Update on Lyssa's Dad

It’s Saturday afternoon, and Dan’s had a quiet day. They are still working to get a good balance between sedating him enough to keep him from thrashing around and fighting the ventilator, but not so much as to depress his respiration and keep him dependent on the ventilator.

Therefore, the next effort to get him breathing on his own has been postponed until tomorrow, as he seems to be too sedated to make a good go of taking over his own respiration, today. One interesting event that has encouraged us: last night, when he was fighting and thrashing, Chris asked him to blink if he was in pain. She said those eyelids flapped 90 miles/minute! Then she told him to blink if he’d like pain medication. Same response.

So, that seems like a pretty good indication of neurological functioning, if you ask me. (Not that you’d ask me – though I’ve learned more in the past few days about all of this than I’ve ever wanted to know!) We’ll continue to keep you all posted when we have new information. From the very beginning, we’ve been wrapped in the love and care of all of you – family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We still are. And we are so grateful for all of you.

Thanks for your comments in the Guest Book, your visits, emails, calls, texts, comments on Facebook, quietly protective presence, food, and especially your prayers. What a gift that will be for Dan for the rest of his life, as he reads it all and hears the stories! Many blessings!