Christmas week 2009

Hey guys, it has been a very snowy week in Virginia, hasn't it?
As you all know we got about 24 inches of snow last Saturday and it was very trying for us. My therapists were unable to come see me because of the condition of my driveway. There were, however, some things that happened that I will share with you.

Friday/Saturday

The snow storm of the year came through and we lost our power for about four hours. Our water froze and my father, Big T, came over and was able to get it unfrozen. Thanks Dad for coming out in that mess and fixing our water. You are the best!!!

Monday

No therapy due to the snowy condition of my driveway. Nothing else going on this day.

Tuesday
Lisa had a job interview and it went well. Hopefully things will work out for her. She is going to start working more now that I am able to move around a lot better. This will give her a break from the endless task of caring for me. She has done a great job! Without her, I would not be here right now! My good buddy, Bob, came to see me and when he was leaving he got stuck in my driveway. My son helped him dig out and he was able to return to work unharmed. Although his feet were wet and he was cold for the remainder of the work day. Sorry man!

Wednesday
My therapist was able to come over and we walked a lot. I was able to walk 46 feet five times with short rest periods in between. This is the most that I have walked to this date.

Hey Shannon, Melissa is up on you now! PT usually prevails in the end. HEHE!!!! Just kidding!

Lisa, Dani, and I did a lot baking to prepare for Christmas Eve dinner with Lisa's family. We did receive some gifts from some friends of ours. The Motleys and their church brought us everything to prepare a dinner. Thank you!!!

Thursday (Christmas Eve)

Our family came over and we had some good food and spent some good time together.

Friday (Christmas Day)
We lost our power again. I was also able to get into our SUV today, something that I have been unable to do since all of this stuff has happened. It might not seem like a big deal, but it is another stepping stone for me.

We were able to go to my parents’ house and visit with family. My best friend, Bobby, was able to come down and it made Christmas that much more special. Can’t wait to use my new fishing pole and lures!!

I hope to have more progress in the upcoming week. We are scheduled to visit the doctor on Thursday and I hope to have some good news to pass on. I hope all of you had a great Christmas!

Thanks for all of your support and God Bless you all!!!

Big John

Continuing to get strong

Hello everyone, it has been another week and things continue to get better and progress. I want to take this time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I hope all of you get to spend good quality time with the people you love. And if you are able, please help someone in need this Holiday season. Sometimes just a phone call will lift the spirits of someone in need. Well, let me tell you about this week:

Sunday
I was up sitting in my wheelchair, and started feeling “froggy”. I attempted to stand from my wheelchair (something that I have not been able to do before). I was able to stand, without assistance from anyone, not once but five times. It was very exciting to see that my hard work was paying off.

Monday
My nurse came out Monday and took blood from me and also did other routine procedures. Thanks Sara, you’re the best!!! I also had PT on this day, and the competition between PT and OT continued. My physical torturer, I mean terrorist, oh, therapist had me walk again and I had to show off for her and stand from the wheelchair. She was surprised and happy! We walked about 36 feet and I needed two rest breaks before walking this distance. Of course this distance was further than the last treatment session with the OT.

I was also able to go to my son’s basketball game. He played well, but unfortunately his team lost. He only has two more games and he will move up to the junior varsity team for the rest of the season.

Tuesday
Nothing exciting happened today. I did walk with my wife to make sure that I continue to progress. We also got our blood test results back and my C-ANCA is negative, which mean the Wegener’s is still in remission. That is exciting!!

Wednesday
My PT came and we once again went through all the routine stretching and we walked. My dad was visiting, so I had to show off! I was able to walk 36 feet before needing a rest break. I was able to do this three times and it felt great. My OT came in the afternoon and she did not have me walk again. Instead we walked to the bathroom and got into the shower. It was the first time I have been in the shower for months. Don’t get me wrong I have been taking baths, but now I can get in the shower. This is also my night to cook dinner for my family and my best friend, Bob. I fixed chili with bread bowls, which did not turn out well. The chili was great! I baked corn bread and I made potatoe skins for appetizers. Oh, I also made a chocolate pie for desert. Everyone seemed to enjoy dinner and of course Bob and I had a great time, as always.

Thursday
My OT came and recalled the distance that I walked the day before with the PT and of course she wasn’t going to be out done. So, I walked 46 feet four times, taking a break in between. It felt great!

So, as you can tell I am progressing well and things are definitely looking up. I still don’t know when my surgery will be to fix my belly, but I am sure that God has a plan for that as well. I know I poke fun of my therapists, but please know that they are the best and I truly believe that they want the best for me. That also goes for my nurse, Sara. Stay tuned for more updates. God bless you all!

Big John

Some thoughts on physical progress and support

Hello everyone, I just wanted to give you an update from this past week. I have been working hard with my therapists, both OT and PT.

Monday
On Monday I was able to stand for a longer period of time. I got a little brave and tried to stand without using my hands and I lost my balance and fell back onto the bed. My therapist got a little peeved at me, but I had to try!!!

Tuesday
On Tuesday, I was able to stand and take three steps forward and three steps backwards using a walker. This time I was working with my OT. She had me do this three times before I was too exhausted to do anymore.

Wednesday
Then came Wednesday, my PT was not going to be out done. She started with the basic stretching and bed exercises then she wanted me to walk. I was able to walk 13 steps before needing a rest break. We did get this on video, and I plan on posting it on facebook for all to see. I was really tired after this but I did try to stand again but it was not happening.

Thursday
Thursday came and my OT was not going to be out done. She stretched my arms and had me do a few exercises to get loosened up. So we were going to walk again. As soon as I got ready to walk my best friend, Bob, showed up. Well needless to say I had to show off for him, too. So I walked 20 steps and needed a rest. After resting in my wheelchair, I backed up and took 12 more steps, something I haven’t been able to do - as getting myself out of the chair is more difficult than the bed. It was exciting!!!!!!

Friday
Friday I had to go have an upper GI, but upon arriving to have this test, the people there informed me that they could not accommodate me with my condition. I needed to be able to stand for a long period of time, which I am not able to do at this time. So right now, we are unsure of how we are going to have these tests done. But I’m sure we will figure out something.

I just want to take this time to thank a few people for their continued support.

• My wife, Lisa, for not giving up on me and for all that you have and are doing to keep me alive. I love you!!
• Bob Hopkins, for all you done to help Lisa during this terrible ordeal and all you are doing now. You are the best friend everyone should have!!
• Randall Shaver, for helping with all the things around the house and for being there for Lisa. I can’t say thank you enough!!
• My parents for helping us through all this, I can’t list everything you have done!! I love you guys!!
• To my in-laws for coming to sit with me and the numerous other things you all have done.
• To Melissa Stump and Shannon Honaker for the great therapy you ladies give me and for pushing me when I wanted to stop! You girls are great and I will never be able to tell you how much I appreciate you all.
• And to everyone else who has sent donations, helped with my care, and for your thoughts and prayers, or anything else you may have done (I am unable to remember everything, Sorry!!!!). THANK YOU!!!!!!!! And may God bless you all.
  

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Holiday season,

- Big John

Update from John

Hello everyone,
I am sorry it has been a while since the last update. I will try to be better in the future.

Since getting out of the hospital in October, I have made some progress. First of all, I have been getting great care from my wife and the great people at Carilion Home Care. I still have the open wounds on my stomach and I can’t eat food like you all do (I get my nutrition through IV’s). I did however, cook the Thanksgiving turkey this year and have been cooking for my family for the past couple of weeks. Even though I cannot eat, it is therapeutic for me.

I have been attending my son’s basketball games and hanging out with my daughter in the evening times. I am staying up in my wheelchair for hours at a time, playing cards with my parents and hanging out with my best friend Bob. I do communicate with a lot of you through facebook and that is great for me.

Life is getting some kind or normalcy back into it. Please feel free to contact me on the phone, email, or look me up on facebook. I will try to give you guys a update every week or sooner if something happens out of the ordinary.

God Bless!

Big John

John is back in his room from surgery this afternoon - rm613. They removed the catheter in his groin and put a new line into his chest, replacing the previously infected line. He's doing well and is hopeful to return home soon. However, his return home may be hampered slightly with his daughter's (Danielle) flu, as she was diagnosed yesterday. But the family are all being treated, and hopefully this too will pass without much more issue.

I'll remind everyone again - John is starting to get back up to speed with phone, text and Internet - trying to "log on" a little each day. Feel free to drop him a line. He'll be delightfully surprised and you just might make his day!

John's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1562221245

More later. Thanks everyone.

John is back in Roanoke Memorial Hospital this week. He began to have some complications this past Saturday, had several tests completed and after a chest x-ray last week revealed his chest was clear, other tests showed he had an infection. Earlier this week the test results concluded John had an infection caused by a chest catheter. His blood pressure dropped severely while in the hospital and was feeling quite poorly so RMH sent him to ICU and ultimately had the catheter removed. Yesterday he was feeling much better and the family hopes he will be moved out of ICU today and hopefully return home in the next couple days.

I am sure John is looking forward to getting back home and getting his therapy back on track. Although lately he has been feeling as though he is not making the progress he'd like to see, we all see how he has progressed since being home. Everyone's kind and encouraging words have been very motivational to John during his recovery. Keep up the good work! John needs all the encouragement he can get to keep him headed towards recovery.

Thanks everyone.

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Quick post this morning. I wanted to thank all that supported John and his family last Sunday for the benefit event. We had a great turnout, generated some funds to help the family, had a great time and we all had a chance to see people we haven't seen in a long time. I'll be posting a more formal Thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors of the event soon.

John did indeed come home on 9/23. He is doing well. His wife, Lisa is home caring for his medical needs. He's training each day and making progress to get his body more physically able to do the things he'd like to do. Although progress is a little slower than he'd like, he is at least making strides in his physical recovery. John does try to keep up with phone and email. I'm sure he'd love to catch up with friends electronically if you have the time.

Thanks again everyone. More later.

John coming home today

Its a great day today.

• We've got an excellent event coming up in 4 days!
• We hope EVERYONE is going to show up!
• We have activities and have for the entire family!
• AND, John is coming home today!!

We did learn yesterday that John seems to have (hospital staff hoping is a mild case of) Pneumonia. John is due to be discharged sometime this morning around 10-11AM. The family is waiting for the final word on the severity of the Pneumonia and whether he still has the green light to return home.

I am sure you all are as excited as I am to see him returning home. We all know - as well as John - how far he has come and how much further he needs to go in his recovery. But we're all very excited at the same time. Hopefully, during his rehabilitation at home, his friends and all those who love John, will be able to visit him at home and make his recovery that much more enjoyable, and successful - you know how he likes to show off!

Not to jump too far ahead, but we've got a couple of big goals coming up soon, that John is focused on. Those are, first, John wants to be at his son's football game this Thursday night (Shane - who is playing offensive line and inside linebacker on defense). Second, John will be at the Benefit Event this Sunday at the Shawsville Middle School football field. We'll set up a tent for him inside the grounds where he can meet and greet friends and family. There will a $5 charge to see him - Just kidding!! ;-)

And another of John's goals will be to get him on the pontoon on the lake before fishing season is totally finished this year - but is "fishing season" ever really over? I guess we'll do this before it gets too cold.

Anyway, please keep Sunday afternoon in mind. Remember, you can get more information about the event in my last post, or on Facebook, here. We'd love to see everyone there. Don't worry about the kids! - We have free activities to keep them busy during the day!

Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks everyone. More later...

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September 27, 2009 Benefit concert and festival

John DeWeese Benefit concert and festival
SAVE THE DATE! - SEPTEMBER 27, 2009
Where: Shawsville Middle School Football Field (old Shawsville High School)

For everyone that has offered to help in any way - The time has arrived! September 27 (last Sunday in September) we'll be sponsoring a benefit concert/festival for John and his family. Our greatest need? PEOPLE.

We're still working on details and plans, but we know we need two things, volunteers and supplies for the following activities and getting as much people to show up as possible.

Here's a growing list of things we have planned:

• Motorcycle Poker Run - to begin and end at the event
• Antique car show
• FOOD - Now accepting commitments for donated food (hot dogs, hamburgers, barbeque, baked beans, etc.) - We'll need lots of bread and ice.
• Kids activities - Currently looking for inflatable moon bounces, rides, clowns, balloons, art, puppets, and other activities to keep the kids busy.
• Live Music All Day - Already have four bands and more coming up. Live music all day in 45-minute sets.
• Have something you or your business is willing to donate for:
• Door Prizes! - Everything works! such as gift cards, rentals, electronics, etc,
• Auction items - Taking all ideas and donations - Great timing for Hokie merchandise auction items, memorabilia, gift certificates, TVs, furniture, etc.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

• HELP get the word out! We'll be providing fliers for the benefit event very soon.
  
• The more people, the more successful this event will be.
• PEOPLE to come out and spend some money on food, activities and lots of entertainment.
• VOLUNTEERS - People to help take and sell tickets, manage events, help cook and prepare food, Funny characters to attract people to dunking booth, and more.
• Remember - ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT JOHN DEWEESE AND FAMILY.
• Businesses and individuals donating larger items for auction, door prizes or cash can be included in our "Sponsors" list for advertising (ie. anywhere we advertise we mention our sponsors)
• Please contact me with any questions, suggestions or support (bobhopkins@mac.com)
  

Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks everyone.

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Well-deserved move

Quick note - John has officially MOVED out of Roanoke Memorial Hospital. He is now in room 724 at the Carilion rehab center - "Formerly Roanoke Community Hospital" - Just off the Elm Avenue exit on "I581."

John will be undergoing more rigorous physical therapy during his time in his new location - If you know John, you know he has been waiting for this and is eager to get it on. Please continue to keep John and the family in your thoughts and prayers. This is a great milestone, but everyone understands there's a long way to go.

Benefit - We are planning a (large as possible) event for late-September. This will most likely be held on the sports fields at the EastMont Middle School (formerly Shawsville High School football field). Lots of planning left to do, but we'll be looking for help to pull this off - ie. volunteers, vendors, cooks, bands, door prize items, auction items, etc. - Please let us know if you would like to participate as a volunteer, organizer or vendor for this event. *ALL proceeds generated will go to a super cause! More details as we move closer.

Thanks everyone.

Finally, real progress

Good news! John got news this week that he is (after meeting every milestone given to him) headed to a rehab facility on Monday, August 10!!

John will be moved to the old Roanoke Community Hospital - which is a Carilion rehab center.

Everyone is extremely proud of John's work ethic to get to this point. Doctors and insurance have been inserting new milestones for John to meet each time he had gotten close to a review for approval to rehab. he has successfully proven them all wrong each time.

Way to go John! We all knew you were always one step ahead of them all!

More info when we know exactly where he'll be at Community.

Thanks everyone.

John is hang'in in there!

Update on John.....We are still in Roannoke Memorial Hospital room 884, waiting for acceptance into rehab. There are many criteria to get into rehab and it seems as soon as he meets one another comes up. We are doing anything and everything they ask of us, so as you can imagine it is very disappointing for John from week to week being told there is one more thing he has to overcome before he can leave the hospital. John is medically stable according to the doctors, however he is still very ill and the potential for life threatening situations is always present. The Wegener's Granulomatosis is in remission. He has several holes(fistulas) in his stomach and bowel so he is not able to get any nutrition by mouth. He continues to receive nutrition through an IV. He has an open abdominal wound which the surgeons say will be 6 months to a year before they could even think about repairing the belly, so it will be at least that long before he can eat. He battles with pain everyday, but they seem to have it under better control. He is able to move his hands and his arms at the elbow. He can now wiggle his legs and raise his head a little. As Bob mentioned before he is using his TV remote and is able to call for the nurse during the night when we are not there. He is receiving physical and occupational therapy everyday and is making progress. They are kicking his butt!!!!!

We are so thankful to have John stable. We are very blessed to have family and friends support us through this catastrophic event. We have a long road ahead of us and I am asking if anyone is able to spare a few minutes sometime, please come and see John. Everyone is welcome as often as you can come. Visits from family and friends make the days and months seem a little shorter and John would be so happy! We are trying to keep him positive and he needs as much encouragement as he can get.

If you have any questions or comments for John please post them here and I will make sure he gets them. He is starting to ask for his blackberry so hopefully it won't be too long before he can get back to checking the ESPN page for the latest scores and sporting news!

Please continue to keep John in your prayers.

We have so many wonderful people in our lives and just know we appreciate you and your thoughts and prayers. May God bless you.


Lisa

Another milestone achieved

Great news today - John had his trache tube removed early this morning. He is doing well, aside from a little anxiety :-) Seriously, he'll be tested and monitored pretty closely to make sure he's taking the transition well. Otherwise he's progressing pretty well.

Everyday PT is really working him hard and wearing him out as well. If you have not seen him lately, John has much improved movement of his hands and arms - he actually has a speaker phone in the bed so he can receive phone calls. He's able to use the TV remote again, which he is very proud of.

Small steps... and great improvements.

Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks everyone.

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John made his OUTSIDE the building

Quick note today. More later when I return from the hospital...

John actually made his way outside the hospital for a bit yesterday! He was extremely impressed and happy about being outside in the awesome weather. The staff also capped John's trache tube as a test to see how well he does without using it. If all goes well, they are considering removing the trache.

Please continue to think of John and the family - and everyone is encouraged to visit!

More later.

Continuing to improve

John has shown several physical improvements this week and is eager to see his friends. Physical therapy is steadily improving with an aggressive goal of getting John ready and acceptable to a rehabilitation center. He actually has physical control over the remote control now which he is extremely proud of! He is able to sit up each day for quite some time and slowly gaining strength in extremities.

Many people have been offering whatever help they could - if you have some time, the family is encouraging visitors to spend time with John. Popping in to say hello and let him know you're thinking and still pulling for his recovery would be great. I've tried to help the family cover schedule conflicts so that someone is always there to sit with John, and work schedules make this difficult. So if you've got some time, it would be wonderful if you could volunteer. Just let us know.

More later...

Thanks everyone.

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Happy Father's Day

I'm headed to see John this morning - Roanoke Mem Hospital, rm 884. I spent some time with John Friday night. His spirits are pretty good considering where he's at in his quest for recovery. He was pretty worn out though from the PT he endured during the day. He was able to sit up on the side of the bed for quite some time and both with help and without any assistance. He continues to amaze everyone with his physical strength and endurance - but that's the John we all know.

Rehab
As we've talked about before, everyone is very interested in getting John to a rehab facility that will enable him to get stronger and healthier faster, but also give him the medical attention he needs going forward. Although there seems to have been some difficulty finding a center, there is still hope amongst his caregivers that a Roanoke facility is still an option. The most difficult part: john must be able to endure at least 3 hours of intense physical training per 8 hour shift. So, John is working very hard right now to get ready and looks forward to the progress. So if you do drop in to see John, please encourage his progress. The movement he has now in his arms, hands and legs is a great achievement and anyone in the physical therapy or medical world should be impressed with the progress he's made.

We did have one scare Friday night. Before I left for the night, John's nurse came in to check vitals, etc. and noticed his blood sugar maxed out the device at over 500. Concerned, she discussed with John's doctor and John was given a couple doses of insulin over an hour and a half. Not sure what spiked the blood sugar count, but catching it and the insulin brought it back down to a normal level in no time. Obviously, John's nurse kept a close eye on it all night and John did not endure anymore problems.

Again, Happy Father's day everyone. I'll update later after seeing John this morning.

Thanks everyone.

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John is looking good, still searching for rehab

I finally got to see John last night after work - haven't seen him since before the Florida trip (for work)... It was great to see him and watch him show off his new tricks - He's got a lot more ability to move his arms and legs than the week before last. He's been receiving physical therapy as usual and everyone remains impressed with his continual improvement.

John is still being considered for a move to a rehab facility. There just hasn't been any luck so far. The family is hopeful to hear better news this week or at least by early next week. There is a possibility that he can receive the needed rehab and medical attention at home, although that may be as a last resort - John seems too sick for some rehab centers, but not sick enough for hospitalization. We'll simply have to wait and see how the search progresses.

John is in room 884 Mountain at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

Lastly, we're always looking for ways to help John, Lisa and the family. So to all you community organizers out there, please be thinking of ways to help the family through this. As you can imagine, tough times still lie ahead so we must keep in mind that our good friends and family are in need. Please keep the ideas and generosity flowing.

Please continue to keep John, Lisa and family in your thoughts and prayers.

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John back in Roanoke

Greetings from Florida (again)...
John was transferred back to Roanoke Memorial Hospital on Friday last week. He remains in stable condition and is awaiting acceptance to a rehabilitation facility. Doctors believe if he can get the needed strength and conditioning that he can later go back for the needed surgery to repair his internal abdominal injuries that have thus far been unable to heal and his body has not been healthy enough for surgery.

We hope to hear very soon if John is accepted to the Carilion Rehab Center in Roanoke. Until then, John can be seen at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. He is no longer in ICU and can see friends and family. I'll update everyone as soon as I know he has been accepted or if there is going to be a move.

Thanks everyone - please let me know if you have any questions.

Please continue to support John, Lisa and family as they go through this very difficult time.

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Seeing imrpovement

What a week... I've been stuck in a sales meeting and working into the night every day this week. I apologize for no entries thus far this week.

John's status
John has had a really good few days, dating back to last week. This past weekend I could not believe how good he looked. He was able to sit in a chair in his room again while we were there and his speech continues to improve. The medical staff that is overseeing him has been steadily reducing the amount of medications and treatments he's been receiving.

Wednesday, June 3 early AM, John actually moved OUT of ICU again. So he is now in a new room off of the ICU floor. I will post his new room info soon.

Also, two days in a row now, John has sat up on the side of his bed, feet dangling toward the floor - this is a great sign and use of the mobility that he does have. Yes he required some help, but getting him to do those things is great for his body and his mind, and he is still getting PT each day.

Today's new news comes two-fold - Believe it or not, but the medical staff in charge of John's treatment are currently also taking care of two other people with Wegner's disease. One is a mild case, the other has a more severe condition. I thought that was very interesting as well as it's a good feeling to know that John seems to have been sent to the right place and is in the best of hands.

The other news for today is the medical staff is considering moving John to a rehab facility. Although he is still very sick, John has not had an infection in quite some time, is breathing extremely well and seems to respond to all the tests they put him through. The fact remains that he requires a major surgery which the staff believes is months away - they want him as strong as possible. Now, obviously he'll continue to need medical attention and if the Wegener's remains under control, the medical staff believe it would be best for John to begin a true rehabilitation program and get strong enough for surgery in a couple months. That's the thought for today, so we'll hang tight and see what happens.

All for now. Again, I apologize for the late posting. Please continue to support John, Lisa and family as they go through this very difficult time.

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John remaining stable, some improvements

Happy Memorial Day.

John had a decent weekend after last week's surgery. He's started up his PT again which is really great. I'm sure you know how hard John works, and this is no different. He knows his timeline for getting better has a lot to do with his physical condition, and knows how hard he needs to work.

The biggest update for today... is John had his feeding tube removed and the staff is allowing him to have real drinks of water throughout the day, on each shift. He is just thrilled!

The docs still say a lot is up to how John responds to treatment and how well his body can heal itself. Their main goals right now are to help him get rid of some fluid buildup he's had since surgery (which is as of today already a noticeable difference), getting him more physical therapy and nutrition. If he can remain stable and get stronger, the easier this entire process will get.

I know this sounds like a broken record... but we'll take each and every baby-step until John gets the you-know-what out of the hospital.

Thanks everyone, Bob

Please continue to support John, Lisa and the family in your thoughts and prayers.

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John is stable after surgery

Finally back from very rainy Florida. There's lots of flooding and water damage across the state. Just too much rain at once. My mom's roof is leaking, hopefully getting repaired today.

John has not had a good couple of days. Earlier int he week, as mentioned earlier, John was moved to a new room - off the ICU floor. Wednesday, he began to bleed internally. This continued again on Thursday and last night he was sent to surgery after another bleed that the staff could not control. Unfortunately, the surgery wasn't successful in locating the bleed and John is now in a surgical ICU unit. But Lisa says the doctors area saying he is stable today, and believe the bleeds may have been due to the amount of blood thinner John was receiving. Lisa says John looks good, is coherent and responsive and looking forward to us driving up to Charlottesville this weekend.

So we're back, once again, in the holding pattern of wait-and-see. Hopefully John can gain some more strength and keep up with the physical therapy - I don't have an update on that so that may be wishful thinking. But we'll get more info this weekend.

Take care everyone - Be careful this Holiday weekend. Lots of nuts on the road...
Please continue to support John, Lisa and the family in your thoughts and prayers.

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Hello from Florida! Florida has been in drought conditions for some time. We apparently brought the rain from Virginia with us. It rained the entire drive down and has rained each day while we've been here... I'm thankful we can help out other communities!

About John
John seems to be doing fairly well this past weekend. He was moved yesterday, OUT of ICU into a normal hospital room. Doctors say all vitals are normal and he is using only a small amount of oxygen and his mental awareness is much improved. This is not to say he will not visit ICU again, but for the time being, it may be best for him to leave ICU and see how he responds. It could do a world of difference for John. We'll soon find out.

There's no surgery planned for quite some time. Doctors want John to get much more nutrition and strength before attempting any more surgery. He'll hopefully be getting more physical therapy visits soon, but we're not sure of the schedule yet.

When I hear John's new Room #, I'll let everyone know.

Please continue to support John, Lisa and the family in your thoughts and prayers.

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Just wanted to add a quick update as I am heading out of town tonight.

John has had a rather rough week. The feeding tube the hospital was using had apparently separated form John's stomach and has caused soreness and obviously left a void. They have since found other ways to give John the needed nutrients, but right now this is most important. He needs to get as healthy as possible so they can perform surgery to repair several problem areas in his abdomen. John has increasingly grown anxious each and everyday this week about all the things going on and is quite worried about the future. But Lisa and mom have been comforting all week and we'll just have to wait and see how he progresses. The good news is the staff had stopped John's medicine for low blood pressure earlier this week.

Please continue to keep John and the family in your thoughts and prayers. They need it more than ever and are extremely thankful for everyone thus far.

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CONGRATULATIONS LISA!!

Just wanted everyone to know that Lisa successfully passed all classes and exams towards earning her nursing degree! Congratulations Lisa!!

I am sure we ALL know that earning a college degree is not an easy task. That journey is also not completed by many people who are wives, mothers (of very busy teenagers) and responsible home owners. When you add to all that, the stress, confusion and frustration of a loved one hospitalized, you must truly understand that you've accomplished something very special.

So, congratulations Lisa - You deserve it. Best of luck.

Thanks everyone! Please continue to support John, Lisa and the family.

Online Donation Account:

Good Friday Morning!
John did pretty well yesterday. He should be getting a swallowing test soon to determine if he can begin taking in food on his own - obviously this won't be pizza and subs, but it's a progressive step in the right direction. John's doctors have said surgery is not an option for some time, as John has a lot of healing to do and progress to make before they will perform another surgery - for irregularities in his colon and bowels. So that part is another wait-and-see. Otherwise, John is probably the most coherent and alert that he's been since being hospitalized.

Visitation help
As you've been reading, you know that we have been visiting John as much as we can. With work, kids, sports and school schedules, it's becoming more difficult to have someone physically with him all the time. Since John is in much better condition than when he was in Roanoke, we'd like to ask that if you desire to see John and have the time to do so, he would thoroughly enjoy visitors at this point. A couple things to remember if you want to visit:

• UVA Medical Center, Charlottesville, room 3182
• Visiting hours are 9am-9pm
  
• roughly 2 hours from Roanoke area
• Always call the nurses station from waiting area or hallway outside ICU - There's always a chance they are busy with John and may need a few minutes.
• Please abide by any/all ICU rules! We love the nursing staff there and ticking them off is not a good thing. Problems with nursing staff can turn into regulating visitation.
• Finally, most nurses during the day strictly adhere to the 2-people at a time rule. This ensures they have easy access to the room and to John as they will be in and out of the room on a regular basis. Tell the nurse how many are in your party when you arrive, they will tell you if they'll make any exceptions.

Enough rules? ;-) Anyway, there are a few people that might like to drop in and see him. So please comment here if you have any questions.

Thanks everyone! Please continue to support John, Lisa and the family.

Online Donation Account:

Progress and Setbacks

Seems like this week is moving so quickly.
We stayed with John over last weekend in Charlottesville. It was a really good weekend. John seemed to have improved so much in the four days prior to that. He is speaking better, with a new trache valve, and much, much more coherent and alert. He's beginning to have movement in his hands and feet again. John has aggressively exercised with stress balls and moves into a chair each day.

Several doctors and staff have applauded John's progress and latest status. His surgical wound seems to be healing on its own - or at least making progress on his own. He was upgraded to a feeding tube through his nose, which gave him much more nutrients than he was getting only through IV. Earlier this week, the staff decided they'd remove the NG tube and feed John directly through a tube already inserted into his abdomen (this was considered an upgrade since his stomach had no problems with the increased feeding). Things certainly looked as though John was progressing quite well.

Tuesday we learned that John was to receive a series of tests on Wednesday where doctors would prick John's muscles and nervous system to evaluate where he stands physically. This would help determine his condition as well as give them an idea of how to progress with physical therapy.

Unfortunately, John did not receive the test yesterday. The staff realized John was not getting the nutrients he needed thus far. After CT scans of John's abdomen, they determined he's not receiving the nutrients into his small intestines as he should. They're currently looking at new ways to properly get the food into his system. This looks like more surgery is needed fairly soon. We're hopeful Lisa will find out today what their plan is going forward and get John back on track again. (Lisa in school today, Good Luck on those tests Lisa!!)

Hopefully this is a minor setback. I know its difficult to call any setback at this point minor, but the staff at UVA have been phenomenal so far. I hope to hear today what the outlook is for surgery. I'll update this blog as soon as I hear something.

Thanks everyone! Please continue to support John, Lisa and the family.

Online Donation Account:

Donations now accepted Online

We've established a bank account for John and Lisa. We've also created a Donation PayPal account where anyone can now make donations of ANY kind using their credit card or PayPal account.

Also, I know many of you are quite good organizers. Please continue to think of ways we can all help to raise donations. Any and all donations are extremely appreciated and will help pay bills and expenses as John fights through this illness. For now, here's the Online Donation Account:

Good news today

John has had a really good day today. All the doctors making rounds today were all impressed with John's progress in different areas. His vitals look great. His lungs are very impressive and kidneys seem to be suddenly working a little better. The surgeons believe John's surgical wound is looking better and his bleeding has stopped. They also believe the Wegener's is "under control." John will only be getting the Prednisone; and will hopefully be reducing the amount he's receiving next week. This reduction should help the surgical and abdominal wounds heal that John has been battling.

This morning John had demanded to get out of bed to see out the window. So, the staff actually got him out of bed, set him in some type of supportive chair device and moved John to the window. Apparently, this effort has paid off in a major way for John's psyche. Since then, he's been amazingly coherent, and also seemed to have regained his sense of humor. John's positive attitude will help him fight and regain the strength he needs. This is a refreshing break.

Lastly, John will have surgery tomorrow. He'll be getting a new A-line in his neck and a new catheter at the same time. During these procedures, John will also be getting a filter inserted to help prevent the clots earlier discussed from reaching his lungs and heart.

So overall, a good report today - a high on the roller coaster ride of John's fight with Wegener's. I'm excited to see John tomorrow and this weekend. We'll bring some more familiar items from home to hang around him and his room.

More later from Charlottesville - Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Unfortunately John's condition is not improving. We found out yesterday John has many blood clots throughout his body. When the doctors tried a blood thinner to help break the clots, John had heavy bleeding from his abdomen and they had to discontinue to treatment. They are fairly certain they know where the bleed is, however his current condition will not allow them to perform surgery to try to repair the bleed. John received a lot of platelets yesterday to counter the blood loss. They also feel that if John's health declines any further, they may not have any medical treatment to provide him at this time.

Everyone is hopeful he can find a way to climb out of this latest setback. Most of John's treatments are now on hold until his health can improve further. Please continue to hope for the best.

Thanks everyone.

Successful move to Charlottesville

Just got home from Charlottesville to see John. He was awake and alert today, still a little sleepy from the pain meds - But we were able to get him caught up on the NFL draft, fishing and the nurses that either passed by or visited his room. The staff at UVA are temporarily holding off on the Wegener's treatments in favor of doing everything possible to achieve as much progress and healing as possible in John's abdomen. He unfortunately has a lot of surgical trauma left from a couple weeks ago that Roanoke could not get under control.

Lisa is hopeful to talk to John's doctors tomorrow to better understand their plan of action and the timing of John's treatments. We're trying to pull a calendar together for making sure someone is with John each day. Lisa has two weeks of school left and then boards. So we'll need to be as flexible as possible for visiting John.

Lastly, I'll be adding information about a fund drive we've established in John's name. Donations can be made via credit card and/or PayPal, all done Online. As everyone can well imagine, John's condition and loss of his income is very difficult on the family. There are many ways to help, and obviously any donation would be very appreciated and helpful towards the family's recovery. As you also know, the weather is turning and yard & bake sale times are arriving - Believe it or not, these are Great opportunities for fund raisers. I encourage everyone to think about these opportunities - We all know people who are willing to help. Let's organize our communities and see what we can do.

THANKS EVERYONE! Plese keep the faith.

More later.

Insurance

Obviously John has not been moved yet. The insurance company has caused a questions, but had finally authorized the transfer to Johns-Hopkins. However, there still seems to be some confusion between J-H and the insurance company - hopefully this is just confusion and can be cleared up very soon.

More later.

John moving to Johns-Hopkins, Baltimore

Due to John's condition, treatment status and hospital resources, we've realized we need to move John to better facility. One with extensive resources and specialists who can better understand John's condition and treatment. Lisa worked extensively yesterday for a hospital or clinic that can better support John's needs and although there are only a handful of these places, we were able to get John into Johns-Hopkins in Baltimore. We realize this is quite a distance, but John should receive top-notch care and hopefully can receive the treatment he needs to get better.

We spent time with John last night. He was aware and alert that we were there but is not sure of the travel he is making. They were unable to transport him last night due to weather, but the transfer should be today or very soon. They understand his condition and are anxious to get him into their facility.

We should be traveling to Baltimore this weekend to see him and will work out a schedule to make sure someone is there with him as much as possible.

We'd like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers and to all those who have volunteered their time and kindness towards helping with the kids. The family will definitely need this continued support moving forward. Also, so you know, Lisa is two weeks away from graduating nursing school! We'll continue to support her so that she can finish up this great and much needed venture - I know this is a very difficult time to try to stay focused with school, but so close to completion of a life-changing venture is very important for the lives of the entire family.

Please continue to keep John and Lisa in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks everyone. More later.

John is unfortunately not progressing as well as we had hoped. We had a setback late last week with some post-surgery bleeding. At this point, the doctors and staff do not believe John is healthy enough to withstand another surgery right now. So, he is fairly sedated due to a large amount of pain and discomfort. As noted yesterday, we're still in a wait-and-see cycle for now. John is however, being monitored very closely to ensure his blood count does not drop too low. His nurses are certain they are "on top of it" and will catch any change. We can only hope that he regains some strength so they can repair the internal bleed, bowel tissue fusion as well as the surgical wound itself which had opened late yesterday.

More later. Thanks everyone.

John has been somewhat stable lately. Last week went very well as John was awake and alert most of the time. He has been getting a lot better communicating and using his trache to his advantage. And we're all probably getting better at understanding him too.

Unfortunately, John's doctors are not 100% convinced he's on the right track towards recovery. Friday, he had another kidney biopsy which did confirm the Wegener's disease - which some had questioned.

The doctors are supposed to be meeting early this week to discuss next steps and plans in John's treatments. Lisa is hopeful to be involved in those discussions very soon. As for his status right now, John has some lingering problems with the wound from last week's surgery - it simply isn't healing like it should and the doctors believe it's due to the Wegener's treatments, thus the reason for them to regroup and discuss the treatments in more detail, possibly suggesting alternatives in his care. So for now, its (again) a wait-and-see process. John remains breathing on his own without the respirator and is also receiving regular physical therapy visits - which he looks forward to.

Hopefully we'll know more later today or tomorrow. Thanks everyone.

A corner turned?

Hello! Quick post tonight... It turns out that John receives 'regular' blood work, which we all know, but we were never quite sure of every test the hospital staff was conducting. Well April 8th, John's blood work returned from the lab with results from several tests - one of these is for antibodies related to the wegener's disease. And those results were negative for wegener's. If this is for real, then John has certainly made a turn for the best. This could mean that john is in remission and although still very sick, can begin an aggressive (as much as possible) treatment strengthen enough to leave the hospital - at least the ICU and work more on physical and speech therapy.

Next up: John will have a kidney biopsy tomorrow morning. The biopsy will (hopefully) confirm the diagnosis of the blood work and next steps. He is starting physical therapy to help regain strength and mobility in his arms and legs.

There's still a long way to go. But this is very good news.

Thanks again everyone! As always, please continue to keep John in our thoughts and prayers. We've got a lot of work ahead!

Happy Easter!!

John was very alert this weekend. He is completely removed from the ventilator and breathing on his own, he's only helped by O2, but he's doing all the work ;-)

The latest surgery last week seems to have done the trick. He's performing quite well. We are all still waiting for results from the kidney biopsy, but we can report that there is "some" kidney function and he was not given dialysis treatments in a couple days. I believe they will continue to closely monitor his kidney function to help them make a call on giving him dialysis treatments. But so far, so good.

John was also in pretty good spirits this weekend. Yesterday, Sunday, he was looking the best I've seen him look in a long time. His swelling is down and his skin color looks very good. Since getting his trache, he's been aggressively trying talk. As frustrating as it is lip reading (and his frustrations when we cannot understand ;-), I think we're all getting better at this method of communication. He's been receiving visits from speech therapy as well, they are working with him to teach him best practices on talking with the trache tube in.

Hopefully, I'll be able to give John a haircut and shave this week - He really needs and wants it. He greatly appreciated and smiled profoundly while we read some of the many Easter cards he received yesterday.

I know I'm forgetting something... Perhaps Lisa can remind me of what else I have forgotten. As usual, please continue to think of John and support him in your thoughts and prayers. He honestly seems to be winning each challenge they and this disease can throw at him.

Keep fighting John - You're me best friend!

More later. Cheers, Bob

Good, quick news

John was completely removed from the ventilator today for a couple hours. He did well breathing on his own. Even though it was a "test," everyone thought it was a really good step in the right direction.

Tomorrow, John will have surgery to remove his multi-med line from the right side of his neck and move it to the left side. He'll need this for several reasons, but it was time to remove it since its been in for several weeks. He will also get a new catheter for the dialysis machine at the same time tomorrow.

All and all, he's doing pretty well. Again, any visitors will need to wear the infectious disease garb (mask, gown, etc.) because of his new meds, we can't take any risks of someone carrying anything into his room.

All for now. Thanks everyone!

THANK YOU!

I want to thank all of our family and friends who are concerned for John and praying for his recovery. All of your prayers, cards, phone calls, and hospital visits have meant so much to us. Everyday I let John know that all of you are praying for him. When he can, he always smiles when I tell him about someone calling or asking about him. I know he is grateful! It brings tears to his eyes!

Thanks to our NRV Elite basketball team and our Christiansburg Crushers baseball team for your prayers and being there for our family. We are so happy to be a part of these teams! I pray John will be able to see some baseball this season!

Thank you Bob, Kathy, Mom, Dad, Tommy,Judy, and Laurie for supporting me and the kids during this very difficult time. We love all of you and I don't know what we would do if you all were not there. We are so thankful to have you in our lives.



God Bless You,

Lisa

Steady as he goes

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days. John is doing "well." We had a couple issues earlier this week with how he was looking and the attitude (some of) the staff had about John's prognosis. They also had several issues with the dialysis machine this week and an infection. But the past 2 days we think he's made some good strides in improvement.

Yesterday, Wednesday, they restarted his treatment with a new dialysis machine and also started John on a new medicine for the Wegener's - although this medicine will cause his white count to seriously drop, so all visitors will need to suit up with mask and gown before entering. We'll need to be very careful not to bring any virus of any kind into his environment.

John also got a trache tube inserted yesterday. The good news is his ventilator is on the lowest setting possible - which means he is breathing on his own. They'll need to keep the vent just in case he needs any procedures that require him to be on it. The trache, which replaces the tune in his mouth, should make him much more comfortable.

Last night I got the biggest smile from John. I went into his room and he opened his eyes real wide and had the biggest smile. Once he fell asleep just before we left for the night, Lisa, the kids and I left him some gifts hanging from the ceiling... 2 stuffed animals - a Hokie bird and his favorite, "Deputy Dog." I know the nurses will probably take them down, but I hope he could get a chuckle before they did.

Anyway, we're hopeful that the infection clears and some skin irritations clear up as well - they have caused him some pain and if he can get past that, hopefully he can get off some of the pain medicine and be able to communicate a little better - he's pretty sedated due to the pain medicine. More later! Thanks Everyone!

no problems through the weekend

John remained stable through the weekend. His O2 is looking good and blood pressure has been maintaining. The vent has been lowered to 40% so he's actually breathing more on his own. He's still in and out of sleep since surgery, but when awake he is able to communicate with hospital staff and family.

Please continue to wish John the best - we're hopeful he can remain strong and continue to fight through. Thanks everyone.

Surgery went well

A little late posting this... John's surgery last night went well and he is resting today. The family was able to see him for a few minutes late last night when he arrived back in his ICU room. Vitals look good and blood pressure is strong. As the surgeon told us last night, we're obviously back to a wait-and-see period to see John's reaction and recovery from the surgery.

More later... Hopefully we'll get some good news today as the staff checks in on John throughout the day.

Heading to surgery

OK, we're finally heading into surgery. John has been given and has lost a significant amount of blood from last night through today. The wait to get a CT scan complete to find the internal bleeding has apparently been caused by low blood pressure throughout the day. They have been unable to get John stable enough to transport him to a CT machine.

Please continue thinking of John as he heads back into surgery for the second time this week. More later as I have the info...

Possible surgery today

John unfortunately had a rough night. He had to be given additional blood because it is believed he's got another bleed somewhere in his body. The hospital is doing everything they can to locate it, but they believe they are headed for surgery today to locate and hopefully fix the problem.

I'll post something here when I have more information.

Hang in there, I am sure John will continue fighting through this and back on the road to recovery.

Happy April !

Even with Monday night's surgery, John was awake and alert yesterday. The family and hospital staff all astounded with his communication and knowledge with who was in and out of the room. John remains in stable condition as his caretakers watch closely how he recovers from surgery and abdominal infections.

We'll take these signs from yesterday as very good and continue to help John communicate and work hard to get back into a more functioning role. He'll receive dialysis and chemo treatments today so that may have some affect on how well he can tolerate our company and follow commands. It's simply a wait and see process for now.

So let's all continue to wish John the best in his recovery. He's a strong person.

John receives late night surgery

John got an abdominal CT late yesterday afternoon as doctors were concerned about his continual blood pressure fluctuations, thinking he may be bleeding internally. They took him into surgery late last night to repair several damaged areas in his bowel due to infection (perforated bowel).

Please understand we're back to a very serious situation. John did make it through surgery OK. His recovery from surgery will no doubt affect his long term recovery from the wegener's disease but will not have affect on the treatments he is already receiving. He did receive plasma treatments today, and even though he's been sedated and given more medication due to the infection and surgery, John was still somewhat alert and communicative today. That's good news. But we are back to a wait-and-see situation to see how he heals after surgery.

More later as soon as I have it. Thanks everyone.

Still interactive and increased movement

Sorry for missing yesterday's posting. Yesterday, Sunday the 29th, John showed increased motor skills from the day before. He has increased awareness and head movement.

John stayed awake for us for several hours on Sunday. He was able to answer questions by shaking his head yes and no. He even moved his leg slightly to a comment I had made to him and his wife Lisa.

Overall, John seems to be on the right track. The hospital staff is also encouraged with his progress. We'll continue to watch him and talk to him and hope he continues.

Thanks again everyone. Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers as he continues towards recovery.

*Happy Birthday Kathy Hopkins!

PARTY! John is trying to wake!

After yesterday's somber news, John is trying to wake this morning. He's been working on opening his eyes and has been reactive to family conversation.

Unfortunately, the hospital staff has his plasma treatment scheduled and we'll have to wait until 4:30 to get back in to see him. But very, very good news this morning.

Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers - Something is working!

Friday update

John's in his new ICU unit. Visitor access is much more strict. The staff began to bring him off the heavy sedation on Wednesday, but John still remains unresponsive. The family has been communicating with him the past two days to help bring him back around.

The staff performed a head CT today. We were all pretty worried about its potential results. The doctors told Lisa this afternoon that the CT was normal - very good news.

There were also other good signs today. John's O2 is much better and his lungs seem to be improved. The ventilator has been lowered again so he's breathing more and more on his own. We're all just waiting for him to wake up and smile again at everyone.

So let's all keep the faith and hope for continued improvement - Thanks everyone.

John is moving to new room

John is being moving to a new ICU unit, still within Roanoke Memorial hospital. The room and unit he has been in thus far was the only available option at the time of his arrival.

After the test results came in, the staff has confirmed that John had suffered an infection from one of the lines where he was receiving treatment. The good news is they had replaced all lines as a precaution when they learned of his infection and high fever. John's fever has hovered around 99-100 the last day or so. However, everyone is hopeful that the antibiotics along with the dialysis will soon rid him of the infection and bring his temperature back to normal.

John is still receiving his daily plasma treatments and associated medications. We'll continue to monitor him closely and hope for the best.

The staff is once again working towards reducing John's dependency on the ventilator. He is still heavily sedated, but as his fever reduces, we should see the staff begin working on this again.

That's about it for now. I'll update as soon as I get further information. Thanks again to everyone. Please continue to keep John and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

As previously reported... due to an infection, the staff replaced all John's lines and dialysis yesterday. The family is awaiting test results for the type of infection and the hospital staff had given him antibiotics to cover a range of problems. As of this morning, John's temperature was back down to around 99. This is good news. He was stable today and still heavily sedated and resting. He is receiving a lot of attention and visiting John for any amount of time has been extremely difficult.

We also believe John is in very good hands at Roanoke Memorial. The staff has been very forthcoming with information, pleasant to talk with and very caring.

Aside from his prescribed treatments, the staff believes they will begin to be more aggressive in reducing John's dependency on the ventilator - which they tried last week.

We all know how strong and independent John is and know that he can fight through this. Let's all continue to wish him the best as he battles through some of these difficult times during recovery.

The family has also been in contact with the Red Cross for plasma donation on John's behalf. There will be more information about this coming soon.There have been a number of munificent gifts to John and his family. Please know the family is extremely thankful and humbled by the generosity. You are truly wonderful people.

Monday, March 23, 2009

John unfortunately had a rough night last night. The hospital staff informing the family that John has a high temperature and fighting infection. They've been running tests this morning to hopefully find the cause. We'll visit John today, hopefully we'll know more soon.

Adding comments to this blog

Hello, No real updates today. Per the hospital staff, John is receiving needed and deserved rest.

There have been several people ask about leaving comments on this blog. If you'll look at the END of each new posting, there is info about who posted the entry (me), the TIME it was posted, followed by "COMMENTS" - Just click on the "COMMENTS" word and you can add your own comments to the blog. You can also view everyone elses' comments.

Thanks again everyone. More later...

BTW, The "Christiansburg Crushers" (Shane's baseball team) is 2-1 so far in this weekend's tournament. They're heading into their final game of the competition at 6PM tonight.

Shane Baseball Tournament this weekend

A few people have asked about attending the baseball tournament this weekend. If you'd like to do that, Shane and the team would greatly appreciate your support.

As noted earlier, the tournament play will be at 9:00AM and 3:30PM Saturday, Sunday will be 11:45AM and 6PM (will update if this changes). Both days of the tournament will be played at the Christiansburg Harkrader Sports Complex - located just BEHIND the (new) Christiansburg Middle School. More information is provided here:

Web site:
http://www.christiansburg.org/index.asp?NID=182

Address/Directions (the fields are located BEHIND the school):
http://www.mcps.org/cms/directions.html

Welcome Spring!

*PLEASE READ*
Everyone, we'll do the best we can with keeping everyone up-to-date on this blog. Please share this with whom you believe may be interested or concerned with John's progress.

Please also understand that as the family looks forward to, and celebrates, each small milestone that John meets, he is still very, very sick. His doctors are working diligently and aggressively to both remove him from the ventilator And keep his progress on target for his treatments to get better. I hope everyone can undestand how difficult it is for someone to be under so much pressure. John is both very worn out with his treatment and extremely susceptible to illness due to his depressed immune system.

With that, the family and hospital suggest he receive a very limited amount of visitors - restricted to family - until he improves further and is successfully taken off the ventilator. Any exceptions would need prior approval from the family - you may contact me if needed, to relay any requests to the immediate family. We all realize how important John is to everyone. Please post your comments to this blog, or send John a note of encouragement, etc.

As for an update for today - As stated, the doctors at Roanoke Memorial are aggressively trying to reduce his dependence on the ventilator. Once this is complete, John will receive a kidney biopsy to give them the best status of and damage to his kidneys. But he will need to be breathing on his own to do this. Also reported earlier was that his plasma treatments would be reduced to every-other-day, but we learned today they will wait for this and he'll receive the treatments daily. We haven't received today's chest xray results yet, but his breathing progress has been hampered the last two days. We're hopeful to see some improvement in this area very soon.

Everything else is still day-to-day and simply wait to see how he progresses. As noted, Please consult with me or the immediate family before visiting.

Thanks so much to everyone thus far. Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers.

Best Regards,
Bob
bobhopkins@mac.com
540.998.9372

Seeing improvement today

John's doctors are encouraged by his breathing progress today. His vent was lowered again today, down to 60%. Latest news is they will begin reducing his plasma treatments to every-other day instead of each day.

So good news... Also, John got a knew toy today, a B.S. alert button which he is very proud of.

More to come...

Last day of Winter!

John is getting his plasma treatment this morning so there are no visitors allowed until about noon today. One small bit of information from this morning is that for two days in a row, John appears to be making improvements breathing on his own. They have reset his respirator down to 80%. Although this is still a high value for a machine to be helping him breathe, the fact that the machine was at 100% until yesterday morning is encouraging.

For those following the blog, I'll have Shane this weekend and he will be attending this weekend's baseball tournament at Harkrader's sports facility near Christiansburg Middle School. We play at 9am and 1:30pm both Saturday and Sunday.

Thanks again everyone. Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers.

March 18 update

John is in pretty good spirits today. As always, he still shares his great personality and sense of humor with everyone he encounters.

No real updates so far today. John received a good result from his EKG this morning and the family is still waiting for his chest xray results. He'll begin plasma treatments around 1:30pm today thru the rest of the afternoon. The staff has chosen to move the treatments to earlier in the day so he can have visitors in the evening time.

More later. Please continue to keep John your thoughts and prayers.

Talking with John this afternoon

John is communicating well with the family this afternoon; in between his naps. He's in good spirits and is getting better and better at writing down his comments on paper. He's been receiving guests on and off and is very happy to see everyone.

John is in Roanoke Memorial Hospital, 9 South, Room 6.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Just a quick update this morning. As stated, John received his first plasma and chemo treatments last night. Some good news : John was awake this morning for his wife, Lisa and family. The doctors haven't ruled anything as "progress" yet, but the fact that he was awake is a great sign. We continue to wish John well and hope for the best.

I'll be seeing John this morning and will update everyone if/when there is further information.

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support!! Please share this blog with all those who may want to wish John well.

Monday PM, March 16, 2009

John has remained stable today. He began several treatments this evening towards his recovery. The doctors at Roanoke Memorial Hospital remain encouraged by the schedule of his treatments. They remain convinced his diagnosis is Wegener's Disease, a disease which begins via infection and targets the bady's blood vessels, lungs and kidneys. There is plenty more information available on the Internet.

There is no doubt John is very sick. But the disease, when caught in time, has a 95% success rate of full recovery since treatment was discovered in the early 1970's.

John has a tough night of treatments ahead of him. Please continue to offer your thoughts and prayers.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Again, thanks to all who are concerned with John's status and recovery.

Please use this blog to receive the most up-to-date knowledge of John's status. The family is most thankful for everyone's calls, emails, etc. We'll try to keep this blog as up-to-date as possible - please reference this blog for further information.

Please continue to keep John in your thoughts and prayers.