Home at Last

We are safely home tonight. Samuel had a rough first night at the hotel, but he is better now. We learned the hard way that tiny meals are all he can really handle right now. Kim was quite the trooper and I am so thankful for a friend like her. Having her travel home with us was very helpful and we enjoyed visiting. When we got to the house, we were immediately greeted with lots of beautiful smiles and hugs from the kids. Samuel and I spent the evening walking around with the kids seeing all the animals and feeding the catfish in the pond. Samuel put on a pair of jeans on for the first time in over a year. The positioning of the tubes is much better than before. As nice as it is to wear pajamas, I'm pretty sure he's sick of them by now!  Talking with Kim today, gave me such a reminder of what all God has brought us through as a family and how often times situations in our lives have seemed impossible, but God provides a way. Sometimes the outcome isn't always what we had hoped for, but somehow He gives us the strength to persevere.  

Day 17 - Samuel Update

Samuel is doing well.  They are planning to remove one of the JP drains and take out every other staple today. They are also going to take him off the TPN's, pull the central line and let us go stay in a hotel tonight. Kim is on her way to the hospital. She will stay with us and we will fly home on Tuesday. I cannot wait!!!  I miss my family so such. Thanks for all the prayers.  Please continue to pray that Samuel heals well and that he eats so he will gain weight before his next surgery in a couple of months.  Blessings!

Lost Tortoise Found!!

I have some time sitting here in the hospital, so I decided to write about something neat that happened at home.  A few years ago, while visiting the YO Ranch, we fell in love with a Sulcata Tortoise.  Last summer, while we were there we got to visit him again and Gabriella, Sophia and Caleb loved him.   He would eat vegetables from their hands and enjoyed the attention.  I’ve always loved tortoises….not turtles, but tortoises.  For Christmas, I got a large Sulcata Tortoise that someone could no longer have because of his size.  Gabriella also got a little one who lives in her room.  Hers in named Franklin and mine is named Theodore (Theo).   Mine is really large and lives outside in our barnyard until we can finish his special enclosure.  Sulcatas cannot handle cold weather, so we give him a heat lamp on cold nights. 

Franklin and Theodore

Theo is found!

One day in late March, Theo was missing from the barnyard.  We could not imagine how he escaped, but he did.  We walked every day for hours for the first week he was missing, but we could not find him anywhere.  Every once in a while we would find a trail where he had flattened the grass, but it always disappeared.  You are probably thinking, “How can someone lose a 60 pound tortoise and not be able to find it?”  Well, tortoises are actually faster than I ever thought they were and they hide quite well.  Searching for him was like looking for a giant camouflage Easter egg that has legs and can move.  Even with more than a dozen of us searching for him, we could not find Theo anywhere.  We knew he had left our property and was on the land that surrounds the lake, but he was no where to be found.  After a few weeks of looking for Theo, we finally gave up and assumed he was much further from home than we even realized he could go.

Then on Mother’s Day, while we were here in Baltimore, Miriam Grace sent me a picture of Theo!  Lydia was riding horses in the back and there he was grazing in the middle of the path.   She went back to the house to get some help to bring him home.  The kids took a wheel barrow and brought him back to the house.  I’m not so sure he is really happy about being home.  I’m sure he enjoyed tortoise paradise and all the weeds and grass he can eat!!  We know he couldn’t survive out there during the winter when temperatures get really cold, so it is best that he is home where we can keep him safe.  It was an awesome Mother’s Day gift too!!!    

Day 16 - Samuel Update

Samuel had a good day yesterday. He is really happy to be able to have clear liquids. They removed his nephrostomies yesterday. It is the first time he's been without those two tubes in a year!   Yesterday, they removed four of the five tubes we were hoping for.  Samuel looks like he feels so much better than he did just a few days ago.  The TPN's seem to make a huge difference for him. 

Yesterday we had a dear friend who we met here in Baltimore 16 years ago come and visit us. It was really good to get to visit with Paige.  We had a good time catching up on what all has happened in the last sixteen years.  It was a reminder to me of how God has worked in our lives over the years. I can't say it has been pain free, but I know He has a plan and a purpose in everything. 

We are starting to work on a plan to leave the hospital and go home. My friend, Kim, is in DC and will be flying home on Tuesday morning.  Her flight to west Texas has a layover in Houston. If everything goes as planned, the doctors are talking about releasing Samuel by Monday so that I will have help getting him home and maneuvering the airport. Getting in and out of the seats on the plane without using his tummy muscles will be a big challenge.  Having Kim there would be very helpful. Samuel is making good progress, but he has a few more milestones to meet before they will release him from the hospital.  He will have to return for another surgery, very minor compared to this 18 hour one, in about six weeks or so. Until then he will be treated by a doctor in Houston. It is really exciting to be reaching this point!  I know he is a long way from being his old self again, but I feel like we are well on the road to complete healing.  Praising the Lord for bringing Samuel this far!!!

Day 15 at 9:00 am - Samuel's Update

Samuel did well yesterday and even got to take a ten minute walk outside with a nurse with us. It was really good for him, but even the short walk made him very tired.  We are hoping to try it again today, but it is raining.  The tests went well and Samuel has already had a good start to the day.  At 5:45 this morning, the plastics team came in and removed one of the JP drains from his abdomen.  At about 6:30, they removed his NG tube. They will be starting him on clear liquids today. He can't wait!  They will be taking it very slow because we don't want him to end up sick again.  He doesn't have a fever.  If things go well, he will be heading downstairs to IR at some point today to get three more tubes removed. Praising Him for progress made and praying for complete healing. 

Day 14 - Samuel Update

The morning has started out with giving us great hope of a day of progress.  The doctors capped the nephrostomy tubes this morning to see if Samuel's body can handle working properly on its own. His liver levels have come down closer to normal.  They also capped his NG tube to see if his tummy is awake enough. If he becomes nauseous, they will have to uncap it. We are praying that everything works well today.  If it does, then tomorrow they will take him downstairs for interventional radiologists to start removing the tubes. They would be removing the two nephrostomy tubes, two JP drain tubes, and the NG tube. That is five tubes that could be gone in one day!  He would still have three other tubes, but he will go home with those.  

We also received a box of delicious goodies from John Marshall and his daughter, Jennifer, today. The box was filled with all kinds of great things, but Samuel has his eye on the homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. As soon as he saw them, he perked up and said he really wished he could eat.  If they are able to pull the NG tube without him getting sick, he may be able to try a couple of cookies tomorrow!  Please pray that all goes well and that today Samuel will leap forward on the road to recovery. Praising Him for progress!!  Blessings!

Day 13 - Samuel Update

I haven’t posted an update because Samuel really hasn’t had any changes.  He seems to be in kind of a “hold steady” pattern.   He is not any worse, and he isn’t any better.  He still has the NG tube because 13 days after surgery his tummy still has not woke up yet.  He is on TPN lipids for nutrition.  He still has all his drains and tubes, nothing has been pulled yet.  They did a nephrostogram test today to see if they will be able to pull the nephrostomy tubes, but we have not gotten the results yet.  His kidney levels are coming down closer to normal, so that is good news.  He is still on IV antibiotics for pneumonia.  Today he is reading a book by one of his favorite authors, Nick Vujicic.  We are thankful for no setbacks in the last two days.  Continued prayers appreciated.   Blessings!

Day 11 - Samuel Update

Sorry for not sending an update sooner. Kim and I went to dinner and I had decided to take a break from Facebook for the day.  I was really surprised and touched by Samuel's beautiful Mother's Day post.  He's an amazing kiddo and I am so thankful God made me his mom!  Samuel had a very good day yesterday (Sunday). He told Kim and I to go enjoy dinner while he watched Duck Dynasty!  They were able to take him off the oxygen yesterday afternoon. They tried stopping the NG tube to see is he could tolerate it, but he became nauseous within a few minutes. They said that the nausea is caused by the fact that his tummy still is not completely awake after the 18 hour surgery. It is hard to believe that it could take 11 days to wake up, but apparently that isn't unusual after such a long surgery.  For now he will need to keep the NG tube, which he says is so much better of an alternative to the vomiting. The incision and everything seems to be healing well and there isn't any visible damage caused by him being so sick for those two days.  They are not going to be able to remove the nephrostomy tubes because he has developed kidney stones now. They are trying to come up with a plan to take care of that problem. His kidney levels have been extremely elevated and they are trying to do whatever they can reverse any damage done. This came on very quickly, and the levels tripled three times the normal levels overnight.  They have been questioning whether or not a central line was the right decision for Samuel because of the risks and the type of infections he has. This morning they went ahead and put in a central line to his heart and they are starting him on TPN lipids today. He really needs the nutrition. Kim was pretty surprised by how much weight he has lost since surgery.  He looks very frail.  Right now, Samuel is having an ultrasound done so the doctors can decide how to proceed with treating the kidney problems. He has not had a fever since yesterday. He seems like he is back on the road to recovery and taking those baby steps towards complete healing.  He was able to shave yesterday, which really made him feel better too!  Jacob and Joshua would have been so envious of his full beard!   Samuel's pain seems manageable too and he is no longer on the narcotics or PCA pump.  His attitude is much better also and he seems to have the will to fight again. God is certainly answering many prayers. Saturday was the scariest time we've had in many months. It is hard to believe he is so much better today, which is a testimony of God answering the prayers of so many people praying for him.  

Day 10 @ 9:00 am - Samuel Update

 God is answering our prayers and things have improved somewhat since yesterday.  The doctors seem to have the NG tube in the right place and working properly, and Samuel has not thrown up in over 12 hours.  Whew….you can’t imagine what a relief that is after two full days of it!  Samuel didn’t sleep all night, which is surprising because he is physically exhausted.  He just says he can’t sleep.  We watched the TLBAA 50^th Anniversary Longhorn Sale on my laptop last night.  We really appreciate all our longhorn friends who have prayed for Samuel over the last year and are still praying for him now.  It was good for Samuel to get to see a glimpse of his life before the accident.  I know he misses being deeply involved with the cattle. 

Samuel still has a high fever today and his white blood cell count is elevated.  Last night the doctors decided to skip a dose of the Vancomycin because the blood tests showed that the levels of it in his system are too high and it can cause organ damage.  After they get new bloodwork today, they will adjust the dosage and restart it.  Samuel has also developed a yeast infection in his kidneys.  They are starting him on IV meds to treat it too.  There are times when things just feel like they are spinning out of control, and that is exactly what the last two days have felt like.  Today, even though things are not resolved, it seems like the doctors are managing it again.  Samuel remains on oxygen and he still has a rapid heartbeat, but he is not in much pain and he doesn’t have that short fast breathing.  He listened to music on my iPad for a couple of hours this morning.  I am hoping that he will get tired this afternoon and sleep good tonight.   His body needs rest.  Kim arrives this evening and we are going out to dinner tonight.  I am really looking forward to it.  It will be the first time I’ve left the hospital in ten days.  I’m missing my family today….and Texas!   Thanks again for the continued prayers!

Samuel Update - Day 9

I had really hoped today would be a turning point and Samuel would be improving, but that's not the case. Samuel has gotten much worse. He is now on oxygen, has a high heart rate and still has a high fever.  He is still vomiting every few minutes, even though he's on strong IV meds to try to stop it. They placed an NG tube in his stomach this morning, but it coiled up and went back up his esophagus.  They did several x-rays and attempted to reposition it several times with no success. They pulled the NG tube and attempted it again, but had the same problems. After several more attempts and x-rays, it looks like it is finally in place. He is scheduled to get a central line also, and they are going to start him on TPN's. He needs nutrition. He hasn't had but half of day of of nutrition in over ten days. He is withering away down to nothing again.  The fever could be caused by the pneumonia, but they are running tests to make sure there isn't more going on being that he is on massive antibiotics and still gets a high fever every time the IV Tylenol is out of his system. He has rapid, shallow breathing too. He is not complaining about being in pain at all. He just feels terrible.  Tomorrow evening, a close friend from Texas is coming to visit us. I am looking forward to seeing a familiar face and spending some time with her.  With Samuel so sick, our room is constantly busy with doctors and nurses coming in and out, but it is very quiet too.  Samuel has a rough road to recovery, and at times I get really scared. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.  I will post another update tomorrow. 

Day 8 at 9:00 pm - Long Day!!!

Today has been a very difficult day.   Samuel went down for the CT scan, but blew the last working IV.   The doctors and nurses attempted to start another IV about 20 times, but no one was able to get one started.  They ended up sending him back up to his room to talk about starting a central line.   They decided against it because of the kind of infection he has.  One of the doctors came and tried several more times to get an IV started and finally got one working.  They don’t think it will last, but it was good enough to do the CT scan.  His veins are so scarred up that it is very hard to get an IV started on him. When he returned to the room and they took his vitals, he had a very high temperature, high heart rate, and a low oxygen level.  The results of the CT scan showed that he does not have a blood clot in his lungs, but does have pneumonia.  He continues to have nausea and vomiting, which is horrible when he isn’t supposed to be using his tummy muscles at all.  It is very painful for him.  They put him on IV antibiotics for the pneumonia and we are continuing with the other antibiotics too.  The CT scan also showed a collection of the fluid under the skin that the JP drain is not draining.  The plastic surgery team looked at it and they feel like we need to just leave it alone for now and see what happens.  It is going to be a long night here.  Thanks for praying for Samuel. 

Day 8 - Rough Start to the Day!

For it only being 11:00 AM, we've already had quite a long day. At 6:00 AM, the first team of doctors made their rounds.  They said that if Samuel continued to do well and got clearance from the other teams, that he would just need to stay on IV antibiotics for a few more days and then we could start making plans to travel home. As soon as they walked out the room, Samuel started throwing up. As you can imagine, this is the last thing his abdomen needs right now. They've given him IV meds for it, but he has continued to throw up all morning.   He is complaining that his chest hurts too. They just did an EKG on him. He has a high heart rate and is in a lot of pain.  His oxygen level is low. They just took a blood sample from a main artery.  They are about to do a CT scan of his chest. They suspect that he could have a blood clot in his chest. We are praying they can figure out what is going on soon so we can get him back on the road to recovery.  

Samuel Update - Day 7

Well....Samuel is still making progress on his road to recovery.  It is slow, but at least he's moving forward and not back. Samuel took two short walks today. It is very hard for him to get up without using his tummy muscles at all. He has to depend on a lot of other people to help him. He is able to eat soft foods today, but he is struggling with nausea and pain in his abdomen.  He is still on the PCA pump, but sometimes the IV Tylenol seems to do more to help him. Honestly, right now Samuel's biggest battle is in his mind.  We are looking at this situation and seeing it as a huge step towards a full recovery, but he is seeing this as twice as many tubes and bags as he came in with and more pain.  He seems to tend to focus on the negatives. He sees the cup as half empty while we see the cup as half full.  Please pray for clarity, healing, perseverance and a willingness to continue the fight. 

They Hatched!!!

I love living on a ranch and enjoying all the little critters. Last year we gave the kids five little Mallard ducklings.  They all turned out to be drakes except for one little hen.  This year the hen made a nest by the trunk of a giant Live Oak tree. The mama rarely ever left her nest, so Rachel started feeding her and watering her nearby. Today, was the big day when all the babies hatched.

The kids had quite a day at home.  They started the day off with picking up the little kitten they've been waiting for.  They played with her all day with her.  Then Miriam's favorite cow, Bonita Leigh, had a baby calf.  They ended the day with seven little ducklings hatching!   Beautiful!

I can't wait to get home and back to life in the country!  Sometimes I think we take for granted what blessings we really have.

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.  Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?  In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."  
                          -- Job 12:7-10

Update on Samuel – Day 6

Today was definitely a day of progress here at the hospital.  We started off the day with all the doctors coming by.  Then the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy teams came by.  They worked with Samuel and we were able to get him into a sitting position without using his tummy muscles at all.  Then we got him onto his feet and we went for a short little walk down the hall and back.  Samuel is using a walker, but he did much better than I expected.   I am so proud of him.   His tummy also started to wake up and he got to eat some broth and jello for lunch and dinner.  He says it is difficult to eat because his abdomen feels so tight that there is not room for the food.   The doctors said it will take a lot of time for that to change and it has to heal before he can exercise enough to get things to stretch and expand.  

This afternoon the infectious disease doctors came by and explained what is going on with his bloodwork.  He has a bacteria that is somewhat similar to MRSA, but grows on all of our skin, so it is considered a contaminant.  The problem is that they think it has gotten into Samuel’s bloodstream.  They have him on the right antibiotics to try to take care of this kind of an infection.  He did not have a high fever all day today.  He gets easily exhausted and wants to sleep a lot.  Dr. Wright came by this evening and we talked for a long time.  He is going to help us find the right doctors closer to home to help us with the minor bumps along the road ahead of Samuel.  It makes me feel really good to know that we will have a doctor in Houston or closer that can help Samuel when things don’t really go as planned.  That doctor will also help with removing some of the tubes and drains he will have to go home with.   I feel so blessed to have found such an awesome group of doctors here. 

This evening, we had a little surprise.  Jill Kitzman, Kamala Kitzman’s sister came by to visit and brought her three children.  They brought me homemade chicken, potatoes and carrots for dinner.  I enjoyed the visit and it was nice to get to laugh a little bit.  

Day 5 at John Hopkins Hospital at 7:00 pm

Today was a difficult day due to some other situations in our family, but thankfully it was a good day for Samuel.  His fever has been managed and is not very high.  He still sleeps a lot and his tummy still is not awake so he can’t eat anything yet.  He had a sponge bath today.  We were expecting physical therapy to come by today and help him get into a recliner, but they didn’t come by.  The doctors said they will make sure they come by tomorrow.  All of the doctors here have been wonderful and we could not have asked for any of them to be any better. 

Dr. Wright came by and stayed for a long time talking to Samuel.  I told him that I got worried that after ten hours of working through the scar tissue that they might have given up hope that anything would be useable.  I told him how I also worried that they would just get exhausted and feel like it was a mistake and want to give up.  He said that to be honest there were times when those conversations did take place during Samuel’s surgery and they had to keep reminding themselves and each other that this was not about them and all about giving Samuel a better life.  He said it has been a long time since they had worked that many hours on one patient.  I thanked him for never giving up, even when it looked hopeless.   He agreed that in the end it was all worth it and we got the best results possible.  He said that going into the surgery, he didn’t really think it was possible and he was prepared to go with a different plan. 

I really believe the outcome was what it was because so many people have been praying for Samuel for so many months, and especially during this surgery.   God has a greater plan for this kiddo and he is back on the track to healing.  We still haven’t got the results back from all the tests, but apparently the brigade of antibiotics he is on is making a difference.  They took more blood cultures today too.   They are not going to take him back to ICU.   I think today was definitely a step in the right direction.  We are praying that each day brings baby steps to complete healing.

The highlight of the day was getting the picture of our three youngest children, Gabriella, Caleb and Sophia.  Thank you so much, Rachel, for sending it to us.  It made my day!!!

Prayers Appreciated

Day 4 @ 7:30 pm

Samuel had a rough day. His fever spikes each time the IV Tylenol wears off. He mostly just sleeps. They have him on an array of antibiotics including Vancomycin. They are not fooling around and went straight to the strongest antibiotics in hope of stopping the infection before the cultures even tell us what kind of infection he has. His heart beat is elevated still, but not as high as it was earlier today. His eyes hurt and they had an ophthalmologist come by and look at his eyes. They think they may just be dry from the fever etc.  Today they took the wound vac off because they want to see the wound and watch it closely for infection. He has staples down his entire midline. There must be close to 100 of them. I guess I should have been expecting that, but I wasn't. One of his IV's stopped working today too. They are going to use the other two until they have to put this one back in again. His tummy still hasn't woken up yet, so he has not been able to have any food or water by mouth yet. He's very swollen, but because he was so thin he actually looks kind of like he did before his accident. It makes him look healthy again, but it is just fluids from the surgery.  The doctors come in our room every few minutes. If he doesn't take a turn for the better, we will be returning to ICU.  Your prayers are greatly appreciated. Obviously the battle is not over, but Samuel is continuing to fight with everything in him.  We appreciate all the prayers. 

Prayers Needed!

Monday @ 4:15 am (Day 4)

Samuel was taken from ICU and moved to the surgical floor last night.  It is much quieter and we are thankful for that. He has now developed a high fever and a high heart rate though. They just did an EKG and they're about to do blood cultures.  They are very concerned. Please keep Samuel in your prayers. 

Day 3 at JHH

Samuel is doing well. He is still in ICU, but making a lot of progress.  They took him off the ventilator and he breathing on his own. He had a hard time at first and every time he would fall asleep, the alarms would go off. They put him on oxygen for a few hours and that really helped.  This morning they removed his NG tube.  He is on Fentanyl and Dilaudid for the pain. He sleeps most of the time, but wakes for short periods of time.  For what he's been through, he's doing really good.  Thanks for the continued prayers. 

Samuel is out of surgery!

Samuel was in surgery for over 18 hours.  I was not able to see him until this morning.  He remains in ICU and is still on the ventilator.  They are keeping him heavily sedated so that he doesn't try to move at all.  His arms are tied and he has many tubes again.  His heart rate has been high through the night are they are watching it closely.  His magnesium level is low so they are giving him some through his IV's.  He is not as swollen as they expected him to be after 18 hours of surgery.  All the surgeons have been by to check on his this morning.  They are all super tired and joking about how hard it is to stand on their feet today.  Their eyes show how pleased they are with the results.  I think they were surprised it went as well as it did in the end considering they had such sketchy first ten hours.  He's doing well for going through so much.  Now we wait, rest and let God do His part in healing Samuel's body.  Being at Hopkins is so different that it was at Memorial Hermann Hospital.  We are at the smaller, never Johns Hopkins than we were at when Samuel was little.  It isn't the big trauma hospital so everything is far more relaxed and peaceful.  His ICU nurse is every sweet.  She only watches him and one other patient.  The next few days for Samuel will be very critical.  Please continue to lift him up in prayer.