• 3/29/00 - Today they were going to cut the femur on both legs and cut the Achille's Tendons and reattach everything so it was straightened. Then they were going to break the pelvis and reattach the hips. 
  Michael was very sleepy this morning (it was 8:30). They took his vitals and all that and we gave kisses & off he went at about 10.
  Michael was asleep by 10:35 and the surgery started.
  12:35 the phone rang in the waiting room. They were wrapping it up in 45 minutes after they finish the tendons. They lost too much blood to continue, but don't worry Michael is just fine and everything went well. They thought they may have to do this, so they were prepared for it. They finished the femurs & the tendons. In 6 months, Michael will get the pins out & they'll do the hips then. So he'll need two more surgeries. 

Michael is now sporting a nice blue body cast and sleeping in the PICU. 
After my 4:30 - 7 PM class was over (trust me in seemed like it drew on for years. I just wanted to get back to the hospital and see how he was.) I drove back to the hospital and stayed till about 10:00. I walked in the room was quiet. Michael was sleeping peacefully. They have him on some morphine & valium for the pain. I massaged his the palm of his hand & his forehead for about a half hour/45 minutes. I could tell he was waking because his breathing rate slowly began to rise. Then the morphine wore off and he just screamed in pain. He screamed so long and hard that his breathing rate dropped off to 0 and the alarm when off. It didn't last long and he was calm again luckily. If you talk to him gently and tell him to take deep breaths, he will listen. The nurse gave him more morphine & put new ice packs on his legs. He cried a few more times on/off, but honestly he's doing pretty well considering what he's gone through -- two broken femurs and cut tendons. He was aware on and off. Drifting in and out. They did end up putting him on oxygen just to be on the safe side, but all in all he's doing really well I think. I'll be going up again after my 2 - 3:15 class and will send out another e-mail when I get home.
Thank you everyone so much for the prayers. Michael is getting better because of YOUR prayers, thoughts, and kind words. God is with this little boy. 
God bless you all!

• 3/30/00 - 
  I'd like to thank everyone for their prayers. This boy is dear to me, and It means a lot to get e-mails from so many people praying! He's doing pretty good. I hate to think about what he's going through, but in the end I know this will allow him to walk & this is God's plan. We may not know how this is his plan, but we have to trust him.
  He's seems a little better today. I got to the hospital at 3:30 and stayed till about 7:30. He's still in the PICU, but will hopefully be moved to the floor sometime midday tomorrow. He's still on an awful lot of morphine to control the pain, but he seemed a little more awake/aware today. He was very tired though. 
  I happened to notice that his arm was very puffy and the tape seemed to be awfully tight. I asked the resp. therapist, who asked the nurse. His IV had come out and infiltrated into his arm for a couple hours. This had happened in the other arm also, so the nurse called in a couple doctors & nurses and they attempted a couple other spots. This didn't work, so they had me leave the room and tried his jugular which didn't work either. They ended up putting in a subclavical. X-Rays had to be taken to make sure it was in properly. It took until 6:45 before the IV could be restarted, so his fluids were very low. Once his fluids are back up to normal, he should be fine. 
  He still cried out a few times, but not as bad or as often. His breathing was much better, and they took him off the Oxygen around 5:00.
  He spit up mucus once while I was there, which scared the daylights out of me (I was shaking) because I could not roll him on his side easily. I pressed the call button, and finally got him turned enough and he spit up on his pillow. I'm just glad I was standing there. 
  I read "Green Eggs and Ham" to him, which he seemed to enjoy. 
  The surgeon came in and talked to me. He said Michael seemed to be doing very well (just need to get those fluids up). He said he was recovering really good considering what he's been through -- it was a major surgery. He said Michael should recover just fine & can probably expect to be experiencing much much less pain tomorrow! 
  Thanks everyone for standing by him & praying. God bless. More tomorrow.
• 3/31/00 - 
  Today was much better. Far from excellent and perfect, but much better. 
  Michael had enough bowel sounds to start up his feeding tube again. Even though they started it out very slowly (10/hr instead of 40/hr) Michael still threw up everything in his stomach. Me & the nurse quickly turned his head and leaned him to one side. This was about 2 PM.
  His subclavical IV is still doing well, and his fluids are too. His urine did not have any sediment in today. 
  Michael was back on Oxygen today.
  He only had maybe one seizure an hour from what I could tell. He screamed out a few times also, but nothing like yesterday. It was very easy to calm him today, and his breathing rate did not drop to zero when he screamed. His heart rate only sounded the alarm once when he screamed. 
  I leaned over his bed carefully and massaged his hand and read to him quietly. I didn't want to stimulate him too much, but I didn't want to just sit there and stare at him the whole time either, so I was careful and gentle. I was able to read the entire Toy Story movie book to him -- he remained calm the whole time. This was encouraging.
  Somebody sent Michael a Winnie the Pooh tape with a sing-a-long picture book :o). I popped in the tape and turned it on low. I then leaned over next to him again and gently sang to him. :o) 
  They measured his width today with the cast and his leg spread. He's gonna fit in the HBO chamber by 1 inch! Whew! Looks like he'll be able to go soon. That will relax him and wake up his brain more! 
  His airways were much clearer today, it seemed. He coughed up a little phlegm, but not too much. 
  Everything seems to be going pretty well! He's still in an awful lot of pain, and it hurts so much to see him scream, but its encouraging that the pain doesn't last as long and its so much easier to calm him. He's having a rough time of it, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. :o)
  Keep praying for my buddy! :o) God bless.
• 4/1/00 -  
  I'd like to thank everyone for their continued support & prayers for my buddy. 
  I'm going to continue to report daily until Michael gets out of the hospital, then I'll start weekly again. You can e-mail me anytime for an update though! :o)
  I visited Michael around 12:30 today and stayed till about 2:45 (because I had to work). He is still in PICU, but is getting better. They moved him from Bed 4 in the front to Bed 16 (I believe) in the back which means he's getting better and doesn't need as much attention. The nurses still look in every few minutes though.
  He's still on a lot of morphine, so is very out of it much of the time. He is in less pain and sleeps most of the time. I took my homework along to keep me occupied because I'm not really supposed to touch him or give him hugs unless he cries or has a seizure. I had to hold back no matter how hard I wanted to smother him with kisses :o). 
  The radio was on, so I sang to him though :o). 
  He is no longer on the catheter and everything seems to be working properly there. He is also off of the oxygen again, so that's a very good sign. Yesterday when I was leaving they were attempting to try the feeds again, but he threw it up again. Today when I was leaving they were trying again. I left Rod a note to e-mail me on how that went, but he didn't (they're very busy) so I'll report on that tomorrow when I go up. 
  He didn't cry or have many seizures at all. When he did, he was very easy to calm. I told him to take a deep breath, and I breathed deep to show him, and he mimicked me every time I did it! This quickly calmed him down and returned his breathing rate from the 9 or 10 to the normal 19 - 29 range. Before I left, he had another seizure and this time he took deep breathes without me even telling him too :o). He's a very bright kid.
  His feet are a bit swollen, but I don't think that's anything major. He seems to be doing OK. More tomorrow! Thanks everyone. God bless.
• 4/2/00 -
  Michael seemed much better today. I arrived around 4:00 or so and walked back to the PICU. They were giving him a breathing treatment and getting ready to move him onto the floor (into a regular room). So he's in a regular room now! That sure is encouraging. 
  Shelly thinks that we're looking at more than a week since his feeds aren't were they should be yet, and he's still on an IV.
  I found out that Michael has gone to two hyperbaric treatments (yesterday and today). They relax him, but personally I don't think his body is quite ready for that yet so soon after the surgery. 
  They started his feeding tube a couple hours before I got there. They put him on Pedialite, which is more like water, to start him out. They are starting at 10, and if they can increase it to 40 gradually without him throwing up, they'll start him on his regular food at 10 and increase that gradually to 40. Then I suppose if he can keep that down, they'll probably take him off the IV. 
  He hasn't thrown up at all today. He hasn't spit up any mucus or anything either. His airways seemed pretty clear, the respiratory therapist said. 
  
  They've decreased his Morphine a lot, which I'm happy about. He slept the first couple hours I was there, and then woke up. He stayed awake the rest of the time I was there and seemed to be pretty aware. He didn't have many seizures, and his pain still seemed pretty low. I talked to him for a while about all of you who are praying for him. I told him with that many people praying, God's surely listening to all these prayers! "He'll make you better Michael, don't give up. You're a strong, brave little boy with a lot of courage. More courage then I'd ever have. Don't give up, Michael because you will be able to walk again and talk again, and, Michael, I can't wait to talk to you. Think about all the fun stuff we'll be doing when you dream tonight, I can't wait to take you to the zoo, and to parks and stuff, buddy! I love you." 
  One thing that they are concerned about is his hemoglobin level, which is pretty low. They're not sure why, either. SO please remember that in your prayers. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong, but I know its low. 
  He seems to be doing really well though. His feet are still swollen and he has some swelling in a couple other spots, but really, all in all he's recovering pretty well.
  I turned on the Disney channel before I left and laid the speaker next to him. 
  "Good night Michael. Have sweet dreams. I'll come back tomorrow to see ya buddy." 
  More tomorrow! Thank you all so much for your prayers.
• 4/3/00 - 
  I drove on over and got there around 5:30. Michael was sleeping when I walked in, and continued to sleep, for the most part, until his respiratory therapist came in around 7 or so. Before she came in, he only woke up a couple times with a seizure. He never became fully awake and quickly fell back asleep. This is good, he needs all the rest he can get since he has treatments throughout the day.
  After the Respiratory Therapist was done, he drifted in and out of sleep the rest of the time I was there.
  They increased his feeds on the Pedialite all the way up to 40, went from 10 - 40 on the #2 strength, and now they are up to 40 on his regular 3rd strength food. I believe its called Pedamin Jr. They got it up to its highest strength right before I got there. He coughed up a little food after his breathing treatment, but that is normal the nurse said. He hasn't thrown up for a couple days now! He's doing really well on the feeds.
  I thought it was best to let him sleep, so I read my Psychology homework, and only went over to the bed when he had a seizure to calm him down. Most of them were short, only requiring me to rub his head and talk to him for a minute. Two of them really seemed to cause a lot of pain though.
  I went down and got a mobile from the playroom. Its pretty cool. It plays 3 different songs, has flashing lights and little animals that go around and around :o) It put him right to sleep. 
  I talked to him again before I left and told him he was very brave & I was proud of him. I said a little prayer with him, told him to have sweet dreams, & I'd see him tomorrow. I gave him a little kiss good-bye & turned on his mobile. :o)
  
  He seems to be doing really well! They're thinking maybe he'll be home by Thursday afternoon.
  Thank you for your continued prayers, everyone! God bless.
• 4/4/00 -
  I hung out with Michael from about 6:30 until around 10:30 tonight. He was awake pretty much the whole time.
  Dr. Lindell (Michael's surgeon) came in around 7:30 and took out his subclavical IV and said Michael was doing really well. He said that he's doing so well that there's a possibility of sending him home TOMORROW already!  Michael continued to do very well with the feeds throughout the night and for most of the day today, but he began spitting up food on and off throughout the evening. Most of the time it was just a little spit up, but a couple times he actually spit up through his mouth & nose. I suctioned it out for him and calmed him down. Let me tell you, telling him to take deep breaths really works. I told the nurse about it. She said that she thinks its mainly gas from laying, which makes sense. If we pick him up and rock him in our arms, maybe that would help. He's probably not quite ready to be moved that much though, so I'm not sure what should be done.
  I stayed until Michael feel asleep. I told him once again not to worry, that he's very brave, not to give up, to trust God because he'll make him better. I told him to try to stay as relaxed as he can and just take deep breaths...all this really seems to calm him down. He fell off to sleep...I kissed him good night, turned off the light and left.
  God bless everyone! Thank you all for standing by Michael and praying through this. Don't stop now! :o)
• 4/5/00 - 
  Michael is home with his family! I drove to the hospital after my late class, getting there about 7:15. Hoping that I hadn't missed Michael, I hurried on up to the room. His Mom & sister came in shortly after I did, and we got him ready to go. His Mom said he threw up a couple times today, but not as much from what I gathered. He still has a lot of pain of course, but he hardly cried when I picked him up, which was encouraging. He's not as hard to hold as I thought he'd be! Shelly carried his diapers, bag, cards, etc., and I carried Michael out to the van. The back seat was laying down; we laid him on it and strapped him in and propped his head up, and off he went. 
  Now back to our regularly scheduled "weekly updates." Thank you all so much for your prayers; you all are making his recovery quicker! E-mail me if you'd like an update before next week. God bless.