Jared is up and at it again. With his back side flapping in the wind, Jared walks the entire hallway on our new floor. He is still fairly week, but is growing more confident in all of his movements. The walk is fairly cumbersome with all of the tubes and wires that must come along for the ride.
11:10 AM
Occupational therapy arrives for the speed course. After a series of motor skills tests, Jared manages to beat the therapist in the game Connect Four. It was amazing, I didn't even see it coming, he managed to stack four of his pieces without the nurse even noticing. It was intense.
11:30 AM
Jared arrives for his ENT visit. The feeding tube is removed and it just kept coming and coming and coming as it is pulled from his nose. After pulling this from his nose it was time to shove something else back down so they could watch Jared do the "cookie swallow" test that way. It was a no go as the doctors tried to shove a tiny scope down the nasal canal and throat. The balloon in the other nostril would not allow for the entry of the the telescoping device. After a few moments of some extreme discomfort, the doctors began looking for another port of entry. I am not sure which is worse, but they thought they could get it down through his mouth. After endless gagging, all plans of getting a camera study of the throat were postponed. They decided to the do the "cookie swallow" test a different way - through xray. Back to the room.
1:30 PM
The long awaited "cookie test" has arrived. This is by far the most amazing test thus far. Imagine the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, when the men change to skeletons and you observe the foods and wine being chewed and swallowed by nothing but bones. The was a very real experience today as Jared ate a variety of foods under continuous X-Ray. I literally watched as the food entered the mouth, passed to the pharynx and down the esophagus. I watched as a skeleton chewed and swallowed food. Like I said it was very cool. The best part was that Jared not only enjoyed the first food he has had in about a week, but that he passed and will not require a feeding tube. Great News!
4:00 PM
The remaining tube and balloon in Jared's nose is suctioned and removed. This was short, sweet, but left Jared a mess. We turned on a quick movie and moved in to scour the face. Underneath the tubes and dried blood was a handsome kid that we recognized and missed. All looked great!
5:30 PM
Jared's central IV line in his groin is removed by the neurosurgeon. We came to find out that these bleed pretty heavily and require pressure for a substantial amount of time. It ended up being the best conversation we had experienced up to this point with this particular neurosurgeon. They typically have not been one for small talk. One more line in the body down.
During this visit we were also informed that the x-ray's revealed that Jared's neck does not have any structural instability. This would mean that the chance of a neck fusion is pretty much out of the question and he will be phasing out this collar over the next few days. An answer to prayers and nothing less!
6:30 PM
Jared eats for the first time. This was a great and long awaited site. Jaime and I just sat there watching him closely, but he did great and was wonderful to see. About 10 minutes into eating Jared is out cold in round one. After a short nap he is back for round two.
7:30 PM
The Snow's have arrived. Man it is nice to see a familiar face so far from home. Jaime and I really had a lot of fun eating dinner and visiting with Mike and Kris Snow. Even Jared joined us in a wheelchair as we ate in the cafeteria. What a blessing it was to have company. We just couldn't thank them enough for going out of their way on their busy weekend. We loved it.
8:30 PM
Game 7 of the Stanley Cup, artwork and some Mario Brothers. It was nice to unwind from a pretty busy day.
All in all it was an eventful and extremely successful day. It is really great to see such progress after just one full week following surgery. It has been a week that he will hope to forget in the near future. We are very watched over and feel it daily. Thanks for all of your prayers. We love you all.
Wow! What a day, what a week, and frankly what a month, but what amazing answers to prayers you have seen over this time! Jared, you are the man and way to be so tough and strong through all of this. Your Heavenly Father loves you so much and so do so many others. We pray for you always little dude.
ReplyDeleteAndrew & Jaime, you are also amazing! Your strength comes through loud and clear as you take the time to update the blog. And thank you so much for taking the time to do these. It is so hard to have you all so far away and not to be able to just put our arms around you, so thank you for including us in such tender and detailed updates.
We love you all and can't wait to see you soon.
Love, Mar
Ditoo! Jared, you are a bright spot in my day today for sure! We love you and we are so proud of you for working so hard. You have definitely reached high levels in this game of life that some adults just don't get. We are happy to see those tubes disappearing and to know you are motoring down the hallways. I think this is going to require some green "Kryptonite" mint chocolate chip brownie ice cream when you return. You are a celebration for sure!!!
ReplyDeleteDear Andrew and Jaime, amidst all the tears of concern, come tears of joy for so many answers to innumerable prayers from unknown sources. You bless our lives. I feel your spirit, your heart, and your dedication to your Heavenly Father as you minister to the needs of Jared. You, too, are scoring very high in this game of life. Thank you for your example that keeps me on track and in focus. I--we love you!!!xoxGrandma/Mom Vance
The kids and I have been checking up every day for the last few days. We wish we could come and hang out with you at the hospital! Can't wait to see you all when you get home. And it's time for ellie to come and play again! loving and praying for you-- laurie leishman and fam
ReplyDeleteDear Andrew and Jaime,
ReplyDeleteWow I am so happy and grateful this morning as I read in detail the updates!! I cried as I read and saw the miracle of tubes being removed and Jared eating his first real meal. I am so amazed at my response to such small steps feeling so monumental and significant and can only imagine your delight.
I love you guys and will pray for gratitude and continued blessings!!
Love you,
Teri
Andrew and Jaime,
ReplyDeleteI feel terrible that we were not aware of this situation until recently, I need to do a better job in keeping in touch, but we are so grateful that Jared's treatment appears to be going well. What a tough little kid, to see his big smile after having gone through everything is so incredible. We are definately praying for you, let us know if there is anything more that we can do to help. Jared is lucky to have such wonderful parents. (Andrew & Michelle Rust)
When the girls awakened me early this morning, I excitedly told them that I had some great news about Jared. They said, "WHAT?" in unison. I then told them that Jared's feeding tube had been taken out. Ana and Isabelle did a little victory dance, and Ana said, "HOORAY!! Now he can eat FOOD!! HOORAY, HOORAY!" Isabelle chimed in right after as her little parrot. It was so cute. They've wanted very much for him to get to eat and prayed for that, among other specifics.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help getting choked up and a bit teary. We are all so grateful! I know from many personal life experiences that the Lord doesn't always answer our prayers the way we'd like. Sometimes it's simply a timing thing and we have to wait, and sometimes it just isn't according to His will, for reasons we often don't understand at the time. Of course, we don't know while we are praying how things will be, but we have hope and exercise our faith. I'm so very grateful that He willed this and our prayers were answered so quickly.
Like Marilee, I'm amazed at the events of this week, and month. The Lord is definitely watching over dear Jared, as well as his wonderful and faithful parents. :)
Keep up the good work, Jared! We sure love you all and hope that you will all be reunited with Gabrielle and Bradley soon!
Love,
Angie