Newer LR Update 3-11-10 Prayers Still Needed

LR and Rhonda had a tough day today. It seems like with these things, you take two steps forward and one step backward. After the good advances yesterday, today was a bit of a setback.

First of all, LR was not able to swallow any food today, and he wasn't even able to suck on an ice cube without choking. The doctors fear that there may have been some damage to his throat, and Rhonda is really not sure what they plan to do about it. Today both the nurse and the doctor had heavy foreign accents, and she had trouble understanding what they were trying to tell her. They may have to put the feeding tube back, but they are reluctant to do it because he obviously already has problems there. We suppose that further tests and procedures will be needed if the problem continues.

Also, his lungs are still pretty weak. One lung has cleared up pretty well, but the other is still pretty cloudy and there is a problem with them filling with liquid. He was able to sit up a bit today, and he said that he could breathe easier when sitting up, but of course he can only sit up for a few minutes at a time.

Rhonda is also a little concerned about LR's mental functions. He seems to understand what is said to him. She has to repeat some things that are said, but she hopes that maybe he just wasn't paying attention. However, when he talks to her, he is talking very slowly. She doesn't know if that's a result of his damaged throat or if his mental capacity isn't fully functioning, either because of his illness and basic weakness or something worse.

We knew that LR was deprived of oxygen while he was being transported between hospitals. She found out today that the oxygen on the plane wasn't working at all and the only reason LR is alive today is because the emergency tech manually squeezed the round ball thing (sorry, Matti, I have no clue what it's called!) for the entire 45 minutes. Some may say that it was just his job. I say, thank heavens for you, angel from above, and may God bless you.

So, the news for today is that we need to keep LR in our prayers. We need to pray for total recovery for his mind and his body. Rhonda has asked Jared, my son-in-law, to come and give him a blessing tonight. Let's join with our prayers that he will be well soon.

Karen