A copy/paste from my Facebook:

PRAISE GOD! Greg is really starting to communicate by nodding/shaking head, & attempting to mouth some words! Maybe he can get rid of the trach soon so he can find his voice again. His sister and youngest daughter are there with him this weekend, they report he is really wiggling all over the place, trying to readjust himself in the bed, much more focused and alert. I can’t wait til I get to go back later this week!

I am feeling so encouraged!!

Yesterday, they took Greg off of any ventilatory support.  He has a t-piece (trach collar), and is only receiving some oxygen through it, and they said he is doing great.  My son went to see him yesterday.  He wouldn’t open his eyes while he was there, but he was turning his head to him, and he said he could tell he listens when you are talking. He said he didn’t “look as sick to him as last time he saw him”. The nurses said he is “restless”. This morning, the report is that he was “awake” all night again. But, he is still opening his eyes this morning. His sister and brother-in-law are with him now, and she called and said he is looking at both her, and her husband when they talk to him. And…his white blood count….is down to 26,000 this morning!! I’m so encouraged!

Have a blessed Good Friday!

This morning, Lea called to check on Greg.  The charge nurse for the day shift reported that the night nurse, and the charge nurse for the night shift, both reported that he had his eyes open all night! They actually said he was “awake” all night. He was also squeezing hands, both sides, and moving feet and wiggling toes on command from them. YAY! Also, his white blood count was down to 31,800 today. Remember, when I was there last, it was going as high as 48,600.  He had dialysis again this morning, and he was already starting to “sleep”, but we think his days and nights might be mixed up. The charge nurse said she was very encouraged!

I called to get an update after work, and he has been out of it most all day, but again…he had dialysis and the nurse mentioned that he had been awake all night, so that would be expected. His vitals all stayed stable during dialysis. The infectious disease doctor discontinued the antifungal today, as well as an antibiotic he has been on, and just ordered follow up labs to monitor. He is down to a much lower dose of the steroid, and will be completely off of that in a few days.

More baby steps in the right direction! Praise God!

Yesterday, the nephrologist ordered that Greg be given some IV fluids. He was encouraged enough by his kidney function to try the addition of some fluid.  They believe he has some type of metabolic encephalopathy. He and the infectious disease doctors are working very hard trying to find the right combination of meds to pull Greg out of this. At this point, we simply don’t know if there will be permanent brain damage, or not. I will keep praying not.

No, it isn’t just tax day.  Today is my husband’s 59th birthday, and he is still about the same. I had thought about driving to Lubbock, but with wind gusts of up to 70 mph, I am staying right where I am. He doesn’t know it’s his birthday, anyway. One of his good friends is staying with him til Sunday, so that has been a big relief to me. I have so much stuff to do here at home, with taxes, shop business, and my job. It is so unbelievably hard to have him four hours away. It is really starting to wear on me, but you just have to do what you have to do. In the meantime, I will keep praying and believing that God is going to pull him through, and wake him up, and eventually, I will get him back closer to home.  Maybe a rehab facility in Amarillo. And, ultimately, home home.

His best “girlfriend”, Libby, our yellow lab, became ill over the last couple of weeks, and she is currently in the doggie hospital, being treated for diabetes, bladder infection, and colitis. This whole thing has been stressful for her, as well. They have to keep her for a few days to get her insulin dosage regulated. I hope she does well with it. I told her she HAS to be here when we get to bring Daddy home.

Uggghhh….what a nasty, windy day outside.

I spent the last week with my husband. I am home, and wiped out. But, I know so many of you are checking in for updates, including a new blog reader, Allison.  Allison is one of Greg’s awesome dialysis nurses, and she is off the rest of this week, and was going to watch my blog for updates on his condition. I’m sorry I have left you all hanging for so long. It is just a slow going process, and most days, I don’t have much to report, other than he isn’t any better, but he isn’t any worse. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were a bit disheartening for me. I could not get him to really “wake up” much at all. However, Tuesday was a much better day.  He was more alert, and responding to voice and tactile stimuli. Wednesday, he seemed worn out from Tuesday, and from his dialysis Wednesday morning.  Was in his “sleeping” state all day again. But Thursday, he was  opening his eyes much more, and started moving his right arm voluntarily, and moving his right leg more. Not much activity on the left side, though I did see him trying to move his left arm a little. He definitely seems to be trying to focus in on you more, when you are in front of him talking to you. When he is “awake”, he seems to be staring off somewhere else most of the time, but Thursday, and again this morning, it appeared that he is trying to move his eyes to the source of the voice and even seems to be looking at your face at times. They were also able to start the process of trying to wean him from the ventilator by putting it on CPAP mode, and so far, he is tolerating that quite well. I play music for him on my Ipod, and a certain special song of ours really seems to get his attention. I feel like he is trying to find his way back. His white blood count continued to rise over the past few days, and hit an alltime high of 48,600 yesterday. Today, it was down to 40,500. They are trying to pinpoint the cause. They did discover that he does have active yeast infection in his urine, and are still growing cultures on that, and it could be the cause. He is just so very weak, that you can’t imagine, unless you have seen someone in this condition before. It is going to be so hard for me to not be there with him tomorrow, to see firsthand how he is progressing. I do have people checking in on him for me over the next few days, though. Thank God for all our “angels”. I don’t know what we would do without them.

Thank you all for your prayers, your comments of support and concern.  I appreciate each and every one.

I have been home trying to get some rest this weekend and Lea has been in Lubbock with her daddy. She just texted me this update:

“So I just got here, he opened his eyes after a few minutes of me talking. I asked if he could see me and he mouthed yes! PTL! It’s a glorious day!”

There were some small responses yesterday, as well. Sometimes, we aren’t sure if what we are seeing is real, or we are seeing what we want to see, but once Lea asked him to squeeze her hand and he did it, and the nurse was in there and saw it, as well.  The nurse asked him “Mr. Allen, can you hear me?” and Greg shook his head no! We know he could hear him because his eyes were closed.  Maybe it was easier to shake his head than nod it, having just had the trach.  Who knows? She also was in his face saying “open your eyes, open your eyes” and she finally said “open your eyes for Randi”…and he did! Baby steps. But steps, nonetheless! Please continue to pray for him.

I just wanted to pop in and ask for continued and renewed prayer  for Greg. He is truly fighting for his life, and needs them as much, if not more, than ever, as he battles the effects this infection has had on his already weakened body.  I now fully understand the severity of sepsis. We have seen some positive progress over the last few days, small baby steps of progress. I am praying fervently and boldly and persistently for God to heal him and make him whole again. I thank God for what he has done for us, and what he is doing, and what he will do.  Even in the midst of this terrible trial, he has blessed us in many ways.

I cannot express my appreciation enough to all our friends, both in our little community, and from other places, including those of you I have only known through the internet, for the outpouring of love and support for us.  The offers of help, the cards, care packages, traveling to Lubbock to be with me, or sit with Greg…I am truly in awe. My heart has been touched in ways that I cannot even express in words. I will be forever changed by this, whatever the outcome.  I have learned so much from the examples that you all have set by ministering to us in our time of need.  There are so many thank you cards that I need to be writing, but for now, please just know that my heart is full of appreciation to each and every one of you for being there for us, loving us, praying for us, and every other way that you have ministered to us.  I don’t know how I would get through each day, sometimes each minute, without my FAITH, my FAMILY, and my FRIENDS.  I send my love to you all.

An update from Greg’s daughter, Lea:

“He is really opening his eyes more today, the gaze isn’t there yet but he’s trying. And his vitals are perfect.”

She also said that when they started the dialysis today, his blood pressure was doing better than yesterday.  Today we will hit the 48 hour mark from the start of the Capsofungin treatment.  I am praying so hard today that we see some true improvement.  She did ask him to wiggle his toes, and he did…on both feet!

Thank you to all our faithful prayer warriors!

Greg was started on a stronger antifungal med today. They said we should see improvement within 48 to 72 hours, if his symptoms are being caused by this infection. His kidney function is so low that they are starting him on dialysis in the morning, but they believe that to be a temporary situation. The infectious disease doctor feels the infection originated from the IV feeding he was on. I’m not sure what to believe anymore, but am not giving up hope.  We still have hope.