Mike Update

Hello All,

As I stated in my last post I would keep you updated as to Mike's progress. Each day is a new journey, that gives us hope. Yesterday was Mike's best day yet. Today a few baby steps backward, but tomarrow one leap forward we hope. Mike was given the chance to try breathing on his own yesterday with no vent support. He did great and was able to go 6 hours by himself. He was the most awake he has been this entire 9 days as well. That was both a blessing and a curse for us because he was trying to communicate with us, but we do not know what he was saying or motioning too. Everytime we leave the room he reaches for us too (that is tough)!

I was able to talk with him for the first time yesterday with him understanding me. He was very restless yesterday and he kept making terrible faces like he was in pain. I asked him if he was in to pain to squeeze my hand and he did not. I asked him if he was hot and he did squeeze my hand. My brother is always hot and sweats like a beast. So we got his room temp lowered and he seemed to do much better with that. The other great thing that happened yesterday was he cracked a half smile for the first time. A female co-worker came to visit Mike and he only had a sheet on and it was only coving him in the "import places" and she said "Mike are you trying to flash me?" and he cracked a half smile like he got the joke. We can see that our Mike is in "their" and wants to come out, but it is going to be a slow process. The doctors also told us yesterday that he will be in ICU for at least another two weeks. The long range plan is to move him to Mary Free Bed in Grand Rapids for a 3 month stay for intensive rehab. Then another 9 months of out patient re-hab. We are so grateful for the progress he has made, and we know he is a fighter and will contiue to fight to get well. We thank everyone who has said a prayer for him, and ask if you can to keep praying for him. We know that God is making a diffrence and we know that God can heal Mike, in His own time. I will post again the end of next week as I will be seeing him again then. I have to start back to work this week, so I am not as free to see him as I was before.

Thank-you,

Christy