Blink two times

Well, today is a "good news" update.

First, they transferred my dad to his room in step-down ICU. And Dr. Dark-hair (I can't pronounce his real name, so that's how I refer to him) okayed him to move out to "the floor." I assume that means out of ICU into a regular room. That's great news. When that happens, Melissa will be able to introduce him to his newest granddaughter.

Second, he was able to respond to a new command. The nurse resituated him (something with his pillow or something) and said, "If that's more comfortable, blink your eyes two times." And he did! He was able to do this again later with a different nurse! Praise the Lord!

Praise God for Dad's improvements! But also continue to pray that he'll be able to respond to voice commands to move his fingers, toes, tongue, etc. This is imperative for his transfer to a rehabilitation facility (possibly Mary Free Bed) instead of a nursing home.

Back at the homestead, something exciting happened today. We asked Grace if she wanted to throw her pacifiers ("tassies") in the trash, and she said yes. We asked her again, and she still said yes, so we took her to the trash can, and she threw them in of her own accord! Wow! We're incredibly nervous about how little sleep we'll get tonight, but also relieved because we wanted her to be done with her tassies before she turned two. Now is as good a time as any! Pictured is two tassies in the trash can.

Also pictured is Grace on the old cell phone that Melissa gave us, and some cute pictures of our afternoon excursion to the playground. Fun!

Keep praying!

-{lkr}

Quick update

"Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything...It is at your discretion that men are...given strength." (1 Chronicles 29:11-12)

Well, I'm about a day behind in my updates - sorry! This is the news from yesterday...

They did an MRI, and his neck looks fine. (They were worried that he may have strained/damaged some ligaments, but they're pretty sure he didn't.) So, they took his collar off. That's probably more comfortable for him!

The MRI also showed no damage deep in the brain or to the brain stem and no sign of stroke - praise the Lord!

They took the staples out of his huge incision from the neurosurgery. And they took out his central lines and put in a regular IV.

This is the good news - He actually opened his eyes and looked right at the nurse and my mom, by himself (without physical stimulation), multiple times! My mom said he looked at the nurse, and the nurse said, "Hi, David. Look who's here." And he looked right at my mom. How cool is that!? So, they're saying he's much brighter and more responsive. But they want him to be able to respond to other commands, like sticking out his tongue or wiggling his fingers or toes. Please pray specifically that he'll be able to do that soon.

Thank you for your continued prayers. Our family really appreciates it. Some days are harder than others, and I think as time goes on it will just get really emotionally exhausting. I've been doing well, thanks to the grace of God, but I also can't think too much about the times my dad was with our kids, because that makes me cry. He loves them so much. I want them to get to know him, too. So, please, keep praying! And pray for my mom, too, because she'll have some decisions to make in the future (when she should go home and be with my little sister, etc.).

On a happier note, baby Emma went home yesterday! What a sweetheart. And Grace is learning to say "Emma." Sometimes she says it clearly, and other times it sounds just like "Momma." : - )

-{lkr}

Welcome, Emma! and Home, sweet, home!

Yep, two titles for one post. That is because so much has been happening lately.

First of all, isn't this face the sweetest? This is my new neice, Emma Jean. She is just a darling, with a head full of black hair. (Poor Melissa had heartburn a lot during this pregnancy!) She was born on Tuesday, September 26 at 11:53pm, and was 7lb 9oz and 20-3/4in. The fun part is that September 26 is also my Grandma Lung's birthday, so now she has a great-granddaughter that shares her birthday!

I took this picture in the hospital, and then we printed some and brought a bigger one up to the hospital in TC to show my dad. I told him all about her and tried to show him the picture. I don't know if it registered at all. It looked like he was sleeping, even though one eye was cracked open. It makes me really sad to think that he's missing this part of Emma's life. I can't tell you how much my dad loves his grandchildren. I just hope he'll wake up to meet her someday.

Well, speaking of my dad, not much improvement is happening right now. I can see that it's potentially going to be a very long road for us. He's pretty much the same, except the nurse told me that since he's successfully been off the ventilator for over a day, he's in the "step-down" ICU, which is pretty much just a step down from ICU. That's good news. There's also been talk of transferring him down here to Mary Free Bed sometime for rehabilitation. That would be great for Luke and I, and probably very hard for my mom.

And the home, sweet, home segment of my post....After 2 long weeks of being away, we're finally home! Hooray! It felt so good to be in my own bed last night. We got home around 11:30pm, and Grace was SO excited to be at home in her own bed, too. It was cute. I feel really bad about not being up in TC with my family, but my kids especially needed to come home for a while. They're all out of whack. So we'll be working on their schedules this week, hopefully getting them back into their routine. (And we're avoiding the car like the plague, since we've been in it for at least two hours every day lately.)

Well, that's the update. I'd better go start picking up the mess that we brought back with us! Again, thank you for your prayers. Please keep it up! We want to see Dad completely healed!

-{lkr}

Monday

Today they were able to take my dad off the ventilator. This is good news! That means he's breathing on his own. They did, however, put a "trach shield" over his tracheostomy, which supplies him with oxygen to ensure saturation. (Honestly, I'm a little vague on what that means, but I know it's good.)

He also kept his left eye open longer today, and it looked like he was really looking at me. He moved his arms some, too. Every now and then he gets tears in the corner of his eye(s), and I wonder if he's sad. Can he hear us, but not respond? I always tell him it's okay and wipe away the tears, and I marvel that I've been given the chance to show my dad such care and love even when we haven't always had a very tender relationship. I look forward to hugging him and telling him I love him again when I know he's fully conscious of what's going on.

Caleb and I are leaving tomorrow at 7am to take Melissa to get induced. We're going to entertain her until Karl gets off work at 11am. (If she happens to progress faster than that, of course we'll call Karl to come early.) I'm praying for a quick, easy labor and delivery for her. And a happy, healthy baby! Please pray for her tomorrow! I can't wait to meet my sweet neice Emma!

Again, thank you all for your continued prayers for our family!

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:3-6)

-{lkr}

Sunday

We went up to TC to visit Dad again today. Lately, he's been moving his left arm. (He doesn't like it to lie straight out. He bends it over his stomach.) Anyway, Luke and I were in the room with him, talking to him, and his arm was straight out. After a few minutes, I said, "Dad, show Luke how you can move your arm." And he did it! I'm choosing to believe that he actually heard me and responded. How cool is that?

Also, the nurse said that he opened his eyes and actually focused when he was bathing him today. I wish I could see him open his eyes!

Keep praying! "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16) Pray that he'll wake up and make a full recovery. Also pray for Melissa and Karl - Melissa will be induced to have baby Emma this Tuesday!

And welcome home to the newlyweds, Dan and Emily! We're glad you had a great time and want to hear all about the fun time you had!

Thanks for all your prayers and support! I can't tell you what a difference it makes!

-{lkr}

Saturday update

I accidentally lied in the last post. My dad lost 12.9 pounds of fluid from the diuretic, not 14.8. Sorry!

Not much new. They're going to try to wean him off the ventilator, which is good. It's better for him to be able to breathe on his own than to have to have the ventilator.

Today when Melissa and I were talking to him, his left eye slid open a crack. It wasn't much, but it was encouraging. Maybe he knows we're there? Maybe he wants to wake up?

I really, really want him to wake up before we have to go home on Wednesday. Let's pray for that! Progress is so slooooooow now. If he doesn't make some great improvements before Tuesday, they're going to do an MRI to see if there's some soft tissue damage that they aren't aware of. (Let's hope there isn't!)

Praise God for our friends and family! I really miss our church family. It seems like it's been so long since we've seen them. They are such great friends to us. The Brewsters, Sturmans, and Perrons made Luke dinners when he was home alone. (They must've thought he wouldn't survive as a bachelor, haha.) Then the Brewsters, Sturmans, and Dows made us the nicest gift box of stuff (gas gift card, water bottles, apples, trail mix, cookies, banana bread, chips and homemade salsa...yum!). Truly, we have the best friends. We thank God for them!

On a completely unrelated note, I just had to kill the hugest spider in my parents' basement. It was not much smaller than Argi, although not quite as scary looking. Why do spiders seem to follow me around? Ugh.

And welcome home to the newlyweds - Dan and Emily Stauch! We love you two!

-{lkr}

Slow progress

Not a lot to report...Today my dad underwent a tracheotomy, and they also inserted a feeding tube directly into his stomach. He looks much more comfortable now without all the tubes in his mouth.

Yesterday they gave him a diuretic, and he lost 14.8 pounds of fluids. He looks much less swollen now, which is nice.

When Melissa and I were talking to him yesterday, we saw his eyelids/eyes move. (His eyes were still closed.) It was exciting to see a new sign of movement. I hope he can hear us talking to him, telling him we love him and encouraging him to wake up. He didn't seem quite as active today, but he was also sedated during his surgery, so that makes a difference.

He's going to have quite a scar on his head from the neurosurgery. The staples start in front of his right ear, stretch all the way to the back of his head, and then all the way up the middle of his head toward his forehead. It's crazy. I think it'll be a good way to scare the boys off when they start wanting to date Alonna. : - )

I wish I could report a quick recovery, but that hasn't happened yet. We are still praying for a full, complete recovery, but it seems to be taking longer than we'd hoped. So, pray for patience for us!

Melissa is still scheduled to have her baby (Emma Jean Webster) this coming Tuesday, and then Luke and I and the kids plan to go home on Wednesday sometime. I really hope I can see my dad awake before then. It would be wonderful.

Thank you, everyone, for all your prayers and support. I'm amazed at God's provision, and at the generosity and love of all of our friends and family! I can't tell you how much we appreciate it! Amidst all of the craziness and hard times, I will still say GOD IS GOOD!

-{lkr}

Praise the Lord, again!

He opened his eyes! Both eyes were opened on command today, though just for a second. We have really been waiting for this step.

Tomorrow they will take off his intracranial pressure monitor, and they want the family to begin speaking to him more. To date, the doctors have wanted the family to stay quiet to keep the pressure in his brain down.

Another tidbit about AAR; they are paying to put Lacey's mom up in The Manor House, a low-cost boarding option on the hospital grounds!

Woo-hoo! Keep praying – we know that God is working.

--
Luke and Lacey

Quick Dad Liabenow Update

Dad Liabenow is still in a comatose state, though the doctors have been trying to wake him periodically, and even left the sedatives off today for most of the day. He is moving his arms and legs around, but still cannot obey voice commands (he did try to open one eye when asked to, but was unable to - this is a big improvement over the last couple of days).

Please:

1. Pray that he will come out of his coma, and begin the long process of rehabilitation
2. Pray that his aspiratory pneumonia would be controlled / eliminated by the antibiotics
3. Pray that the family would remain strong / at peace
4. Praise the Lord for his company, AAR, and his co-workers there (AAR is letting him use his sick days, then is paying the 20% of his salary that disability does not cover, and his co-workers are taking up a collection for him!)

That's all for now...we are praying and hoping for good news soon. Thanks for your prayers and concern,

--
Luke and Lacey

A Beautiful, Heartbreaking Weekend

Emily's wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and went SO well. She was a beautiful bride, and I had so much fun doing all the flowers and being a bridesmaid. I love my Rumley (and now Stauch) sisters!

We planned to return to GR after the wedding on Saturday so we could be at our church on Sunday. We were so exhausted when we got home around midnight and couldn't wait to sleep in our own beds. But as soon as we opened the door, the phone rang. It was bad news.

This may be something that only deer hunters (or their children) can relate to, but my dad had been wanting to hunt from a certain spot on my grandparents' property (across the street from my parents' house). The only problem was that the trees there wouldn't support a tree stand. So, on Saturday evening he and Karl (my brother-in-law) were working on setting a 35-foot telephone pole (in a hole in the ground), so he could mount a tree stand on that. My dad was on the tractor, and Karl was on the ground. Something happened, and the 300ish-pound telephone pole cracked in half and fell on my dad's head. I am heartbroken that Karl had to experience that, but I praise God that Karl was there. He pulled my dad off the tractor and ran until he could get a signal on his cell phone to call 911.

My dad was taken to Mercy Hospital in Cadillac, and the ER doctor knew what needed to happen, but they didn't have the equipment/facilities to do it. It was up in the air as to whether he'd even stay alive on the 20-minute helicopter flight from Cadillac to Traverse City. He did live, and they did immediate brain surgery because he had developed a massive hematoma (blood clot) that was pushing aside his brain and affecting his brain stem. Praise the Lord - the doctor pulled back his scalp and was able to just lift out a fragment of his skull and scoop out the hematoma, which was much quicker/easier than having to drill/cut to get in there.

Still, the phone calls we received told us to hurry up to Traverse City, because they didn't think he'd make it. (Most patients with injuries this severe do not live, and if they do, it's in a vegetative state.) So, we packed back up and left, thinking we'd be attending my dad's funeral this week. It was devastating.

We were able to see him after we arrived at the hospital around 3:30am. He looks pretty bad. But this morning they did a CT scan, and were happy to find that he did not suffer a stroke like they feared. Also, his brain stem is back in place, his brain is working on getting back in place, and the swelling is going down. They tried to wake him, but he did not open his eyes (which is typical of head trauma patients). However, he did respond voluntarily to the doctors a little bit, which is incredibly promising.

It was so hard to be in the room and watch the doctor yell, "David, your family is here. David, open your eyes. Open your eyes, David." And he didn't. All I wanted in the world at that moment was for him to open his eyes, but he didn't.

We are encouraged by his progress, and so blessed by the many people (family, friends, and people we don't even know) who are praying for him. Praise the Lord for the progress we've seen. Please continue to keep him in your prayers, and pray for my mom and Karl (and the rest of us). I will be up in Manton/Traverse City this week, and Luke is coming back to GR. We'll try to keep updating so you know how to pray.

Thank you!


-{lkr}

Our cuties

Caleb is such a big boy! He's sitting up in his crib, playing with his alphabet ball. We have a picture of Grace that's very similar to this one, and look at her now! He'll be all grown up before we know it!


Here he is, sitting up again, chewing on Grace's rubber ducky. Did I mention that he's teething? Oh, yeah, we can't feel them yet, but we can see his two bottom front teeth getting ready to come out. Ouch!


Just because she's pretty! Her 2nd birthday is two months from Thursday! Wow!

The countdown is on for Melissa, Karl, Kade, and Emma/Hailey (I'm not sure which name they've chosen for sure yet). The doctor will induce her on Tuesday, September 26 if she hasn't gone into labor by then. And then I will have my first neice! How exciting!

Speaking of countdowns, only 4 days left until your first "sleepover," Emily and Dan! SO excited for you!

-{lkr}

What have I done?

We took a last-minute trip to Manton on Sunday night, to spend Labor Day with my family. It was a tiring trip with all the driving, but it was really good to see them. We had a great time! Thanks for the birthday gifts/cards and cake! Yum!

We went to the annual Harvest Festival parade in Manton. Alonna carried the banner for the AWANA float. It was fun to be there and see people I haven't seen in ages. (Although, it's a little weird to recognize someone and not be able to remember their name or why you should know them!) Anyway, I saw two of my friends from the past that I really haven't seen in a while. One of them, Chris, still lives in the Cadillac area and has three kids. We used to ride the school bus together. He lived around the corner from my parents' house. I think I lost track of him sometime around eighth or ninth grade.

Then Will. We went to school together for most of the thirteen years I was at Manton. He asked me to "go out with him" pretty much every three years (sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades). In spite of my "no" answers, we were still pretty good friends. Now he works down here in the GR area at a camp for disabled people. I think that's a pretty cool job.

Anyway, today I was online, and I randomly found a whole bunch of people I went to high school with on myspace. (Myspace has the ugliest, weirdest bunch of web pages ever. They make my eyes twitch.) It made me sad. All of them talked about getting drunk and partying (except maybe one? not sure). None of them seemed to have the hope that comes from knowing Jesus.

And so I thought, what have I done, in the past, to either encourage them toward Jesus, or to push them away? I know in high school people viewed me as the holier-than-thou kind of person, because I wouldn't drink and party, and I insisted on staying a virgin until marriage. (Which was the best choice ever!) I made mistakes, that's for sure, but I still aimed to stay pure and keep my focus on walking a Christ-like walk. I don't know if anyone ever appreciated that back then, or if they just resented me for it. I feel like I wasn't able to really make relationships that changed people's lives back then, though. Maybe I was too judgmental and not loving enough?

And, after so many years, what can I do now? I know prayer is powerful, and I can certainly pray for them. But is there more? It just makes me so sad to think that most of the people I grew up with will end up living aimless, purposeless lives. They don't know the real purpose for living! I wish I could share it with them and make them understand. Living for the glory of God is infinitely better than living for our own glory. Maybe I'm finally really starting to understand the need for spreading the Gospel. I want to share this gift God's given me!

-{lkr}

Goodbye, Argi!

Thought you might like to know that Ms. Argi has been adopted by our next-door neighbors. They're going to feed her to their turtle.

-{lkr}