The latest Answer to Prayer

Hi Everyone,
Bruce is coming back! Praise God. His whispers are still hard for me to hear yet through others' ears he has said allot this week end.
"Hi _____" as they entered the room and "Bye_____" as they leave.
"This food needs salt and pepper"
"My leg hurts"
"How's Andy?"
"I don't want Shelly driving in this weather."
"Tell her I Love her"
"Yes," he remembers Steelcase and MI and the accident. Earlier he couldn't remember the accident.
"No", he doesn't remember any thing about AZ, yet when my sister tried to jar his memory she reminded him about the casino's and how Shelly and he would enjoy their car rides and casino stops. Then Val said, as she turned to her husband, Mark, "what was the name of the one that they would go too?" "Gila something. Gila_____, Oh Gila____? and Bruce spoke out and said River. Yes that's right, Gila River!"
Then he asked to drink his juice and tried to hold his own cup. He attempted to feed himself. He pointed at his body parts as the nurse asked for their location. Nose, Mouth, etc.......
They removed his trach Thursday and he is holding his own oxygen level between 92%-98%. Now in time Bruce and I can become roommates!!!!!!!!!
You see with the trach in and with dialysis both the only choice I had to choose for Bruce's recovery was Detroit or Chicago which would separate us until recovery by a 3-4 hour drive one way. That would have stopped our visits to each other and totally unbearable. Praise God for an answer to prayer and allowing us to remain together. Thank you my dear, dear, prayer warriors.
Oh ya one more thing, It's snowing Here.....
We love and miss you all.
Love
Shelly

Happy Valentines Day!

Hi family and friends,
I have some news to share. Bruce has had a rough two weeks, but is on the mend again. He ran some fevers and through testing, they found a blood infection and urine infection. Honey didn't look so good. He seemed so weak I said it would be OK if he wanted to go but I would miss him with all my heart. That was the hardest conversation I ever needed to do. Yet when I began crying he reached for me and wanted to fix my pain. This man of mine has always shown me unconditional love, pure love and flawless support. They removed all lines from him thinking one of the ports got infected . That was a hospital outing. Two days later he went back in for a more permanent port. Then the next day he went in again placing a pick line in that wouldn't interfere with his dialysis catheter. Then two days from that on Friday he saw his ortho surgeon.
My brother went with Bruce. What an intense week for Honey. Well, the good news is, the Dr. was very happy with the healing of his bones. He took the cast off Bruce's arm and wrist, then removed the staples that had been in since Dec 12th. It looked wonderful yet I was surprised with the length of the injury. He is lifting his arm very well considering how long he hasn't used it. He also had his leg cast removed. That has to be more comfortable for him. His femur bone that was shattered is showing great progress in healing. The foot is coming along. The knee might still need some help.

I, too saw my ortho surgeon that same day and my Mom went with me. My right ankle had great color. He lifted my toes and he was pleasantly surprised I had motion in my ankle with little discomfort. He said he has only seen two other cases of ankle breaks in his career that has been as bad as mine and mine was the worst he has ever seen. The ankle broke free from the foot and was totally exposed. At one time he felt 99% sure the bone would dye. Friday he seemed relieved with me that we are seeing a healing that truly beat the odds. My left femur bone had six breaks, two com pond fractures and a three inch area that was crushed above the knee. The Dr. said he was very pleased with the healing and amazed with my motion and flex ability I've maintained. I told him I'm hiking superstition mt. 20 mins. a day in my mind and in bed and when I'm done with that I do my swim to trim routine, and for my wrist I slip the cast off as I play the piano for the residents through my closed doors. If I hit a key wrong and twist my wrist wrong I've noticed I can hit a higher pitch vocally then what was normal. It truly helps playing the piano when your listeners can't hear to well. Then he told me no wait bearing for another 6 weeks. So I made it beyond the half way point.

Any how I saw Honey today and tomorrow on the 15th is the anniversary date that Bruce purposed to me 10 years ago. I'm so glad I said Yes. We had a wonderful 10 years together and we have 20 years to go. I Told Bruce, yes but I wanted 30 years at least with him and he said OK.

My visit went well. I gave him his drink from lunch. Played his favorite CD as we listened together I saw him singing the words. I heard him say I Love You. We through each other a Kiss (until I can stand and give him one.) It was so good seeing him response again. It has been 2 weeks.

Thanks again everyone. Keep the prayers coming. Happy Valentines Day to you all! Spread the Love with your loved ones.

Love,
Shelly and Bruce

Hello from Shelly

Hi.

This is my first attempt at this, yet long over do. I appreciate so much all the support, love, concerns, cards and all your wonderful prayers.

As I went to the Dr. in Jan. he reminded me that amputation of my foot might still be a possibility. When he took the cast off my leg, we all noticed how dark it was. We got word out and the prayers began. Each day more and more color seems to be there. I see another sign of our prayers being heard. Thank you. I saw Bruce for the first time then I went home to my nursing home, pulled up my covers, squeezed a picture, I had of honey, and cried for 3 days. I didn't loose faith I just needed to grieve. There was no sign of my honey, not even in his eyes. That weakened me. At times like this I'm glad we are believers. There is nothing better then saying, hold me, pray with me, be my strength until I heal from the shock of our new journey. We will do whatever God asks of us even without understanding because we have the knowledge that our lives are designed to fulfill His purpose not ours. Someday this journey will become clearer to us but for now we draw our strength from our loving Heavenly Father, and our hugs from our family and friends, and warmth through the many cards and well wishes we are receiving.

Week number two, I saw Bruce. God blessed us with answers to prayers. Bruce gave me a glimpse that in our stare I saw Honey. Thank you God.

Week number three of our visit, he cried when he saw me. My Bruce knew me!!!!!! I wheeled up to him as he struggled to lift his hand to hold mine. Placing my hand into his and feeling his touch, warmth and recognition, I told him this was the best place in the whole world. Then we both cried. After that moment I handed him Posie, dressed in a Dr.'s outfit. He smiled and reached to hold her as memories began to flood his mind. Then I saw him get spoon fed, and sip from a cup. Please praise the Lord with me for this great progress. Bruce not only showed signs of improvement and facial expressions, he whispered to me. I couldn't stand to put my ear to his mouth, I couldn't lip read because Bruce has very little muscle control anywhere, yet after 5 tries I heard his first words to me.

"YOU SMELL NICE"

I cried and said, "Steegstra, are you flirting with me? I love you too!!!!!"

Everyone thank you for all your prayers and as we take this journey together remember through God all things are possible. My Honey is coming back. Thank you prayer warriors. Tomorrow I'm visiting Bruce again. He ran a fever today and test are showing he has an infection in his blood. They are working on this and removing lines that might have created this. By Wednesday they are hoping to replace his lines with new ones and start dialysis again.

Love,

Shelly

Bruce has Slow and Steady Progress

I'm sorry it has been a while since we have updated this. Important events are getting a little further apart and I have been quite busy. Shelly is doing well enough that she will soon be taking this over. An entry is in draft already.

Bruce is now OFF the ventilator! At first it was a couple of hours a day, then all day, now he is off day and night. His treac is still inplace in case he needs to go back on, but we hope to get rid of that soon too. Speach therapists have begun to work with him. He can speak occaisional words in very soft wispers (like your ear next to his mouth). But it is a beginning. Speaking of beginnings Bruce started to eat soft food on Friday for the first time since December 6. Everything (even liquids) are thick and pasty so they are less likely to get into his lungs, but he is learning how to chew and swallow again. So please pray for his success.

Shelly is visiting Bruce again as we speak. Pray for her as well. The first visit was very emotional for her.

Shelly Visits Bruce

Shelly and Bruce were able to be together today for the first time since she was wheeled into his room on her way out of Bronson Hospital shortly after the accident. The visit was nice for both of them. Bruce slept a lot, but at one point he was squeezing her hand and responding to her questions. Most importantly, they were able to be together. And when you are in love, that can be better than conversation. Celebrate. First thank God they were able to have this moment. Then, if you can, make some time to go be with someone you love. Sometimes we need a scene like this to remind ourselves of what really counts in life.

Another Good Day for Bruce

As of 5:15 Sunday Bruce had been off the ventilator for a personal-best of nearly 9 hours! He had passed all tests. They will put him back on to sleep tonight. But this is a huge step in getting off that thing permenantly. Keep the prayers coming!!!
We also learned that yesterday he was sitting up in a chair for about 40 minutes. That was a bit much for him, and he got pretty exhausted, but it is an important step. We don't always think about sitting in a chair as excercise, but they muscles needed to keep yourself upright haven't been getting a lot of use for Bruce, so it was a good work out for him. One step at a time.

Good News for Bruce

Well Bruce is all settled in the acute care facility and they are going to work on him.
Before we get to the good news, let me give you a little more info on this brain injury. On the day of the accident, Bruce went into cardiac arrest twice. Once in the ER when his lung collapsed, and then again in the operating room that night. We don't know at this point how long he was out during these episodes, but the recent CT scans confirmed that his injuries are the result of a lack of oxygen during those arrests. So he does not have a trauma injury from hitting his head in the accident, but instead his brain injury was caused as a secondary result of the arrests which were caused by his other injuries he received in that accident. The reason this didn't show up initially is because of the way the body works. It was explained to me that this type of injury happens all at once during the arrest, but it doesn't show up for some time later. It's kind of like getting punched in the arm. The damage happens at the moment you are hit. It starts to hurt the moment you are hit. But you might not get a bruise the rest of us can see for another couple days.
Because of where the damage occurred, we believe the brain problems are why he has not been as responsive as we would like and can't seem to get off the ventilator. The reason why we can't say what this is going to mean for Bruce going forward is that the brain is a very unpredictable organ. Even if certain areas are damaged to the point they won't heal, the brain can figure out new ways to do old things. That's why you can see someone with a brain injury that can't do something today, but then learns to do it later. It may not be that the brain healed, it's probably because it figured out a new way to do that task without the damaged parts.

SO HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS: For the first time since the accident, Bruce was off the ventilator yesterday - breathing on his own - for several hours. This is a huge step in the right direction!!! It appears he's figuring out new ways to make those lungs work or his injury is getting better. Thank you God! He also answered some simple questions for the doctor by nodding his head. Thank you God again!! They also have removed his PIC line because they no longer need to give medicines in that way anymore. Thank you God once more!!! So keep those prayers coming.

The acute care facility has two goals for Bruce: Get off the ventilator completely and start taking nutrition by mouth. Once he can do those two things he is off to a rehab facility where he can focus more on getting his body and brain working better again. When that happens, he and Shelly might be able to move to the same facility.

Please Pray for Shelly

Shelly had a big adventure out of the nursing home to go see her bone doctor. For the good news, she handled the transportation well and the visit. That is encouraging toward her goal to travel over to see Bruce. However, she had a rough time getting on and off the x-ray table with some aids having to lift her manually. To everyone's amazement, the orthopedic surgeons have their own x-ray equipment, but do not own a lift to help get people out of wheelchairs. Go figure.
But the worst part was probably the news she got. As you may remember from my earlier discriptions of Shelly's injuries the possibility of her needing her right foot amputated because of the ankle injuries was very remote. The doctor now believes it has moved up the list of possibilities. Without getting graphic, Shelly's foot bent and split in ways that really required lots of things in the ankle area to stretch and tear horribly. The problem with injuries like that is getting the blood flow restored after all that damage. The veins and arteries in your foot are pretty vulnerable and don't always repair well. Shelly does not have any infection, which is great, but the blood flow needs to get better or the whole foot is in trouble. So we need to focus our Shelly prayers on getting that blood pumping through her foot - which means her veins and arteries down there need to heal. No one is saying loosing the foot is certain, or even likely. It's just a lot more possible than we thought and that is enough reason to start praying. Blood to the foot, blood to the talus bone, full recovery. That's the goal.

Visiting Hours

Shelly appreciates all the prayers, well wishes and visits from everyone touched by this story. At the same time, she needs to heal. So to reduce the number of days where she has therapists or visitors in her room constantly from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm (yes that has happened) she is asking everyone to limit the "pop-in" visits from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm each day. If you would like to visit but can't do so during those hours please call her or the family to arrange a time. Thanks!

Bruce has a Brain Injury

While we will not know his prognosis for a few more weeks, CT scans have confirmed that Bruce has some significant injuries in his brain. We do not know the prognosis because these injuries may improve over the next few weeks, but they are not something that we can go in and fix with surgery or medicine. So all my new friends, now is the time to pray. We will give more details when we have a better handle on what is permenant, if anything, and after Shelly has had time to get her questions answered. But the bottom line is that medicine isn't the solution - his brain fixing itself is - and that sounds like the perfect place to focus our prayers. In fact, let's pray together:

• Lord, look upon your servant Bruce with eyes of mercy. May your healing hand rest upon him. May your lifegiving powers flow into every cell of his body and into the depths of his soul. If it is your will Lord, cleanse him, purify him, restore him to wholeness and strength for service in your Kingdom. Amen

Bruce is Moving

Bruce will be moved to an acute care facility today at 3:30. We hope to update you on his condition later today.

Shelly Broke Her Arm

X-rays have confirmed that Shelly broke her left arm above the wrist in her fall out of the wheelchair. Of course, she broke her left wrist in the accident. So that's two breaks in one arm. And that also means that 3 of her 4 limbs are now not very useful. Keep her in your prayers.