Dad’s improvements from the last 2 dad’s have been nothing short of miraculous. He continues to breathe for the most part on his own. His fever is much lower today too. Dad still has a bit of a temp, about 100 (39.9), but with the new regime of medication Dad seems to be improving remarkably.

Although Dad is still sedated, and drifting through pain and sleep, when he is “awake” he is able to respond. Through the fuzzy pain medication he attempts to communicate with us. For over 2 hours Dad was able to communicate, through squeezing his hand, that he could see out of his right eye. He couldn’t see clear across to the other side of his ICU room, but he could see faces up close to his. We are still unsure about the vision in his left eye.

Dad also indicated he was uncomfortable, but, given his predicament, one would expect a certain amount of discomfort. His broken leg was not causing him too much pain, but he did say that his head was hurting.

Dad’s surgery tomorrow on his orbits will take about 3 hours or so. The surgeon is thinking he will be spending over an hour on each orbit rebuilding them.

As the feeling of crisis with Dad’s accident wears off we thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, concerns, and encouraging words. Please keep them coming as we have a long road ahead of us.

~With Integrity

Juggling

Tuesday, Dad’s improvements from yesterday have held stable. Dad’s breathing is almost completely on his own, with just a little machine assistance for safety. His spiking temp is much lower today too. Dad still has a bit of a temp, but with the change in medication from yesterday it seems to be helping. He is still sedated, and drifting through pain and sleep, but thats part of the recovery process. Not quite taking dad off the sedation just yet. Dad’s care team is still trying to find the fine line between awake and pain free is the current modus operandi. Dad is a tricky patient. Mix a high pain threshold with his extensive injuries and you have a care team juggle. Also official surgery news; Dad has another surgery scheduled for Thursday in the afternoon. This surgery will be on his face, specifically his orbits, underneath his eyes. Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, concerns, and encouraging words. Keep them coming as we have a long road ahead of us.

~With Integrity

Monday, a new day.

Monday, a new day. At dawn, or soon there after a young couple was standing in a parking lot. Around the corner a truck pulling a trailer slowed down and drove towards the couple. The driver smiled and waved. A moment or two later another car pulled in behind the truck, followed by a few other vehicles. Within moments as people were sharing hugs, quiet laughter, and sipping some coffee they watched as 3 helium balloons gracefully lifted into the pale crisp and cloudless sky. We had a good turn out of the ol‘ balloon crew. Many hands make light work. This morning was a great day for flying. As the group of people expertly and systematically moved in towards the pick-up and trailer a sense of purpose seemed to over take them. Tarps were spread. The envelope and basket was pulled out of the trailer and made ready for takeoff. The purr of the inflate fan cut through the air. Today’s crew has worked together before. Each of us instinctively know what the other is doing, and what task needs to be done first. Or do we? It seems some thought had to be taken. No one really wanted to think or say it, but it sure would have been nice if Eldon was here to keep us in line. Ready for launch? Check. Passengers aboard? Check. Radios? Check...uh where are they? Oh in the truck. Eldon would have already been checking them. I can’t wait to tell him that it took 3 of us to... well you get the point. Dad’s shoes are big. He is an integral part of the balloon crew, our family, and many other lives. This recovery time is gonna be interesting. We are doing our best to pick up the pieces, keep going and stay the course.

So over the weekend, Dad had hit a wall. He had a spiking temp. He also wasn't really wanting to respond or follow commands very well. Remember the wiggle your toes, squeeze my hand test? Well, this morning Dad was able to not only squeeze and wiggle, but was able to hold up 2 fingers on each hand. How awesome, what a difference. What a praise! Today Dad is almost breathing completely on his own. He is giving it an “Eldon’s best” at breathing. His fever is also down. The doctor’s have changed some of the med protocol and adjusted his antibiotics. Today Dad doesn’t seem to be in as much pain either. Wow! A new week, a new pace of recovery. Miracles do happen, they just don’t seem to happen on our schedule.

~With Integrity

A big thanks

to the Friends of SAR: Josephine County, Oregon for continuing to keep people updated on Dad’s condition. This is an excerpt from one of the posts on their blog, one we couldn’t agree with more!

The "newness" of Eldon's injury is over and he is still in ICU. This is the part of serious injuries or illnesses that we, as Americans (and maybe all people), have trouble handling well. This is the time when people tend to not be as interested or feel that they have exhausted all their reassuring phrases and just don't know what to do now. How do you continue in "crisis mode" when the end of the crisis isn't known or even in sight? This is when families really need support and for as long as the problem lasts. It is harder to do, but this is what friends do for each other. Maybe cutting a lawn, running errands, spending time with the family in a way that lets the family let go of their stress is what is needed now. Stay the course.

Dad has traveled around the world with Hot Air Balloons. One balloon specifically is the Arky Balloon. This special shaped Noah’s Ark balloon has several animals hanging out the windows waving and is one of Dad’s opportunities to share his faith. Traveling with the Arky balloon, such a widely recognized icon, is great. Instead of Dad having to figure out how to share his faith with others through his words, people ask Dad about his faith.

Well, as it is Sunday, I felt that today’s spiel about Dad should include some sermon notes. Don’t worry, I won’t make it too deep, today I use the Message translation of the Bible.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Well, that seems simple enough.
Dad was hurt in an accident, now what?
“Do not worry. If you feel like you need to worry, talk to me.”
OK God, Dad is still in the CCU.
“Make sure you tell ME your concerns.”
God, Dad is not doing very good. He is broken. Dad has a fever, his broken bones are causing him pain, and Mom is missing him. The entire family is struggling. Honestly, there are many people who were impacted by Dad’s accident. How do I help? What am I supposed to do?
“Be still and know that I am God.”
OK ... now what? Pray more? Why am I struggling to remain calm?
“Be STILL and know that I am God”

I try to find comfort in the fact that hundreds of times throughout the Bible, God promised, predicted, or prophesied, and every time, followed through. That tells me, God has THE plan. Now I just have to trust. Have Faith. Be still. Sitting in Dad’s room, watching, listening, praying....waiting for an understandable glimpse of God’s plan.

Jeremiah 29:11 “...I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”


Have faith. Trust God. Believe God.
So, considering all this to be true, this accident, my sitting by his bed, all this prayer, the chaos of life, God knew before hand and somehow has orchestrated this for good. Ok, well in that case, God knows how long we will be here. So we wait for Dad to recover, but for now, we know that Dad is stable. He seemed to have a good night. His fever is still bouncing around. Today’s care plan? Keep Dad comfortable. It seems like Dad’s pain-o-meter is working overtime. His tired body has gone through a lot this last week. Dad needs his rest.
Pray for the next surgeries coming up, and for our recovery process.

~With Integrity

Day 8

of Dad’s recovery. Day 8 of getting his nourishment through a feeding tube. The eighth day Dad has spent in the Critical Care Unit. Over a full week of having an intensive care team working around the clock assisting Dad in his recovery. Prayer warriors fervently seeking God’s blessings. Mom, myself, Pilot Bill, and several others making the daily pilgrimage to the CCU ward to pray, spend time near Dad, show emotional support, ask questions of Dad’s care team and pray. For this past week the reports have mainly been the good news, the praise reports, the positive points of Dad’s recovery progress. It has come to my attention that perhaps I am being a bit too cavalier with Dad’s situation. I want to gloss over the yucky parts of life, I believe that is basic human nature. There is a reason we don’t fully look into the dark alley as we drive by. We are curious, but don’t really want to know. Maybe I romanticize life too much, but I desperately want to see the positive side of this tragedy. I desperately want to know there is a light at the end of this tunnel, and today I am struggling to see the positive side. Not to over dramatize Dad’s predicament, but just in case I have been a bit too Disney with Dad’s dance of recovery, here's where we are today. He is still in the CCU. In any recovery, patients have good days and days they struggle. Dad has had several good days. Yesterday was a day where the care team's main goal was to keep him comfortable and manage his pain levels. Today looks to be a not so good day for Dad. It looks like Dad might be developing some more complications. Last night he spiked a fever in the 103 range (39.4C). Dad has for one reason or another become less responsive than he was the last few days. This could be part of the healing and recovery process, or a result of the injuries. We will learn more as time goes on. I feel that today, especially we need not only a reminder of prayer coverage for Dad’s body to heal, but for his family as well. Not only for Mom’s strength and peace, but for me and my family as I am pulled from my wife and children to help Mom. Pray for Pilot Bill, Jack, Cliff, Pam, and the rest of the crew through this process as we all work towards recovery.

~ With Integrity

Today,

I feel compelled to again point out the obvious but that’s OK, it’s Saturday. Dad has an amazing care team taking care of him around the clock. From the nurses to doctors. They are constantly checking in, asking questions, comparing notes and showing a genuine concern to Dad’s care. His team of professionals consist of the “Bone Guy,” the “Facial Reconstruction Guy,” the “Brain Guy,” and the team is coordinated by the ever talented “General Trauma Lady.” This powerhouse team is supported by the IV checker person, The Blood pressure reader, the pillow straightener, and there is even someone who is able to translate most of the Dr. speak for us. Now keep in mind that my medical experience comes from varying personal experience and TV re-runs of M*A*S*H and Doogie Howser, M.D., but I for one feel that Dad’s care team is doing an amazing job. Everyone has their own gifts and talents. We are all designed with a specific purpose in mind. I have yet to meet anyone working with Dad who is not only doing their best, but is passionate about their work. My only complaint is that this seasons 2 hour finale episode is a tad too realistic and long. When is the commercial break? Soon I hope. But, meanwhile we watch this saga unfold with baited breath, my hat is off to the care team professionals working in the Rogue Valley Medical Center Critical Care Unit. Thanks again from the Foster Family.

~ With Integrity

1 week so far

It seems that the morning update for Dad, is more like an afternoon update for me.... If only I could get this morning’s information and news yesterday. Then it would be your morning news. Actually I will be the first to admit that I am easily distracted by, well anything so.... I must work more fervently to deliver these snippets of information to you. How interesting would life be if we were able to press the pause and rewind and fast forward button in life? Now how would we learn faith, and patience, and all the other good characteristics we are suppose to have?

Dad has officially been in the CCU with his amazing care team for a week now. Weirdly, the cacophony of buzzers, bells, and beeps feels calmly familiar. All performing in a syncopated rhythm with the constant flow of the care team gently and expertly moving, adjusting, and checking dad throughout his visit. The level of care is so great that even the Wimbledon Tennis match has been turned on for Dad’s viewing pleasure while he rests. Sure he is still drifting in and out of his unconscious and semi-dream state, but it is the thought that counts.

Dad had another good night. He seems to be in more pain this morning, but that is all part of the dance of recovery. Left foot, right foot, back and forth. Just like in ballooning, there are many ups and downs to the journey. Dad’s long recovery road is going to be paved with prayer and patience. Thanks so much for all the encouraging words and notes.

Speaking of notes. While we are in the recovery room with Dad, praying for him, holding his hand and talking to him, we would love to tell him some stories that are special to you. I know that he can hear us, and as he recovers more he will welcome the memories. Please feel free to post a comment so we can share with everyone, or e-mail me directly with your favorite pictures and stories. I am hoping to find more special pictures and stories of Dad through your words and cameras to share with and encourage Dad through during this time.

~ With Integrity

Another major hurdle we are crossing. Dad is starting to be able to communicate more effectively with us. When he is asked questions, Dad is not only squeezing your hand or wiggling his fingers he is starting to become a bit more verbal. Dad was never a man of many words, but now he is uttering sounds, and I am sure words aren’t too far behind. Yeah sure the sounds are filtering through the wired jaw and handlebar mustache (yep, it’s still there, so far no need to shave it), but we are all excited to hear these grumbly and mumbly responses. Currently we are scouring the forgotten languages attempting to devise some more effective way to converse with Dad, but for now, we are going to use the old fashioned system of hand squeezes and grunts.

Also, according to Dad’s care team, his broken leg is healing well without any infections or complications at this point. God is good!

~ With Integrity

Thursday Morning Praise

Good news, Great news. Tons of Prayer and Thanksgiving....

Dad had a great night of rest after his long surgery. The amazing nursing team kept an ever watching eye throughout the night of Dad’s dance with recovery. His breathing is almost completely on his own, he had no post surgery fever, although he still in in CCU and will be for a while Dad is doing great.

This morning Dad was able to follow some commands by wiggling his toes and fingers when asked. He was also able to squeeze his hand in response to some basic questions. Dad’s care team feels that he is in relatively little pain and resting comfortably. Dad was even trying to open his right eye. Another praise.

Tomorrow will be a week into this journey. So far Dad has spent almost 14 hours on the surgery table. Still in the hurry up and wait phase, with 2 surgery’s down and more to come, we are not out of the woods yet, but we are speeding down the road to recovery. Today, I find myself starting to breath easier, almost.

Although Dad is healing well, we do have quite a journey ahead of us.

So for now Dad’s care team wants him to rest so he can get back to his busy schedule.

What if...

According to the all knowing Wikipedia, an accident is a specific, unidentifiable, unexpected, unusual and unintended external action or chain of events which occur in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects.
Dad was involved in an accident. We can point fingers, we can place blame, we can rationalize, and we can say, “if such and such had happened... if only this didn’t happen... What if ....”
Dad, was doing the one thing in the world that he loves the most (well, that and spending time with his grandchildren). He was Ballooning. Did I mention that hanging around the balloon IS Dad’s ultimate passion. Seriously now, can anyone think of a conversation with Dad when you were able to talk to him without him randomly pulling out of thin air some ballooning story, adventure, or pictures or a mix of all 3? I have even seen Dad do this while ballooning. Who does that? Someone who is all consumed by the adventure, excitement, and lure of the balloon drifting effortlessly through the clouds and over the mountains to greener pasture. All the while, Dad, sunburnt and windswept is ever chasing. Eldon’s got his eye out for the next green light, back alley shortcut, or hidden driveway to the balloon’s perfect landing site.

I guess what I am saying is that yes, Dad was in a horrible accident. Sure there are hundreds of questions and second guessing. We could point fingers and place blame any direction the wind blows. What happened was terrible, but it was an accident. It happened. Lets band together, make the best of it, so we can all fly some more another day. After all, even Elmo knows that accidents happen.

~ With Integrity

A quick note after surgery

A quick note after surgery.

After another long (or what feels long to me) surgery. Maybe it’s just me, I am so glad that the dr’s take all the time they need to do what they do best. Dad’s facial reconstruction guy, Dr Savage says Eldon is doing awesome. He is very happy with how Dad’s healing is going. He mentioned that although Dad’s forehead is very shattered, he feels its best to let the healing progress naturally, because of such little displacement in the bone. The dr put a couple of plates next to his eye by his temples to stabilize his eye sockets. Dr also did some prep work for the next surgery process which will be in about 5 - 7 days. This is once more of the swelling goes down. Then he will be more focused in the orbit area underneath Dad’s eyes. Doc also put a plate in Dad’s jaw. Locking the chin together. This aligns his teeth on both the upper and lower jaw just “perfectly”. Speaking of teeth. It looks like Eldon’s smile will be a little toothless. Dad has lost a few of his teeth, Yikes! I guess the tooth fairy will have some extra work to do. This will be after Dad gets to have a pillow to put the his teeth under. I wonder, do you think the tooth fairy will bring pennies and nickels, or will Dad get a cost of living increase? I hear from credible sources that aged and wise teeth bring a good price on the open market. My daughter Riley (who just lost her first baby tooth) is just sure that the tooth fairy will be visiting Dad soon.

Much praise and rejoicing. Dad is one step closer to jumping out of the truck and chasing after that balloon, tinkering on some project, or being wrestled to the ground by his grandkids.

On a side note. According to the Josephine County Search And Rescue Blog: if your wanting to help with expenses, an account has been established at Home Valley Bank to which anyone wishing to help out may donate.  Just let a teller know that you would like to donate to the "Eldon Foster Donation Fund"  and they will make it happen.  All of all donations will go directly to Eldon and his family.   Donation can be made at any branch of the Home Valley Bank.  Pass the word.

thanks again for all your prayers....

~With Integrity

Today's mini-update... more to come after surgery

Last night was kind of an OK night. In any trauma it is often 2 steps forward and 1 step back. During the night's dance Dad had a worryingly high temperature. His fever is now under control and today’s surgery is scheduled for 1:30 PM.
Today’s surgical activities will include the reconstruction of Dad’s jaw, chin and ocular orbits.
Another exciting praise for the day! Dad is very responsive this morning and is attempting to open his eyes!

~ With Integrity

“How do you ask for help when you don’t know what you need?”

If we had a nickel for every time we have been asked: “How can we help? What can we do? If there is anything we can do, just ask.” I am sure the big pile of nickels would rival one of ol’ Scrooge McDuck’s piggy banks. The problem is, we currently don’t know the help we need. I am sure there are books, self help dvd’s, instructional videos on youtube, but really who has the time or presence of mind to process through anything other than mere survival? Right now during this hurry up and wait phase of just after an accident, we don’t know what our needs are. Besides massive amounts of prayer? Friendly reminders that God knows what’s going on. Meals. Gentle reassurance that as crazy and terrible as this is, things could have been worse. These are great, much needed and please don’t stop. A big thank-you to everyone who has been helping and praying and please, please continue.

One of the things I have been asked to do is provide a list of specific prayer requests:
Please pray for wise decisions from the medical team and family.
That we are able to able to process and cope through this one day at a time.
Dad’s healing in miraculous.
Pray for his eyes
Pray for all the people who are touched by this trauma. Regardless if Eldon is a friend, neighbor, employer, customer, grampa, husband, dad or patient, this incident has and will effect countless people. Each person will respond differently.
For me, personally, pray that I will not be callous to those who are dealing with Dad’s tragedy differently to the way it affects me.
Pray for his head, brain and skull.
Dad’s knee
Dad’s broken leg
Pray for dad’s mental state (I think my responses would be different if I survived through something of this magnitude, wouldn’t you?)
Pray for our understanding when dad doesn’t heal instantly after all the prayers for him and the miracles we have already witnessed.
Pray that we are understanding of dad’s emotional process during his healing.
Pray for freedom from financial burdens and worries.
Our worries about 6 days, 3 weeks, 4 months and next year are good, practical and open minded, but what about tomorrow? Maybe this is just our way of dealing with the stress and shock.
Pray for peace of mind. GOD is in control!

June 22nd update... where did yesterday go?

Whoops! Forgive me. Life somehow still keeps going along. As much as one want to hit the pause button and go for a commercial break to refill our popcorn, it just doesn’t work that way. Last night my girls finally got back from their hiatus. Sarah, Riley, and Haven were in Australia visiting family while us boys were here bachelor-ing through life. You think, “3 weeks, that’s not too long,” but when faced with the curves of life, especially in light of these last few days, my girls were gone forever.
All this to say... Dad is doing great. As with any traumatic incident there are mini hurdles to cross each day. Tuesday, June 22nd was no exception. In the morning Dad had all his doctors visit him and they each mentioned his amazing progress in the healing. The swelling in his face has started to dissipate and to be completely honest, Dad is starting to look like Dad. Another miracle.

June 21st.. the miracles of today

June 21st Eldon had a great night of rest. His improvments over the last few days have been nothing short of a miracles. Even the doctors are talking about at how well he is doing and how fast Dad is improving. Talking with Eldon’s ICU nurse today for our curent scoop. She kept saying how amazing his improvements were. A heart felt thank you to everyone. For for all the prayers. Praise and Glory go to our Father in Heaven who knows all and created all.
So you want to know the latest?

Eldons O2 levels are now at 30%. For the most part he is breathing on his own. Dad has a CT scan at some point today to look mainly at his face. The doc has a surgery schedualed maybe wed am to put the orbits under dad’s eyes back together, but wants to know if there is anything else to repair. Dad has become even more responsive and able to follow comands better. Wiggle your left toes, Wiggle your right toes, do the hokey pokey… everyone on his medical team is very happy.
We will find out more tonight after the scan.
By the way… Thanks again to everyone.

Catch up and current Eldon story

I am sorry it has taken so long. But the last few days, (June 18th 8:30am till now) have been rapidly tick tock ticking along. It’s been blurry, emotional, and strangely medically educational journey.

How it all started was from a typical ballooning adventure that Eldon has been on hundreds if not thousands of times before. It was a great flight. Matter of fact they had landed and were in the process of bringing the balloon to a safe location to pack up the envelope, celebrate the safe flight and join the rest of the world doing the normal days projects. However, today was not the typical day.

The news crews reported how a balloon mishap sent a tottering 70 year old to the hospital. I guess that was slightly correct.

Factually, an unexpected and freak chain of events knocked the hot air out of an integral and very experienced balloon crew leader.

The early morning of June 18th Dad, sometimes affectionately know as Eldon, was enjoying the balloon flight as well as crewing with His Sky Ministries for the WWJD balloon. After yet another amazing flight and a great landing, the crew was preparing to pack up the balloon. Tarps were spread, the trailer was prepped, and the pilot was going through the safety guidelines for the passengers to exit the balloon, when somehow, without warning 2 of the passengers left the balloon causing a dramatic change in ballast. This weight change caused the balloon to quickly launch back into the air with Eldon still holding onto the bottom side of the basket.

Well we all know that Eldon was doing his job. He was keeping his weight on the basket attempting to keep the balloon down to the ground. But the sudden change and rapid accent back into the sky was too fast for dad to respond.

Our fearless pilot Bill Woodhead tried desperately to quickly land the balloon with out crushing dad. Pilot Bill was pulling out the top vent and descending when Eldon asked Bill to please hurry as he could not hold on much longer. Milliseconds later Dad fell to the pavement below.

June 18th about 8:20am the paramedics were on scene rapidly. This was due to the close proximity of the local EMT/Fire station. Once on the scene the medics, some of whom had worked with Dad in his past life as a fireman/emt, made the quick decision to air lift Eldon directly to the Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford.

Dad was hurt bad. Basic field assessment told us that Eldon has a broken leg we later learned to be a shattered femur, as well as a pulverized knee. He also smashed up his face and head as well. Medically, the list goes like this. Eldon has a broken nose, lost a couple of teeth, fractured chin, cheekbones, eye orbits, forehead, as well as a couple of skull fractures. I never knew one could break so much in the head. Wow!

Now for the good news? Broken arms. No internal organ damages. God be praised. A miracle. The doctors and nurses have said many times how amazed they were with the amount of trauma he sustained without any internal issues or with out any obvious major brain damage. This seemed to be our first miracle. In the next 24 hours we learned of countless many other seemingly innocent happenings that can only be described as miracles in the light of this journey.

Miracle listing:
Dad could have been hundreds of miles away from emergency medial help. Instead he was within simple sprinting distance, thanks again to our quick thinking crewmember Kim who sprinted to the doors of the fire station to rouse the medics as fast as the 911 operators could call and sound the alarms.
Dad was surrounded by not only medics who knew him, and worked with him, but many brave souls who were able to administer the best of emergency care for him, not only in the field, but at the hospital as well.
Dad got a chopper ride with out feeling motion sick ☺
Dad could have fallen on something or landed in such a way that damaged his brain, or internal organs, or worse.
Dad could have severed his spine, broke his neck, or worse. This mishap could have been fatal.
He only broke his leg and smashed his face, how many other bones could have been fractured, pulverized, and snapped in two?
Although Dad is 70, he is a young 70, with virtually no medical ailment to complicate matters.

And the list goes on, but you get the point…. Miracles abound in this. God’s glory and handy work are interwoven throughout this journey already and we have just begun.

Our Prayer Request list could be a lot longer. Instead our thankful prayer list abounds.

June 18th about 10:30am was when I first saw Eldon at the hospital. It was about 2 hours after the accident. He looked so helpless. His face was badly damaged. So much so that Dad was only recognizable because of his hands. They look just like mine, mix that long time familiar handlebar mustache complete with trace amounts of his favorite bran of mustache wax, and you have Dad. Unconscious, battered and bruised, but this helpless body hooked up to beeping and buzzing machines was Dad.

In the ER, after a battery of scans, x-rays and other diagnostic exams, the doctors confirmed that Dad indeed had a broken leg, and many fractures in his face and skull along with pressure building from the swelling around his brain. Ready for another miracle? Eldon’s initial brain scan results were “positive”.

About noon or 1pm Dad was moved from the ER trauma ward to his own room in the CCU. This was a good thing. Already Dad was starting to get “better”.

Although the process of stabilizing Eldon took well over 12 hours as he was losing lots of blood. Both from his fractured led and from his smashed head. The last number of units of blood he had pumped into him I heard was a total of 8 units. This was during the exam, and stabilizing process as well as the over 6 hour surgery to begin the repair process of his shattered femur and fix his nose a bit and relieve some of the pressure building up in his brain. He was not breathing on his own so the machines were doing the work for him.

At just a few moments past 3am June 19th we heard more good news. The stabilizing surgery was over. Now the doctors wanted to let Eldon rest. So he was heavily sedated to give his brain time to rest. Let his body start the repair process, come out of shock and also time for the swelling in his head to go down so they could more accurately assess the damage. Doctors are saying that he could be like this for about 5 to 7 days before many changes or improvement are noticed. Currently Eldon is plugged into every machine available doing jobs ranging from checking his blood pressure to breathing for him, we are to expecting a slow road of recovery. More good news. They are talking about some kind of recovery. It’s been a long day and we are to wait now for the next 24 to 48 hours to really determine the next steps.

June 19th about 7am. Not much change over night. Eldon remained stable. That’s great. Stable is a good thing. The trauma team performed another brain scan. The results were positive, and they wanted to slowly reduced the level of sedation. This was to bring Dad up to the surface of the sleep if you will. The idea was to assess his brain function and cognitive processing. As Dad was brought towards the surface of the sedatives he began to thrash about and fight with the team attempting to help him. They decided to let him rest for a bit more an pushed Dad back into the deeper level of sedation. He calmed down and remained stable for the rest of the day. The plan was to try this again later in the evening. Also they wanted to attempt to lessen the amount of breathing the machines were doing for dad.

Around 5pm the team again brought Dad back to the surface level to see if his brain had enough time to sleep and rest. The nurse asked Eldon to squeeze one hand then the other then to wiggle his toes. Eldon passed with
Flying colors! He wasn’t able to get up and dance a jig, but Dad was certainly able to process and respond. The nurses were amazed and were talking about how wonderful this progress was. He went from having the breathing machine doing 100% of the work to about %40 now.

Are you counting? More miracles. Wow isn’t God good?

June 20th around 11am the level of sedatives dad is on are minimal. Eldon is responding more too. He will squeeze your hand slightly during conversation with him. Mom (sandy) said about 3pm Dad moved his arm slightly and squeezed her hand back as she was talking to him. God is good. Wow! We are now in the “hurry up and wait” stage.

June 20th Evening update. Dad is completely free from the heavy sedatives. He is only now on major pain medication. This will allow him to drift in and out of “sleep” as his body needs. He can’t really move and respond much yet, but his improvements can only be called miracles. An eye specialist, and his bone repairman also visited dad. The eye doc took another long look at his eyes and was positive in his response about one eye, with some concern for the other. Praise God. More good news. Eldon’s bone man was happy with the progress he has made, and is hoping to not have to do much more surgery in dad’s face. He will be looking at some x-rays a little more, but thinks that Dad’s orbits and cheeks will heal naturally with out leaving burrs or anything to inhibit ocular movement.

I have found myself fielding dozens of phone calls from well-wishers over the last 24hrs. The outpouring of love and support has been a little overwhelming so this blog has been created to perhaps lessen the load on Mom and I.
I will update this blog as often as I can with Dad's progress. Please continue to pray for Dad and the rest of the family

With Integrity
~Marlin