Category Archives : Uncategorized

When I got to Aaron’s room on Sunday, I discovered the respiratory therapist had capped Aaron’s trach.  Totally capped.  No air going in, no air coming out.  He was breathing TOTALLY on his own, through his mouth and nose, just like you and I do.   And he did it with no problems.  When I left yesterday, it was still capped.  I am SURE he will be tired today.   Great job, Aaron, keep it up!

Other than visitors yesterday, there wasn’t much activity for Aaron.  This will be hard for him to adjust to, as there was always something going on at Magee.  I think Aaron will be watching a lot more TV at Select!  

Not much more to report at this time.  Of course, it was his first weekend at Select, and not much goes on over the weekends.  I am anxious to see what today (and the rest of the week) brings for him.  We will keep you updated on Aaron’s progress!  

Just a thought about visiting…..Most of Aaron’s visitors (understandably) show up on the weekend or if during the week, in the evening hours.  While  visitors are welcome at any time, a visit on a week day (during the day) would really help break up the monotony for Aaron.  I know that this is not possible for everybody, but if it is a possibility, please think about it.     Thanks!

Please continue to pray for Aaron and specifically for continued success tackling the ventilator!  Thank you!

It is good to have Aaron closer to home. 🙂 I believe that it is a blessing that Aaron’s move was on a Friday. He was suffering from ambulance lag today. Very tired. Unfortunately the way that Penn State played did nothing to help keep him awake. Aaron’s room faces the river and his one wall is nothing but windows. He did wake up long enough for us to witness a beautiful sunset together. With a light schedule on the weekend it gives him a chance to get used to his new surroundings and the folks that will be caring for him. The staff here is very attentive. Aaron got his first chest therapy a mere 3 hours after his arrival and will be getting it several times  daily. Jaime, as she has done at every stop along the way, spent the first night with Aaron in his room. That is better than any medicine that any doctor could prescribe.

Below is the information you will need to send cards or visit Aaron during his stay in Harrisburg.

Aaron Wood
Room #400
Select Specialty Hospital-Harrisburg
2501 North 3rd Street
Landis Building, 4th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17110

Once again thank you all for your kindness, generosity, & prayers.

I’ll first start by telling you that the move was pretty much seamless for Aaron.  In fact, the ambulance made it to Harrisburg before we did!  And it left after us! You know us older women (Aunt Den and I), we can only go about 30-40 miles before mother nature calls.  We had to stop along the way and they didn’t.  And when we got to Select and made it to Aaron’s room,  he was already in his bed!  You can’t tell me they didn’t use the siren and lights to get there that quickly.  Aaron and Jaime say not, but I’m not buying it.  Ask anybody who has driven with me, I really don’t drive slowly!  I don’t get it!  Anyway, the ride went very well, Jaime rode with Aaron in the back of the ambulance.  That really isn’t supposed to happen (it’s not allowed) but as Aaron can only speak Spanish and Jaime is his interpreter, what choice did they have but to let her ride with him?  

When Aaron finally got settled in, which didn’t take long at all, we unpacked his belongings and took inventory, things like that.  Aunt Den and I handled that sort of thing, while Jaime fed Aaron his supper.   Aaron’s room is huge; it’s meant for two people, so there is another bed, but they only intend to use the room just for Aaron.  They will only give him a room-mate if they have no other choice, but the plan is to let him have a private “suite”.  He is so spoiled!   (I always blame that on his Dad!)  Aaron actually looked better after that long trip than he did when we left Magee.  He had color in his cheeks and he was in a good frame of mind.  When I left Harrisburg last evening, there was an issue with the TV remote not working Aaron’s TV (and you know a man has GOT to have a working  remote) , so I’m anxious to see if that was resolved.  Aaron’s Dad, Gina and Jaime were still there, so we’ll see if they got that worked out. 

I do want to tell you about Aaron’s outing.  It was pretty much nondescript.  We didn’t get to go to Starbucks or Love Park because we got started late.  We walked down the block into the Sheraton and just walked through the lobby.  Aaron did practice getting through some different style doorways in his power wheelchair and that went well.   He maneuvered the sidewalk cutouts very well.  The most stressful part was crossing the streets in all of that Philadelphia traffic.  Luckily, where we crossed, there were police and they assisted us.  So, sorry, not much to tell about the outing, which I guess, is a good thing!  

I wanted to get the address of Select and put it out here for everybody, along with Aaron’s room number, etc., but I left the information in Aaron’s room.  I will do my best to get that today and either I will put an update out here or Aaron’s dad will.  He is planning on visiting Aaron this afternoon to watch football. 

Well, as always, I ask that you pray for Aaron’s continued recovery and specifically for progress getting off that ventilator!     Thank you!

Just (2:10) heard from the crew in Philly that Aaron is on his way to the “Burg”. Just wanted to let you know. I’m sure that Diane will post something with more detail tonight.

Praying for safe travels.

Don’t know if you are aware of it or not but SEPTA in Philly went on strike on Tuesday (they waited until after the last World Series game in Philly) so the traffic is even worse than normal.

As I’m posting this Aaron has 1 1/2 days left at Magee. Our remaining time at Magee is very busy as they try and wrap up our family training.
Gina, Jaime, & I spent the day with Aaron and started to pack up* and say our good-byes.

* Diane, if anything is missing from Aaron’s room we took it. Just wanted to throw that out there to avoid another sneaker follie.

They removed Aaron’s peg (feeding) tube today. Although it took a surgical procedure to put it in they simple pulled it out of his abdomen to remove it. At one point we thought that the Dr. was actually going to put her foot on Aaron’s chest. That’s how hard she had to pull. But it popped out with no pain and very little blood. Another unwanted piece of equipment gone!

I agree with Diane. Please pray that Aaron’s outting goes well today and that he is met with kindness & compassion. Also pray for his move on Friday (scheduled departure is 2:00 p.m.) and that it would go smoothly.

We love you Aaron!

*Please note: I am posting the folowing information on behalf of Aaron and his family after consulting both.

Visiting in Harrisburg: The visitation situation will be slightly more restricted once Aaron has moved to Harrisburg. We do not want to discurage anyone from coming to see Aaron.  However, please be aware that visitors are limited to 2 at a time and you will be required to wear a mask if you have not received a flu shot.

Concerning fundraisers:  Please contact us if you have a fundraiser idea or you would like to run one. This will help to ensure that fundraisers are spaced out and don’t overlap/compete with one another. We would be more than happy to post information on the website to help promote the event. You can contact Greg Wood at 367-4948 0r 940-8740 or kcwoody@embarqmail.com.

And last but not least…….A HUGE thank you to Gina’s brother Curt in Boulder, CO who created, maintains, & updates this website!

Token of Love Necklace

If you like jewelry, here’s a fundraiser you won’t want to miss. Vicki Skees will be donating all of the profits from a jewelry sale that will be held at the Elizabethtown First Church of God on Saturday, November 14th. For details on the sale, or to find out how to contact Vicki for more information, click here.

Made one young man EXTREMELY tired today.   Aaron was off the vent all day again today, and was on the trach collar, but spent no time today breathing just “room air”.  He just didn’t have it in him today.  And that’s fine, his body was telling him it needed a rest, so that’s what Aaron did.  He didn’t sleep through any of his therapy sessions but every time we went back to his room to wait for the next session or to eat lunch, he fell asleep.  He’d wake up long enough to eat, then back to sleep he went.  The respiratory therapist said she was going to cut back his time off the vent from 16 hours to 14 hours today to see how he feels tomorrow.  She thought maybe 16 hours was just a little too much too soon.  We’ll see!  Whatever the time is, 14 or 16 hours, Aaron is kickin’ butt!   Go Aaron, Go Aaron, It’s Your Birthday, It’s Your Birthday!  Sorry for that outburst; sometimes I just lose my sanity sitting here at this computer trying to write an update at the end of a very long day!

Friday (Aaron’s discharge day from Magee) is right around the corner.  I am sure Aaron (and his entire family) will have mixed feelings on Friday.  I, personally, will be excited for him to start a new stretch of his journey, but at the same time, will be sad to say good-bye to the people at Magee.  But good-bye it is.  Time to get serious about losing that ventilator.  Here we come Harrisburg!!! 

Aaron will be going “out on the town”  Thursday morning.  As far as I know, I will be joining him.  We’ll be going to Love Park and then to Starbucks, as Aaron’s dad indicated in his last blog.  This could be difficult for Aaron as this is the first time out among “strangers” since his accident.   Please pray that it goes smoothly for him and that the people he encounters are kind and considerate of his condition.    I’ll update the blog to let you know how this goes!  

Thanks, everybody, for reading this blog and for keeping Aaron in your thoughts and prayers!

It was another good, uneventful day today. Jaime, Gina, & I spent the day with Aaron and as always enjoyed talking & laughing together. We spend a lot of time talking about the future which I find encouraging. When I think back to the early days when you weren’t sure what you were going to walk in on when you arrived….uneventful is outstanding!

Aaron continues, for the most part, to spend every waking hour off of the vent, and some of that time off of supplied oxygen as well. Everyone at Magee continues to comment on his progress. Aaron is ready for home cooking. Many of you have offered to prepare meals for us and because of the uncertainty of our schedule we have been unable to take advantage of your kindness/cooking. Once Aaron is back home for good we plan on doing so. So start looking up your favorite recipes.

We said goodbye to 2 fellow Magee patients this past week as they have moved on to the next step in their recovery. Please keep Conner & Ted in your prayers. They were both an encouragement to Aaron during their time here.

We were told today that Aaron will have an “outing” before he leaves on Friday. He will have an opportunity to go out on the town to a location of his choice. It sounds like he is leaning towards a visit to Starbucks & maybe Love Park. We wish we could be there but it sounds like it may happen on Tuesday or Thursday so we will have to count on Diane to paint us a verbal picture of the event.

Aaron’s fantasy football team is back on the winning track after suffering their first defeat last week.

GO PHILLIES!

Keep praying for strength, courage, healing, & wisdom as the Journey continues.

Yes, that’s right.  I’m referring to the wheelchair again.  Once more I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Or at least all of my toes on my left foot were.  And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Aaron had a good day.  Aunt Deb and I visited with him for several hours before he had PT this afternoon.  The therapist worked his legs and went over some educational material with him.  Shortly after that Jaime and Tory came.  Due to the flu “epidemic”, only two visitors can be in a patient’s room at a time and nobody under 16 is allowed in at all.  So, Deb and I took Tory across the street to our favorite restaurant (NOT!), Rex’s,  and hung out there for awhile while Jaime visited with Aaron.  Then, when we wore out our welcome at Rex’s, we returned to Magee and Jaime brought Aaron down to the first floor lobby, where Tory was allowed to visit with him.  We all just sat around and chatted and Aaron and Jaime shared a pizza.  Tory sat on Aaron’s wheelchair with him and Aaron loved it. 

(Sorry about the picture quality.  It was sort of dark in the lobby and I only had my cell phone. )

We were downstairs in the lobby so long, they actually paged Aaron to return to the 5th floor.  They thought he escaped, I guess.  Actually, it was just time for his meds. 

When we left tonight, Aaron was still of the ventilator.  He was going for a record of 16 hours off  today.  Not sure if he made it or not, but my bet is that he did.  

Please pray for Aaron’s recovery and specifically for his peace of mind.  I know he’s thinking alot about the upcoming move from Magee and his future in general.   Thank you!!

On November 26th, Thanksgiving Day, The Brownstone Cafe in Middletown, PA has generously offered to host a fundraising dinner for Aaron. All proceeds will go to “Aaron’s Journey.” This dinner is “buffet style” and will be served from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The menu will include the following items: turkey, baked ham, mash potatoes, filling, sweet potatoes, veggies, salad, beverage and desserts.



I googled this restaurant and was pleased to discover that it universally receives high reviews. “Excellent”, “Awesome”, and “Fabulous” were some of the words that patrons used to start their reviews. The owner, Keith Matinchek, has been in the food industry since the early 70’s. Ever since he can remember, Keith wanted to own his own restaurant. On January 10, 1998 that dream came true when he bought the empty brownstone building which had formerly been a bank and opened the doors a few months later as The Brownstone Cafe.



The Brownstone Cafe is not normally open on Thanksgiving, but they are going to operate as if it is a normal day. Therefore, reservations for five or more are suggested. Call ahead seating is also available for parties of less than five.
Make your reservations by calling 717-944-3301. Tickets may be purchased ahead of time or at the door on Thanksgiving Day.


Time: The doors will open at 11:00 a.m. and they will seat up until 5:00 p.m.
Price: $12.00/ adult, $8.00/ child
Address: 1 N. Union St., Middletown, PA 17057

View Larger Map

It is official. Aaron will be leaving Magee for Select Specialty Hospital in Harrisburg on Friday, 11/6. All of us anxiously anticipate this next step in Aaron’s recovery.
On Saturday it was a full house at Magee as Gina, her sister Missy and I hung out with Aaron and watched college football with him. Aaron also got visits from Dale & Bonnie as well as Terry & Candy throughout the day. Although he wasn’t feeling that well in the morning Aaron seemed to perk up as the day progressed.
No therapy or wheelchair mishaps to report today.
PLEASE NOTE: I talked to Aaron’s mom who is visiting today and she said that Magee instituted a policy change today concerning visitors due to the flu fear that is gripping the country. Only two adult visitors are permitted at a time and no visitors under 16. There will be a similar visitor policy at Select as well. There it will be 2-3 visitors at a time and anyone who has not received the flu shot will be required to wear a mask.

I don’t even know how to describe to you today’s event with the wheelchair.  Aaron had a male nurse today he has never had before.  He normally works on a different floor.  He was a very nice guy, very attentive to Aaron, checked in on him quite frequently.  One of the times (and I believe it was the last) he came in to check on Aaron he positioned himself between Aaron in his wheelchair and Aaron’s bed.  Obviously he hadn’t heard of Aaron’s driving mishaps or he would have NEVER chose that spot to stand to talk to Aaron.  Well, with no warning, Aaron’s head went back into the headrest, which commands the wheelchair, and the chair moved forward and pinned the nurse against the bed.  I had to jump up out of my chair, run to the wheelchair, turn it off, then remove the brake from the bed and throw it into neutral to move the bed, so the poor guy could get as far away from Aaron as possible!   The nurse was amazingly patient and understanding with Aaron.  He was more concerned that Aaron may have gotten his feet twisted up somehow under the bed than he was for himself.   Not a good experience.   I know this isn’t very nice of me, but when I replay that scene in my mind, I can’t help but laugh.  Just a little bit, though, a very little bit.  Not an out and out chuckle or anything. 

Aaron was on the trach collar when we (Aunt Deb and I) arrived this morning.  He spent several hours with no oxygen, no trach collar, no ventilator.  Just good old room air.  And he did exceptionally well today.  He wasn’t as worn out and sleepy as he has been.  The mucous was in check and his appetite was good.  Many things to be thankful for today.  And when we left, he was still on the trach collar. 

Aaron was a little bit blue earlier this afternoon.  Sometimes it’s hard for him to realize his accomplishments and to see how far he has come since the accident.  And sometimes when he’s down, he doesn’t especially want me to be the “cheerleader”;  to talk about all the positives things and downplay the negatives.  Sometimes he needs to talk about those negative feelings and today, we did.  He was  feeling pretty depressed when a woman we had never seen before knocked on the door to his room.  She came in and introduced herself.  She was a liaison for the facility in Harrisburg where Aaron will most likely go next to be weaned from the ventilator.  She told Aaron she had just reviewed his chart and was so impressed over the progress he has made over the last few weeks and how hopeful she was for him.  She said she was amazed that he looked as well as he did, she hadn’t expected to see someone so healthy and alert.  This did wonders for him.  He needed to hear those things from someone other than Mom and Aunt Deb.  Someone who didn’t know he was feeling blue at that point in time.  It was perfect timing on her part and I thank God for sending her to him.  I call that Divine Intervention;  Aaron’s a bit skeptical about that, but I’m working on him.   

So, in my opinion, it was another good day at Magee.  No, it was a great day!   As always, I ask that you continue to pray for Aaron and for his recovery.

It was another uneventful day at Magee. That is to say that the day went smoothly with no unexpected pitfalls. Aaron was off of oxygen completely when Gina & I arrived. He had negotiated a deal with Dave (Resp. Therapy) through Deb (Speech Therapy) to be off for 1 hour. It went well, as before, but they didn’t want to wear Aaron down as we explained in a previous blog. He had another 10-12 hour day off of the vent.

Aaron ordered his motorized wheelchair this morning and selected Darth Vader black over KC red & PSU blue for the color. There was a nice hot pink & a lime green that he passed on as well. Based on recent events in the wheelchair we suggested that he get the airbag option.

He ate well again to day. We may have to start calling him lunch box again.

Our day was brightened when we bumped into Jermaine at the elevator. He was back at Magee for a follow up visit. You may recall that he was a patient at Magee and was discharged several weeks ago. There is a photo of us with Jermaine on a previous blog from the day that the the Chiefs & Eagles played. Jermaine is the one in the ugly green jersey. Prior to his discharge he had stopped in to see Aaron on several occasions and always had words of encouragement for Aaron. It was truly good to see him again. Please keep Jermaine in your prayers as he continues his recovery.

Gina and I always enjoy watching the GLOW on Aaron & Jaime’s faces when they first see each other after a few days apart. It is heart warming. Today was a happy reunion as Jaime had been unable to visit for a few days. Both she and Tory were sick but are feeling better.  Tory was able to returned to day care today.

Aaron’s discharge date from Magee is 11/6 and it is looking fairly certain that he will be moved to a facility in Harrisburg to continue in the vent weaning process at that point. We will keep you posted.

There is POWER in prayer! Keep them coming!

Literally.  Yep, he was at it again today in the power wheelchair.  He was running over the cords of his oxygen tank, so I squatted down to try to grab the cords to pull them out of his way, when he decided it was a good idea to suddently turn the chair in the opposite direction.  When he did the chair knocked me right over and there I sat on the floor, just looking up at him with that “what the heck just happened?”  look on my face.  He, of course, loved it.  Me, not so much.

He had an uneventful day, which is a really good day!  He did ride the stim bike using his legs this morning, and as always, he loved it.   He played Wii again today and did very well.  He’s getting to be quite the ping-pong player!   

We’ve been a little concerned about Aaron’s appetite over the past couple of days, he just hasn’t had a real desire to eat.  Well,  we can stop worrying….at least for today.  He scarfed down his breakfast, lunch and dinner today AND he had a healthy piece of  ice cream cake. (Thanks to Bill, Danielle and Andy for arranging for the cake to be brought to Magee over the weekend!   Poor Danielle!  The cake was to be eaten on Sunday in celebration of her birthday,  but because Aaron wasn’t eating much, the cake wasn’t even taken out of the freezer until today.  And Bill and Danielle have returned to Las Vegas.  So we ate some today in her honor! )  

Tomorrow, Jaime and Greg (not sure about Gina, but I think so) will be visiting Aaron.  I hope they have a nice, uneventful day,  just like we had today.  

Please pray for Aaron’s recovery……and also for everybody’s safety while Aaron is motoring around in that wheelchair!   Thanks!

A BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE. For your thoughts & prayers, donations, time & effort, love & friendship. We can never begin to thank each and everyone of you individually. We don’t even know who some of you are. But please know that in this day and age where the news and media tend to focus on the negative and selfish aspects of the world today, we are uplifted and encouraged daily by the people who have , and continue to, touch ours and Aaron’s lives.  The risk that you run when you publicly thank people via a venue like this blog is that you will foget someone. May God bless each and every one of you for your kindness.

Aaron is amazing and has come so far with his breathing. I started keeping a log when he began the weaning process.

Day 1 – 25 seconds
Day 2 – 10 minutes
Day 3 – 35 minutes
Day 7 – 1 hour
Day 11 – 2 hours
Day 13 – 5 hours
Today – 10 to 12 hours daily

The last thing that he would say before he went off of the vent when he first started was “I’m going to be miserable” and he would sleep the entire time. Now he does therapy, gets showers, eats meals, talks, takes less meds to calm him prior to going off the vent, and asks if he can stay off of it over night. His calm reaction (“Can I stay off it?”) that I witnessed on Sunday when we discovered that his oxygen tank had run out was unbelievable. The first thing that he asked on Monday morning was “can I go without it again today?” It’s hard for him to back off now but their approach is to build his strength slowly towards breathing successfully everyday on his own rather than bound ahead and have him only be strong enough every other day to do so.

Monday Aaron got to do the tilt table again. There were a few minor mishaps with the motorized wheelchair. My favorite one was….Aaron was tired after his last therapy session so I left him so that he could catch a nap. I decided to walk (25 blocks round trip) uptown and check out the Liberty Bell. It was a beautiful day for it and apparently I just missed the Phillies pep rally at City Hall by an hour or two. When I returned about 1.5 hours later I checked in on him and he was still sleeping. I checked back about 15 minutes later and he was awake & talking to a nurse. After she left the room he told me that when he woke up he was going in circles in his wheelchair. NO injuries, NO damage to the room and it was good to see Aaron able to laugh at himself.

On a sad note….Aaron’s fantasy team suffered it’s first loss of the season and is now 6-1 but still holds a 1 game lead over the rest of the pack.

We continue to get answers about the next step in Aaron’s care as there are many questions and we do not want to rush into a decision until we are certain that it is in his best interest. Please pray for wisdom as we look to move forward in “Aaron’s Journey.”

As always, thank you to everyone and please continue to pray for stregnth, wisdom, & healing.

First, I would like to apologize if I offended anybody in my last update by not clearly thanking each and every one of you for your support.  I certainly intended that my appreciation (as well as Aaron’s and the rest of his family’s) for everybody who volunteered their time and service and supported Aaron at the 230 Cafe Fundraiser,  be evident in my writing.  But, apparently it wasn’t and for that I am sorry.  Someone was kind enough to point that out to my husband today and he knew that was not my intention, so he told me and that is what led me to sit down tonight and write this.  Let me stress to everybody that we appreciate each and every one of you who worked at the cafe; those who donated the items that were raffled off, those who did work behind the scenes, those who took pictures, etc.   Believe me, everybody’s efforts  were appreciated!  

I didn’t visit Aaron today, I went to work, but his dad was with him all day.  He was off the ventilator today, and on the trach collar.  According to Greg, he was very, very tired.  No wonder after yesterday!   I don’t know if Aaron’s dad will put an update on the blog tonight or tomorrow about his visit with Aaron today, so I’ll stop here.   

Never doubt that Aaron and his family are grateful for your support.  And if we are remiss in thanking you on this blog, please know that all that you have done for Aaron is sincerely appreciated. 

Please continue to pray for Aaron.

Well, I hate to brag about my son’s accomplishments, but I think you will all forgive me.    The most bizarre thing happened today at Magee.   There were several of us visiting Aaron at the same time, so we went into the Recreation (for lack of a better word) room, a more spacious room where there is a big screen TV more suitable for watching football.  Aaron’s cousin Bill and his girlfriend, Danielle , Aaron’s dad,  Aunt Deb, Andy Gingrich and I were all sitting around with Aaron, chatting and watching football.   Aaron was off the vent (had been since around 8:00 AM) and was wearing the trach collar.  Anytime we take Aaron from his room, we have to be sure we have a tank of oxygen with us.  We did and it was hooked up and in use as it always is.  Bill, for whatever reason, happened to look at the oxygen tank and notice it was empty.  We didn’t say anything to Aaron about this, he seemed to be doing just fine and we didn’t want to alarm him.  We weren’t sure how long it had been empty, because it hadn’t affected Aaron in the least;  no “alarms” went off to indicate he wasn’t getting sufficient oxygen!   The respiratory therapist was notified (Aaron still wasn’t aware his tank was empty) and she brought in a full tank of oxygen.  When she did, she made Aaron aware of what had taken place.  He had been breathing on his own, with no oxygen, for quite some time!  Aaron asked if he HAD to be put on the oxygen, she said no;  so he continued to breath on his own, with no assistance what-so-ever for four hours!   FOUR HOURS!!!!!!!!!   Aunt Deb and I had to leave Magee earlier than normal today because we had to attend the viewing of a dear friend who passed away on Thursday.  While we were saddened about that, we were thrilled that Aaron had breathed on his own without oxygen for the short period of time that he had up to that point…..if we had known he was going to go on for three more hours with no oxygen after we left…….Lord only knows what kind of hooting and hollering we might have subjected him to!     (Aaron, we all know Aunt Ede’s in a better place; maybe SHE was looking down on you today!)

Aaron had a lot of questions about the 230 Cafe  fund raiser held on Saturday.  Of course, he wanted to know who was there and between all of us who were visiting him today remembering different people, I think we about covered it.   He is grateful for everybody’s support and asked that I send his thanks.  So, on behalf of Aaron (and his family and fiance, Jaime), THANKS EVERYBODY!!!    

So, Aaron was off the ventilator today (the last I heard) for almost 12 hours.   He was very tired when we left, but his determination wears ME out;  no wonder he was pooped!

Stay tuned for more information on Aaron’s progress getting off the ventilator!  And we’ll let you know where he’s going next on his journey and when!      (Also, we hope to add pictures from the fundraisers in the near future.)

Thank you and bless you all!   Please continue to pray for Aaron’s recovery.

What a wonderful day!   This morning, I, along with Aaron’s Aunt Den, Aaron’s cousin Bill and his girlfriend Danielle, got to Magee at approximately 9:30.  When we arrived, Aaron was still in bed, but was wide awake and off the vent and on the trach collar (and had been for about an hour and a half).  He had just eaten his breakfast.  Aaron’s physical therapist and I planned on her coming to Aaron’s room at 10:00 AM so she could give me another training session on preparing Aaron for his day.  That went very well and Aaron handled it beautifully.  I am not as quick as those who normally do this for him, so he had to endure lying flat on his back a little longer than normal and also on his side, which he doesn’t tolerate very well.   But he and I are still speaking, so I consider it to be a success!

Aaron played Nintendo Wii today, which was very interesting.  The therapist held the remote on his head and he moved his head to point  it in the right direction.  She would push the buttons on the remote to get it to shoot or do whatever she needed it to do.  It was great exercise for his neck muscles, but really wore him out.   But he did enjoy himself!  

Aaron was also graced with the presence of his good friend, Brian Sullivan, today.   Aaron hadn’t seen Brian for a couple of weeks, but it was quite a bit longer than that since he’d seen Bill and Danielle.  He was THRILLED to have his friends with him today.  Aunt Den and I sort of removed ourselves as much as possible so the young ‘unz could enjoy each other and catch up.   They took turns going to therapy with him.  At one point, the girls left the room because the guys fell asleep;  Brian in Aaron’s bed, Aaron in his wheelchair, and Bill in a regular chair.   Brian made out on that deal.  (Sorry, Brian.  No picture of you in Ern’s bed, I only post those at his request and he didn’t ask!)

After the guys woke up, Aaron was rejuvenated.   He was more alert and happier than I had seen him in a long time!  I think it was a combination of the sleep and then waking up and seeing some of his favorite people right there with him.  It was not only good for his soul, it was good for everybody’s soul who observed it.   If you ever doubted the importance of friendship in your life, you never had the opportunity to see what I saw today. 

“There is magic in the memory of schoolboy friendships; it softens the heart, and even affects the nervous system of those who have no heart.”
– Benjamin Disraeli

Please pray for Aaron’s recovery and thank God for his friends and yours!

Aaron had a lot of neck pain today.  When that happens, of course, he gets more pain medicine which often makes him sleepy.  He was tired today, but he stayed awake for his therapy sessions, and that’s a good thing!   He went off the vent onto the trach collar at approximately 7:15 this morning and stayed on it for…………………(drumroll)……………11 1/2 hours !!!!   Great job, Aaron!   

We were told today that Aaron’s discharge from Magee will take place on November 6th.  Our plan (up until today) was for Aaron to go home to his Dad and Step-mom’s house upon discharge, BUT today we were thrown a curve; another option to consider, a facility that specializes in weaning patients from ventilators.  There are several close to home (Harrisburg, Lancaster, York) that we could consider if Aaron would choose to go that route.  He would be admitted as an inpatient and would still receive physical therapy, however, it would not be to the same degree  he gets now.  Their main focus would be getting Aaron off of the vent, which is Aaron’s primary goal right now.  This is a new option for Aaron to think about, as well as Jaime and the rest of his family.  Life and rehabbing would be easier for Aaron (and everybody involved with his care) if he could lose that apparatus!!!  So, stay tuned, we’ll keep you updated on Aaron’s next step in his journey!

One more thing.  Aaron and I were chatting this evening after he ate supper and we looked over at my husband, Sam, who (last time we looked) was watching TV, to find him sound asleep in Aaron’s bed.  I took a couple of pictures, because I knew when I eventually told Sam he’d been sleeping, he’d deny it, as he ALWAYS does.  I was correct, he did deny it.  I have the pictures to prove  it and I told Aaron I was going to post one on his blog, so here it is.  Just for you  Aaron.  And yes, he really was sound asleep…..doesn’t look too comfy.  Who looks like that when they sleep?   Is that normal????

And I continue to ask you to please pray for Aaron’s recovery.    Thank you everybody!!

Aaron was still a little under the weather today, but did manage to do about 3 hours off the vent anyway. He really seems to have gotten over his fear and apprehension about being off the vent; he just needs to get past whatever bug he’s  battling now so he can make greater progress. 🙂 Isaiah and Mandie  stopped by for a while in the early afternoon :), he got to ride the hand stim bike which he always likes to do, watched a little baseball, and wrapped up the afternoon with an appetizer from the Olive Garden. 🙂