My Husband is my Hero

Good Morning, It is 5am..can't go back to sleep..can't go see Alan until 9a because visiting hours in ICU are 9a - 9p. So, it is a good time to update all of you. Alan has told me over and over, "I am going to have the surgery, work harder than hard to get better, and we are going to have our lives back, I can do this for my family, for you Judy, for Traci, for Mark, for Lane, for Connor, for Anna Kate. I want more time with all of you."

Well, yesterday we all saw that as we know, he is a man of his word. He got out of surgery at around 10a and was in ICU by 12p. We got to see him for the 1st time around 1p, and he was still asleep. By 8p last night they had him awake and he was responding to us with hand motions, facial expressions, and moving his feet. He still had the tube for the ventilator in his mouth so he couldn't talk, but his spirit was shining through. He gave us several thumbs up signals. His nurse said that often after the surgery it takes the patient a lot longer to respond, but not Alan. They knew right away that he was alert, aware of everything they were saying to him, and he was very responsive. God has poured so many blessings out on us, and on this day of Alan's surgery, he has given us a miracle, a second chance, and we intend to never cease praising and thanking HIM. Afterall, he is the one that gave Alan his spirit of determination, his love of God and family, and the desire that burns in him to make many more memories with all of the people that love him. You can expect great things from my husband. I do!

When we left last night they were planning on taking the tube out, and maybe getting him up in a chair. I just called the hospital and talked to his nurse and THE TUBE IS OUT!!!!! ALAN IS TALKING ABOUT PLUMBING WITH HIS NURSE!!! I am crying tears of absolute joy. The nurse said they had a very good night. You just can't outgive God can you. As Traci's best friend Aileen would say. God is showing off. None of this is ordinary, it usually takes days, sometimes weeks to get to this point, and Alan has done it in 24hours.

That is MY husband, My hero. I am sure as you follow his progress he will become your hero too, if he is not already.

There is a set of lungs at the end of the rainbow

Daddy has two new lungs!!!  God is so good!  He got out of surgery around 10am and we are waiting to get to see him.  The surgery was completely successful and both lungs are functioning properly.  He is breathing on 22% air and 21% is room air.  Wow!  

The average time for patients to wake up is 6 hours.  The doctor told us that older patients may take longer.  Of course, he is heavily sedated and intubated.  Doctors will attempt to take out his intubation tube as soon as he is awake and alert.  Amazing, huh?

We have been rejoicing and thanking God and singing our song.  Join along:

"Zippedee do dah, zippedee yay.  Dude got new lungs today.  Really good breathing headed his way.  Zippedee do dah, zippedee yay."

Please continue to pray for his recovery as the transplant surgeon stated several times that he is not out of the woods yet.  The first few weeks are critical.

Again, we appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Love, Traci & Judy

4th and last time (we pray)

Daddy received another call to come to the hospital just before 7pm as they were evaluating another set of lungs for him. He was taken into the operating room around 1:15am and the surgery began around 2:30am. Daddy had really struggled the past two weeks medically, so we are so grateful that the time for his transplant has arrived. We will post an update as soon as we can. We appreciate your prayers during this time.

Love, Traci

Too Long

Hello Everyone, I know I have waited too long to post to this blog. We just absolutely have no news. Our days revolve around the fitness center and then Alan has zero energy left. They did tell us a while back that he would reach his peak performance at the fitness center and then he would start to go down from there. That is where he is right now, getting weaker all the time. We weren't supposed to go to clinic again until Oct. 7th, but they moved it up to tomorrow. They will check his pulmonary functions to see if they are declining. The last time we went he had declined some. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thank you so much for all the cards, calls, and emails. We love to hear from you, it helps make the time not so slow.

I hope the next post will be the one with the BIG news. God Bless.

Love, Alan & Judy

Oops

Dad made it all the way to the operating table, and the physicians decided to examine the available lungs one last time.   The doctors determined that the lungs had deteriorated too quickly and were not going to be acceptable after all.   Dad was then brought back to pre-op/post-op to have his IV and monitor devices removed.  He had been back in the surgical area for an hour and a half before Mom got the word.  The doctor spoke to all of us and was extremely apologetic.  We were reminded that even the doctors are not in control - only our God is.  I know it is difficult to understand; we do not understand either.  Dad and Mom live in this uncertainty day in and day out right now.

I'm sorry for not being able to post an update until now.  We did not get in the bed until 3:30am. We appreciate your thoughts and your prayers.  We hope that we will have more news to post soon.

Blessings, Traci

A Blast of Hope

This is it!!!!! I am headed to Durham as we got word that Dad is headed to surgery. We appreciate your prayers. We will post again to the blog as soon as possible.

Thanks, Traci

A Ray of Hope

Dad received another call today around 1pm to let him know that a potential set of lungs has become available. The lungs have to be evaluated and accepted and Dad (and Mom) have gone to the hospital as directed. Dad has already had some blood work and a couple of other tests. It is now almost 7pm and we are still waiting to hear if the lungs are acceptable. Please be praying that these lungs are the ones meant for Dad. We all want God's timing and the lungs God has picked out for him, but the wait is getting more difficult for Dad and Mom both physically and emotionally. We are not sure when we will hear. Mark and I will head to Durham immediately if the surgery is going to happen. We do appreciate the prayers you offer on Dad's behalf. We will post as soon as we can get to a computer.

Blessings to you all, Traci