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.

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