Week One at Harmarville
Week One
Day One...
June 4, 2003
I thought I'd try to chronicle Greg's rehabilitation for those who are praying
for him. If you know of someone who didn't receive it, but wants to..let me
know or pass it on. If you would like to be taken off...just let me know.
Wednesday: June 4, 2003
7 days since the accident.
DAY ONE in rehabilitation
Greg had a very difficult first night. He has pneumonia and suffered high
levels of anxiety, None of the medications seemed to work
Nevertheless, they got him moving early. He had one hour of physical therapy in
the morning. They worked his arms and legs trying to determine what level of
feeling he is having. He can tell that he is being touched from his toes up.
He can't always distinguish the touch..sharp blunt, one finger pressing or two
and so on. Then he spent a 1/2 hour in occupational therapy, where he will
learn to do things for himself. Then he had a chest xray. There's still some
pneumonia and it appeared that the right side of his diaphragm isn't moving.
Then lunch and back to physical therapy. He was advanced to an arm bicycle.
Then another 1/2 hour of occupational therapy. He was able to move his wrist
slightly to the side. Something new. He was in a wheelchair several hours
today and had some spasming in his neck as well as pain in that area. His neck
and head area have full, normal feeling. The incisions from his surgeries are
healing and itchy.
Chuck Jenkins and Jim Glatz came by in the late afternoon and visited with him.
Jim read from Psalm 40 and we prayed together.
He was in pretty good spirits. Katie, Trisha, and Kelly their neighbors came by
later to give Francie some support and visit with Greg. These gals are
terrific. They had spent several overnights with Francie at AGH, and are
helping Polly and Ben with the boys.
Later came dinner and more training...that we won't even talk about. He needs
to learn EVERYTHING.
More company in the evening...Linda and Frank Martin, Cora Minech and Bea Jones.
They visited and we prayed together.
Greg is just overwhelmed by the outpouring of love support and prayers.
I'd like to be able to chart all the people, groups and locations that are
praying. Please send them to me. It helps more than you know.
Francie stayed with Greg last night. She said he had a better night and he has a
very busy schedule today. We're looking forward to DAY TWO.
Blessings....Connie
Day Two...
June 5, 2003 (Greg's second full day at Harmarville)
Greg had a much better night last night than he had the night before. Praise God...he
really needed the sleep. He had lots of therapy yesterday. 2 hours of physical
therapy with some kind of electrodes attached to his arms to stimulate
the nerves, weight lifting, and the arm bike. He really likes the PT.
He also had occupational therapy. He learned how to feed himself with
a fork attached to some kind of glove.
Dave and Gerlinde came last night. Unfortunately Greg was having some severe
spasms and couldn't see them. He felt badly about that. Big Wes came
later (after the meds) and he seemed much better.
He has his ups and downs. We take him the cards and emails....he
continues to be amazed by the outpouring of love. Don't forget to
send me the names and locations of those praying for him. We are
going to get a map of the world and hopefully hang it on his wall.
Continue to pray for his peace of mind. Francie needs lots of prayer
as well...She is having difficulty eating and sleeping.
Blessings to you all......
Connie
Day Three...
June 6, 2003
Greg had the best night yet last night. He slept most of the night for the first time. Praise God !!!!
He likes physical therapy even though he says it's hard. They put electrodes
(I don't know if that's right) on his legs and he said he was doing the Can
Can....of course we got to hear the musical accompaniment along with the story.
Speaking of music. Apparently they also do music therapy...However, he doesn't
get to pick the music....at least not yet.
He was using his arms a lot today as he talked. He wears what look like high
tops on his wrists to keep them straight. We do hand therapy with him
whenever he is at rest. You pull his wrist back so that his thumb kind
of pinches against his index finger. Try it and you'll see what I mean.
He has been in remarkably good spirits...today being the best so
far.....amazing what a night's sleep will do. Also, the respiratory
therapist suggested he use SNORENZ. It works !!!! All you wives
out there....you can buy it over the counter at Giant Eagle.
I have been printing out your emails and taking them to him. Francie
reads them to him when things get quiet. It's amazing how God's
love just pulls his people together. I'm including an excerpt
from an email Jini Barefoot sent.
"Tell Greg that in a funny way, his accident has brought
us all closer to God. We not only pray for him, but for all
of you. For some, prayer isn't a daily process, but now,
I hear people say that as they pray for Greg, they include
other people in their prayers and have found this new
process of praying a gentle reminder that it is a good thing to talk to God again."
Your prayers are such a blessing to us all....
"He does not ignore those who cry to Him for help" Ps 9:12
"Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on
looking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be
opened. For everyone who seeks finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks." Matt 7:7-8.
Good night and God Bless You All
Connie
Day Four...
June 7, 2003
Friday night was Greg's worst night yet. When Tom and I got there at
about 7:10 AM, he was running a fever of 103. He had been awake all
night with severe anxiety. Tom called Cora to get the prayer chain going.
The medical professionals took blood samples and did other tests. We
should have the results in a few days. His chest xray showed a lot of
improvement over Wednesday's. His blood oxygen levels are good and he
only takes oxygen overnight. His blood pressure tends toward the low side.
Once we were all there (Francie and Heather too)..and the prayers got
started, he seemed to improve. They gave him Tylenol and used some
ice packs and the fever went away. He wanted to get up...so he was
dressed and put in the wheelchair and we took a little road trip
around the facility. After that he took a little nap. We got
lunch from Eat 'N Park (we should start getting frequent
eaters discounts there.) Greg wanted to eat lunch out in the
open area..so he got back in the wheelchair and on the road again.
Company started coming....Jon and Julie Oberdick arrived first.
Then Jolynn came with her special juices....(these are out of this world).
Greg was given his assignment for today's congregational meeting and
we went into production. Before taping started Kerry and Bea arrived
with George and THE BRIDE (Renee). I got a chance to talk with Kerry ..what a comfort.
Then Holly and Steve arrived (Tom's sister and spouse) from Erie.
Nicole soon followed..There were fourteen of us plus Greg.
Greg was really holding court, even while the nurses gave him
shots and meds. We all received the training for his breathing
exercises....14 coaches..How about that?!
The company really helped to energize him. There was lots
of encouragement and, of course, prayers.
Everybody except Nicole and the family left by about 4:30
PM. ..and. LO and Behold...a little while later Allan arrived.
He and Greg visited alone for awhile. They really have a special relationship.
As the evening drew to a close, Heather and I made the nightly
Bruster's run. Greg has a fondness for Bruster's chocolate
icecream with peanut butter sauce...M-m-m-m.
Tom and I left around 9 PM, Francie stayed for a while. He seemed
calm. They are trying different medications. Pray God they work.
Talk to you all tomorrow....Your prayers are a constant comfort to
us and "the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power
and wonderful results." James 5:16....this whole section,
starting with James 5:7 is a blessing....
I'll see some of you in church today....
Connie
Days Five and Six...
June 8 & 9, 2003
Sorry for the delay..We had no electricity last night and I was back at the hospital early this morning.
Greg had two good nights.....Praise God.
He had no physical therapy over the weekend...but he definitely made up
for it today. He had 2 hours of intense therapy. His weights were
increased. He has pretty good bicep strength, but needs to work on
the other muscles. He is sitting up in a wheelchair nearly all day.
His upper body strength seems to be improving. He is gesturing more
with his arms and moving his upper body when he talks.
He is asking to have his laptop so he can start working on his work projects.
He watched the entire worship service and tried to sing along. He also watched the congregational meeting.
Tomorrow is our family meeting with the doctors..I should have more to report after that.
Thank you so much for your prayers and your continued notes of encouragement.
I print them out and read them to Greg every day.
Blessings......Connie
Day Seven...
June 10, 2003
Well...as some of you know Greg awoke with a fever again today...about 102.2.
He has no infection. Apparently this is not unusual with spinal cord
injuries.. He was also very sleepy most of the day. So they're going
to take a look at his nightly medications to try to balance his need
to sleep at night with his desire to be awake during the day.
We had our family meeting with Dr Brennes. I won't give you all
of the details. In sum, Greg had a burst fracture of C5
(5th cervical vertabrae) This means that fragments of the
vertebrae got into the canal. He had a surgery the night of
the accident to remove those fragments. The next night he had
the remains of C5 removed and a bone graft put in. This was to
stabilize both the front and the back. He also is a Class B
which means he has sensation below the level of the injury.
This doesn't translate into the use of those muscles at this time.
Dr. Brennes stressed that each person's progress is individual...and
of course in God's hands (my comment). They will begin to work with
C6 using repetitive motion He told us that the technique of
movement happens in the spinal cord, not the brain. He said that
Greg will get better, but nobody (except God) knows how much better.
"The rule of the thumb" (he's Costa Rican) is that if he continues
to improve (and it doesn't matter what kind of improvement) over
the next six months, they can kind of graph the slope of the improvement.
They will work segment by segment in a very organized way, continuing to
use electrical stimulation on his legs so that those muscles are ready
when needed. Dr. Brennes was glad that Greg wanted to use his laptop
and start doing some work from the hospital. (Del, he's already talking
about updates to the website that he wants to do). He said that Greg
should make a list of what he needed. Also, the doctor encourages us
to bring him things of different texture to stimulate his tactile abilities.
Meanwhile...even though he had problems keeping his eyes open today, he
did manage to eat some cream of broccoli soup by himself. It's amazing
how they can fashion devices to help with simple tasks. His occupational
therapist, Michelle, took one of those little cone shaped ear thermometer
covers and a tongue depressor and taped them to his TV remote so he
can change the channels himself. He also has a really big red button
to turn on his speaker phone...Of course, he needs to be close to the button.
He seems to have a peace about all of this. He spent some time talking to
Jim Glatz about it today. He so appreciates the visits, cards, calls
and especially your prayers. And so do I.....at each slight set back
I jump on the phone to Cora to get the prayer warriors going. It is
such a comfort and the only action I know of that will bring success.....as God defines it.
You are all such a blessing to us....
Connie
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Return to homepage
Return To Top