Trache coming out soon

The pulmonary doctor came in today to let me know that they will be keeping the "cap" on Troy's trache for the next 24 to 48 hours to see how he tolerates it. They have been "capping" off Troy's trache by placing a "plug" type device on it so then Troy is forced to breath through his nose and mouth. For the past 2 days they have been doing that but have taken it off at night for him to sleep. They have been doing this as a process to wean him off the trache all together. Well, now they will leave it on 24/7 for the next day or two and if his oxygen level stays the way it has been (between 97% to 100%) then they will take out the trache.

Another exciting thing happened today. The Atlanta Falcons came by the hospital today to visit with patients. Troy was in the gym (just finished up with therapy) when they all walked in. Troy, of course, kept his eyes closed the entire time! Argh! He's going to be so mad when he wakes up and sees the picture I took of him with the guys and he missed it...LOL. I got an autographed card for him and 2 pictures. It was understandable that Troy was knocked out though, therapy is a lot of hard work for him and it really wears him out. Good thing I had my camera phone :)

On that same note, therapy went fairly well today, too. He wasn't as alert as he was yesterday, but the therapists put a basketball on a table and put his arm on top of it and while she held his arm she told him to move it and he rolled it away from his body twice. That was exciting to watch! They are so aggressive and they really challenge him which is good. This hospital is definitely all they claim to be. They expect him to recover completely, therefore they expect a lot of work out of him - which is great!

Also, there was a peer group support session today where people that have had traumatic brain injuries come in to talk with families and friends and let them know their story so that they can be encouraged. Well, this gentleman that was there today had the same type of injury Troy has. He had an upper brain stem contusion with hemorrhaging 30 years ago. He is 49 years old now and, although he has no feeling in his left hand and arm, he is alive and well and functioning almost to 100%. That was very encouraging to me. After we talked for a few and he told me his story he asked if he could see Troy and I accepted. He came over and talked to Troy for a bit and as he was talking, Troy opened his eyes. It was so sweet! He tried to get Troy to do a few things like blink on command or move his fingers and Troy didn't, but he also told me not to give up on Troy because Troy can hear us. He told me how he remembered all sorts of things being talked about around him while he was in his coma. Again, that was very encouraging, as well, because I constantly play the bible on DVD and his Christian rap music he so loves in his ears with his iPod. So, if he's really hearing than that can help keep him encouraged, as well and keep fighting to wake up!

I don't get tired of praising God for what He's doing in Troy's life and in my life, as well. I praise God for doing His perfect will when He is good and ready to do so. This traumatic experience has made me stronger, this faith that I have has just drawn me closer to God and made my walk with Him even stronger than before - and for that I praise God all the way! All glory be to God!