Dad's Update IV - 9/10/09

Dear all-

Bryce emerged from his tracheotomy this morning and had a difficult  time adjusting, as we did, to the new manner of breathing and swallowing, but by the afternoon, he was settling down with it.  Like some other moments over the past week, he said, "it sucks,"  which when you boil it down, requires little to modify. This process has simply been "awful", but he is working through it courageously day by day.  He does have pneumonia, but it is improving with anti-infective treatment; unfortunately, this problem has set him back a bit on nerve recovery diagnostics and getting  back out in the wheelchair because he is so exhausted. The doctors are moving him around in bed consistently and Jennifer is doing what  most moms would do in this situation by using cream to keep his skin  in good shape.  We are hoping and praying for a good end of week.

His Mom and I are now posting to Bryce's Facebook page and I am slowly increasing my new Facebook friends distribution to shift to  an easier global update mechanism.  More pictures and videos to follow in time.  Bryce is reading all the postings with his Mom's help and will get back to his own posts as his health strengthens.  It's a great way for folks to briefly offer their support to him directly.  We just started exploring many of the suggestions and people to call and hope to get more done if Bryce settles down  through the week.  One of the challenges we have is the high cost of phone calls to the US, so we are now Skyping more.  My Skype address is jrafferty2 and a good time to reach me is between 8:30pm and 11:00pm (2:30pm - 5:00pm EST).  My studio apartment number is  011-41-41-939-40-07.  Jennifer's number is 011-41-41-939-40-08 and her Skype address is Zaccaraj.  Given my variable days and time delays, another good way to get to me is through Meg at 203-722-8045 and her Skype address is megrafferty.  While my cell is listed below, it is very expensive to use over here so I try  to stick to email on it.

Jennifer and I are trying to spend as much time as possible with Bryce on a shift basis, but it can be hard in the ICU given all the therapies he receives. Somehow, the days go by like lightening and we are exhausted at the end of the day.  One thing is for sure; he is receiving excellent care, and we are all learning a bit more German.  We met with a nurse today who shared some amazing quad stories that gave us hope that Bryce can make an exciting new life for himself, even with his significant new disabilities.  We sent Keefer home this morning to start school at Taft tomorrow.  He had a day or two to connect with Bryce, but was a bit disappointed to have Bryce sedated for his last two days.

Prayers should continue to be centered on clearing up the infection and pneumonia in his lungs.  Also, please pray that the spinal cord damage will begin healing and that he gets more use of his upper body and arm muscles and his fingers.  A wonderful miracle would be the recovery of his fingers to be able to play guitar again as Bryce was an exceptional guitar player.  Finally, pray that he will keep his spirits up in this tough new world of the "new normal."

Thanks again for all your support dear friends.  Your emails and phone messages have been wonderful.  Please know that they are highly valued and that in our free time, we are trying to do more external research toward longer term U.S. based solutions where we could really use the most help down the road.

John