Mia left me a voice message this morning while we were in church. She said that Gary had responded a little last night and this morning to one of the nurses. The nurse (Troy) said that when he went into Gary's room to check on him, Gary's right foot was keeping time to the music that was playing. Mia keeps music going all the time for him - mostly jazz which he loves. Troy said also that Gary smiled at him. This is the first smile that we know of. Maybe he'll smile for Mia today. I really think she needs a BIG one!

Mia also said that they were going to change his pick line again today. They said the infection started about the last time it was changed and they think there may be an infection in the line. He is still on antibiotics. Gary is still on an anti-seizure medication which seems to keep him too sedated. Mia was hoping they would discontinue that soon.

These are small things, but every day seems to bring more hope for Gary. Let's all keep praying and believing that God will heal him.

Love and thanks to everyone, Nancy and Bill

Mia called this morning to tell us that the "strainer" procedure to catch the bloodclot in Gary's leg was done around 9 p.m. last night and when they brought him back, they moved him into the room next door which had been cleaned and sterilized to keep down any infections. Mia said the procedure only took 10 minutes and went well.

This morning, Gary is a little more alert seems like. She put his glasses on him and he looked around the room as if to say, "where am I?" She tells him all the time what happened to him, what time of day it is, which day of the week, and keeps him abreast of what's going on around him. Mia said the doctors told her that he may be moved later today to a Respiratory Unit or to a Telemetry Unit. She will call me later today to let us know where he is.

Gary doesn't seem to have any pain anywhere and is apparently very comfortable. All other vital signs are good - he just won't wake up and follow commands.

Please continue to pray. Thanks so much for all your prayers and concerns thus far.

Nancy and Bill

Mia called this morning and said she had gotten the results of the CT Scan that was done yesterday on Gary. He has a small blood clot in his leg and they are going to put in a "strainer" type thing to catch it before it causes any damage. He has a small amount of pneumonia in his lungs, but they feel like the antibiotics are already working on that. He didn't have any fever this morning which is good and he was responding to feelings this morning. The nurse said that when she washed his face, he frowned and turned his head. Also, when she put the thermometer in his mouth, he bit down on it!

Mia was on her way to the hospital and we should hear more from her later today. I'll try to post more later tonight.

Please keep the prayers going for him!

Love, Nancy and Bill

We're at home in NLR. We flew in today since there wasn't much we could do at this point to help Gary. He's getting excellent care, both from hospital staff AND from Mia. Since she's a nurse, she knows exactly what to do for him and she exercises his limbs several times a day to keep them going. She said Gary seemed to be more alert today. He had the feeding tube moved from the nose to the stomach and that frees up his face for him to move around more and she said that several times today he's looked at her and squinted his eyes as though he's trying to focus and even turned his head toward some of the pictures that she's put on the walls.

We will probably go back at some point when Mia needs us most to help her and Gary. Right now she's just taking one day at a time. She's been overwhelmed at the people who are praying for Gary and sending everything from food to cards, e-mails, and even stuffed animals! Many prayer objects have been brought/sent in from all faiths and she appreciates them all.

Gary had a CT Scan today but Mia said that she had not been given the results. He gets a chest x-ray every day and the lungs are still clear. The fever is gone, but the doc is still trying to find the infection's location if it is still there.

Keep praying - let's not give up!

Thanks, Bill and Nancy

Bill and I just returned from seeing Gary. The tracheotomy went well. They didn't do the feeding tube this morning, but will do it at a later time. The surgeon did the tracheotomy at bedside instead of in surgery. Gary was free of fever and the antibiotics are working on the infection that he has. However, he is still isolated and we have to gown down when we go in to see him. He had been given more sedation for the procedure so he slept the whole time we were there. It's sure hard to kiss him with a mask on! He is stable; good blood pressure, etc. so we may try to get a flight out tomorrow or Friday and go home. There are several things that we need to take care of and we can always come back if needed here.

I'll try to update again when Mia comes in tonight with more news.

Love and thanks to all, Nancy and Bill

Gary has an infection now in his sputum and the doctors are fearful of his getting pneumonia so they've started him on strong antibiotics. He will have the tracheotomy today around noon, plus the feeding tube will be put in the stomach. Please, please pray for him that everything will go well during the surgery. I will post more this evening when I get home from the hospital. Thanks to all of you, Bill and Nancy

Not much difference today. Gary is being given Dilantin for earlier seizures that he had which have stopped now. Mia feels that this medication is keeping him more sedated than it should. She was going to talk to the doctor about reducing the dose tomorrow. He is scheduled to have a tracheotomy sometime tomorrow and we're hoping that will help him wake up. Some people that we've talked to said that following a surgical procedure, their patient came out of a coma. Let's pray that will be Gary! Otherwise, he's great. No problems except that he won't wake up fully. He opens his eyes and moves his hands and feet, but doesn't respond to commands. Bill and I sat with him this afternoon while Mia came home to be with the boys. She spent the night at home last night and plans to come in tonight if Gary is doing ok.

Please keep up the prayers!

Love and thanks, Bill and Nancy

Gary was about the same today when we went down to see him. We didn't get to spend much time in his room since he had so many people trying to see him. Once Bill and I got back to his room it was time for the nurses to change his bed and reposition him. They do this (reposition) about every two hours. We took Mia's parents (Alice and Jack Franks) with us today and then we went over to their house for a Mexican dinner. We really enjoyed it and then we played a game or two of Rummicube before coming back home. It was nice to relax our minds for a little while and besides that - I won both games!

The boys are over at friends this evening so Bill and I are going to kick back and watch a little TV for a change. We'll go down to the hospital some time in the morning and will probably stay longer then. I'll update after that.

Love to all of you and thanks for your prayers, cards, calls, and food. Nancy and Bill

We just returned from the hospital and Gary was about the same as yesterday. He seems to focus a little bit more, especially when he has his glasses on. He's still squinting his eyes as though he's trying to figure out what he's seeing. He turned his head a couple of times when he heard someone's voice. The docs are still talking of doing a tracheotomy on him maybe Monday and then he can be moved to a step-down unit for patients with trachs who are stable otherwise.

He's had over 113 e-mails and Mia has put them all on the wall, plus lots of pictures for him in case he wakes enough to see them. She plays music for him all the time (mostly jazz since that's what he loves) and treats him like a king! She's a dandy as Bill says. In case I haven't put in the e-mail address for the hospital, it's valleypres.org, then press Patient Relations and follow the instructions. Gary's room number is 110.

Thanks again for your prayers, calls, e-mails, and everything else. We ask that you continue to pray as each day looks a little more promising.

Friday Morning

I talked to Mia around 8:30 this morning and she said Gary was about the same. She had an asthma attack herself and had to go to the ER and get a treatment. She spent the rest of the night in Gary's room in a recliner chair. Said she didn't get much sleep. We are headed down that way in a little while. Hopefully, we can get her to come home for a while and get some rest. She doesn't like to be away from him long.

She said that Gary is still opening his eyes and looking around some, but not squeezing hands like he was doing. We went up last night and he kept closing his eyes really tight and squinting like he was trying to focus. We're hoping this is a good sign. Maybe today will be the day.

I'll post again tonight if we get home in time.

Much love and thanks for your prayers, Nancy and Bill

A Little Hope!

We heard from Mia this morning that Gary was following her with his eyes. If she moved to one side of the bed, he turned his head that way and looked at her. He has not been doing that. Also, he followed the command of one of his nurses who told him to squeeze her hand and he did. This may seem like a very small thing, but to us, IT's VERY BIG!!! Mia was going to work with him today and we haven't heard back from her.

Gary's vital signs are good and he is being given the TPN feeding. He has no infections at this time and no fever. His blood sugar is still up and they are continuing the insulin. We've all been exercising his limbs to keep up from being so weak when he does get up.

We will be going to the hospital later this afternoon and will try to do another update tonight.

Gary can receive e-mails by going to the following: valleypres.org and then clicking on Patient Relations and follow the instructions. His room number is 110.

Please keep the prayers going.

GARY UPDATE

Bill and I didn't go in to the hospital today, but had calls from Mia and her boys also went up there to be with her. She said that Gary did have another seizure around 10:40 this morning and the doctors are still puzzled as to why he's still having them. All of his other vitals are good and they are giving him nourishment via IV now. We are still on a "wait and see" mode. Please keep praying.

Thanks, Bill and Nancy

GARY UPDATE

As most of you already know, my son, Gary Elliott, suffered a severe heart attack on Wednesday, May 13 in California. He was found slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle which he'd parked in a downtown Los Angeles location. He was able to dial 911 himself before passing out. He had no pulse, was unconscious, and unresponsive when the ambulance crew got to him and he was resuscitated twice by them and once at the Emergency Room. He was brought back and stabilized before being taken to the Cath Lab for an arteriorgram. Luckily, he had an aggressive cardiologist who was willing to dissolve a blood clot that had formed in a stent that had been placed there several years ago when Gary had his first heart attack. The doctor did this with no knowledge of his previous condition, and without permission from a family member. Many doctors would not have done this and we are so thankful that this one did. He said he saw a young man that needed saving and he just did what had to be done.

Gary has been in a coma since he was brought in. He's on a respirator and a lot of other equipment to help him get better. His blood sugar went high so he's on insulin, and he suffered several seizures yesterday and last night. However, he was started on an anti-seizure medication and the seizures are very mild now. He had another EEG and CAT Scan today and neither showed any more damage than the ones done on Thursday. This was good news for us today! The docs seem to think that the swelling in the brain may be causing the seizures. This sometimes happens following a heart attack.

We saw a little bit of response from him over the weekend. He seemed to be hearing us when we'd ask him to squeeze our hand or wink his eye. He would move his eyelashes and open his eyes slightly. We got tickled yesterday - Bill was massaging Gary's feet and began to sort of tickle his feet with his fingernails and every time Bill did that, Gary would wiggle his nose! Because of his dermatomyositis condition, we are trying to make sure his legs and arms are massaged often and we've asked for the physical therapist to work on that for him.

He's had a LOT of company which helps Mia more than Gary. People have been wonderful to respond to us and have offered assistance, prayers, food, and whatever we might need. We are so thankful for people all over the United States who are praying for him and we hope that you'll continue to pray. We do not know when Gary will wake up, but we're not giving up. He's a fighter and we just hope and pray that God will allow him to live a while longer.

Bill and I took an early flight to LA on Thursday morning after Mia called us late Wednesday evening. We have no idea when we'll get to come home, but will stay as long as we're needed and hopefully until Gary wakes up. Please pray for us, too, as we try to take care of the home and be here for the kids even though they are quite independent now. Also, pray for me as I drive in this crazy California traffic!

Thank you again for all your prayers and calls. I will be trying to update you all each night after we've seen Gary during the day. Any of you that want to can e-mail Bill or me at our regular address and we'll get it here.

Much love to all, Nancy and Bill Smith