Hello! I hope everyone had a great week! Dad is doing great! He has been busy all week. He has at least 3 appointments a day. Between the physical therapy, occupational therapy and nurses he has hardly had any time to rest. However, it does not seem to be bothering he that much. He is getting more energy every day. He is also eating more than I have ever seen him eat. It is great, he really needs the weight. He had his feeding tube removed from his stomach yesterday. It was pretty uneventful but dad is glad to have it gone. That is the last tube to come out so we are pretty excited. It is a long way from the 5 or 6 that used to be in him. He loves all the visitors and phone calls so keep it going. Fathers Day will be extra special for us tomorrow and I want to thank you all for the support and prayers.

GREAT NEWS!! Dad is home!!! He arrived yesterday afternoon. It was a hectic crazy day and that all continues today. Yesterday we had to get dad packed and ready to go. However, he could not leave until the oxygen was at the house. Of course they took forever. Then nick and I had to run all over town trying to collect all the medications he needed. When we finally got settled and unpacked we were all so tired and had no motivation to write on the blog. Today we are being visited by occupational and physical therapist. They are doing evaluations on the house and tips to make it safer and easier to get around. We all trip over dads oxygen tubes so that is still being worked out. During all that craziness my mom and best friend are flying in for my birthday!! Dad seems to be handling everything really well and is so excited to be home!! Thank you all for your support and prayers. It is really a miracle that I can report this kind of good news. Feel free to stop by for a visit!!

Great News. Dad has been cleared to come home on Friday! He is doing great in physical therapy and they feel he can continue to do better at home. They also took the trech out today so he is officially breathing on his own!! (He is on a little bit of oxygen but that's OK). I am busy trying to get the house prepared for his arrival. Things like handles all over the bathroom and removing anything he can trip on. Dad is so excited to get home. He calls every hour with a question concerning his getting out. He is a little concerned because it has been so long but he will do great. It has been a long journey and I could not be happier to be bringing him home. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Everyone being there for us has made all the difference and has really helped me get through this hard time.

Good Evening!! Everything is going great around here. Dad is really moving in physical therapy. He is climbing stairs and working on balancing without the walker. He is still strongly disliking the facility he is in, but we are working to get better. The trech is still in and no one in that place knows what to do with it. Luckily dad was paying attention so he can instruct the nurses on how to care for it. I brought him a chicken sandwich for dinner tonight. He is really getting sick of the food there. Hopefully he will not be there much longer!!

Hello everyone. Dad is doing pretty good at the new place. The staff is a little unhelpful and dad thinks they are trying to kill him. On his defense there have been a few times they forgot to give him oxygen. Its better that he does not need the best life, saving nurses anymore. But it does make him a little anxious to not have that kind of attention. On the plus side, the physical therapy is great. Today he had to climb stairs and ride a recumbent bike. He is feeling much stronger and is working to get home. He says the food is not that great so I snuck him in some ice cream. I think I will sneak him some Popeye's chicken tomorrow!! Unfortunately, they do not have internet access so dad can not write, but he really wishes he could. We thank everyone for theirs prayers and support. Hopefully he will be home soon!!

Hi. Dad is now in the rehab facility. It was a crazy day getting everything packed up and getting dad ready to go. Then the craziness continued once we got there. About twenty people had to come in to introduce themselves. Dad got a quick tour and then had to sleep. I talked to him a little while ago and he said he was doing good. He now goes to a dining room to eat with everyone else. He said the food is not great but it is nice to see other people. They should be very aggressive with his physical therapy here so hopefully he will get strong fast. Our next goal is to get him ready to go home. They don't think he will be here for very long so that is very encouraging. He is now at the Briarwood Health Care facility. It is at 1440 Vine St Denver, CO 80206 and he is in room 324. Thank you all for sticking with us dad is looking forward to doing more blogs once he gets more settled.

Report from Steve

Howdy everyone, this is Steve! Got Intermet acess and stuff caught up so thought I would drop you all a note. I'm currently currently incarcerated at Kindred Hospital here in Denver. It is a nice place and I'm getting excellent care. They are doing breathing, speech and physical therapy so they keep me pretty busy. I'm feeling well but do get a little tired by the end of the day. I seem to get stronger and more energetic each day.

I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to everyone out there on the blog for all the support you have provided. I feel that it is your thoughts and prayers that brought me through my crisis. I am moved beyond words at how people have shown their concern and care. I have so much to be thankful for.

It is so wonderful to have Andi and Nick here to take care of my sorry carcass. Andi has painted the bathroom, cleaned up the patio and is planting some veggies in the garden. Nick is keeping busy fighting back the yard. Nothing like three days of rain followed by 80 degree days to get the grass crop thriving. Brother Keith is supposed to be through next week as he heads toward
Sheridan on his motorcycle. I think he is trying to kill me from envy. Brother Dave is planning a visit soon and Andrea's friend Gillian and Cathy are coming up from Phoenix in a couple of weeks. Things will be happening at the Bartenhagen motel.

Lunch is here so need to take a break. Again, thanks to all you wonderful people! I will add more later. And thanks to Andi fro startingand maintaining the blog.

All the best,
Steve

Hello everyone. I'm sorry for not writing very often. Dad is doing great. He is walking really well and getting a lot stronger. We have been going outside everyday and its been really nice. They are planning on moving him to the new facility on Monday. However hospital time is always a bit off. He is eating full meals now. It really nice to be able to eat in front of him now and not fell bad!! Dad is busy catching up on everything he has missed. He is online all day reading his e mails (he had over 2000 work e mails, that took some time to go through). Other than that his health looks good. They say the pneumonia is gone but it could come back. As long as he is careful and pays attention to how he feels. The biggest goal now is to get strong! He is doing great. Thank you all for your support and prayers I will let you know how his new home is.

Dad can now eat semi solid foods!!!! Yesterday he was upgraded to any liquid he wanted. That was pretty fun. He wanted to taste everything they had including soda, tea and all juices. Today he was told he could have mashed up foods. He told me for dinner he had steak and green beans all mashed up. Unfortunately he said it was really gross. But at least he is making progress. They are talking about moving him into a rehab facility, maybe even tomorrow. The place he will go to is really nice. It is a very communal atmosphere. He will go to a dining room for all the meals and they have tons of group activities. He is pretty excited to talk to other people besides me and the nurses!! They said people really seem to flourish when they get there since it is not so hospitalish. This is all so exciting and I thank everyone for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.

We had a pretty quiet holiday weekend. In between rain storms we all went outside to sit in the sun. Dad had a great time! His breathing is doing really good and we may get out this week. He will then move to a rehab facility where he will work on getting more independent. He is not allowed to walk alone and still has trouble even getting out of bed. I think more activity and people pushing him will be very successful. Thanks to the Culligans for a great weekend, it really meant a lot to dad to have people be with him. And thanks to all of you for all your support and prayers, dad know how much everyone cares about him. I believe it is making him work harder.

We had a pretty successful day today!!! Dad walked all the way to his x-ray appointment. Sure there was a little resting in the elevator but he did really well. The other good news is the new swallow test they did was very successful. The liquid is not going directly into his windpipe like it was before. The only problem is a little is getting left behind in his throat and is slowly leaking into the air way. They think with more throat exercises and more conscious swallowing he will be able to eat soon. He is pretty excited to be walking more and really wants to go outside for a little. I think that will be our goal for the weekend. Hopefully it will stop raining so we can do that.

Dad is officially a walking man!! He made it a whole 60 feet before he got tired. He said it felt really good but his joints are a little sore. He will be pushed more and more until he can walk out of this place. His complete recovery is moving a little slow but he is doing great. He is having a few little anxiety attacks so they have to give him meds to calm him down. I think he gets short of breath and it really scares him. He is also really worried about getting sick again. We are going to see about talking to a doctor and letting dad know what his future could be. Besides that we are doing great and I am so excited that he is walking. Thank you all for your prayers and support. Its amazing how well it has worked!!!

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. Dads shoulder is doing much better. They gave him a pain killer patch for it and he says the pain is gone. His heart rate is also doing great. The doctor guessed that he was a little dehydrated so they are giving him more fluids. It seems to be working, his heart is normal again. Dad is practicing standing and sitting in the bed to help with the blood pressure problem. He still gets dizzy, but it is not as bad. Dad gets pretty board laying around all day. I am going to have to find something for him to do all day. Any ideas!! This week should give us a picture of how dad is healing and what the next steps are. There are so many decisions to make and hopefully those will come easy. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Today was a little tough. Dad hurt his shoulder and we are not really sure how. It hurt to even breath so he spent the day in agony. They tried giving him pain killers but it just would not take the pain away. At the end of the day they were going to try a pain killer patch so hopefully that works. His heart rate was also really high and that made him pretty anxious all day. The doctor was going to try pushing more fluids so again, hopefully that works. I will keep you updated on how he is feeling. Thank you all for your thoughts. Good night.

Hello All! We are doing good here at Kindred. They are making good progress with dads exercises. They have upped the weight he lifts and he is doing more reps. He says its too much, but he is doing great. He is also doing a little bit better at standing. His blood pressure is still dropping but not as dramatically. They are also starting to consider a check out date. We have to have a meeting to figure out were he would go next and how well he will do without breathing support. I am hoping that I will be able to get my laptop connected to the Internet at the hospital so dad can do his own blog. He is really looking forward to that. He does say hello and thanks everyone for all the support he has been getting. He was really surprised when I told him how many people read this and are thinking about him. Thank you all again!

Dads progress is slow but successful! They are taking him completely off the vent for a few hours each day and he is doing really well. He has also had a lot of exercises each day. They work his arms and legs pretty hard. All this work makes him really tired so he does sleep a lot. But at least he is trying as hard as he can. Standing has not been so successful. His blood pressure drops dramatically so they don't want to risk any more damage. It really makes him sick when this happens. There are a few tricks they can try so that they can avoid any medication, she will try them tomorrow. Dad loves all they cards he is receiving it gives him something to do. He hates watching TV all day so the cards help. He is also really focused on getting his finances in order so I think we will work on that later this week. His mind is doing great, its like nothing ever happened. The nurse thinks that if dad is feeling better tomorrow they might wheel him outside to enjoy some fresh air. He seems pretty excited. All of dads progress is remarkable and I am so thankful that you all stuck with us and continue to pray. Thank you so much.

Dad had a big day today!! He called to wish grandma a happy mothers day and she was thrilled. He really wanted to get her a present but I told him a call was the perfect gift. Then he decided to call a bunch of other people. It was great to here the surprise in every ones voice when he talked. Dad spent most of the weekend doing his exercises. He really wants to get stronger and get out of the bed. The doctor seems to think he can get off the vent completely very soon. It would be so great if he could get off that. I spent a lot of time telling dad everything that has been going on with him the last two months. He is shocked at how sick he got and even more shocked that he was able to survive it all. It has kind of become a joke. He says "at least I'm talking from the right side of the dirt"!! Its so great to have him back and he is really working hard to get better. Thank you all for your support and prayers, its amazing how well it works.

Hello All! It is good to be back!! Like Laurie said I have my dad back. It is so great to be able to have a conversation with him. He know exactly what is going on and I have been explaining all the details of the last 11 weeks to him. It is a little shocking for him to hear but he is listening. He can stand a little but he is still very shaky. You have to stand behind him so he does not fall back. We did a lot of catching up today and it was so wonderful. They are going to leave him off the vent now for as long as he can handle. So if he does well they can start talking about taking out the trech tube. We sat down with speech therapy today and they did have a little bad news. When they put they camera down his throat they realized that his vocal cords are not sealing shut when he swallows. That means that anything he drinks is getting through that hole and into his lungs. He does not seem to care he still asks for water constantly. She gave us some exercises to build the muscles in his throat and hopefully fix that problem. Everything is looking great, hopefully he will have a productive weekend and get lots of exercises in. Thank you all for your support and thanks to Laurie for helping me while I was gone!!

Steve napped off and on all morning so by early evening he was awake. I think he was getting ready to see Andi who flew in today around 5:00
Steve's progress this week is once again miraculous. He moved from 5th floor to 3rd floor. A patient is put on a floor according to how much care he/she needs. 5th floor is ICU and Almost ICU. 4th floor is Acute care. The lower the floor number, the less care the patient needs. Steve was on 5th floor, skipped 4th floor and is now on 3rd floor.
Andi was amazed at how much her dad had changed over this past week. She said, "He is now like my dad."
Roland, a co-worker, came in and after visiting with Steve for a while told him it was nice to be able to talk to him and carry on a real conversation.
Steve was so happy today. He was excited Andi was coming back to Denver and greeted her with a big smile and a cheerful greeting. He was grateful for the help he was getting and wanted to sit more, walk more and just do all he could to get stronger and out of the hospital.

Steve, welcome back!! We will continue to pray for you to get stronger and for you to be patient with the healing process, with those who love you and with the staff at the hospital
Andi will be returning tomorrow so good night and thank you. It has been a privilege to be here.
Laurie

Steve slept most of the morning. I think he was trying to not think about the surgery he was going to have at 2:00 but staff kept coming in and waking him up and reminding him.
The doctor - Steve, I am your surgeon. I will be doing the scope. I am going to look down your throat and check for any problems. Any questions
Steve -No, I am going to nap
The nurse - We are not going to change your bed until after you get back from surgery. Do you have any questions
Steve - No, I am going to nap
The surgical assistant - We need someone to sign the papers giving permission to do the surgery.
Me - Steve will sign it.
Steve (signs his name on paper then eye roll)
Assistant - any questions
Steve - nap
They came and got Steve early and the procedure was done in less than 1/2 hour. I did not get official results but was told there was nothing dramatic.
While Steve was in surgery, the staff came in and announced that Steve is enough better that he no longer needs the amount of acute care that he is now receiving. After surgery they took him to a room on another floor. They said it is still acute care, but a level below the care he was getting.
Now comes the orneriness:
Steve - I want some ice chips
Assistant - not till 4:00 when Novocain wears off AND we have results of surgery.
Steve - There are nurses all over this #@% floor. I am not going to choke to death.
Nurse - Time for bath
After bath it is now 4:00
Steve - Laurie get me some ice chips
Me - I can't. We do not have results back yet
Steve (looking at clock) It is 4:00. They said I could have ice at 4:00.
Me - Sorry Steve but they will not give me ice
Steve - close the curtain.
Me (I closed the curtain)
Steve - I need my mail. It is time for me to get things straightened up.
Me - I can bring it with me tomorrow.
Steve - I want my mail NOW
I left to get mail and bring it tomorrow.

I think Steve is getting a bit depressed and that is why he is acting the way he is.
He is well enough to know he is feeling lousy but sick enough to not be able to do a whole lot. Things started coming together for him today for the first time and he realized that he has been sick for months. It is like he just woke up after 2+ months.
Steve asked if he was in St Joseph hospital to begin with. He asked if he had had surgery at St Joseph's. He understood that he had part of his lung taken out. He told me to tell him good-bye when he went to surgery today and took my hand. He asked if the hospital he was in now was part of the trio of hospitals that were close together (He is).
As Steve works through all that he has gone through and all that is to come, his emotions will probably continue to be on the roller coaster that I witnessed today.
Thank you everyone for being there for him. He needs you now more than ever.
Laurie

As I write tonight, the tears could flow. It is not because of sadness, but because it was a day filled with emotion. Steve took a baby step today......literally. For the first time since he went into the hospital in Feb., Steve was up, held on to a walker and took a step. It was such a blessing to see him standing. I only wished that Andi would have seen it.
Steve so badly wants a shower, or a bath. He also wants a soda. Unfortunately he can have neither right now.
Tomorrow Steve is scheduled for minor surgery. They will put a scope down his nose and look into his throat to see if there is a physical cause (other than just weak muscles) for him to be having trouble swallowing. This is scheduled for 2:00 so please remember him and the doctors in your prayers at that time. It would be great to get a diagnosis to find out what can be done to help him swallow and be able to eat again.
Steve's blood sugar is high, not at insulin level yet, but it needs to be watched. The food that he is getting through the tubes has a lot of sugar for energy. Unfortunately high blood sugar can be a side effect so they are keeping an eye on it.
A side note: Buddy, Steve's dog ran away today. I guess he met up with the neighbors 2 Jack Russel Terriers that look just like Buddy. The neighbor came over just as I was going to search the neighborhood and said when they opened the door to let in their 2 dogs, 3 came in. So thanks to a great neighbor, Buddy is back.
Thank you for your encouragement, your prayers and your love and concern.
Laurie (sister-in-law)

It seems to be true with Steve that with every bit of good news, there is some bad news.
First the bad news: Steve's chest was hurting today. It could be because the super strain of pneumonia is back. He has gone back into isolation so all visitors have to gown up again. The doctors have changed his antibiotic to a drug that is so strong that if one were to drink it, it is fatal. However, Steve is inhaling it so it goes right into the lungs and will hopefully kill the bad germs that are keeping him sick. He was on this drug before and it seemed to work so we pray that it will be effective again.
Now the good news: Since the respiratory therapist lowered the amount of time that Steve is off the vent he has more energy, better understanding, and more spunk. He was cracking jokes today and seemed more like himself. They will continue to raise the amount of time that he is off the vent, but plan to continue at a slower pace.
Steve is at a stage of healing that cards and notes are very encouraging to him . Thank you for continuing to send them. They really mean a lot. (Tony, he just got your turtle card).
For those of you wanting an address, you can send mail to Steve's house. We will make sure that he gets it.
Steve has come a long way and is improving every day, but he still has a ways to go. We truly thank you for your continued prayers.
Laurie (sister-in-law)

Steve had a sleepy day. He was very tired. The respiratory therapist decided it was time to slow down the process of taking him off the vent. He was off 18 hours yesterday and it made him too tired so she let him stay off for only 8 hours today.
Still there is evidence that his lungs are getting stronger. He is coughing hard and bringing up mucus from the pneumonia. This is kind of gross but a very good thing.
Steve decided today that he wants to be home by next weekend. (Dave, he wants you to take him fishing in Story. He heard you bought new fishing poles). He said he has seen enough doctors. He also said that he wanted every doctor and specialist to come in and introduce themselves and tell him what they are doing for him because he wants to know what he is paying for. (Must be feeling better, he is starting to get concerned with finances...oh and food)
Steve wants to eat real food but is still given only ice chips. He keeps telling us he is hungry and asks whats for supper! They are planning on looking down his throat in the next day or two to try to determine why he is having trouble swallowing.
He will take the last round of medicine for pneumonia soon. However, they will probably start a new round of perhaps a different kind of medicine to continue treating him until at least most of the 'gunk' is out of his lungs.
The nurse came in today when I was clearing out Steve's mouth. (Andi can vouch that it is not a pleasant task but needs to be done so he doesn't swallow what he has coughed up) She asked me if I was Mrs. Bartenhagen. I laughed and said, "yes, by marriage to a brother."
Laurie: sister-in-law from North Dakota

Steve started out kind of slow today. He seemed to know it was the weekend and time to rest. He slept until after 10:00a.m. He even slept through the respiratory therapist clearing out his lungs...not a bad thing to miss.
Then he woke up and he was wide awake and TALKATIVE. It is so great to be able to understand what he is saying. We talked about Buddy (Steve's dog), Lexie (sister) and Rolland's construction project, fishing, finances, the weather and then he got tired. Steve's mind seemed to wander as he got tired.
But even so, he knew he wanted out of the chair. He was tired of sitting and wanted to do something else and be somewhere else (home). He has gotten quite strong and was really moving himself around!
He loves his ice chips and can not have as many as he would like so was asking for them frequently. He is able to hold the cup and use a spoon to put the chips in his own mouth. The ice, the only thing he is allowed to eat, is very precious to him and he spills very little.
The really good news is two fold:
First, the hole in his lung has healed!!!. We praise God for this because if it did not heal, Steve would be headed to surgery again.
Second, Steve has been taken out of isolation.....visitors no longer have to put on gloves and gowns. He still has pneumonia, but it is no longer resistant to antibiotics. This too is an item of praise.
God has truly shown Himself as the Great Physician in watching over Steve and answering prayer. Please continue to pray for Steve. Pray for complete healing of the pneumonia, that his mind will heal along with his body and for the ability for Steve to endure. As he heals, gets stronger and becomes more alert, he has become a bit impatient with the whole ordeal.
Laurie (I will be filling in for Andi for the next week)

April 30, 2009

We had a really good day today. Dad was talking up a storm. It is so great to here his voice and actually be able to understand him! He does still have a little trouble dealing with the new vent but he is getting good practice. This vent gives him full control of his breaths and it just gives him oxygen and a little pressure. He is only on the new vent for about six hours but everyday they will go longer and longer. He is also getting lots of exercise from the therapists. Some of the exercise are washing his own face and brushing his own teeth. It is very exciting. He is getting stronger and can sit up really good in the chair. He keeps trying to stand but does not realize he is not that strong. Unfortunately I am leaving for about a week so I will be missing so much progress. Luckily Aunt Laurie will be here to take care of him so I feel better. Thank you all for your support and prayers we are doing great!

April 29, 2009

The past couple of days have been great. First, dad is doing great with physical therapy. His legs are getting so strong and he can sit up at the side of the bed with help from the therapist. She says his core is strong and the next step is standing. They want to try in the next few days. His swallowing is also improving. They have done many tests and lots of practice. He cant quiet do it without some liquid going into his lungs but they are hopeful it will be soon. The biggest news is that they put a special tube in his trech that allows him to talk!! Unfortunately, I was not there when he did it today but Denis and Walt were and they said it was amazing. So far he has only said hello, but will need pratice getting used to moving air in the right place. At least he is making huge progress. His mind also seems to be working a little bit better. He is starting to remember a few things you tell him and has been writing a little. This new hospital is amazing and the next few weeks should be really great. Thank you all for your support and prayers, I am so happy there are so many people that care about him.

April 27, 2009

The doctors say dad is doing pretty good. He sat in the chair for a while today, but almost slid out so they had to put him back to bed. He is doing good on the vent and they say they will be getting more aggressive soon. They may even take him off for a little while to see how he does. He was also given the clear to start eating ice chips. They want to start off slow before giving him food. Tomorrow they are going to try sitting him on the side of the bed and see how well he can keep himself up. I am so happy that this new hospital is making so much progress so fast. I just hope we keep this up. He still has a long road but this is a start. Thank you all for your prayers and support its really helpful for us.

April 26, 2009

We had a pretty good weekend. Dad sat in the chair a couple of time and really seems to like it. He has not had any fevers in a while so that is a good sign the antibiotics are working. His heart rate and blood pressure stay at a normal level. The doctor said he still has an infection in his lungs but it is being controlled. Dad watched Nascar today and it looked like he was really enjoying. The physical therapist worked on him yesterday and said he is pretty strong. Each day they will test him more and push him as much as he will take. The speech therapist should be in tomorrow so hopefully they will do more swallow tests. It would be great if he could drink and eat. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Dad is working hard and its because he has so much to work for. Thanks

April 24, 2009

I apologize for this being a little late. Dad did great yesterday. The physical therapist had him sitting on the side of the bed. I was not there but she said it was really good. The speech therapist did the blue die test again to see if he could swallow. So far it was looking very successful so they are going to keep trying and hopefully he will be able to eat and drink soon. He also weind off the ventilator for a few hours. The respiratory therapist said he did really well and they will try a little harder each day. So far everything in the new hospital is really great and I look forward to all the progress he will be making. Thank you all for you extra prayers!

April 23, 2009

Dad has a new home!! We moved over to Kindred Hospital today. It is right down the street from the previous hospital. He is now in room 507. So far things look good. The doctor was in to help get him settled and the nurses were busy running around. Dad looked pretty confused the whole time. I am very anxious to see how the weekend goes. I am hoping that there are dramatic differences. They will be busy running test and analyzing everything about dad all weekend. I am hoping for a meeting soon so I can really understand the condition he is in. So far dad seems pretty content with his new room so lets hope he will be in a better mood. I am still very worried about him and I thank everyone for their prayers and support!!!

April 22, 2009

Today was pretty tough. There have been a few things that I have not been comfortable with at the hospital we are currently in. I don't want to get into details but we have decided to move dad to a different long term care facility. I am hoping that the care and treatment of my dad will improve. As far as his condition he seems to be doing well. All his stats are staying normal. He was also responding a little bit better. He was not as aggravated and seems to be calmer. There is still some big worries about his short term memory. The doctors think it may have been permanently damaged but only time will tell. There is also worry about his lungs. I have been told that they are still very damaged but have not been given any details. Hopefully the new hospital will be able to help me better understand what is really going on. Pray that this move will be the change that we need. Its been a tough time and I feel that it will continue to be tough. Dad has pulled off a few miracles and lets pray that he has a few more left. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

April 21, 2009

Today started out great. His heart rate and blood pressure are great and that is without any drugs! He was a little low on blood so they had to fill him up. When I got there he was acting so great. He was asking good questions and responding great. However, as the afternoon progressed he got very aggravated. He really wants to go home and was trying to do so all day. He does not give much warning just starts trowing legs over the bedside. It is going to be challenging to keep him relaxed, I have to just remind myself how hard this is for him. Thank you all for your prayers, we need a lot of strength and patience in the next few weeks.

April 20, 2009

Hello all! I apologize for not writing in a while but things have been a little hectic. I was going to wright last night when the hospital called and said he was not doing well. They told me his blood pressure was down, he was not breathing very good and they could not wake him up. So Ron and I ran down there and sat with him for a while. It turned out that they had given him too much morphine and it was affecting all his stats. It is also why they were having a really hard time getting him to wake up. I am really upset that they are making mistakes like this and I will be having a meeting with the medical team tomorrow.

Today he was really good. He was not on any pain killers just a few Tylenol, and he was actually doing better than when they drugged him up. He is talking like crazy and is putting all his effort into getting out of the bed. It does get very frustrating when I cant understand what he is saying, but we are both trying to be more patient. (Mostly me). He is still fighting these strands of pneumonia and they say that it will be two weeks on antibiotics.

I had a wonderful vacation but it is good to be back. Thank you all for continuing to support and pray for us. Dad has a long way to go but I have so much hope that he will be fine.

Saturday Snow Day April 18th

Steve was not doing real great today if you follow the stats. His heart rate climbed despite a test of an inhaler drug. He was breathing a lot faster than the machine also. A low grade temp was also evident. He was not awake much today but was stretching and, of course, pulling on his IV tubes.

Andi flew in tonite and we stopped in to see Steve. He beamed! There is something about that girl. Welcome Back Andi!

They gave Steve a shot to slow things down and it was kicking in quickly and he nodded off. Thanks for your prayers and caring about him.

Another Big Snow Day-April 17, 2009

Steve got medicine to slow down his heart rate which made him very tired so he slept away the morning . His heart is beating too fast and the meds for that make his blood pressure drop. It is a bit of a vicious circle.
He started waking up around 1:30 and wanted to talk. He was wide awake for about 15 minutes and then just like someone shut off a switch he was asleep. That was how we spent the afternoon.
Except for his heart beating too fast, the staff reports were all good. The infection specialist believes they have found an 'antibiotic cocktail' that will kill the pneumonia germs. The respiratory therapist was keeping him coughing and the mucus seemed to be loosening up. His temperature was normal to low grade fever which he said is a good indication the pneumonia is presently under control. The dietician is pleased that he is gaining protein and one physician said that Steve may continue to have ups and downs but right now things are starting to look up again.
We praise God for that! Please continue to pray for all of us and especially Steve and Andi as we continue to go through this time of Steve's illness.
Laurie Bartenhagen (sister-in-law)

A Day of Rest-April 16th

Today Steve slept mostly. They gave him a pain med in the morning and it pretty much kept him sleeping all day. Vitals were good most of the day. In the evening the meds were wearing thin and he awoke for a few minutes while Laurie was there. He asked for a toothbrush and he gave the mouth and teeth a good cleaning. Shortly thereafter, he dropped off to sleep.

It was great he had visitors yesterday while he was awake. Today would have been a non-event for visitors. Weather is turning to rain and snow here, once again. Ah, spring in Denver, CO. If you wish to send cards, send them to his house as his care givers are living there and will deliver fresh notes quickly and efficiently. 2789 S. Adams Denver, CO 80210 (thanks Brock for reminding me to post this)

Keep praying that the antibiotics will knock out the pneumonia. Thanks for all your prayers and for caring. God is in control. Eph 2:8-9

Standing if for Andi who is enjoying much warmer weather (go girl!!) Uncle Dave.

Tax DAY 2009

Greetings. Steve continues his battle to heal and to fight off the two new strains of pneumonia. One is a super-strain so they are very concerned that the antibiotic tools they have available are powerful enough to knock it out. His temperature is near normal but that does not mean all is well. He pulled his chest drain out last nite and they decided to watch is ventilator stats and leave it out. He still shows a leak from the surgery so that is a problem.
He had four visitors today! He smiles at every familiar face that comes in the door. He is a bit self conscious what with all the tubes and that he cannot talk. As an added bonus today, his teeth were still blue from the dye tests yesterday. Thanks for coming!
He wants to get up and go. He is quite a hand full as he is always trying to get his legs over the side of the bed rail. Physical therapy gave him a workout today but he did not slow down his effort to "make a break for it".
Tonite the plan is to install a simpler more streamlined trach tube. Hopefully it will be more comfortable and therefore less of one more thing that needs to be pulled on. They have increased his calorie intake in order to give his body the best chance to fight and heal.
Thanks again for prayers. He has not received many cards but the ones he has are displayed prominently. Hint, Hint.

April 14th -

Greetings and thanks for checking in. Your guest blogger for today is Dave as Andi has taken a much needed (and deserved!) break. She has returned home for a few days of R & R.

Steve is settling into his new digs and today was filled with lots of activity. Speech therapy was in several times (Steve was not the most cooperative-she would ask the same basic questions and he would look at her with contempt!) and testing and evaluating.
Respiratory tech was in a LOT as he is breathing too fast for the machine and it has alarms sounding at frequent intervals. We met with staff this AM before Andi left and they are treating him for a tough strain of pneumonia. Yes, a different one that is hard to treat. If you pray for nothing else during the next few days, be sure to cover this one. They are testing to find the best drug to combat it.
He was awake and busy this afternoon. With the fever from the infection, he is hot but active. He is frustrated with being there and all the restrictions. Impatient with the long time (he only knows the last few weeks at best) it has taken to recuperate, he wants to go home. The lipreading is not easy for either side of that game, either.

Thanks for all your kind words, comments, and prayers. It sure helps to encourage all of us in the family and will be cherished forever.

April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!!!

Love to All!

April 11, 2009

I know I said I would not update I just wanted to give a little more info about where we are. It is a pretty confusing hospital but the best thing to do is go to the "B" elevators and take that to the 5th floor. Then turn right and right again and he is 5201. We are still getting used to the new staff and how they operate. It is very different from the ICU and will take time. I am hoping that with a few more days things will calm down and be easier. Dad is doing good, just very aggravated with everything around him. Once we start physical therapy he should start to relax.

April 10, 2009

We are in our new home! He made the big move at about 1:00 pm. So far he does not seem to realize what is going on. He is talking a little but mostly sleeping. As the weekend goes on he will be evaluated by different doctors and departments. On Monday he will see the physical therapists and occupational therapist. I don't expect that much else will happen this weekend so I may not update the blog for a day or two. But if there are any questions I will update sooner. They tell me that they will try to put him in a chair everyday and do as much as he can handle. They will also start trying to wean him off the ventilator as much as he can handle. I am very optimistic about the new facility, and will continue to hope that this will work better than expected. His room number is 5201 and we are now at St. Luke's hospital. It is right across the street from where he was before. They are doing construction so it is a little difficult to get to, but you can park in the downstairs lot and ask the front desk for directions. Thank you for your prayers, its still hard to believe that we have got this far. He has made such great progress and we need the prayers to continue to make more.

April 9, 2009

Today we made some big plans. They think that he will be moving at 10:00AM tomorrow. I hope they stay with that time. In my experience with the hospital time does not mean much!! It will be really exciting if we do get to move. Dad got his feeding tube put in his stomach today so he wont have to worry about it being in his nose anymore. They gave us pictures of the inside of his stomach but I did not think any one would like to see that! He continues to talk up a storm, but at least he is making more sense today. He was really worried that we sold his motorcycle but very relieved when we told him it was still in the garage. I will let you know what his new room is and how he likes his new room. Again, hoping that we get there. Thank you all for your support and prayers and hopefully I can start reporting some big accomplishments.

April 8, 2009

Hello, today was pretty good. Dad was talking up a storm. I am getting much better at reading lips but we still have a little trouble sometimes. The nakedness continues so tomorrow I am going to bring him some underwear to help with that! The kidney doctors have cleared him and he is free to go. So tomorrow they should be moving the feeding tube from in his nose and put it right in his stomach. Then they will let that sit for a day to make sure it works, and if all goes right he should move on Friday. Luckily I will have uncle Rolland here this weekend to help with the chaos. I am really looking forward to this move, I have a feeling it will be really good for my dad. I think he is looking forward to it but I don't think he understands entirely. I think he just wants to go home. He thinks he feels good and should be able to leave, but the doctors are trying to explain why he is still there. Thank you all for your support and prayers it is really helping dad.

April 7, 2009

Today was kind of split in half. The first part was really good and the second was a little weird. Dad was very interactive today and even tried to write a little. It needs practice but he is trying. The doctors say he looks better than yesterday so lets keep on that trend. He watched some CNN and did a little exercise. However, later in the day he was saying his knee hurt and it was a little swollen. We will have to talk to the doctors about that tomorrow. The nurse gave him a pain killer for it and then he got weird. It seems like he was acting like a child and always had to be touching something. He also stopped answering questions and would just stair. I know the pain meds make him feel better but they really hurt his personality. We try not to give him them very often to avoid the strange behavior. Other wise he is healing well and hopefully we can move soon and work on getting off the ventilator. Keep up the positive thoughts and prayers. Thank you all!

April 6, 2009

We had a pretty nice day. Dad slept most of the morning but was pretty awake the rest of the day. Everyday he seems to become more alert and interact more. He watched a lot of baseball today and really seemed to enjoy it. I also brought a stress ball so that he had something else to do with his hands besides try to pull tubs out. His heart rate was down which was good but he still has this low fever that has no source. It is becoming a little easier to read his lips but still a challenge. I don't think he will be moving for a while longer, doctors still want to keep a close eye on him. Not many changes but he still needs all the prayers he can get. Thank you all for being there for us.

April 5, 2009

Dad had a pretty quiet day today. They did not move him like they were planning. The kidney doctors said he was not ready to leave and they wanted to just monitor him for a little while longer. That is fine by me. I would rather wait than move too soon and have something go very wrong. He moved into the chair again for a little while. His heart started to act a little weird so he had to go back to bed pretty quick. All the heart tests look fine they just think he is getting to restless and needs more fluid. After all that he was sleeping so heavy so we left. I hope he sleeps well tonight. The nurses say he stays up most of the night and sleeps during the day. I feel horrible he is awake and alone at night, so I have been trying to keep him up during the day. He is moving his legs a lot more, showing how strong he is getting every day. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts it continues to keep us strong and hopeful.

April 4, 2009

Well today we had a big accomplishment. They were able to put dad in a chair. It really helps to build his strength and it just feels good to get in a new position. Another big change today was we found out that they want to move him to a long term facility. However, this is not really a step in the right direction. The doctors and surgeons feel that there is nothing else the ICU can do for him. His lungs are still severely damaged and they have no idea when or even if they will heal. This facility will specialize on trying to get him off the vent if possible and doing some physical therapy. He has reached a point where he has stopped making improvements so they feel this facility may be able to help him more. We are going to stay optimistic and continue to pray that this will be positive. It will still be a long and hard recovery but I have so much faith that he will get better.

April 3, 2009

There were no changes today. However, that seams to be the problem. The doctors feel that he has stopped making improvements and that is becoming a worry. They are going to do a cat scan tomorrow to see if there is anything at all. He still has a leak in his lung which is being made worse by the ventilator, but he cant breath on his own so he is kind of stuck. His kidneys working again and the fact that he is awake and alert are good signs, but the lungs are still so bad. Nick and mom are here this weekend so we can all sit down and really talk this through with the doctors. I still have so much faith that this will all turn out ok. I just hope dad keeps fighting and trying to get better. Everyday I tell him how good he is doing and how much everyone loves him and he smiles every time. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts during this long journey!

April 2, 2009

Today was uneventful and that is nice. The ICU was pretty busy so we did not see the nurse very much and only saw the doctor for five minutes. He did not have dialysis because his kidneys look like they are working great. They will continue to check his blood everyday. They are pumping him full of nutrition to get him stronger and it really seams to be working. He managed to pull his feeding tube out again. Its very uncomfortable when they put it back in so I hope he is learning. But in the mean time they have to restrain his hands. He can lift his hands pretty high and we are doing exercises every day to get more movement out of him. His breathing seams to be doing very well and he is keeping good blood pressures. He seams to be on the road to recovery. Lets just hope he stays on it and does better than expected. Thank you all for your support and prayers and lets keep hoping for the best!

April 1, 2009

Wow the time is really flying, i can't believe its already April. Today was quiet. They gave dad some pain killers so he slept for most of the day. They also gave him dialysis and that really wipes him out. Its strange because the blood tests all came back good but the doctors still did the dialysis. I don't understand but it cant hurt him. Also while I was at lunch with Walt and Steve dad managed to pull his feeding tube out. I guess he just cant sit still. They got it back in and he got food all day. He is still on the vent that allows him to breath on his own with assistance so it shows that he is getting stronger. They are going to continue to watch his lungs very closely because they are still very damaged. We are making small steps but he is working on getting better. Thank you all for your support and prayers, its helping so much.

March 31, 2009

Today was a very quiet uneventful day! Dad was pretty tired so he slept for most of the day. However, he did wake up and get very excited when a few of his work friends stopped by. He continues to show signs of good kidney function. They will check his blood every morning and decide if he will need dialysis again. We are hoping that he does not, it would show a big improvement. The respiratory therapist adjusted his machine to make it so that he taking breaths on his own. He has support still but his is doing most of the work himself. This could be a big step toward him getting off the vent. There is still a small air leak in his right lung and his lungs are still very damaged, but at least he is not getting worse. He continues to get stronger and has to be on constant watch because he likes to pull things out. They don't like to restrain his arms but he grabs things when he is sleeping and not very aware, so they may have to for a little while. It is great to see him talk even if I cant read his lips. I hope to get better at it very soon. Thank you all for your support and prayers, we are doing good.

March 30, 2009

Hi! Today was full of good news. They gave dad a medication which makes you have to go to the bathroom a lot. He did really well with that, so it could mean that his kidneys are working and he may not need dialysis any more. We will find out more information tomorrow morning when they test his blood. Dad was really awake today. He was trying to tell us all sorts of things. However, I am not too good and reading lips. I felt really bad for dad because he was trying so hard and getting very frustrated. Towards the evening the nurse gave him a pain killer which put him right to sleep. He really needs the rest and he looked so peaceful when we left. The doctors are saying that he is making progress. It may be slow but its something. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers and lets hope for good news everyday.

March 29, 2009

Today was a pretty good day! As soon as we got there dad was awake. The nurse said she was going to take him off the sedation and see how he does. The doctors want him off and just have him take pain killers. They want him to move around and get stronger. He was awake for about half of the day and he was trying to talk and move his arms. It was really good progress. After awhile he got pretty tired so we left to let him get some sleep. He is also going to the bathroom a lot, so the kidney doctors want to give him a break from dialysis to see if the kidneys are working. His blood pressure was good and he did not have a fever at all today. He is making a little bit of progress and it gives me so much confidence that he could get though this very well. Thank you for your prayers it is really working!

March 28, 2009

Hello. Sorry this is late I was so tired and just went to bed without even thinking about it. Not much happened yesterday. Dads stats were normal. He ran on the dialysis machine all day and she got a lot of the fluid off of him. They were going to restart it last night and try to pull more. There were signs that he is going to the bathroom again, so they are going to do a few tests to see if the kidneys are removing the toxins like they are supposed to or just pushing out fluid. His blood pressure was staying stable so no medication for that and he even opened his eyes a little. Uncle Keith was here so dad smiled a little when he saw him and us. It was really nice. There are not many doctors on the weekends, unless there is an emergency, so we wont talk to one until Monday. I will update later on how today went. Thank you all for your prayers, have a great Sunday.

March 27, 2009

Today started out very hectic. We got a call from the doctor saying that dad was not oxygenating and they needed to do a test to find out why. Well we got their and he said they had to put a camera down his throat and look into his lungs to see what was blocking the air flow. We were so worried. The doctor let us sit in the room and watch it. They had a TV screen and you could watch him go into the lung and all throughout it. It was actually very interesting. Well they did not find anything and while we were discussing the worst possibilities, the nurse announced it was just the oxygen indicator on dads finger that was faulty. So there were many apologies for the fake incident and it turned out everything was fine. The day went on with out any problems. The blood pressure was higher than normal when I left and that is really good. Lets hope it stays like that. Dad is staying stable and hopefully he will start making improvements. If anyone would like to visit it would be great, they will allow brief visits. Again thank you all for your prayers and support.

March 26, 2009

Today was a short day for us. We got to the hospital at about 9:00 and the snow was already bad. Dad looked good. His blood pressure was stable so he was able to come off the medication for it. However, tomorrow they are going to put him on dialysis so they will have to give him the meds again to stabilized him. He is holding oxygen well and is doing fine on the ventilator. The good news is he made it though the first day with no problems so hopefully that is a sign of what is to come. The snow storm should be better tomorrow so we can spend more time with him. Thank you for helping us get through this tough day.

Morning Update

We are headed to the hospital now. I talked to the nurse at about 3:00 Am and everything looked good. His blood pressure was stable and he was on lots of pain killers. We probably wont be able to talk to him for awhile because he will be so sedated. I will talk to you all later. Hopefully we will not get stuck at the hospital, there is going to be a huge snow storm today. We are taking the big car with 4 wheel drive so we should be good. :)

March 25, 2009

Good evening everyone. Today was full of every emotion possible. The day started out very stressful. The surgery was running late so we just sat in the room and waited for two hours. It did not help the fact that I was scared about the surgery in the first place, and then we had to sit in anticipation. When they finally started getting him ready it was very hectic. They were asking me a thousand questions and handing me form after form to sign. Doctors were everywhere updating and yelling stats all over the place. They let me ride down with him on the elevator and the nurses and doctors got all emotional and telling me they would treat him like there own and that got me crying. Then we waited. Overall it was 5 hours between when they took him and when the doctor finally came in to talk to us. Fortunately one of the nurses called a few time during to let us know what was going on and why it was taking so long. The doctor said dad did very well during and all his stats stayed right where they should. He said it took so long because it was a little worse than they thought. Over all they had to remove the middle lobe of the lung and they scraped a bunch of junk off the outside. There is a little air leakage from the lung but they expect that it should heal itself. He did not loose much blood so that was good and there is a chest tube in him to make sure he will not keep bleeding. He was stable when we left and we hope this next twenty four hours he stays that way. It will be very scary because he could get really bad really fast. He was awake when we got back into the room so it was great to see him look at me and smile. He is going to be in a lot of pain but this should be a huge step forward for us. Thank you all for you concern and prayers. It was very helpful that we had such great support during this long difficult day. Good Night.

5:00 pm Denver time

This is Andrea's mom again. After a 5 hr surgery, he is back in his room in intensive care. Andrea will write about the details later but for now, they feel it went well and they removed an infected part of the lung. The next 24 hours are very critical. She is on her way to his room now and will write later tonight when she gets back to the house. Continuing praying for improvement now over the next 24 hours.

Surgery Update

This is Andrea's mom. It is now 1:30 in Denver. Steve went into surgery 2 hours late so he did not go in until 11:30 am. So it will still be a while until she can get to a computer. If she can't get to a computer, she will have me update again. Keep praying!

March 24, 2009

Today the nurse spent the day getting dad ready for surgery. They had to give him some new lines and stop the feeding. She stopped the sedation medication for a little while so that he could wake up and we could talk to him. He was not too responsive but he did smile when we talked about things like the dog and Nick. It was really nice of the nurse to give us that, because it could be a while before he can wake up again. I am very nervous about tomorrow and all I can do is pray that this will work. It is going to be very risky but the results should be really good. I will update as much as possible tomorrow, computers are hard to find at the hospital, but I will try. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Good Night.

Morning Update

Well I had a meeting with the doctors this morning and we decided that he should go into surgery tomorrow morning at 9:30AM. I will keep everyone posted on how things go. The biggest worry is how he will recover. The surgery should go fine but after that will be the deciding factor on how he will do. Tomorrow will be a big hard day so keep the prayers going. Lexie is here with me so I will not be alone. Thank you for all the support and I will write later on how the rest of the day went.

March 23, 2009

Hello everyone. Well it has been one month since he was admitted. There were no changes today. His breathing was the same and all his stats stayed the same. Unfortunately, that is why the doctors think we need to take some sort of action. One doctor sat down with me and said that the team feels that going into his chest and removing all the gunk from around the lung will make a huge difference. This is a big risk because dad is not very strong and the chance of him not making through surgery is higher that we would like. I am sitting down with two surgeons and a few doctors tomorrow morning to discuss exactly what they feel needs to happen. There have been many little things they have been doing to try to make him better but so far nothing has worked. The antibiotics, changing all the lines and draining the fluid from his chest has not solved the problem and they think this is the only thing that may help. The other worry is that if we wait too much longer he will just get weaker and the option for surgery will pass. Tomorrow is going to be a though day, and I thank everyone for being there to support me. The prayers will be very important this week and I know my dad wants to be here and he will fight, but a little help from god will make all the difference.

March 22, 2009

Today was very uneventful and that is fine by me. I had to make two long trips to the airport so I did not spend much time at the hospital. However, the time I did spend was nice. All his stats looked good. His blood pressure was up, his heart rate was down and his temperature was a little high but that's fine. I just spoke to the nurse about how the rest of the day went and he said all was the same. He is still on the continuous dialysis and had a little more Tylenol for the fever. They are keeping him sedated to keep him calm and breathing at a slow steady pace. Lets hope he starts making a little progress soon. Thank you all for keeping dad in your thoughts and prayers it really keeps me positive.

March 21, 2009

Today started out as a bad day. As soon as we got in the room they told us that his heart was in atrial fibrillation. It was beating about 150 beats per minute and his blood pressure was dropping. They gave us two options. Give him medication to bring it down or shock his heart. The medication was too risky because it could possibly put more toxins into his lungs so we decided to do the shock. It was just a small volt and Rolland was in the room. It was a good choice because it was quick results and no side effects. After that everything went back to normal. It is a scary situation because his heart is getting too much stress and he could get back into it at any time. We are hoping it wont be like that and that he will start improving now. We did not discuss anything else with the doctors today, we were still trying to get over the morning. We will probably not talk about the lungs again till Monday. Today was another reminder that he is still so sick and its just a waiting game. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.

March 20, 2009

I'm sorry this is a day late but yesterday was so long I did not have the energy to even think about the day. We arrived at 7 am because they told us we would talk to the surgeons and then he would go in. Well we got there and they decided to put a small tube in the upper chest and hope that gross infected fluid would come out and that would be the source of the problem. So we waited and waited. He wast supposed to go in at 10 then before lunch, then after lunch then the after noon. Well about 5 they took him down. Then they told us to wait in the waiting room and they would talk to us when they were done and tell us what they found. Two and a half hours later Rolland went to the room to see what was taking so long and he was out and no one had told us. We were so frustrated. The other bad news was the fluid look normal. Meaning the infection is most likely in the lung and there will be a more complicated surgery to get it out. That discussion should come today but we will see. We all slept in this morning so I will updated later when we get there. When we left last night everything else look good. His temp was down and they were starting dialysis. Thank you all for your prayers and sorry for the delay.

March 19, 2009

Well today we got a lot of information. First, he was pretty sedated so he did not wake up to talk to us. Lexie and Rolland flew in and they wanted to talk to him but no luck. Second, the doctors wanted to take out his gull bladder because they thought it was the source of the infection and they came back an hour later and decided it was not and they did not want to risk it. Tomorrow morning we have to be there early to have a meeting with all the doctors and surgeons and decide what to do next. They are suggesting they go into his lung and try to remove all the junk they find and possible remove a part that is so badly damaged. There are many risks, but they think he needs this in order to recover. There are many factors we have to weight and with the doctors help I hope we make a good decision. I will keep everyone posted with anything new. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

March 18, 2009

Hello All. Not much has changed today. I look it as no news is good news. Dad is pretty sedated today because he is breathing too heavily. They are worried that the vessels will pop when he breaths like that so he has to rest. We have not got any results as far as the infections in the blood or on the lines. It takes a few days for cultures to grow and antibiotics to work so we should know more tomorrow. They feel the chest tube has served its purpose and not much fluid is coming out so that should come out tomorrow. They were holding off putting any new lines in, because of the risk of infection, so he did not receive the dialyses today. Plus his body needed a little break. I talked to the kidney doctor today and she says not to worry about those, they usually go when people get sick and they are the last to get better. It is still a waiting game, and each day will bring a little bit more information. Its really hard to wait but its better than things changing too fast to keep up with. Thank you all for your support, Nick and I appreciate everyone for being there for us. Keep up the prayers for dad, he needs it.

March 17, 2009

Hello. There was not much change today. I sat down with the lung doctor today and had a good look at the cat scans. Everything in his stomach looks good. However, his lungs look terrible. He is only using about 20% of each lung. The infection has scared large portions and there is still a lot of fluid that is not moving. The lungs can heal but it will take maybe months of vents and oxygen for a while after that. They changed all the lines and gave a big dose of antibiotics to get rid of the infection in his blood. If that goes away we will be in a better place. If it does not that means they have to go into the lungs and suck out as much as they can. It is very risky and they are not sure if he can handle that. He has pulled out a few miracles and lets hope he can do one more. He asked if I would bring buddy to visit, so I am going to talk to the nurse and maybe they will allow a short visit. Other than that he seams comfortable and is communicating well. Tomorrow will bring more information, so keep praying! Thank you so much.

March 16, 2009

Good Evening All. Today was kind of full of bad news. There are a few organs that are not doing too well and are being closely watched. His lungs are the same as yesterday, full of junk and still draining. The blood has a little infection and they are hoping that all this can be fixed with antibiotics. So the next few days will tell us what is working and what is not. He had another cat scan for his belly today so we can see how that is doing. I wont know anything until tomorrow. His fever was up so he slept pretty well all day. Unfortunately, this could be a step back for us but the doctors have always said he could get worse before he gets better. Hopefully that is true. He is still a very sick person and that never changed, but there was a small improvement last week. He still has fight in him and I hope he will continue to do so. We really need a little extra prayer the next few days and thank you all for all the support.

March 15, 2009

Today was an on off day, but eventful. The fever has concerned the doctors enough that they needed action today. First they gave him a big dose of antibiotics to try to cure the infection. That will take a few days to really see the difference. They also put a chest tube in his side between the ribs to constantly drain the fluid that is creating the infection. This is the least invasive way to try to control this infection. If that does not work they have to put a camera in his side and search out the fluid and get as much as they can. However, this is pretty intense and the surgeons don't think he is strong enough for that. His blood pressure was on and off today so they had to give him some meds to bring it up. On the lighter side he was having pain in his stomach when the doctors pushed on it but the ultra sound revealed everything was fine, so he could just be bloated and sore. Also he is taking food through his tube and everything is digesting well. He got a little restless and pulled the feeding tube out so they had to restrain him. He is agitated but understands and says he wont do it anymore. So that is up to the nurses. Hopefully tomorrow will bring better news. Keep us in your prayers and thoughts. Thank You.

March 14, 2009

Hi! Today was about the same. The dialysis wipes him out so he slept most of the day. Also he had to get another cat scan so they have to give him medication to keep him still and that made him sleep. He still has a mild fever and the doctors are not sure where it is coming from but the cat scan should tell us. We wont find out more till tomorrow because doctors are scarce on Saturday nights. We are worried that it could be a new infection in the fluid around his lungs but I hope not. It will just be more stress on his body. They have taken a good amount of the fluid off of him so he is starting to look better, and the tube feeding is putting some more weight on him. He had a few visitors today and that really helps to boost his spirit. All is steady at this point so we will see how tomorrow goes. Thank you all and good night!

March 13, 2009

Hello! Dad is doing good today! He is awake and talking. He wants to make sure I am going to the grocery store and that we did not get rid of the house. Poor dad, he is trying so hard. Dave and I looked at long term facilities for extended care today. We picked a really nice one right across the street from the hospital. He is not ready to leave the ICU yet but we will have to move at some point soon. It is a positive sign that he is getting better. He is not out of the woods yet but he is almost there. He is getting more food through the tube and I think it is making him stronger. We are going to start practicing writing on a white board so he can get his message across better. Hopefully they will try to put him in a chair to see how his blood pressure handles it. Thank you so much for your support and prayers, we are doing great!!

March 12, 2009 Day 17 or so

Today is a great day here in Denver. You have a guest blogger (Dave) and Steve continues his journey with positive steps. The Doctors are talking optimistically and about the future care. This is a huge improvement from the weeks past. Steve is mouthing words furiously and Andi and I are playing 20 questions. Do you mean this? Or that? He gets frustrated with us, for sure. He is a awake quite a lot and is getting more strength little by little. He can pick his hands up a bit and shuffle his legs. This is great progress even if it sounds little. Steve kept asking to go outside. Andi finally got him to fess up why (he wanted to step out for a smoke...). LOL She chewed him out good! We sneaked off to the hall to celebrate that he is getting stronger in mind and body. The many months ahead will require much determination and patience.
Thanks to all for the prayers. God has listened and acted to give Steve these improving days. I sing his praise for this day!!! Ephesians 2:8-9 He is graceful to us
(PS it is much warmer here-40's above; it was -4 F this AM with -40 windchill. Not quite -200, but close!)
Keep praying!

March 11, 2009

Hello all! Dad got his tracheotomy today and it went really well. His face looks so much better and now I can read his lips. I know he feels better cause he is smiling and laughing. Besides that not much else happened today. Uncle Dave was supposed to fly in but the plane broke, (I'm guessing that it just froze its like -200 in North Dakota), but I hope he will make it tomorrow. They are going to start giving him nutrition into his stomach tomorrow so that should really help in making him stronger. The doctor thinks everything is going in the right direction, it may be slow but good. Have a great night and thank you for your prayers and support!

March 10, 2009

Hello everyone. Dad was very alert today. He would answer all the questions that the doctor would ask and he seams to be understanding everything that is going on. He was supposed to be getting the tracheotomy today but surgery was very busy so he should get it tomorrow. He is very frustrated not being able to talk to us and I think it is hurting a little so we cant wait till he gets the trachea. Walt and Steve Johanson stopped by today and dad seamed really happy. He was smiling a lot so I think it makes him feel better that people visit him. He still has a little fever but they are not finding any new infections so it could just be a little left over. He is still on dialysis and will stay on it till they are sure that his kidneys are fully functioning. They pulled liquid from his lung yesterday and they will do another cat scan to make sure it does not come back, if it does they have to put a tube in his side to keep draining it. All seams a little better today and lets hope it stays that way. Thank you for reading this and continue to pray.

March 9, 2009

This is kind of a late post I was at the hospital for a while. Dad had his eyes open a lot today so it was really hard to leave. The doctors had to pull some fluid out from around his lungs and we hope this will allow him to take deeper breaths. All of these tests remind me that he is still very sick and cannot be considered out of the woods yet. Its hard to grasp that with all this progress he still has so far to go. I continue to hope that things will get better and he is on the right track. He really wants to talk but he cant with the tube in his mouth. I am hoping that in a day or two they will to the tracheotomy and then he can talk a little. Thank you all for your prayers and support we really need it right now.

March 8, 2009

Today was great!! Dad opened his eyes and acknowledged us. He would shake his head when I would ask him questions. He did not have them open for very long but, it was so wonderful to finally be able to look him in the eye. He was on and off a blood pressure medication because for some reason it would keep dropping but it should be OK. He had a cat scan this morning and it showed some fluid in his lungs. The pulmonologist thinks it would be best if they just removed it, so they may do that tomorrow. Also on Tuesday it will be time to give him a tracheotomy and put the vent tube in his neck. It will be more comfortable, reduce the chance for infection and be easier for him to stay awake. His original doctor will be back tomorrow so I cant wait to here what she has to say about his progress. I am so happy that grandma and Lexie could be here to see him open his eyes and I cant wait till he is more aware. Thank you all for praying for us it really was a great day!

March 7, 2009

Hello, we are still making progress. He is off all medication and is no longer being sedated. We were trying to wake him today and he would twitch his eyes a little but not open them. The doctor says it will take a few more days but to keep trying. The respiratory therapist is going to try to lower the pressure on the vent a little more tomorrow. They are working on getting it off all the way but that too will take a long time. Tomorrow he will be getting his first cat scan to make sure there is nothing hiding. He still has a fever so the cat scan should tell us where it is coming from. His doctor is going to sit down with us tomorrow and have a talk about what the prognosis really is and how long it will take him to recover. Hopefully they will bring good news and a quick recovery but only time will tell. Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts. Again it is making all the difference.

March 6, 2009

Hello All:

Things are pretty much the same as yesterday. He is off all blood pressure medication and is now off the sedation. We were trying to wake him up with little success. He does twitch his eyes and try to move his head a little. It is really nice to see a reaction especially since there has been no movement when we talk to him. Grandma has kicked into her old nursing habits and is busy massaging, doing his range of motion and checking all the lines. The nurse loves it and says she will put grandma to work soon. As far as yesterdays fever, he still has it a little but they have not found anything wrong so it may just be him fighting off any left over pneumonia. The doctor says his chest sounds better so that infection is almost gone. Waking up will be a long process but I cant wait to see him open his eyes. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts it is really working.

Thank You
Andi

March 5, 2009

Hello! This was an uneventful day so far. But that is better than what it could be. He is still on the normal ventilator and is holding his oxygen well. The sedative was wearing off so he was starting to breath against the machine, so they had to give him more. That is OK at least it is not the paralyzer. He started to get a fever so the doctor ordered some more blood tests. They just hope it is not a new infection. He is still on dialysis but is running just fine. The machine is giving his kidneys a break so he can be on the machine for a while before it becomes too much. The goal for the doctors at this point is to wean him off the vent and start breathing on his own. It is going to be a long process but hopefully successful. I am very excited to see grandma and Lexie tomorrow and I hope it will be a good visit. He is responding to voices more so I will talk more and let him know what is going on in the world. Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers and talk to you later!!

March 4, 2009

Today was a good day!! He is off the oscillator and is doing good on a normal ventilator. Also he is off the meds that paralyze him. He is almost off all of his blood pressure medication and staying strong.