Gary seems to be improving a little every day with more strength in his legs. He can stand for a short period of time now (with assistance) which is very helpful when transferring him from a chair to bed or into a car or wheelchair. Mia rented a wheelchair van this weekend to check out the convenience of it to Gary's needs and it seemed to be working for them. She took Gary out to he harbor where his boat is located and she said he seemed to enjoy that. They also went to Venice beach and took his son, Brandon, to his apartment and then to visit a friend who lives down in Hollywood. Mia is pretty certain that she'll purchase a van soon so that she can get Gary out more.

Today is Gary and Mia's wedding anniversary so if you'd like, send them an e-mail. Send it to gselliott@aol.com. I know this is a different one for them, but at least they are together and that's what counts!

Bill and I will be leaving later this week driving to visit them. We'll be there about 2 weeks so we'll have a first hand report when we get back. We'll also try to blog while we are there. We are looking forward to seeing them and getting to spend some time with Gary.

In the meantime, please keep praying for all of them, but especially that Gary's memory will restore itself and that God will see fit to heal him completely.

Thanks to all of you,

Bill and Nancy

Gary seems to be adjusting to home life again. He has had one bout of low blood pressure which Mia recognized and checked quickly. She was able to get it back to normal in a short time and he was fine. We called to remind him and Mia about the Razorback game on Saturday, but we haven't thought to ask him if he watched it. We called today and his therapist was there working with him so we only talked to Rosie who was there to help Mia a little while.

We are planning a trip out there in October but haven't decided on a date yet. We're anxious to get to spend some time with all of them. We'll try to keep you updated every few days.

Again, thanks so much for your prayers and concerns during this time.

Love, Bill and Nancy

HOMECOMING!!!!!!

Well, today Gary went home!! After 4 months and 4 days (127 days), he finally got to go home. I just finished talking with Mia and Gary and he was eating lunch and feeding the dogs about every other bite! She said both of the dogs have not left his side since he'd been home. Once they even got in the bed with him and he had to yell for her to get them down.

Mia said that the nurse would be out soon to do an assessment on how much care he would need at home and they'll arrange for someone to be with him. However, Mia said that Rosie will also be helping her. Mia had already transferred Gary from the chair to bed and back about four times and had made it fine.

Gary was sitting by his huge aquarium with salt water fish and enjoying it. Mia and the boys had gotten it for him for his birthday in April and he didn't get to enjoy it very long before he got sick. It'll be an enjoyment for him now for sure.

I just want all of you to know how much we appreciate all your prayers, letters, e-mails, and concern during these past four months. God has heard us and given Gary back to us. We just praise Him for that and we all know that Gary is here for a reason. Let's just pray that God will show Gary what it is and that Gary will recognize it.

Don't stop praying! Gary still has a long way to go to be back to his old self.

Much love and thanks to all of you!

Nancy and Bill

I'm sorry to be so long in posting, but I don't talk to Mia every day now that she's so busy. However, she did call us last night and put the phone on speaker and we got to talk with her and Gary. Gary seemed to be doing much better and his speech has improved a lot. They now have a "go-home" date (remember before we only had a goal date) which is next Thursday, 9/17/2009. How many of us never thought that day would come?? It will be four months tomorrow since he had the heart attack. That's a long time to be in hospitals!

Please be in prayer for the whole family as they make yet another transition. Preparing the home for Gary will be an undertaking, since they have a two-story house. However, they do have one bedroom downstairs for him until Mia gets a lift for the stairs. There's a nice large patio for Gary which is wheelchair accessible (with assistance) and he loves being out there. He is reading now and working some games, etc. on his laptop. Also, being at home, he can have a cell phone with him to use when he wants.

God has been good to Gary and all of us. We just praise Him for what He's done! Pray that Gary will soon realize that, too.

Much love to all and thanks for your continued prayers,

Nancy and Bill

A note from Mia today indicated that after meeting with doctors and staff, Gary may get to go home before the 17th of September. Mia said the hospital will send a team to evaluate the home for suggestions to make life easier for Gary and the family. She will know more later in the week and will let us know. Bill and I are still on standby to go and help when she gives the word. So, please pray for all of us as this miracle unfolds. We all have prayed and waited for the day that he could go home and now it's becoming a reality. Praise God for giving Gary back to us!

Much love, Nancy and Bill

Gary is still improving every day, but has setbacks from confusion and frustration. He will more than likely go home sometime in September so Mia is preparing the house for his homecoming. She seems to think that he'll improve more in the home setting than in the rehab. He doesn't seem to be able to get a good night's sleep there due to so much going on and so many lights on. He continually asks to go home now and that's a good sign that he's ready.

He will have home therapy three times a week and someone will be with him all of the time. He can do a lot for himself now (he even clipped his own fingernails yesterday!) so his coordination is improving. He hasn't mastered standing or walking yet, so keep praying for that to take place.

Bill and I are getting ready for church so we'll send more information later. Please keep up the prayers and cards. He appreciated the cards and pics of his high school reunion, Mia said and likes to look at them. Thanks so much to all of you who took part in that.

Much love and thanks to God and all of you for bringing him back to us,

Nancy and Bill

I'm sorry to be so lax in posting to the blog, but I've been rather busy lately and I do intend to do better.

Gary is still improving every day and is becoming more aware (at times) of what happened to him. When he does realize the seriousness of what happened, he becomes very emotional and sometimes gets very upset that he can't get up and go home. He asked Mia the other evening when she started to leave why he couldn't go home, too. It breaks her heart to have to be at work all day and only get to see him from 4:30 until 8:00 p.m. She does get to help him with his evening meal and he does recognize her as his wife (by correct name) now and I think that makes her feel much better.

She misses getting to know the day nurses, therapists, etc. who work with him since she's not there when they are on duty. She has gotten to know the evening personnel, though, and that helps a lot.

The recent tests that Gary had have all come back good and that's very encouraging. The docs have set a go-home goal of September 17, but that's ONLY a goal and can change as they work with him and try to get him back on his feet. They encourage the family members to let him do as much as he can on his own and not do things for him. Mia says that it's probably good that she's not there during the day because he depended on her for a lot of things when she was with him every day all during the day.

Please continue to pray for Gary that he'll cooperate with the therapists and continue to fight and try to do what they tell him to do. Pray for Mia that she'll be healed of her allergies/asthma which have taken a hold on her and won't let go. She's being treated by her allergy specialist, but she doesn't seem to be responding to the treatment.

Pray for Bill and me as we're sort of on standby until Mia gives the word that she needs us to come out again.

We thank you all for your continued prayers and love for Gary and his family,

Nancy and Bill

P.S. God is continuing to work and we thank Him so much!!!

Here's the most recent e-mail from Mia:

Hello"Just a quick email to let you know that Gary passed the evaluation and was accepted into Northridge Rehab Center. He was transferred last night. Still getting settled in at Northridge but will write again with additional info, room and updates. Overall, looks like he will be busy from 8-4pm every day except Sundays. Visiting hours are from 12-8pm but as noted will be in various therapies until 4pm. More to follow in the next update.-Mia

Note from Nancy -

Please pray hard for Gary this week during this transition. Sometimes he doesn't fully understand what's taking place with all the changes and this upsets him. Pray that he'll have understanding therapists working with him who have lots of patience. Also, pray for his muscle strength as they prepare him for standing and walking.

Thanks to all of you, Nancy and Bill

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

I didn't hear from Mia yesterday, but today when she called she said that they'd had another restless day with Gary wanting to get up out of bed and trying to pull tubes out. However, today is much, much better and he even talked to me a little bit. He said, "Hi, Meemaw" and then when I asked him how he was doing, he said, "I'm having a hard time." Then he said some other things that I couldn't understand when I asked him if he remembered Bill and me being out there for two weeks. Mia said she couldn't understand them either.

Mia said that she thought they were getting ready to give him a swallow test sometime today. We got a picture via the phones a while ago and it showed the nurse giving him the test with a cup of applesauce. He swallowed it perfectly and said, "MMMMMM, that was good!" So, maybe they'll be able to remove the trach now and he'll be one more step ahead. Each day seems to show some improvement for him.

Please keep praying for him and Mia and also for God to point out the right rehabilitation center for him when it's time for him to move on.

Thanks, Bill and Nancy

I didn't hear from Mia yesterday so I didn't post, but she called late this afternoon and brought me up to date on Gary. He got his IVIG therapy this weekend which he has been taking for several years for his dermatomyositis and gets it at home with a nurse in attendance. This usually goes for about 8 hours or longer each day for 2 days. At the hospital where he is now, they ran it more slowly and got it over a 3 day period. It seemed to work better and he didn't get nauseated like he usually does. However, it does give him a bad headache and he gets very agitated and irritable which is what happened this time. This is the first time he's had it since his heart attack.

Mia said he hasn't felt like talking much and they haven't had the little voice valve inserted as often because they need to be able to get to him quickly if he has troubles breathing. When the voice valve is in place, he can be understood more clearly. He shocks some of his friends by greeting them when they walk in and many of them have no idea that he's talking. One of his best friends came in and Gary said, "Hey, man!" Mark almost fainted!

He greets Mia each day with a big smile and wants to kiss her. He loves for her to be there with him which is most of the time except at night.

As Mia says, this is going to be a long, slow process and we'll just take it a day at a time and help Gary get better. Please keep praying for both of them as well as all the kids. It's hard on all of them. Even the dogs don't know what's happened!

Love to all and thank you,

Bill and Nancy

WONDERFUL NEWS TONIGHT!!!

Mia called us tonight while we were eating with a bunch at Colton's in Benton and we couldn't hear well with all the background noise, but she was so excited. Gary has been TALKING today where they could understand him!!! She put the phone up to his ear and told him to say, "Hi Meemaw" and he said what sounded to me like, "Mom." But the more I held the phone, the more it sounded like Meemaw. She said when I started talking to him that he started looking around the room like he was expecting me to be there.

Earlier in the day, the speech therapist who was working with him, mentioned something to Mia about Northridge (which is where Leah goes to school) and Gary said, "Leah." Then he said, "Fashion" which is her major. Both Mia and the therapist were astonished! Several other things came out of his mouth today and Mia said that she thought he said her name one time. He sat up again for a few hours and then when he got back into bed, he began to try to talk again. She's worked with him all day. She was still there around 8 p.m. CA time!

She also put the phone to his ear for Danny to talk to him, but Danny could not hear him respond. We're going to try again tomorrow. Mia tries to put a picture of the person with whom he's talking in front of him so that might bring back a memory when he hears the voice.

Mia didn't mention anything else except that everything else was fine. I'd say it's BETTER than FINE!!

Thank you, Lord! And thank all of you for your prayers and love.

Bill and Nancy

Talked with Mia this afternoon and she said that Gary was doing about the same. He sits up at least 3 hours each day in the chair and today, the speech therapist inserted a small valve-like thing into the tube in his neck and asked him questions. He tried to talk but they could not understand him. It was mostly whispers and they asked Mia what his best, most alert time of day was and she told them usually around 9 a.m. So, they will try him earlier in the mornings and begin with very elementary things such as Phonics, numbers, etc. and try to teach him to talk again. Please pray for all of them as they try this and for Gary and Mia, too. It seems to get Gary frustrated so pray for his mind to calm so that he can concentrate and learn to think again. It will be a slow go, but he'll do it!!!

He has a rash from the antibiotics which they continue to give and they gave him Benadryl to help the rash, therefore making him sleepy again. Mia said that he was very tired. She sent us another picture of him today looking at pictures that she had printed for him of his family. We'll try to get one on the blog tomorrow if we have time.

Mia was taking pictures around the house this evening to print out for him and I suggested that she make one of the pool which he loved. Bill and I have a video of our visit there before we got married of us in the pool with the dogs chasing each other around the pool trying to drink the splashing water. It's really funny and Bill is going to try to get it on a DVD to send her to show him.

Enough for tonight - it's midnight and we've already helped LSU beat Texas - I think we've done enough for today.

Love to all, Bill and Nancy

Mia shows and reads Gary all mail or cards and I thought if any of you would like to send cards, you can mail them to:

Gary S. Elliott
Room 41B
Kindred Hospital
5525 W. Slauson Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90056-1047

Thanks, Nancy

Well, hopefully I'm back now. I've had a rough week of trying to get myself better. Thanks for your patience.

I had a long talk with Mia today and she said he was probably about the same, showing a few progressive changes toward maybe following a command. She said he was agitated a lot of the time that he was sitting up for 3 hours and wasn't in a chair that had a front protective tray. Therefore, he kept falling any way that he could and she was afraid that he would fall forward and hit on his head so she had the staff bring him a tray chair and he did better. Last Monday, he did sort of the same thing (became agitated) and she wondered if it might have been too much stimulation to the brain with a lot of company, etc. However, when they put him back in bed, he settled down pretty quickly.

His brother, Rick, called him today and Mia put the phone up to Gary's ear. Rick and Gary have had different political views for quite some time and so Rick chose his conversation to his (Rick's) advantage since Gary couldn't talk back! Rick's voice carries really well and he was quite dogmatic in telling Gary to get out of the bed! Mia said it was interesting to watch Gary become agitated and even moved his lips as if trying to talk to Rick. I think his other brother, Danny, will try next to see how big bro listens to him!

PT and other therapists are working with Gary daily trying to wake up that good brain of his. I think it may be sooner than we think (when they get the trach out).

Please keep up your prayers. Let's not let God down now; He's done such a good job thus far, as has Gary and Mia. Pray also for Brandon and Leah at this difficult time in their lives.

Our love to all of you, Bill and Nancy

Thursday Update

Mom has been sick and has not been able to post. She wanted me to let you all know that Gary is about the same. He continues to breathe on his own. He did have a little trouble the other day but is doing better. Mom said she will update as soon as she feels better. Continue to pray for Gary and his healing.

Donna (Gary's sister)

We just talked to Mia and she said Gary was doing good. He's still breathing on his own with some oxygen added to keep the brain fed properly. He set off the ventilator alarm a few times during the night and today, but not for long; it was just when he went into a deep sleep pattern. No word yet on the EEG results, but probably will be tomorrow.

Mia said there was a lot of company today and her two boys came and stayed a while. She said that Kameron (the youngest) got the biggest smile thus far from Gary. She said Gary's whole face lit up and one time it looked like Gary was trying to play the guitar. He and Kam and Brandon do a lot of jammin' on the guitars and drums. I told Mia that they should bring the guitar in sometime this week and she said they had already decided to do that. The boys also thought that Gary was trying to talk but they couldn't understand what he was trying to say. He's also done that with Mia.

I'm sorry that I didn't get to post yesterday, but we had a full day with the graduation and then going out to eat with the graduate and her boyfriend. We had a wonderful time while there and left today around 11 or so. We've landed in Arnold, MO - just south of St. Louis and will drive home tomorrow. Mia will be calling me tomorrow after she talks with the doctors. I will post again tomorrow evening from home.

Thanks again for all your prayers and concerns for Gary and Mia. Pray for all their kids, too; it's really been hard for them to deal with both their parents being gone so much.

Love, Bill and Nancy

I didn't get to post yesterday because we didn't have the laptop connected and we had just arrived in Wisconsin. Danny got the computer going for us and we're all set now.

We heard from Mia yesterday and got a picture of Gary with his drumsticks. However, he didn't do anything with them; just held them. Today, the doctors shut his ventilator off and he had been off of it for 4 hours when Leah called me from the hospital. Mia said the doctors were very pleased with some of the responses they'd been getting from Gary. They still haven't been able to get the EEG done again. Gary gets so agitated at them when they try to do it. They gave him a little bit of medication and then when he got settled down, the guy didn't come back to do the EEG!! Typical!!

Mia called while Cindi and I were at the grocery store and I couldn't hear her very well, but I'll talk to her later on and do another post.

Gary has always been a fighter and never gave up easily; I think he may still be that way!!

Thank you, Lord!

Bill and Nancy

Good news today! We just heard from Mia and she said that Gary sat up again in the chair and after they got him back in bed, he puckered up his lips to give her a KISS! She was so excited and thought it might be because she wore yellow today. He loves her in bright colors and she tends to wear more conservative colors. She said he then just went to sleep again. We told her to wear a bright color again tomorrow!

She said that she gave him a shave and haircut today so he no longer looks like the mad scientist. She also found out that the man in the room with him used to sing and dance and knew Billy Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald both of whom Gary loves their music. Mia told Gary that he needed to wake up and talk with this guy! They would have so much in common.

Sid and Pam came to see him and they thought he looked great! Sid works with Gary and has known him for years. Mia said that Gary kept looking at them and she thought that he was trying to talk several times today. He got agitated when he couldn't do what he wanted to do.

Thanks be to God - We give Him all the glory!!

Much love and thanks to all! Nancy and Bill

P.S. Mary Ella: I wish I'd been there to help eat that peach for Tom!

P.S. 2 - Bill and I are in Springfield, IL tonight and getting ready to eat dinner (supper) at Cracker Barrel!

Mia got to meet with Gary's primary care doctor today and was very encouraged by his plan to observe Gary for a while and watch his improvement as he's doing every day now. He has a neurologist coming in who'll work with him in testing, etc. Both of them seem to think that there's hope that he'll come out of this. WHEN is unpredictable as we all know. Each case is different, but they think with his young age and the fact that he's a fighter, is a plus for him.

Mia's sister, Tina, sat with her a while today at the hospital and Leah went by for about an hour to see her dad. I think Mia likes the company to help her get through the day. One of the staff directors suggested to Mia that she bring home videos of Gary's family that was taken in the past to show him. Also, she said that they encourage dogs to come, once they've met protocol required by the hospital. Mia said she and Leah and the boys would work on that for sometime next week.

Hopefully, we'll have even more good news tomorrow! Keep the prayers going to Him for him!

Love to all of you, Bill and Nancy

P.S. Bill and I will be leaving in the morning for Wisconsin, but will continue to post to the blog with our laptop.

Gary had another good day today. Mia got to talk with a few of his doctors and felt good about what they plan for Gary. They want to observe him a day or two while he is being given some physical therapy. (Today, Mia said he had THREE pretty brunettes working on him at once!) She told him he ought to wake up and enjoy that treatment. The doctors want to ensure that he has adequate oxygen to the brain before beginning to wean him off the ventilator.

He sat in the chair for a two hour period this morning and Mia even sent me a picture of him in the chair via her phone. He looks really good - maybe losing a little weight, but he could stand that. She said that he smiled at her again and is following people with his eyes. She's very encouraged with the care he's getting there.

She has his music going most of the time and she said they lucked out because his roommate likes music, too. She took the drumsticks today, but hadn't had a chance to try him with them when she called.

His white count is up a little still and they are continuing the antibiotics. He is coughing and clearing his lungs which is good.

I asked Mia today about the e-mails to him. The hospital is not set up to receive them, but told her they would look into that since it would be a positive thing for the patients as well as the families. Mia wants any of you who might like to continue sending e-mails to send them to Gary's regular e-mail which is gselliott@aol.com. She will print them out each night and take them in the next morning. She said the e-mails help her to hear other people's thoughts and she can share them with Gary.

I'll post again tomorrow when I hear from Mia.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and concerns, Nancy and Bill

Gary had a good day yesterday. He had a lot of company and Mia had him almost in a sitting position in his bed. Everyone thought he looked good. Mia stayed all day with him. She takes her lunch with her now and goes out to eat when the nurses are working with Gary. She says she has a nice place to sit where there's lots of pretty flowers and benches to sit on. She tries to return all her calls while she's outside.

She wanted to get there early today to try to catch the doctors so that she'll know what their plans are for Gary, as well as their expectations for him. She's very optimistic and she's still doing the range of motion exercises on his arms and legs.

She said that she would call again today after she'd talked with the doctors and I'll do another post after I hear from her.

Please don't give up praying!

Love, Bill and Nancy

P.S. She said she forgot the drumsticks yesterday but would try to take them today.

We had a nice long talk with Mia last night as she was driving home from being with Gary all day. She said that he does have a roommate who's older and kind of grumpy, but he can get up and get into a wheelchair by himself so he goes out of the room a lot. Mia said that after Gary's bath yesterday, she raised the head of his bed so he was sitting up and she said he stayed that way almost 4 hours! She also said that he took his hand, raised it to his nose and scratched it! He also smiled at her again.

She was going to take his drum sticks today since he kept holding his hands as though he was playing drums, just to see if he would do something with them. And then she said, "He might throw them at me (or the nurses)! ha She also said that he kept putting his hands down on his legs and pulling at the sheet and she figured out that he was trying to prepare to get up. That's what he always did to his pants legs when he was trying to get up out of the bed or a chair.

The physical therapist evaluated him yesterday and said that they would get him into a cardiac chair 3 times a week and more if he was ok with being in it. Mia seems to think he's ready for that and will enjoy it.

His blood gasses all checked out good, his wound care assessment was good and they are very self conscious about that in their hospital, plus they are ordering him a certain kind of mattress. They've adjusted his meds slightly and will do more if needed.

Mia is very impressed with the doctor (Dr. Michael Lieber and you can google his name and hit "I'm feeling lucky" and see his picture and credentials). He's the medical director for the hospital as well as Gary's primary care doc. She was hoping to get to meet with him today or tomorrow.

All of his pictures are back on his walls and Mia said the nurse said, "Honey, what if we have to move him?" Mia said, "I can have them all down in 20 minutes!" Bless her heart, she's moved them 3 times now, but she wants him to see something he recognizes when he opens his eyes which is a lot more now.

God is so good! Please give Him a special thanks today and keep praying!

Love to all, Nancy and Bill

P.S. We're going to the Cato Homecoming today (for those of you who know where Cato is).

Friday Night Update

Mom is out of town so I am posting. She heard from Mia and Gary has been moved to Kindred Hospital in Los Angeles. She was very impressed with his admission and their attentiveness to him. She left messages for mom and mom did not get to talk to her directly. At last call, Mia was at the airport to pick up Leah and take her to see her dad. Mia will then go home for the night. Mom will be back tomorrow and will probably post then. Continue to pray for his healing.

Donna (Gary's sister)

Mia called me twice yesterday and I failed to get on the computer and put out a new post. Sorry! She was much more encouraged yesterday. She said she had a good day with Gary. She had started taking down all of the pictures and e-mails (Again!) in preparation for the move today to Kindred. When she took down a picture, she would take it to show Gary and tell him who or what it was and he would look directly at it and follow it until she laid it down. Then when she would bring another picture to him, he would do the same thing and one time he even grinned for her. She said, "Meemaw, Gary's in there! I just know he is!"

The move today is supposed to take place about 11 a.m. California time. Mia said she would be there and help get him set up in his new room (hopefully it'll be a private one). She, as well as Bill and I, are very anxious for him to begin this new step in rehabilitation. Everything that Mia has found out about Kindred has been positive.

Gary's vital signs are still good, they've taken him off the heparin and the blood clot situation seems to be good. They put him on Coumadin. He's getting most of his medications through his feeding tube now. She did not know if he was still on the anti-seizure medication or not, but had left a note to ask the doctor about it. However, she feels that once he gets to Kindred and the new doctors there evaluate him, they will adjust his medications to their liking.

Mia will not call me today until late since she'll be busy with the move, etc. Also, she may have to pick Leah up around 6 p.m. at the airport which is near where Gary will be.

Please pray especially hard for them today and for Leah, too!

Love to everyone, Bill and Nancy

Mia called this morning and was so upset with Gary's night nurse. Mia had left around 11 p.m. last night and Gary was doing fine - very calm and no agitation. The nurse had given him two doses of Ativan during the night and of course he was zonked out when Mia got there this morning. She was under the impression that the sedation medication had been discontinued and wasn't even on his chart to give. She was going to have a talk with the doctor who prescribed it and also the nurse when she came on tonight. As long as they keep sedating him, he'll never wake up!

She said that Gary is still on the list for transfer to the Telemetry Department, but she didn't know if the incident with the Ativan would set him back or not. She is supposed to call me tonight, but with it being so late, she probably has not had a chance to call. I'll hear from her in the morning and will post again.

Pray for Leah's flight home - she'll probably leave China sometime tomorrow and be home on Friday.

Love, Bill and Nancy

I'm sorry that I didn't get to post this morning after talking with Mia, but Bill and I were baby-sitting 3 little girls all day long. There wasn't much news this morning anyway, except that Gary was still having some GI problems and he was turning his head when Mia tried to shave him. Then he grinned at her. She was really proud of that grin!

Then this afternoon late she called to say that she'd left the hospital around noon to make visits to two acute care rehabilitation centers in Los Angeles. She had researched them and found their ratings through Fortune 500. However, she wanted to personally visit them and talk with the staff and then determine which one was the best for Gary's situation. The one she liked best is Kindred and is located not too far from the LAX airport. Of course it will be a longer drive for Mia but she doesn't care about that as long as she can feel confident that Gary is being cared for the best way possible. She said when she walked in the Kindred facility she just knew that was the place for him. She said from the receptionist to the last person she talked with, she was impressed. Also, she said it was bright and cheerful. Gary would probably not have a private room, but they were going to try to find him one. Mia was very encouraged with the talks that she had there with the doctors and staff about Gary's case. They were anxious to get him and the challenge that he would be for them. She still doesn't know when Gary will be moved there but he probably will be moved from ICU to the Telemetry Unit at the present hospital first and then transferred to Kindred.

When she called she was stuck in traffic and was on her way back to the hospital. She's Gary's greatest asset and I'm so thankful for her. Please continue to pray for her and Gary as she makes these decisions for him.

God bless all of you for caring and praying for them.

Love, Bill and Nancy

P.S. Pray for us, too! We have 3 more kids tonight - 13, 11, 11.

I had a call from Mia last night and a quick one today. She said last night that Gary had a good day and seemed to be more alert, but today he's had upset stomach probably due to the strong antibiotics. He was not moved today as she had thought he would be. He's still in ICU in room 111. His cardiologist did decrease his heart medications, as well as his blood pressure meds. He was not as alert today. The pulmonologist did not want to take him off the seizure medication yet so he's still on a mild dose of that.

Mia was going home to take care of some business items and make some phone calls. I know she's wearing herself thin, but so many of the things have to be taken care of by her. She says she's fine and she knows that Gary is being well taken care of by the nurses. They have been the best that I've ever seen.

I'll post again as I hear from Mia.

Thanks, Bill and Nancy

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