Ugent Prayers for John Evans

Still praying for Caroline and the whole fam. Great testimony in the making, right here! 

Good news!

Update 29: Day 20 on the ventilator. She is still not ready to come off of it. She was up and alert pretty much all day. She Skyped me three times today. However, this evening she became anxious when they were doing some cleaning of her ventilator setup and her heart rate and breathing went out of whack so they had to sedate her for the night.

We have approved the tracheostomy so she will be scheduled for that procedure soon, probably in the next few days. The trache will be more comfortable for her and buy us more time for her to heal, gain strength, and hopefully get off of the ventilator for good. This could take days, or it could take weeks or even longer. She will take as much time as she needs.

By now we should all be used to what seems like one step forward and then two steps back, but this really isn’t a step in the wrong direction, but rather just an indication that her road to recovery will be longer than we had hoped. As long as she is still on that road and hasn’t veered off with some complication, then we should be thankful.

I do believe our voices have been heard and she is being healed. This may now be a test of our patience to see it through to the end.

Update 30: Day 21 on the ventilator. Not much to report today. Caroline is about the same. I’m just waiting for the surgeon to call me and let me know when the tracheostomy procedure is scheduled. I’m sure it will be soon, but now that we know she will be getting it, I’m getting impatient and want it done already. I know it will make her more comfortable. When I skype call with her now I can see that she is uncomfortable with the tubes in her mouth. Who wouldn’t be right?

Once the trache is in at some point Caroline will be moved to a different facility where they specialize in such cases. There they will continue to try and wean her off of the ventilator. This process could take some time. Right now we are thinking Caroline may not be home for at least a month, but it could be several months. It all hinges on how quickly she can regain her strength.

I’ll be skyping her a little later tonight and showing her this awesome video that Annie Moran put together. Thank you Annie!!!! It’s a video of some of Caroline’s current and former students each wishing her well. She will love it!.

I’d like to see if I can get into her hospital room and bring her something for Valentine’s Day. If anyone out there knows where we can pull some strings with the Geisinger ICU then IM me. I’ll wear a hazmat suit if they want me to.

It's a bummer that it is taking her so long to get off the ventilator, but at least she is still moving in the right direction.

Update 31: Day 22 on the ventilator. No real progress made today. Caroline skyped me this morning and again this afternoon. The morning call went fine, but on the afternoon call she was ready with a pen and paper to tell me something. The nurses helped her hold the pen and with a shaky hand she wrote me a message. The nurse looked at it and said to me, “She wrote, Please come pick me up”. I just felt helpless. I told her I wish that I could but that she still needed to get a little bit better before I could bring her home. I know that she most likely won't be home for months, but I can't tell her that.

I talked to her for a bit and just tried to reassure her that she was getting better and all of the hard stuff was behind her. She listened and nodded her head in acknowledgment. She asked the nurse for the pen and paper again and this time it took us a while to figure out what she wrote but the nurse was able to make out that she was asking how long she had been in the hospital. I told her 22 days and she didn’t seem to make any expression. She just nodded her head.

Still no call from the surgeon to let me know when the tracheostomy is scheduled. Caroline keeps getting fevers so they are trying to figure that out. It could be a side effect from one of her medications, or could be an infection somewhere. We will see when test results come back. This could be what is delaying the trache procedure.

I spoke to the ICU Supervisor about trying to set up a time for me to visit. He told me there is no way they would let me visit and then gave me a long list of reasons why, all of which did make sense.

I’m waiting for them to call me at any moment now so I can talk to her before she goes to bed for the night.

This is so sad, she just want's to be home with her family (and I am certain John and their children what that as well).  

Update 32: Day 23 on the ventilator. 3 Skype calls with Caroline today. She called me in the morning, afternoon, and evening. When I say she called me it’s not like she is actually able to call me. We just have a signal worked out with her and the nurses so if they come into her room and she is pointing at the iPad, then they all know that means Caroline wants to call me so the nurses will then actually make the call. Caroline looked good today, especially in the later calls. She was more alert and awake than usual and seemed to be handling everything just fine. She did write me one note today that just said, “I Love You”. So that was nice.

We did have a few setbacks today. They found a large blood clot in her groin. She was on blood thinners from her previous blood clot but those caused her internal bleeding that required two procedures and a blood transfusion to fix. So they do not want to put her on the blood thinners again. Instead they will do a procedure in the morning and install an inferior vena cava filter that will catch the clot (should it break free) and prevent it from getting into vital organs. They are still a little concerned about a possible infection so they have her on antibiotics just in case.

These complications and a few other things need to be sorted out before the tracheostomy can be done, so hopefully we can have this all taken care of tomorrow.

Although I won’t be able to get in to see her tomorrow I do plan to bring her something for Valentine’s Day. Someone mentioned to me that they don’t allow flowers in the ICU, but I didn’t ask the nurse yet. If they aren’t allowed then I’ll have to figure something else out.

That's so tough, praying for them through this hard time.

Update 33: Day 24 on the ventilator. Today was a good day. Caroline called me this morning and she was very alert and aware of her situation. We had a good chat...well I chat and she nods, but it was good communication between the two of us. I reminded her that she was about to undergo a short procedure and to not be scared, it was a simple procedure. She seemed fine with it.

In the afternoon a Dr. called me and told me the procedure to place the inferior vena cava filter went very well and Caroline was resting. Shortly afterward another Dr. called to give me a general update and he said everything looked good today. They feel the blood clot was the cause of her fevers and they were ready to proceed with the tracheostomy procedure. They just needed to get with the surgical team to schedule it. Shortly after this call I received another call from the surgical team resident who walked me through the trache procedure and she told me that it is scheduled for Tuesday.

Today we had several updates and explanations from doctors, but overall Caroline did really well. I just had another Skype call with her and she looked really good. The nurses had her watching some TV today on the iPad in her room. She is on very minimal sedation. Toward the end of our call she seemed pretty tired and indicated to me that she wanted to take a nap so I let her go. I’ve asked Caroline countless times what I could bring her from home to make her more comfortable and she just shakes her head no, that she doesn’t want anything. Some of you gave me suggestions on what to take her, but I finally just decided on making her a music playlist, now that I know she is watching tv shows then she certainly can listen to some music and maybe that would relax her and help pass the time.

The nurses and I worked out that if I created a YouTube music playlist, they could access it and play it for her on the iPad in her room. So I spent some time this afternoon creating a playlist of some of her favorite songs and sent the nurse the link.

If we can just get through tomorrow with no complications, and get the dang trache installed on Tuesday finally, then she is on her way to the next phase of her recovery.

Update 34: Day 25 on the ventilator. BEWARE. The nurse called me at 6am to tell me that Caroline is asking for me to bring her her phone. I know some of you have been sending her texts so she will have a lot of those to go through and I’m not sure how much energy she has, but the nurses said she had a great night and she is still on very minimal to no sedation. They are giving her a bit more freedom and don’t have her arms restrained today.

I’ve asked Caroline several times if she wanted her phone and she said no. I figured she was just too weak to hold it. But over the past day or so she just seems much more alert and herself. More confident, and maybe a little stronger (hard to tell from a skype call but maybe).

I just wanted to let you know that some of you may get a text from her today. But if you don’t then maybe she just doesn’t have it in her to type on the small screen. When she tries to write a message with pen and paper she struggles, so her typing on a cell phone may not be great. I would not be surprised if she just reads all of the messages today without responding.

When we got COVID she placed her Facebook account on hold so she may reactivate that today or at some point in the future, so you may want to look for that. I have not told her about these Facebook updates. Let’s just hope she doesn’t wander over to my Facebook page today. I’m gonna be in some trouble as soon as she finds out I’ve been doing these public updates so you all may need to shift your prayers from Caroline over to me for a bit. Just sayin...I’d hate to have gone through all of this effort for her to get better and then divorce me!

Slowing but steadily improving.  That is good news.

Huzzah!

Brilliant!

Best update by far...

Update 37: Day 27 on the ventilator. Well sort of. They took Caroline off the vent this morning and she seemed to be breathing ok on her own, so they just left her off of it for the day. They plan to put her back on it overnight to give her a break, but then remove it again tomorrow. I guess this is the process of weaning someone off of the machine. Now that she has the trach I guess it’s much easier for them to take her on and off of the ventilator. It seems to be going really well! I skyped Caroline earlier today and she looked great. She was herself and communicated well. I’d asked her a question on the skype call and then she would text me her response. She only cares about two things today...getting out of the hospital, and getting a drink! They may allow her a drink tomorrow, but I think there is some process for them to try to do that.
Today was a really good day. I see she made a Facebook post about Tom Brady. So that should tell all of us that she is on the road to recovery and is going to be ok.
We’re working on getting her into a different facility for physical therapy, maintenance of her trach, and if need be continued weaning off of the ventilator. Hopefully we can get her transferred there within a few days.
Isaiah 40:29
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Wonderful!  Many positives to take from that post.  We'll continue to pray.

This sounds very promising.  I'm thankful for all the good news they are getting, even if it is only in "baby steps".

Update 38: Day 1 off of the ventilator! Yes. Caroline has been off of the ventilator all day and they plan to just keep her off of it and see how she does. She is getting stronger every day. If at any time she needs the ventilator then they will plug her into it for a period of time, but for now she is doing just fine breathing on her own. Man...I have waited 28 days to write that. Let’s just hope she can stay off of it, or if she needs it again it’s only for short bursts.

She is scheduled to be transferred out of the hospital to a special facility in Danville tomorrow. This is another major step in her road to recovery. This facility will provide her with all of the physical therapy she needs. Then after that...HOME!!!

I’m so grateful to all of you and the doctors and nurses at Geisinger Medical Center. These last few days in a row being so positive really reassures me that we will all be back together soon.

Update 39: Day 2 off of the ventilator! We are on a roll. Caroline had another really good day today. She is coming up on 48 hours without the ventilator. We had hoped she would be transferred to her secondary facility today but as it turns out the place in Danville didn’t have a bed available so she opted to go to their sister location in Camp Hill (Suburb of Harrisburg). She will be transported there tomorrow morning and I’ll meet her there with a suitcase filled with stuff (Thank you Jenn and Dave for assisting in putting this care package of necessities together to take to her tomorrow!!).

This place in Camp Hill does allow visitors so that is a big plus! And there is a Bass Pro Shops on the way which is another bonus!

I think our prayers have been answered.

Whoa! They’re in Pennsylvania?! I didn’t know that. I know exactly where they are now. (I’m in the Lancaster area.) I somehow missed that before. I’m thrilled things continue to trend toward recovery! Lord, please bring her all the way back to full health!

Update 40: Day 3 off the ventilator. Very long day today. Caroline was transported to Select Specialty Hospital in Camp Hill, Pa (Room 514) this morning and I met her there in the afternoon. They allow only one visitor per day but you can be there from 1pm to 5pm. I stayed for a few hours but the nurses were in and out constantly and both Caroline and I were kind of annoyed. Probably just because we both had such long days and were really tired.

She is doing very well and her doctors are impressed with her recent recovery. We are anticipating at minimum she will be there 2 to 3 weeks. So this being update #40 and her first day in the new facility, I think I’ll leave the updates rest here for a while. Her progress will probably be just bit by bit daily without anything major to report so I’ll just throw out an update weekly from now on, unless something significant happens.

As she gets stronger I’m sure you’ll see her posting more on Facebook so I won’t need to be her voice. She can fill you in as she feels appropriate.

What a journey. She is looking great and doing great. She is well on her way to making a recovery and coming home. The future is bright. When I started making these updates it wasn’t like that. She was so sick and I didn’t know what to do so I reached out for as many prayers as I could get. You all came to our rescue! There aren’t enough thanks to express how grateful I am.

Really good news, still praying for her.

Update 41: Day 1 back on the ventilator. The nightmare continues...

I haven’t posted in 5 days, and she has been off the the ventilator that entire time, until today. I really thought that since she was in the new facility, and was looking good, that we were well on our way to recovery and getting her home. Well it’s been 5 days of ups and downs. We started off great with Caroline getting out of bed and walking a few steps! Speech therapy was able to work with her to get her swallowing up to an acceptable level, and then they let her have a drink of water. She said it was ‘Heavenly’! By my second visit on Tuesday she was looking fantastic.

Then yesterday (Wednesday) her blood levels dropped a bit and she needed another transfusion. This was concerning but there were not other signs of internal bleeding so we crossed our fingers and thought it was just a minor thing. But this morning she texted me that she thought something was wrong so I called the hospital and by the time I got through they were already with her. She was struggling to breathe so they made the decision to place her back onto the ventilator. She sent me a text right before they put her on it letting me know what they were about to do. I made the decision to go to the hospital to see her and wait for the doctors to come and do their rounds, rather than wait around for them to call me later in the day with an update.

I got there right when visiting hours started at 1pm and spent about 4 hours with her. As the doctors came in one by one I was able to chat with them and get a much better understanding of what was going on and also hear their strategy for attacking each of her complications.

There is still light at the end of the tunnel, it’s just a bit further away. We will get there! These complications won’t derail us. Caroline is determined to get well as soon as possible.

PS - She asked me to update you all this evening. We kid around about her being mad at me for posting this stuff but she understands and is very grateful for all of your sincere concerns, generous assistance, and most of all prayers...as am I.