I talked with Mia today and she said that Gary is improving everyday and will be transferred to another type of rehabilitation facility next week. On Tuesday, Mia toured one in Northridge which is a little closer to their home and was very impressed with the program there. She said the area of the hospital where Gary will be is a 36 bed facility and he would have a roommate. She was hoping for another private room for him, but in this place he will be kept in therapy for a large amount of the day anyway, so the room situation won't be so important.

Mia does plan to return to her job next week and will not be with Gary during the better part of every day as she has been for the entire time that Gary has been hospitalized. She plans to try to arrange her schedule so that she can go in to work early and leave early enough to get to Gary by late afternoon and evening. Of course her boys will be home then and she's going to be trying to burn candles at both ends. Please pray for her that things will work out for this transition.

Bill and I have told her that we would be glad to come out and help again for a while if she needs us. All she has to do is say the word.

We appreciate all of you who have continued to pray for Gary and show concern for both him and Mia, as well as all of our family here in Arkansas. God has answered so many of our prayers and we thank Him so much.

With love,

Bill and Nancy

Hello:
Gary has had a busy week with continued improvement each day. Although some days are met with much agitation he has more windows/periods of cognitive and physical breakthroughs. See attached photo.

Yesterday (Friday) was one of the breakthroughs and he took another big leap in physical and speech therapy. Those that know how difficult it is for Gary to move from a sitting position to a standing position can appreciate the complexity and strength it takes him to get upright. The physical therapist has been working with him to strengthen his upper body to prepare him to use a table to help stand and for the first time yesterday he managed to do 15 very difficult table push ups. This is a BIG step!

Cognitively he continues to amaze us all. While he may not always recognize me, others or pictures/objects by name, he is able to identify via reading. He is now reading print, as well as handwriting and we pass time by reading all the cards, well wishes, hand written notes and emails. His since of humor does come out from time to time and we both laughed when he finally realized after many hours of his insisting he was correct, to his amazement No my name was not “Cheesecake”. The crazy thing is that as the day progressed I started to respond to being called “Hey Cheesecake”. However, when I left that evening I was once again Mia. I think I will bring him a slice of cheesecake today.

Other recent highlights, he is now able to perform many of the ADLs (activities of daily living) feed himself, brush his teeth, shave with an electric razor etc. And. . . . THE BIG NEWS. . . . . it looks like he will be transferred to the next phase of rehabilitation and move to a new rehab facility next week. Kindred hospital is an acute phase hospital that specialized in respiratory care (ventilated/trached patients). Thus, now that Gary is over the “acute” phase he is ready for the next step. Although it will be a difficult transition for me as I have grown to trust/love the staff and environment at Kindred, this is another HUGE milestone for Gary. The next place specializes in brain injury rehabilitation and will focus more on PT, OT, cognitive and speech therapy. We still have a few options to choose from but it looks like we are leaning toward Northridge Rehab facility as they have a very good reputation and other patients from Kindred have reported very positive results. Plus with Leah being the star goalkeeper for Northridge woman’s soccer, I’m hoping we will be able to have outings and catch some of her practices/home games which I know Gary would love. reputation, its 5 minutes from where Leah lives/goes to school and only 20 minutes from our home (and we don’t have to drive on the 101 or 405 freeways!).

I’ll write again later this week. Until then sending much love and appreciation to the amazing healing network (in multiple states and countries) of friends, family, extended families, church members, people we have not met but have prayed for Gary’s recovery. Ten weeks ago the prognosis was poor, five weeks ago they (doctors) were not sure he would come off the ventilator. Look at him now! It truly is a miracle to witness the wonderful recovery. If I could hug every one of you I would, but for now you will have to settle for a virtual hug. XOXO, -Mia

Just talked with Mia a little while ago and she and Gary were sitting outside again. He talked with me some and told me that it was hot and they were sitting outside today. He was having a better day today than yesterday. Mia said he only has one tube left and that's a feeding tube in the stomach which is very short, but he keeps trying to get it out! Therefore, he has to wear the mitts on his hands and that frustrates him and then he gets mad! (I can't say that I blame him!) Mia is trying to get the docs to remove that last tube but they want to make sure he's tolerating solid foods well enough before they take it out. They said maybe in a few days it'll be out, too.

He sounded really good and told me he loved me when he hung up. However, earlier in the conversation, I was talking away and he got tired of listening to me and just gave the phone to Mia. lol Mia says he's reading a lot and seems to comprehend all that he reads. He's still having some problems identifying some items on the cards that the therapist gives him to look at.

Please keep praying for him to get the tube out and also for strength for him to get up from a chair when he's seated at a table. He is very weak from being in bed for over two months and it's going to take some time and patience, but we all know he can do it with the Lord's help.

Thanks to everyone!

Love, Bill and Nancy

Gary has enjoyed more days outside, free from the tubes! (see attached photo)


The last few days have brought out emotions. Although difficult to experience, the emotion is actually another positive milestone as it demonstrates that area of the brain is functioning appropriately. He is beginning to realize (at times) the impact of what has happened and as you might imagine this has stirred up various emotions including anger, frustration, laughter and tears. I have experienced his challenges as wife and best friend but I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to try and attempt to do something that once was a natural action but now met with extreme difficulty. He asks what happened, however he has yet to realize/grasp how far he has come in the past 2 months. Prior to May 13th (cardiac arrest), Gary amazed me/us with all that he has conquered living with dermatomyocitis. We all know he is a fighter with an amazing will and determination. Although the recent challenges have created new obstacles I am confident he will overcome and prevail. He is surrounded by lots of love, tremendous support and encouragement including the staff, clinicians, family and friends. He is truly an inspiration to all. I have to share one very touching moment yesterday was when he realized/really saw the amount of support, prayers, and well wishes (cards, emails) posted around the room. He was very touched by the volume of support. We truly appreciate the continued prayers, love and well wishes.
With much love and strength,
-Mia

I don't think I can say it any better than Mia, so here's her latest e-mail to me:

HOOORAAAYY!!!! THE TRACH IS OUT!!! They successfully removed the trach on Friday afternoon and Gary is doing fantastic! Blood gases are great on room air (no need for extra oxygen via nasal cannula). Tube feedings have been discontinued as he continues to do well with "real" food and is now drinking water, milk and his favorite sweet iced tea (decaf of course). Another big milestone yesterday when he entertained us using his drumsticks, keeping the beat along with the Pete Townsend (THE WHO). It is amazing to watch the dexterity and coordination come back!
With lots of love and continued amazement,
-Mia

Isn't God good?? We just thank Him every day for what He's done for Gary (and Mia)!

Love and thanks to all who care about and love Gary, Bill and Nancy

I just talked with Mia. She was on her way home from the hospital and she said Gary had a fun, remarkable day. He had a cheeseburger with fries (and ketchup) for lunch with two or three kinds of drinks and he kept saying, "mmmm, this is good!" Plus, as of today he was still getting some tube feedings. Mia thinks they will discontinue that this weekend since he's eating so well. Also, they are supposed to remove the trach tomorrow and she feels that will help Gary a lot - he stays frustrated because he wants to pull at the trach tube. Therefore, they have to keep the mitts on his hands. With the trach gone, he won't have to wear those.

Mia said that he teased with her today and seemed like she had her Gary back. They did another EEG today and the technician showed her the difference in the one a month ago and today's. She said he had LOTS of brain activity today compared to the one in June and she said she wasn't surprised since Gary was talking so much now and doing so many things.

Mia had a long talk with his primary care doc this evening and he agreed that some of the treatments, tests, etc. could now be discontinued or lessened. The physical therapist as well as the speech therapist couldn't believe the change in Gary this week compared to last week.

Please keep Gary in your prayers, as well as Mia. They've got a lot of work ahead of them to bring Gary back to where he was before his heart attack, but knowing them, they can do it.

Much love to all, Bill and Nancy

Talked with Mia yesterday afternoon and got an update on Gary. She says he's still doing well and improving some every day. He has days where he's very agitated and seems to be trying to wake up some areas that have still been asleep and he can't quite figure things out. I'm sure this must be very upsetting to him. Mia has continually tried to keep him informed about what happened to him and how long it's been, etc. It's been 2 months ago today and we still can't believe that he's made it this far. As I've said before, he's always been a fighter and never gave up on things and I'm sure that's in his favor.

He continues to have lots of company and Mia says this is good - for him and her - because it takes her mind off helping him while they are there. However, she said if she's in the room while company is there, he will just follow her with his eyes and doesn't seem to see the others. So, yesterday she went outside while the company was there so he would concentrate on them. That's when she called me. The grounds at the hospital are very pretty and she enjoys getting out there some each day.

Please keep praying for him and her as well as all the kids. Also, if you'd like to send cards or mail to Gary, he is now in room 31 (he was in 41B).

Thanks for everything, Nancy and Bill

Mia called me this morning on her way to the hospital and said that Gary is still doing fine. He is a little anemic which is expected since he's been in bed for almost two months. He is not at the point of treatment yet, but the doctors are watching him closely. They feel that he'll correct it on his own.

Gary is eating soft foods such as Jello, cream of wheat, puddings, etc. He's also still being given the tube feedings so he's not always hungry when they try to feed him. He's doing well with his therapies. He sat up on the side of the bed for 15 minutes yesterday. However, he did get tired and his heart rate went up which is also expected due to his being in bed for so long.

He has periods where he doesn't seem to know who people are and at other times he's very aware of friends and family and enjoys them being there. All in all, he's still progressing very well and seems to want to get up and get out of there. Mia said today that he will have to be able to take 90 minutes of physical therapy before he can be transferred from the present rehabilitation hospital to a regular rehab.

Please keep praying for both him and Mia. Thank you so much!

Bill and Nancy

Gary is doing MUCH better. The docs have downsized the trach so now he can talk much plainer and is able to eat Jello, pudding, etc. They will try him on liquids this week. The therapist sat him up on the side of the bed on Saturday and he did well. He's beginning to shake people's hands and wave bye when they leave. He played his bongo drum with his fingers the other day and Mia said he was keeping up with the music. He tells her that he loves her multiple times a day now and is asking more appropriate questions, many of which are about what happened to him and where he is now.

Mia sent pictures and Bill will help me transfer some of them to the blog when he gets through with another computer project that he's doing. I tried but didn't get very far!

Keep up the prayers! God is certainly working!

Much love and thanks to all of you,

Bill and Nancy

Gary had a visit from his dog, Tobie, today and got to visit with him outside for about 45 minutes. Mia said it really went well and that Gary seemed to enjoy it. Tobie knew Gary and Gary knew Tobie; however, he didn't call Tobie by name, but just said, "Hey, there!" Tobie tried to jump up on Gary, but then just laid down at his side and Gary rubbed and pulled on Tobie's ears like he always does.

Mia said that a lot of the staff was outside for a 4th of July picnic and even the Nursing Director was taking pictures of Gary and Tobie. She said it was entertaining for everyone and even some of Gary's coworkers were visiting and got to enjoy the show.

Gary didn't do too much talking today, but he did enjoy the time he had with everyone. Leah said he gave her a hug and told her he loved her when she got ready to leave. She had brought Tobie down to see him. She also brought a video of her last soccer game and showed her dad. He thought that was pretty cool.

Thanks for your continued prayers. God is so good!!

Much love to all,

Bill and Nancy