Day 22
Wed. July 9th
5:30 am
Chase Update:
Happy 16th Birthday Chase!
Today is week 4 or day 22 since the accident......or 3 lifetimes for us.
I'm pretty sure Chase is detoxing right now. He's sweating profusely, and cannot stop moving his legs and arms. He won't sleep, and he is miserable, but not in pain.
He has been living on opiates, barbiturates, and other pain medicines for 3 weeks now, so it's pretty brutal.
He is heading down to get a CT scan to ensure the swelling is staying down, which means more drugs to get him to hold still.
Television seems to be the only thing that calms him. This is another reason I think he is detoxing. Distraction makes his legs and arms move less.
If everything goes as planned Chase will get to breath on his own for a while. Fingers crossed!
I have hesitated to open an account for people to donate money for Chase's medical bills, but after talking to the rehab representative I realized how much the insurance company doesn't cover.
I would really appreciate it if you would share the link.
We still need your prayers more than your money so don't you dare apologize or feel bad if you don't have the ability to give a monetary blessing. The Lord will provide a way.
I would really appreciate it if you would share the link.
We still need your prayers more than your money so don't you dare apologize or feel bad if you don't have the ability to give a monetary blessing. The Lord will provide a way.
Today we pray that Chase will excel with his breathing, and that his lungs continue to clear and heal. We pray his body can be calm and he will be able to rest a little more as he tries to overcome the effects of the drugs he has been inundated with.
Please pray Chase will be able to continue is astounding progress, that he can continue to be a witness of God's power and mercy. All this we pray for in accordance to the will of our Heavenly Father.
We pray he blesses you for part in this healing journey, thank you for your service, your love, and your prayers. Phil & I have never felt more loved!
May god bless you and keep you until we meet again. We are legion!
Please pray Chase will be able to continue is astounding progress, that he can continue to be a witness of God's power and mercy. All this we pray for in accordance to the will of our Heavenly Father.
We pray he blesses you for part in this healing journey, thank you for your service, your love, and your prayers. Phil & I have never felt more loved!
May god bless you and keep you until we meet again. We are legion!
Some of Chases Birthday Visitors
6:45pm
6:45pm
Chase Update:
Chase was finally able to rest today. His legs were restless and he was sweating until about 8 this morning. Then he puked everywhere later in the day. Now he is sleeping great. We hope the worst of the detox is behind us. Days of watching helplessly is horrible.
They took him off the vent and let him breathe on his own for over 10 min today. He did well but it's a really fast shallow breathe. We will work up to it.
Chase was finally able to rest today. His legs were restless and he was sweating until about 8 this morning. Then he puked everywhere later in the day. Now he is sleeping great. We hope the worst of the detox is behind us. Days of watching helplessly is horrible.
They took him off the vent and let him breathe on his own for over 10 min today. He did well but it's a really fast shallow breathe. We will work up to it.
We celebrated chases birthday with cake and good friends. Some of the nurses and his Dr. Came in and sang happy birthday with us. He even got some presents.
We started a gofundme account today for Chase today. Thank you for loving my son! Your birthday donations are helping us with the alarming bills that are not covered by insurance.We are overwhelmed by the generosity of friends, family, and strangers.
Now that Chase has (hopefully)detoxed from the medicine they pumped into him, I can't wait to see if he is cognitive tomorrow.
Tonight we ask you to pray Chase can be free from the effects of the medication he was on, that his lungs can heal quickly, and be strong enough to wean off the ventilator. We thank The Lord for all the prayers, visits, monetary gifts, and acts of service that have been done in our families name. All this we ask in accordance to God's will. May God bless you and keep you until we meet again. We are legion.
A few of the Happy Birthday Wishes Chase received!
Day 23
Thurs. July 10th
7:30 am
Kami Update:
Chase is back to the leg thrashing and sweating buckets. Boohoo! Poor kid. I'm so grateful I got to sleep through the night. (Thank mom & Phil) Being tired on top of watching your baby suffer is unbearable.
Chase is back to the leg thrashing and sweating buckets. Boohoo! Poor kid. I'm so grateful I got to sleep through the night. (Thank mom & Phil) Being tired on top of watching your baby suffer is unbearable.
These last few days in the ICU waiting room have been so hard. A lot of people in anguish and pain, and I can't ease it. People won't be comforted by us as well now because our son is getting better. All I can do is pray for them. It's such a helpless feeling. Then I remembered that many of you are in the same situation. You want to help us, ease our burdens, and all you can do is pray.
My attitude changed instantly.
ALL I could do was pray? Had I not just experienced miracles in my life over and over because of the fervent prayers of loved ones and strangers?
Had I not literally felt those prayers?
The hope it gives me when Someone says they are praying for me and my family is exhilarating, and it confirms we are not forgotten.
So I will change it to EVERYTHING I can do is pray! I am giving my all, and enlisting the help of The Lord in my endeavors. My Prayers are a vocal cry for The Lord's army to surround them with comfort, and if it be His will, to heal.
Thank you for sharing our gofundme page yesterday. We are so overwhelmed by the outpouring we received. I didn't even recognize half the names of the people who donated.
Chases birthday was pretty great! He had some if his friends come down last night. Is was good to see them. They had a lot of questions about his recovery process, and I tried to answer them as best I could. Most of the answers with TBI at this stage is - We don't know yet.
However my faith in Chase and My Heavenly Father helps me to know, that the fight we have coming next is going to be unbelievable.
Do I think my son will be able to speak again after the doctor said he probably won't. Oh yes!
The Lord promised to make him whole, and a Chase who can't speak or sing is definitely not whole. We know he will never be the exact same Chase, heck he might even be a better version of Chase, He would argue the impossibility of that.
"Stop trying to per-fect perfection Mom" lol
Miss him, I now understand how you can miss someone when they are in the same room as you. Please connect with your loved ones today! Really stop and look at them, revel in the amazing things that make them important to you. It's a tragedy to spend our lives next to people, and not connect with them.
My attitude changed instantly.
ALL I could do was pray? Had I not just experienced miracles in my life over and over because of the fervent prayers of loved ones and strangers?
Had I not literally felt those prayers?
The hope it gives me when Someone says they are praying for me and my family is exhilarating, and it confirms we are not forgotten.
So I will change it to EVERYTHING I can do is pray! I am giving my all, and enlisting the help of The Lord in my endeavors. My Prayers are a vocal cry for The Lord's army to surround them with comfort, and if it be His will, to heal.
Thank you for sharing our gofundme page yesterday. We are so overwhelmed by the outpouring we received. I didn't even recognize half the names of the people who donated.
Chases birthday was pretty great! He had some if his friends come down last night. Is was good to see them. They had a lot of questions about his recovery process, and I tried to answer them as best I could. Most of the answers with TBI at this stage is - We don't know yet.
However my faith in Chase and My Heavenly Father helps me to know, that the fight we have coming next is going to be unbelievable.
Do I think my son will be able to speak again after the doctor said he probably won't. Oh yes!
The Lord promised to make him whole, and a Chase who can't speak or sing is definitely not whole. We know he will never be the exact same Chase, heck he might even be a better version of Chase, He would argue the impossibility of that.
"Stop trying to per-fect perfection Mom" lol
Miss him, I now understand how you can miss someone when they are in the same room as you. Please connect with your loved ones today! Really stop and look at them, revel in the amazing things that make them important to you. It's a tragedy to spend our lives next to people, and not connect with them.
I miss my Chase. I miss him hugging me, kissing my head, and saying "I love you my little mommy" I miss him crawling into bed with me in the morning to connect with me, because he worked all day and I worked at night.... I miss Chick flicks with him, where he came for the free movie and popcorn, but then spent the whole movie telling me it was inappropriate for him. Too much estrogen!
I miss that look he gets right before he does or says something that will annoy you and make you smile or laugh in equal proportions. He can make you feel beautiful, special, and important, in an effortless way. He can also be the most annoying person on the planet. He has a gift. He is able to push anyone's buttons!
I miss that look he gets right before he does or says something that will annoy you and make you smile or laugh in equal proportions. He can make you feel beautiful, special, and important, in an effortless way. He can also be the most annoying person on the planet. He has a gift. He is able to push anyone's buttons!
I think it's time to Wake Up Chase! We need to wake his brain up.
Today we pray that Chase can be cognitive on a regular basis, we pray that he can excel at being off the ventilator, that his lungs will be healed, and that he will be able to cap the trach so he can speak to us soon! We ask for miracles for us and for Justin and his family! I believe the Lord loves to bless us. Just look at these last 3 weeks. It's been a thousand blessing disguised as a near tragedy. So we ask for these amazing miracles, if they are The Lord's will.
We pray for all of you experiencing your own heart wrenching moments. You are all our miracle! Thank you for loving us, and for fighting with us.
May God bless you and keep you until we meet again. God is good. We are Legion!
Today we pray that Chase can be cognitive on a regular basis, we pray that he can excel at being off the ventilator, that his lungs will be healed, and that he will be able to cap the trach so he can speak to us soon! We ask for miracles for us and for Justin and his family! I believe the Lord loves to bless us. Just look at these last 3 weeks. It's been a thousand blessing disguised as a near tragedy. So we ask for these amazing miracles, if they are The Lord's will.
We pray for all of you experiencing your own heart wrenching moments. You are all our miracle! Thank you for loving us, and for fighting with us.
May God bless you and keep you until we meet again. God is good. We are Legion!
8:00 pm
Chase Update:
Are you ready??????
Miracle number 1- Chase's lungs are almost clear and he has been off the ventilator since 9:10 am today. Amazing! They will probably want to put him back on for a while so his lungs don't stress, but we'll see.
Miracle number 2 - Chase was able to express pain on his face today after being in the chair for too long.
Miracle number 3- I put a wash cloth over his eyes today, and he reached his hand up a few inches like he wanted to get it off. I took it off for a second and then did it again- same response. Wahooooooo!
His sweating and kicking decreased slowly as the day progressed, so we are getting closer to beating the withdrawals. It was such a blessing that he had a bit of a reprieve on his birthday yesterday.
The only cloudy spot in my otherwise brilliant day was hearing that some people had been negative to the driver and owner of the semi Chase hit. I want this to be very clear. My son lost control of the vehicle he was driving, and crossed into oncoming traffic totaling both vehicles. Chase was 100% at fault, and it was an ACCIDENT, My heart and soul ache for the driver and the truck owner as they deal with the financial and emotional fallout of the accident.
Please pray for their burdens to be light. Pray that the insurance company will swiftly complete the claim, so they can get back to work and making a living. Please Keep Praying to Wake up Chase! I can't wait until he knows me all the time.
What did you do today to connect more with those you love?
May Our Father in Heaven bless you and keep you until we meet again. We are Legion!
11:00 pm
Phil Update:
Well he is sleeping like a baby. If we get 3 or 4 hours like this he will be able to do a lot more breathing therapy tomorrow. He is still breathing with out a respirator and seems to be doing fine. He is a miracle. Kami and Tonya Desormeaux decided to go shopping and I felt like going to Scheels so I tagged along. Well I was done with Scheels in 5 min. Kami informed me they were going to be at least 2 hours so I went to transformers 3D. Have to say I'm not a huge 3D but that in 3D was worth seeing. Lots of metal crushing mayhem. When we got back I came over here and have spent the last 5 hours with Chase. He is such a good mannered young man. He is very reserve never talks back or bad about anyone. He is very agreeable. He is willing to watch whatever I want to watch on tv and never complains. He is so easy to love. - LOL
Well he is sleeping like a baby. If we get 3 or 4 hours like this he will be able to do a lot more breathing therapy tomorrow. He is still breathing with out a respirator and seems to be doing fine. He is a miracle. Kami and Tonya Desormeaux decided to go shopping and I felt like going to Scheels so I tagged along. Well I was done with Scheels in 5 min. Kami informed me they were going to be at least 2 hours so I went to transformers 3D. Have to say I'm not a huge 3D but that in 3D was worth seeing. Lots of metal crushing mayhem. When we got back I came over here and have spent the last 5 hours with Chase. He is such a good mannered young man. He is very reserve never talks back or bad about anyone. He is very agreeable. He is willing to watch whatever I want to watch on tv and never complains. He is so easy to love. - LOL
Sweating from withdrawls!
Day 24
Fri. July 11th
10:15 am
Chase Update:
Chase has officially been off the ventilator for over 24hrs.
Chase has officially been off the ventilator for over 24hrs.
Hallelujah!
He is doing amazing. His numbers look good all around.
They are putting him back on tube feelings today. He was taken off after a vomiting incident Wednesday evening.
He moves his mouth a lot now, but no smiles yet. Still it's amazing to see.
He is doing amazing. His numbers look good all around.
They are putting him back on tube feelings today. He was taken off after a vomiting incident Wednesday evening.
He moves his mouth a lot now, but no smiles yet. Still it's amazing to see.
In order to get into the rehab facility he has to be more cognitive and be able to follow commands. Which he doesn't do now......or before the accident!
So today we pray for him to be able to communicate, we pray he will be able to follow commands like lifting an arm, or squeezing my hand. We pray for his overall health and healing, and that the doctor will be guided when it comes to his care and medications. Please pray for Justin, that he will make great strides today. We ask these things according to the will of The Lord.
May this day be full of joy from all the small and simple things. May you find beauty in a quiet moment, or a quiet moment amidst the chaos. May The Lord God bless you and keep you until we meet again
We are Legion!
We are Legion!
Day 25
Saturday. July 12th
11:15 am
Chase Update:
I woke up with that excited energy again. Not sure what going to happen, but something amazing in the next few days. Can't wait to see it unfold.
I woke up with that excited energy again. Not sure what going to happen, but something amazing in the next few days. Can't wait to see it unfold.
As of 9:10 am today Chase has been off the ventilator for 48 hours. Amazing!
There has been talk of moving us to the PCU upstairs. That stands for progressive care unit, and it's a step down from the ICU. It has it's pros and cons. The downside is that it is a 1-3 nurse to patient ration, but it also means we are stable. Like stable - stable hallelujah! Also I can take pictures without getting in trouble. That will ease my rule following soul.
Chase was able to go off another drug and they decreased the dosage on another yesterday. Only 6 more to go.
There has been talk of moving us to the PCU upstairs. That stands for progressive care unit, and it's a step down from the ICU. It has it's pros and cons. The downside is that it is a 1-3 nurse to patient ration, but it also means we are stable. Like stable - stable hallelujah! Also I can take pictures without getting in trouble. That will ease my rule following soul.
Chase was able to go off another drug and they decreased the dosage on another yesterday. Only 6 more to go.
Chase had a rough night with me last night. His heart rate, blood pressure and fever were moderately high. He was restless, and agitated. Now Phil is with him so of course his numbers are all low, and he is chilling and watching tv. I'm starting to think I may not be his most favorite person in the world. Rude!
Phil probably isn't his favorite right now either. He has been trying to get Chase to interact with him and he is getting mad. It's an amazing thing to see him emote.
My 4 other kids have been in Williston most of this week, and I am excited to have them back, but I am also exhausted and worried I won't be able to give them the attention they need.
Chase woke up in my dream last night, I knew I was dreaming because he was talking through his trach so I just enjoyed spending time with him while I could. It was great to have him back for a while.
Today we still pray for him to Wake up! I am asking The Lord to do it in his own time, but I will still keep praying for it daily. We pray his lungs keep getting stronger. I could really use a hand squeeze from him today, and have him look at me for more than a second with recognition. So that is my prayer. Please join us in praying for Chases healing according to The Lord's will, and for our patience to defer to it. We pray you will have your own miracles today, whether it's a few minutes of snuggle time with your babies, or an unexpected blessing. We pray that God show his hand in your life today, and that you are able to recognize it.
Thank you for being you, for sharing our burdens and making them lighter. May The Lord God bless you and keep you until we meet again? We are Legion!
7:30 pm
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