April 3 1:35

Just visited Neil. Oh my goodness, Neil was able to talk for about 15 minutes. He left a message for Reese on her phone as she was at work. We all cheered and cried as did all the nurses. Nurses kept coming in and Neil would say "hello". My, my we cannot describe the joy and elation of all us. Neil kept grinning and said, "It has been a long time". The other grand thing is he was able to do this very well and he even said he could breath better with the trach collar than with the ventilator. They will do this again later this afternoon. We cannot wait. The doctor came by as they changed the dressing on the abdomen and he is very pleased with how this wound is closing. All of our news is good. We are all telling it how it occurred over and over to each other. We are all just grinning. We are so blessed. Please pray for Neil's lungs.


Listen to this. The doctor said he did not need to do the colonoscopy on Sue. He does not think this is alarming. She was on the trach collar for four hours yesterday. Her daughters continue to be encouraged. Please pray for her full recovery.


Please pray for the full recovery of Shannon and our other friends here.


We heard from our good friend downstairs. The child at Children's has gotten a good report and they do not think she has leukemia. What a blessing.

April 3 10:40 am

Sorry I am late. Things are good. Had a longer visit with Neil. We saw the doctor at 8:30 and were able to stay until just now. The physical therapist came in and "dangled" Neil. We would say he sat up on the side of the bed. He was able to do this for a few minutes. It made him very nauseated. He did a very good job. The wound care folks are changing his abdomen dressing. They are not going to try the trach collar until this afternoon. Neil has started the day off with a bang. We are so proud of him. Please pray for Neil's lungs.

Please pray for the full recovery of Sue Shelton. They have determined there might be some bleeding from the colon. She will have a colonoscopy(?) later in the day. We would not choose this for her, but it sounds better than other things. Please remember her as you go through your day.

Please continue to pray for Shannon. We are so optimistic about her waking up. Her eyes have opened several times. Her parents are so dear and love her so much.

A good friend of ours is here with her uncle in CCU. He is having heart problems. His granddaughter is in Children's Hospital and they are very fearful of a diagnosis of leukemia. Let's all remember this family in our prayers.

Please continue to love and support Mike Andress and his family.

Thanks to all of you for loving and supporting us. Have a great Thursday.

April 2 9:00 pm

Hey Folks, We just visited Neil. DeAnn was able to have a long cheat visit between the 5:30 visit and the 8:30 visit. Shhhh!!! We are so pleased. Neil is very, very tired. What a day. He had the chest tubes out and was in the chair for 45 minutes. Whew. That makes me tired thinking about it. Neil has trouble going to sleep. So, at this visit he told us good night and that he thought he could go on to sleep. His breathing has slowed down some. His oxygen sat is 97. The oxygen percentage is 40%. So, as he began to dose, we just admired him. We cannot wait until tomorrow. We have our fingers crossed they will try to trach collar. Please pray for Neil's lungs.


Sue is back in SICU. Her daughters have not heard from the radiologist, but the test was done twice and the techs did not see anything. How wonderful is this. Please continue to pray for her. Please keep praying for the full recovery of Shannon Jones. Her parents say her heart rate goes up when they are in the room with her. We so pray she will wake up.



We have talked a lot about miracles we have witnessed with Neil and our other friends here. One I must share with you is the nursing care Neil is receiving. I have said a lot about the doctor and he is certainly a major part of the miracles. However, his work could not be completed without the nurses. I cannot say enough about the nurses caring for Neil. They have certainly done more than their fair share of caring for us. They have been there on the darkest days and have celebrated baby steps with us. One of our nurses has had a baby boy. His son will have to stay in the hospital several more days because he aspirated at birth. Let's certainly pray for his full recovery so he can go home to parents whom have anxiously awaited his birth.

I never realized how imperative it was for a patient to have complete trust and confidence with the nurses. As you all know Neil is incapacitated as he has little to no movement and is on a ventilator. When he is having a difficult time, the nurses are there to suction, change the trach and other life saving tasks. He has developed a relationship with several of the nurses (as we have) and has complete confidence and trust that the job will be completed. I cannot tell you how much this means to Neil and to us. The care the nurses have provided is phenomenal and is a great part of Neil's recovery. We are so blessed to have these wonderful folks on our team. Yea to all the nurses in SICU. They are the best!!!!!!!

April 2 6:00 pm

Sorry this is late. We were able to stay a bit longer with Neil. Yea!!!! He is "chest tubeless". The chest tubes from the right lung were removed. Neil said it was fairly uncomfortable but is better. (I simply cannot imagine.) He was able to sit in the "big boy chair" for about 45 minutes. This is very, very hard as it restricts his breath. My goodness, we are so proud of Neil's effort. Wow. When he is in pain or exerting any effort his breathing is much too quick. He concentrates very hard. We were able to see him after he was back in bed. What a workout!!!!! Please pray for Neil's lungs.


Please pray for Sue, Shannon and our other friends. There is a concern that Sue may have some internal bleeding. She is down in Nuclear Med having the dye test to determine if there is a problem. Please lift a quick prayer that this has resolved itself. She so needs a good Wednesday.


Please send your love and support to Mike Andress and his family.

April 2 1:50 pm

Just visited Neil. The doctor said both chest tubes can come out. Yea!!!!! This should be done by the time we see him next. Neil wanted a sock and shoe on his left foot. He thinks this will give his foot some support. (It sure looks good.) Neil is coughing a lot and that makes his breathing quicker and his blood pressure go up some. He has not had to have any additional blood pressure in several days. We cannot wait to see him at 5:30. Please pray for Neil's lungs

Please pray for Sue, Shannon and our other friends here. It seems everyone is having a Wonderful Wednesday!!!

Thanks so very much for your love and support.

April 2 10:30 am

Just visited Neil. Oh my goodness, this is a better day. The doctor has adjusted some medication and Neil is much more comfortable. Neil apologized to the doctor and the nurses for feeling so bad yesterday. The doctor said yesterday was their fault due to medication that did not work for Neil. Neil is exercising his arms and legs. The doctor hopes to take the chest tubes out of the right lung. The x-ray has indicated that one is ready to come out and it seems the other may be ready. The nurse is waiting for the doctor to review the x-rays to determine if both tubes can be taken out. These tubes are causing much pain and Neil is very hopeful today will be the day. The doctor said that maybe tomorrow he will try the trach collar for an hour or so. Later on today, the nurses will put Neil in the chair for a hour or so. Neil wants a sock and shoe for his left foot. He thinks this will add some support. Please pray for Neil's lungs.

Today is Wednesday and the past two Wednesdays have been terrible for Sue. We are celebrating a Wonderful Wedneday. Sue is not real, real perky but is feeling so much better. She is ready to go home right now. Her daughters are sooooo proud of her.

Please pray for the full recovery of Sue, Shannon and our other friends here.

We have smiled this morning as we thought of several things which indicate you have been in the SICU waiting room too long. One is when the waitress at Chappy's fills your order before you place it. One other is when the shuttle bus driver stops to ask about Neil. Hope this makes you all smile. There are so many more nice people in the world than not nice. We are blessed with all of you.

April 1 9:00 pm

Just visited Neil. He has had a long day. His breathing was some slower off and on today. We hope and pray his "chilling" day will have great results for him tomorrow. We cannot wait to see Neil in the morning. Please pray for Neil's lungs.


Please continue to pray for the full recovery of Sue and Shannon. Shannon's parents and other family and friends are here with us. They are encouraged by her progress and love her so much. We see the same love and support from Sue's family. We all get to celebrate the baby steps our loved ones make. Honestly, this experience is life changing for most of us. We have been so blessed we have had little contact with the medical system in the past and are learning as we go. I think if you put us all together, we may be a neurosurgeon. (Yeah, right!!!)


We frequently hear from people saying they check this blog several times a day and always pray as they check on Neil's progress. Those prayers are worth more than all the money in the world. We cannot tell you how much they mean and how humbled we are that Neil, Sue, Shannon and our other friends are in your hearts and prayers everyday.