August 5 and 6

Jon had a very happy birthday...for being in the hospital.  We are so thankful that he is here with us to celebrate life!  He really enjoyed reading all of the cards that were sent!  It is so touching to all of us to see our friends and family reach out and support us.  Jon got his trach out yesterday and he has no food restrictions now. He just has to eat while being supervised.  He ate A LOT of cake and ice cream and then ate almost all of his supper.  His appetite is not lacking.  Jon is making progress and getting better quickly.  Each day he is better.  They are saying that he will be ready to go home in a few weeks:)  He may move to a different rehab facility in the near future so that he can receive services that may be more appropriate for him.  Today, Jon was able to walk down the hallway with the help of some type of walking machine.  They are working to help Jon's leg straighten out so that he will be able to stand and walk more easily. Jon is also able to get from his bed to the wheelchair by himself!!  He is working so hard and we are so proud of him. We are also thankful for all of the friends, family, doctors, nurses, and therapist that are so kind, caring, and compassionate not only to Jon but also to our entire family.  Prayer is so powerful!  

August 4

Jon has made huge improvements in the past week. He has moved to rehab. He is working almost all day. The first few days he was so tired but is building more endurance. He passed his swallow test on Monday. He can eat and drink whatever he wants to! He was really craving a Dr. Pepper. He said it wasn't as good as he remembered!...I told him to try a Pepsi b/c they are much better:) Jon remembers things and his personality is very much the "old Jon." He does have a little trouble with his short term memory but it is getting better. Sometimes he gets some details confused. It is hard to see him feel upset b/c he has something wrong. He is very determined to get out of the hospital and walk! He has a few sayings..."depends on how you want to look at it," "slowly but surely," and "it could be a whole lot worse." He has a good outlook and a positive attitude. He is supposed to have his trach removed tomorrow. He has had it capped off for about a week now and is doing well. We are so thankful for all of the prayers and kind words. Please continue to pray for Jon, Melinda, and our families. We still have many tough times ahead of us.

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Wed July 29

Jon has't been sleeping or talking much the last couple of days. He has been out of ICU in a room w/ a window for the last couple of days. Yesterday they capped off his trach and his oxygen has been great (97% and up)! He has refused to have the mask on for a breathing treatment during the night and told one of the nurses that came in that he wanted a "real" nurse to take care of him and wouldn't let her take his blood. They sent in a different nurse and he let her do it! Rehab is in his near future...he hopefully will make the move today if everything is still going well when the doctor does rounds. We are so thankful! Please continue to pray for Jon and Melinda. Our God is truly an awesome God!

moving day

Jon is moving out of ICU today. He had a good weekend. He gets tired easily. Jon has been giving the nurses a hard time and they love it! It is so good to see him acting more like himself. One of Jon's nurses played basketball at OU and so I told him to ask her where she played and she told him. He said, "That sucks!" She told him that they beat OSU everytime. Jon said,"That's impressive." They then began talking about his birthday. He asked her, "So what ae you getting me?" She asked if he would accept an OU hat. He said, "I would burn it and do a dance around it!" He was smiling the whole time. We were a little concerned Friday night b/c his oxygen was around 93 so Saturday morning Mom asked the doctor about it and we found out that he is down to 28% on the oxygen cap. This is very close to what we breathe. He also explained to her that Jon may seem tired and like he doesn't feel very well b/c he doesn't. He said it would be like if we had the flu over the weekend and went to work on Monday. We feel tired and not like talking to other people. He said that Jon feels like this but about 100 times worse! Anyway, Jon is much better and we are so thankful for all of his improvement! Please continue to pray for Jon and Melinda. Rehab is going to be a very trying time for Jon! It is going to take so much work and determination on his part! Thanks for all of your kind words and prayers--they mean so much to us!


Also, Jon's 21st birthday is coming up! It is on August 5th. If anyone would like to send him a card, please mail it to our home address: Jon Mann, P.O. Box 18, Arnett, OK 73832. Thanks:) We are going to surprise him w/ these on his birthday!

Wed and Thurs

The past couple of days Jon has worked very hard during PT and OT.  The physical thearapist has been helping Jon to stand briefly and then sit in a chair for a few minutes.  He is very weak.  His right leg does not want to bend and his left leg wants to stay bent.  They are working with him to get them to both bend and stay straight.  OT is helping him by doing stretching exercises.  Jon keeps saying how tired he is and is trying to sleep a lot!  Jon's doctors have been consulting with the rehab doctors.  We are not sure exactly when he is going to be moving out of ICU but it is in the near future!  Jon's oxygen is staying good.  On Friday morning they are going to change his trach to a cuffless trach.  This will allow him to be able to talk a little more.  I got to hear him talk for the first time yesterday (Thurs).  It is so exciting.  I don't think Jon understands why all of the nurses and doctors and us are so excited about these little things! Hopefully one day he will.He is ready to be able to come home! We keep asking him what he wants mom to cook for him.  He is much more quiet than he was last weekend.    Each day he is making small strides!  Please continue to pray for Jon.  He needs strength to continue to fight this battle.  He is working so hard and we are so proud of him.  

7-21-09

Jon had a good morning with PT.  He was able to get into a wheel chair and go for a short walk around the floor this morning. He was in the wheel chair for about 45 minutes. While Jon was up exercising his oxygen sats were still between 90 and 93.  While they were wheeling him around it was around 96.  This is very good.  Jon's doctor is a little concerned b/c Jon will cough until he gags and throws up. He is concerned that Jon could aspirate when he does this.  We do not want him to aspirate anything!  It could cause a setback for him.  The ultrasound they did on Jon's arm earlier still shows that he has a blood clot in his right arm so he still has to take the shot in his tummy.  The rehab doctor will come by tomorrow.  They are going to put the voice thing on his trach later today.  He will require closer supervision w/ this b/c it would make it easier for him to aspirate b/c they have to loosen the cuff when he uses it.  Hopefully they will be able to remove the trach soon!  

At this point we are still trying to do what is best for Jon and his long term recovery process.  In order to respect Jon's privacy during this time, we are still asking that visitors are restricted to our immediate family.  We truly appreciate people stopping by the hospital to check on him and us...this helps to lift our spirits and we can tell Jon who stopped by.  As Jon recovers more and becomes stronger, we will begin to allow limited visitation.  I know everyone may not understand or think that we are being overprotective, but it is what we feel is truly best for Jon right now.  Jon knows that we are sometimes overly cautious...the other day he was coughing and we got RT and the nurse in his room. When he finished coughing, he told RT that his mom is overly cautious.  It is so hard to know what is always best, but we have to go w/ our instinct.  

Please continue to pray for Jon.  He needs to continue to gain strength and not have any setbacks.  We appreciate all of the support!

Weekend and Monday

This weekend Jon was full of it!  He had so much to say to all of us.  He is starting to remember things that were going on at the time he got hurt.  Jon got really worried about his tests.  He looked at us and said "I have tests this week!" and was worried about how he was going to get them taken.  We told him that we have talked to his teachers and that he has extended time to work on them.  They continued to lower the pressure support all weekend.  Jon wants to know what the nurses and medical staff are doing and why.  When they explain to him, he is much less anxious.  He kept asking all of us to take him home.  The doctor on call this weekend told us that he is in the "recovery" stage.  We are  so thankful.  We told Jon all weekend that he would have to ask his doctor when he would be able to go home...we are closer each day.  The doctor took his neck brace off this weekend.  Jon's doctor put it back on this morning and said that another doctor would have to ok it.  Jon likes the people who come for PT but he does not like the people for OT.  He told us that he thought that they were weird.  The OT people told Jon if he kept taking the vent off they would have to stop and so he kept pulling at it!  Jon is hard to understand b/c he can't talk out loud yet.  He is trying to talk over the vent and is mouthing everything else. He becomes frustrated when we don't understand.  He asked mom if "she understood English" and she told him that she was trying.  Jon shook his head and then said "never mind."  This morning (Monday)  Jon's doctor took him off the ventilator.  PT is going to stand him up later this week.  They said to try to get some stuff that would make Jon feel more normal like shorts and boxers...  The other doctor came in and took his neck brace off.  The doctor said that rehab people will becoming soon to evaluate Jon.  Everyday we can see such improvement in Jon.  His strength is returning each day!  We are so thankful!!  Jon still needs prayers.  We are so thankful for everyone's continued  support and prayers.