her.  Please continue to pray for her brain injury.  That in time, she would tolerate the speak valve and learn to use it well.  That she would continue to show appropriate reactions and responses to the nursing staff.  Pray that she would be guarded against all the cold and flu germs that are starting to hit.  Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.  Your prayers and continued support strengthen us so much!

She was able to talk today!

Well we had the privileged of bringing dad over to see mom today. Dad is doing awesome (Praise the Lord) and they say that he could even be getting out this week some time.
           When we got there we were advised that we needed to put on a gown and gloves. They found the infection and I guess it was for our protection. when they did the lung scope the other day they found the reason why her white blood cells were high. Some tests came back positive and they were giving her antibiotics.
           Mom seemed to be very tired and the put the speaking valve on her when we got there and it was really a blessing to hear her talk. She was being prompted by the doctors to say hi and she said "hello" and then had the biggest smile that I have seen yet from her. I also noticed that she was moving her left hand which we haven't seen movement in for a while. The nurse said that she had held it up too earlier that day (which means that the right side of her brain, where the injury was, is starting to work).
           Another Praise the Lord is that she is going to be moved to the Nero level of the hospital as soon as there is a room. This is on the same level just down the hall from the ICU (pass the gift shop and the chapel). We will keep you updated on the room number when we get it.
           It was hard seeing my dad just sitting there looking at my mom. He is still pretty saddened by the way mom is. I could only imagine. He was crying silently (he would probably kill me if he knew i told you this). Just keep praying that he doesn't think that this is his fault or take blame for anything that has happened.
           Dad also mentioned that a few days ago as he was in speech therapy that he has some sort of concussion or can't remember things short term. They strictly told him that he couldn't drive. This could be because of all the pain meds that he is on, but they believe it is because of the accident so be praying for that.

Prayer Requests!
- Pray that mom would start talking more. It takes a lot of energy!
- Pray that the antibiotics take care of the infection and she is able to have a regular white blood count and low fever
- Pray that a bed opens up and she is able to be move to Nero Level
- Pray for more movement on right side and a complete healing on right side of brain.
- Pray for emotional healing for dad and be able to get out soon.
- Pray for wisdom on the rest of us in all areas that are needed in assisting and helping parents in the month ahead in their recovery.

Saturday 10/25/21014

We just got back from seeing Mom and Dad as well as doing the normal errands that happen when traveling to Reno.  Dad is still on the road to recovery, which is always so good to see.  As he put it "they check off a box" everyday of the things he must be doing on his own before going home.   I guess the other day for therapy they made him push his wheel chair all by himself over to see my mom.  He said it was a workout, especially because they would not help him in anyway.  If all goes well they will release him in two weeks.  My mom continues to be alert, but seems to be frustrated with the inability to talk.  Which if you know my mom that makes a lot of sense.  Mom has been fitted with a voice speak valve from time to time but has yet to talk through it.  She has continued to communicate through nodding or shaking of the head.  She also will try and mouth words.  Mom got her staples out of her head today.  She still has a infection of some sort that they can't seem to figure out.  Her high white blood count, and minor fever tells of that.  They did take a look at her lungs today and they seem to be ok, although they did take samples from a few area of her lung for testing.

Some prayers need as I wrap up:

-Pray that God continues to heal Arthur and Stephanie
-Pray that God Will heal Stephanie of the infection, and of the Brain injuries
-Pray that God will continue to heal Arthurs ribs and left lower leg.
-Pray that God will give my mom peace as she recovers, so she will not be pulling out the feeding tubes and IVs.
-Pray that Arthur and Stephanie sons will keep our eyes on Jesus, and not take too much on.  Also wisdom for the future, and trusting in God to handle the future issues.

Thank you all for the prayers and ongoing concern for my parents and their recovery.

Friday Morning

Just got off the phone with ICU.  Here's a quick update on Stephanie.  She had her speak valve put in yesterday.  As of yet she hasn't spoken words....but the nurse said that was normal.  She did say that if any of you visit her, ask them to help her with the valve and see if she will start saying words.  Art is scheduled to come visit her around 2pm.  Thank you for your prayers.  The other day he was concerned that he wouldn't be able to see her while he was at the rehab hospital.  God is so good to allow this visit to happen!  Stephanie continues to stay off the ventilator and they are slowly weening her off of a super high saline solution (a method they use to help with the bruising on her brain).  Once she is off of this she'll be more able to leave ICU.   She has tolerated well being in the cardiac chair, and they were planning on putting her in that shortly.  Praise the Lord that she is tolerating well sitting upright!  She does not appear to be in pain and when asked she shakes her head "No".   Please continue to pray for her fever it spiked again last night at 101.8.   Please also pray that she starts to use her left arm/hand.  There has been little response since the accident on that side.

Will get a further update on both parents tonight or tomorrow evening.  Please continue to drop in to say "Hi" to Art.  He's in the rehab hospital, room 126 (Window).  He appreciates the visits and helps pass the time.  Please continue to pray for his healing.  That his ribs heal and that he is able to take the deep breaths he needs to, to ward off infection in his lungs.  Please also pray for his leg as he heals.  Here is a picture taken at the beginning of the week with Markus' kiddos.

10/22/14 PM

Dad was moved to the Renown Rehab Hospital yesterday.  He is getting occupational and physical therapy there so he can return to his normal life.  It is atticipated that he'll be there for about two weeks.  He can be visited from 9am-8pm.  Please sign in with the front desk.  He is in room 126.  He would enjoy a visit with you.  Here is a picture from today's visit

Mom is continuing to improve.  She is more alert and trying to vocalize (but can't) more and more.  She has been off the ventilator for over 24hrs as of about 3pm today.  Tomorrow they plan to fit her with a speak valve so she can talk!!  That will be so wonderful to hear!!!  She also spent time (about 4 hrs) in a "cardiac chair".  Apparently this was a chair away from her bed and sat her upright.  Her nurse said she did great during that therapy.  Her fever is continuing.  Please continue to pray for this fever.  we are hopeful that she will continue to progress daily and should be moved out of ICU in the not so distant future!

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers.  Know that you have played a HUGE part in the miracles happening in ICU and at the Rehab Hospital.

For those of you who have had trouble posting comments.  Our apologies.  We have no idea why this is happening.  If you would like to directly email us, please send a comment to aquajenn@sbcglobal.net.  Jenn will print them off to give to Mom and Dad later.

Mom is back!

Tonight has been the most encouraging night of all nights since the accident.  Jason, Jenn, and Denise (Stephanie's brother) went to visit her.  She was awake from the time we arrived and continued to interact with us.  She would track with her eyes, who was on her right and who was on her left, wanting to see them.  She was trying to mouth words and was able to shake her head "Yes" for Yes/No questions.  She was able to answer numerous questions we asked her.  Jenn read her the cards that arrived today in the mail and she nodded "Yes" that she knew who each person was.  Her respiratory infection seems to have gotten better and her fever down to about 100 degrees.  Please keep praying that the infections leaves completely and her fevers subsides completely.  When we arrived she had been off the ventilator for about 8 1/2 hours.   The goal is to have her off of it for 12 hours and then put her back on to give her body time to rest throughout the night.  They will try another 12 hours tomorrow.  If she does that well, then they'll go for 24 hours with out the ventilator.  If she tolerates that well, and her secretion level stays good then they will hook the speak valve to her trachea so she can begin talking.  Thank you all for your continued prayers and love for our family.  We are confident that the Lord is healing her and your prayers are being heard and answered by our Heavenly Father!
Dad is doing well, too.  He had his leg unwrapped and they were letting him air it out to aid in the healing process.  He is hoping to enter Rehab tomorrow.  We are still waiting on a bed to open up.  Pray that this would happen.  We had a great conversation with him tonight.  Continue to pray for him as he heals and moves through the healing process at the hospital.

10/19/14 PM

It's been a week since the accident and God has been so faithful in his answer of prayers and healing hand.  Dad is doing great!  As soon as a bed opens at the Renown Rehabilitation, they'll move him over.  They are hopeful that will be tomorrow.  He is healing and able to get around more and more.  He has enjoyed the visits from those who have been able to stop by.

Here is a picture we took today of 6 of the 13 grandkids with Dad.

Mom is a miracle before our eyes.  Today was such a huge improvement.  She opened her eyes, made movements with her mouth as though she wanted to say something.  She acknowledged our presence and looks better and better each day.  Please pray for her lungs.  They are concerned about a respiratory infection that is causing a fever in her.  God has done so much in her, thus far, we are confident he can heal this infection.  Please pray.  We are still waiting for her to wake up.  It is a time thing and she'll wake when her brain is ready.  Her nurses are happy to see her continual progress.  Thank you to all who have sent cards to the home or brought them by the shop.  We have read them to her and taped them to her wall.  We go down every other day or so, and are happy to take messages and notes from friends.  We are so thankful for your continued support and prayers.

10/16/14 pm

Praise the Lord for another day of answered prayer!  Art was able to get up and walk a small bit in the hall with a walker.  His nurse is hopeful that he'll be moving on to rehab soon!  Stephanie pulled through her surgery like a champ!  They were successful both with her leg and pelvic injuries.  As of now all of her injuries are "fixed", so to say, and she can heal up.  To my knowledge she does not have another surgery scheduled yet. Her nurse was encouraged by her stable vitals.  She had a slight fever last night, and through prayer and the healing touch of our Lord this afternoon she was back to a normal temp.  As you know, one of her greatest risks to getting well, is infection setting in....so we are so thankful that her temp went away.  Once again no real improvement, but at the same time no decline!  Please continue to pray.  Specifically for the healing from today's surgerys and the healing in her brain.
Our God is a God who hears, answers, and heals.  For this we rejoice!

Pray for surgery

Stephanie will be going in for another surgery on her leg at 10 this morning, (Thurs).  Please keep her in your prayers.  She faired her first surgery (on Tues) well and remained stable.  Pray that she would be stable and the doctors would have wisdom on how to treat her pelvis (there was question yesterday if they would operate or just let it heal).  Pray that infection would not set in.  Pray that she would continue to heal.

A further update will come later today.

10/14/14 PM

Day three down!  Each day seems to get "easier" and we are incredibly thankful to the nursing staff in both areas where Dad and Mom are.  They have been so helpful.  Each day they each improve enough that is evident to us kids.  Dad tonight was definitely feeling better and in less pain.  His ribs still give him discomfort and of course this makes it hard for him to take deep breaths.  Keep praying for this.  His leg seems to be healing.  It was nice to have a conversation with him and even hear him laugh a couple of times.  God is so good!
Mom looks better and better each day.  She is still very sick, but improving.  We are thankful every day that we don't have setbacks in her status to deal with.  She came through her leg surgery this morning fine.  Her vitals stayed stable and the doctors are hoping she can remain stable so they can do repairs to her pelvis on Thursday.  Please pray for this.  If she can have that surgery they said it would be a HUGE accomplishment in her recovery.  She is still asleep, but will wake when her brain is ready to.  Right now it is healing.  There have been flutters in her eyes, direct motions with her hands to get attention of family visiting and she even opened her right eye today a couple of times at her nurse.  It is unknown if it was a direct action or involuntary.  We are just so thankful each day we get to see her and she looks better and better.
They both just need healing.  Please continue to hold off seeing Mom.  She really can not risk any sort of infection and needs to rest and heal.  Dad is tired, but the visits seem to help him pass the days.  Please be courteous of his pain and need for rest as well.  We have left journals in each of their rooms for you to jot a note or a description of your visit (particularly for Mom, as she won't remember any of this).  Please write in them.  They can be a letter, and phrase, a verse, a poem.  Whatever you feel lead to write.  They will enjoy having these as they face the recovery road ahead.

On the home front, we have set up Judy Hall (530-993-1877) as the contact for our (Jason and Jenn) family for help.  We are starting to see we need it!  Immediately Jenn needs someone to come over and just put everything in order in Mom and Dad's house (they moved in under us into the apartment at the beginning of September).  Simple things like wash a few dishes.  Clean out the fridge and freezer and then turn it off, fold laundry in the dryer, and wash their linens in the bathroom and bedroom.  They won't be here for awhile, and some of these things should be done sooner than later.   It is a simple thing that would really help out.  If you can help out in this way, please give Judy a call.  As other needs arise, we will let you all know.

Our family can not thank you all enough for  your love and support.  Thank you for your continued prayers, emails, calls, and texts.  It is such a comfort to be reminded that we are not going through this alone but with a very supportive community (Truckee and beyond) behind us.

Verse for the day (borrowed from my two youngest school copy work for the day)
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love  and of a sound mind." 2 Tim 2:7

Visiting Information

Many of you have asked which hospital they are in.  They are both at Renown in Reno, NV.  If you are wanting to visit and are well, Art is in Room 406 in the Tahoe Tower.  He is taking visitors but still in a lot of pain and tired.  Please be courteous to this.  He would love to see his family and friends, though.
Due to Stephanie's condition and extent of her injuries, please wait a bit to see her.  Right now she needs your love and support and PRAYERS more than anything.  If you would like to send your love via a card or note.  I'll take it down next time I go.  Please drop cards or notes off at our home or mail them to, 11260 Alder Drive, Truckee  CA 96161, or you can send them with either Arthur or Markus (they are there daily as well).

10/13/14 pm

I (Jenn) went down today to see Art and Steph this afternoon.  Art is getting better and the biggest goal right now is to get him up, out of his bed and into a wheelchair.  This will enable him to go see his wife AND will be HUGE in helping his injuries recover without any setbacks.  Steph is maintaining.  That is HUGE!! Day three and we haven't been told any declines.  She continues to improve in color.  Please pray for her as she goes in tomorrow for a second surgery on her injured leg.  With her status so critical it is important that she is covered in prayer.  
Our family is so thankful for everyone who has stopped by to say hello.  We know it means the world to them to see their friends and family.  Please be very cautious about visiting if you have been ill or around ill people.   In the next few days I'll be getting a "Guest Log" to put in each of their rooms, so you can write a note to them.  Stephanie is going to want to read about each person who came to see her.  Of course you can also sign the guest book on this blog.  When they are ready, I'll print the entries off to have them read.
Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Welcome

Hello Friends and Family.  We have been trying to figure a way that is best to communicate prayer needs and updates as they come in for Art and Stephanie.   Since not everyone uses FaceBook, perhaps this will be a better way for anyone wanting to keep up with their progress and ongoing prayer needs.  I (Jenn, daughter in law) will start doing the posts.  Other family members will probably also share posts on this site as time goes on.

I can't even begin to express our thankfulness to all of you who have sent words of prayer and support already or have been by to see them.  This is an incredibly hard time, but having you all supporting makes it easier.  We are confident that our Lord is a healing God!  We are confident that he has His beautiful plan written all over this story and that He WILL be magnified through this event.
If you are not in the area but would like to send a card or a poster we can hang (by tape) in either of their rooms, please send it to me:

Jenn Lopez
11260 Alder Dr, Truckee CA 96161

When Steph wakes up I would love for her to be surrounded by what she loves most.....YOU ALL!!

An update on their status this AM will come later today.