Holding Steady

Today's been kind of a holding pattern.  We decided not to try to make the jump to the home vent.  They've reduced his hospital vent settings to very close to his home vent ones, except his oxygen.  Yeah, small detail.

He's still needing about 50-55% oxygen bled in through the ventilator.  It's no trouble at all to do that on the hospital vent.  His vent, well, that's another story.  The hospital vent can go to 100% oxygen if needed.

And we've been there before, just not on this visit.  His home vent, when we're pumping 15 liters (yeah, 1-5, no decimal points) through is only about 52%.  So he's not quite ready yet for that one.

BUT he's feeling so much better.  Still kinda goopy, still tired, but he's more playful, smiles, and was even singing with the music therapist who came in today.  I tried to get video, but no dice.  As soon as he saw the camera, he was more interested in trying to figure out what I was doing than he was in singing.  So you'll have to take my word for it.  It was really sweet.

I did manage to get a picture of him helping play the guitar.  This kid (yeah, this mostly deaf kid) LOVES music.







In other news, David left today for Portland.  He's about 7 1/2 weeks post-op from a full ACL repair, and doing really well.  They wanted him to be able to walk up to five miles a day before returning, and he has done so, three days in a row last week.  A little bittersweet saying good-bye again, but oh, it's so good for him.  Please keep him and all our missionaries in your prayers.  He's an amazing young man and we'll miss him.  It has been really good to have him home the last couple of months.

 The race is not always to the swift, 

but to those who keep on running.

 ~Author unknown