She's getting stronger!

It was another busy day here in Macon! Shea has been awake and moving since yesterday. After a constant vigil during the day, Susan and Steve took turns last night staying with her. They went up to say good-night, but she was so restless they ended up spending the night with her.

Tonight Steve takes the 10:00 pm - 3:00 am sift and I'll be there from 3:00 am until Susan arrives about 8:00 am. We felt she needed a good night's sleep after yesterday and last night!

Shea was removed from the morphine drip today. Tomorrow the Versed will also be stopped. She is receiving Methadone, a synthetic drug like morphine. She receives it every 6 hours. Tomorrow they plan to cut it to 3 times a day and every other day thereafter; they will continue to cut back on the oral medications (the drugs now given through the feeding tube instead of the IV drip).

The Respiratory Therapist is coming three times a day. The biggest problem Shea is having with her lungs is her inability to cough effectively so the bottom of her lungs are somewhat collapsed. Her oxygen level is in the upper 90's, Dr. dela Cruz reminded us--she just has to get the mucous out of her lungs. The therapist used a vibrator-like machine on Shea's chest for about 5 minutes. It is quite powerful and Shea didn't like it! Nevertheless, we trust it will be successful in breaking up the secretions and that the X-rays tomorrow look much better.

Shea attempted to sit up several times today. All of the struggling and moving around may be difficult to manage, but it does help her regain her strength. I could tell that she was stronger today than she was late yesterday afternoon. Even so, by the time the Physical Therapist arrived later this afternoon, Shea fainted when they attempted to sit her up. Bless her heart, she has been going strong for hours and hours!

After his rounds today, Dr dela Cruz returned to Shea's room and assured me that all was going well. ( Susan has always liked him. "He's such an encourager.") He told me that he had been with Shea from the beginning and he was very pleased with her progress. All the while he talked to me, he looked at Shea--almost as though he was remembering those scary and difficult first days. When he finished talking, he asked me, "May I kiss her on the forehead?" He kissed her gently on her forehead and then turned and walked out of her room. It is pretty remarkable to see the extraordinary compassion and love the doctors and nurses here exhibit towards their patients.

Prayer Requests:

(1) Please pray that Shea might finally fall into a restful sleep tonight.

(2) Please pray for Shea's emotional well-being. She cannot yet speak and is so frustrated. We are in turn frustrated because we don't know why she is crying or what we can do to help her. She continually mouths words to us, but we aren't sure what she is trying to tell us. Please pray that she will have peace of mind and trust us as we reassure her. There are times when she is obviously in a drug-like state. She may look startled and grab things in the air that are not there. But then there are times that she is Shea and recognizes us. She goes in and out of this state. She is clearly struggling physically and emotionally.

This period of drug withdrawal can last days or even weeks, the nurse told us. Susan looked at her and said, "Weeks?. . .Weeks?! Oh, we have lots of people praying....it'll be days." Got to love that Susan. She is confident in her family and friends' prayers for Shea. Indeed, Steve told me this morning after a very long night, "I could feel that people were praying for me."

(3) So, please continue to remember Susan and Steve. They are doing great, but this is exhausting physically and emotionally.

Many, many thanks,
Jeanne Burch