Friday Oct. 17, 2008 12:54 am

I will be going back up to Boise as soon as school's out. Will had dialysis again today and they were able to take off another 4 liters. He did try to stay off the vent for a little while. He lasted about 70 minutes but that's real good because he hardly ever goes off the vent on dialysis days.

Now this will shock all you people that really know Will. He doesn't do mornings, never has. Anyway the physical therapy people come in at 7:00 a.m. (Yes, in the morning!!!!) and get Will up to a chair. All you hospital workers that have taken care of Will over the years find that very, very hard to believe, I know. And yes the therapists are still living. this should show how much Will is ready to get back home. He is even getting up early. I will even try to take a picture because most of you won't ever believe just the written word.

He hasn't changed any of his vents setttings. He still needs more 02 but maybe after tomorrow's dialysis he will have a lot of the fluid off his lungs. He should be breathing easier.

Gotta get to bed so I will blog from Boise tomorrow

My son-in-law Aaron is turning the big 3-0 today so we will go to dinner with him and his family Friday night and celebrate the good day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AARON!!! We are so lucky that he was born because we needed him in our family.

God bless

Oct. 16, 2008 Thursday 12:44 am

I am very happy that I went and saw Will tonight. He looks better than he did on Tuesday night. We talked a little and he's wanted to sit up for a while. We transferred Will to the chair from the bed. He sat for over an hour. Pretty good for dialysis day. The took off 4 liters and they want to take off four liters the next two days also. Hopefully that won't be hard to do.. That seems like it might be a shock to his system but we'll see.

I just wanted to give you a quick update on him. I seem to be really tired tonight. I can't think of much to say. I will tomorrow though.
God bless

October 15, 2008 Wednesday 12:15 am

I went to see Will tonight and it was so nice. I was able to be over to his hospital by 4:30 and it just seemed like a walk in the park. He was awake and he had been off the vent for 8 hours. That's the longest he's been for a while. He was itching like crazy (needing dialysis) so he had to take some benedryl which puts him to sleep. He didn't want to because I had come up to see him but man, he was itching so much it was taking his skin off. I didn't mind watching him sleep.

He has been having some trouble breathing the last few days and so the RT's have bumped him up to 60 % 02 (up from 40% when we got to Boise). We all feel like it's fluid built up on his lungs and around his lungs. So the dr. is going to try giving him dialysis three days in a row beginning Wednesday. This should relieve some of that. If it isn't then we will try other things. So that is a concern right now but hopefully it will be resolved in a few days. He's not really happy about dialysis for three days (which means he will be wiped out three days in a row).

The physical therapists (PT) got him up this morning and had him stand and sit and stand and sit to try to move him around a little bit. He has lost some of his strength this last 10 days so we need to start building it back up as soon as his breathing is better.

The speech person came in and wanted to work with him but there was never a time that somebody wasn't doing something with him. So she said she would be back Thursday. They just want to do some exercises to help the muscles that he uses to talk with because when he gets the trach out, his voice muscles are going to be very weak.

My mom went to Boise with me tonight. She hadn't been able to see Will in a couple of months so she was impressed with how well he is looking. I will be going back to Boise tomorrow (today-whichever, I never know if I should be saying what the day is going to be when you all read this blog, or what day it is that I'm writing it, I get so confused). It has really helped me being this close. I don't feel so torn when I'm at work and he's not doing so well-like now with his breathing. We still miss our friends from the U. We are getting a few emails from them with sweet words for Will (Thanks, friends!) .

Tom is getting everybody fixed up in that place. I think the only thing he doesn't like is that there is no Starbucks on the first floor. I bet the Starbucks at the U went out of business without Tom and his daily visits.

So I will tell you about his day tomorrow after I see him.
Tanya is still doing very well, I hope you all visited her blog site and read how she is so happy in her apartment.
God bless

Oct. 14, 2008 Tuesday 12:30 am

First--the best news. Our good friend, Tanya, is home. Praise God for that!!!!
I haven't talk to her yet but just to know she's home and her mom is staying with her is just making Will and all of us very, very happy. Way to go, T!!!

Will had a little rough day today because of dialysis. He threw up more than yesterday and was just feeling lousy. He started to cramp up in his arms but that's from taking fluid off. Sometimes that could be a side effect. He should be better by morning. Hopefully tomorrow they will get him out of quarantine so Will can go see the place a little.

I am going up right after school (because I can, right?). We need to see about some things and I want to be there for that. I hope then we will be able to take Will in the halls in the afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa Atwood are spoiling Tom horribly (but I'm glad because he deserves it so much). They cooked him a big meal for dinner and that is special for Tom because he's not around a lot of home cooking.

My mom came up to the school to help me get some of my work caught up. Aren't parents wonderful!!! Well I will let you know how he's doing after I see him after school. The comments are funny so keep them up. Will listens to them every night.

God has blessed us and now I hope He blesses you all.

Monday, Oct. 13, 2008 Columbus Day

I'm back in Hagerman tonight. Tom is now with Will. It was really strange because I forgot that Tom hadn't seen the new place yet. He's seen pictures of it but he never got to visit it until today so I took him on a tour. I think he's very impressed with it as I am. I am so lucky that I got to spend the last four days with him. It really helped to be able to get everything settled and it made the transition so much smoother. My boss is great-thanks, Kevin.

Angel and Aaron brought up Candace today again. It was so cute. Anytime I was there to do something with Will at his bedside-so was Candace. She wanted to know everything that anybody was doing to her Uncle Will. They made little pumpkins and put them in Will's window and colored him a picture. Aaron tried to watch football with Will but he just slept through it (Will, not Aaron).

It was another busy time in Will's room today. He did get off the vent for 4 1/2 hours today but it is having a little more trouble breathing so they had to give him more 02. He might have a plug that he needs to work up. His vomiting has lessened and that's good. He tried to sit in a chair this afternoon but he just couldn't breathe too well. So after a couple minutes he went back to the bed. Tomorrow will be better. He will have dialysis in the morning. Maybe that will take some of his fluid off his lungs and it will help him breathe easier.

I have some wonderful, fantastic news!!!!! Tanya, our CF buddy who had the transplant three weeks ago, will be going home tomorrow. She is just so excited, and if you want to see some of her pictures and read her blog, just click on the blog connection on the right of Will's home page. It will take you there. She is so, so happy. We are very excited for her. All of our prayers have been answered and I just know that she is not going to have any trouble with her two new lungs.

God bless

Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 12:20 a.m.

Even on Saturdays they keep Will very, very busy. He sat in a chair for 1 1/2 hours and he was off the vent for about 4 hours today. He stood up three times and they worked his range of motion. He was so tired but he did it. He hasn't found his smile up here yet but I told the nurses it will probably be in another day or so.

He's looking forward to the Cowboys game tomorrow afternoon. Go Cowboys!!!

There is still just six patients here so he gets such good care. Our nurse was being so funny after she got him standing up she tried to get Will to dance with her (as she was singing), but Will didn't think it was so funny. Maybe because I was laughing so hard. He was looking forward to listening to the BSU game but he couldn't stay awake after the busy day.

Angel and Candace came up for a little while but Will was in the middle of stuff. So they didn't stay too long, just long enough to give Will a card that she made with some help from her cousins. Isn't she cute. She was so proud of herself.

We are still in quarantine but one of the tests came back negative so all we are waiting on is one more and then we can take of the gowns and gloves and come and go as we please. I think he's looking better than a few days ago. He doesn't seem to be throwing up as much.

It's going to be good.

God bless and have a great, great Sunday.

Oct. 11, 2008 Saturday 1:15 am

We're here in Idaho!!!! I know you all know that already but I just love saying it.

Hey, it snowed here today and it stayed. I was just getting ready for summer-where did IT go???

We are missing our buddies from U of U so much. It wasn't supposed to hurt like this because this is such a good move. I know people come and go in your lives as God feels you need them, but they were a special bunch and we won't ever forget the kindness that they gave this our son. We will be keeping in touch with them for sure.

There's a cute day nurse that we've had both days here. She likes to come in to Will's room and dance for him. There's an RT that we like and she's from Texas so I'm really going to start saying things like Y'all. She's very knowledgeable too. So what I'm saying is the people here are smart but they are fun too. But man, I don't remember ever being this busy. Will didn't get to take a nap until about 8:00 tonight and then he's be woken up twice already. Poor baby...
But we are getting so much taken care of and since it's Friday we needed to get stuff rolling because on the weekends, things roll slowly.

Will is now able to have some water-little sips--but that's so subjective. Will's "little" sips are lots bigger than what they were talking about, but he's the boss.

I think he's getting rested from the trip and it won't be long before we are off quarantine and he can take a trip around this place. We will describe his routine and this place as soon as we have a few minutes to breathe.

This is going to be a good place, we know it's just what Will needs and as soon they know Will a little better things will run smoother. It will be a challenge for a while but Will's use to that.

I have loved reading Will all the email and comments that he has been getting congratulating him on the move. All of you have just been an incredible support for him and we thank you and thank you and thank you.

God, thank you for all the wonderful people that love Will and please pour blessings on their lives. AMEN (that prayer came from Will and his family)

Have a great weekend!!!!!

The New Digs 10/10/08 Friday 12:45 am

Here we are with a brand new "family" I like the people, already I can tell they are going to fit in well with Will. I know we just left a place that was our home and we trusted them with our son's life but we didn't have that trust over night. It took us some time to get there. So we are going to be just fine here. It will take us awhile to get over the loss of all our friends at the U. I know we might not see them again but they will always be remembered and thought of with such love because of the care and the love that they showed Will in everything they did. Okay, I'll wipe my tears off now and let you know how the day went.

First of all, let me tell you we left a hospital that had hundreds of patients to come to this new hospital that has six--yes, you read correctly. That's all they have right now but they have full staffing for all. We have a one-on-one nurse, aid, RT, and maybe doctor. The doctor comes at 7:00 in the morning and leaves at 7:00 at night and all he does is work on these 6 patients. So nothing is going to be overlooked right now.

One of the bad things was that Will is in quarantine until 2-5 days culture grows out negative. So we have to wear gowns and gloves at all time. Angel really loves that. It's something they do and I don't know why. Also, they won't let Will have anything to drink until maybe tomorrow. They say they don't let people on vents drink because of possibility of aspiration. We tried to tell them that he's been drinking for about 5 months now with no problem, and that he's even eating pudding, jello, and mashed potatoes. But they were pretty adamant about it so we will see tomorrow.

The place is so clean and shiny with lots of windows. Angel and I were waiting for the ambulance to come and so we got to wait in the physical therapy room. Man, it is nice with all sorts of new equipment. It's going to be fun watching Will put them all to good use.

I am staying with Will tonight and then when Angel gets here in the morning, I will go to Grandma and Grandpa Atwood's house to sleep for a few hours. He is more comfortable with someone he knows here. I bet it won't take long for him to get to know these people. We meet with the care team tomorrow at 2:00 pm and they let us know what the plan is. So I will let you all know what they say.

This feels good to be this close to home. I know all of you want to come and see him. We want that too but we will make sure he can handle visitors before we can say "come on in" I hope all of you understand. We have really, really enjoyed all the comments, and we hope they keep coming.

God opened this door (this new place) for a very good reason. We know He has good plans for Will. I am very much at ease now that the transport is over. Thank God.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures I put up earlier. Take care
God bless

Here's Will and Angel watching the TV at our new room in Idaho!!!! (It kind of looks like our old room, huh?)

Here's some old pictures I forgot to put up last week.




This is some of the staff that was "helping" Will when the end of the exciting Utah Utes game was on. It's amazing how many staff were in the room then.


This is Will watching the Dallas Game when the Cowboys made a touchdown. He's practicing his moves for when he becomes a ref.

update 10/9/08

So Will made it up here in one piece. Angel and I were waiting for him. I will let everyone know more later tonight. I just wanted to tell everyone he's okay. He's so tired. The only thing wrong is that they won't let him drink anything until he's had a swallow test tomorrow. He's been drinking for months now and he's not too happy because he's so thirsty ya know. Power of suggestion, If you tell someone they can't have something, then that's all you want. Right, all you dieters out there???
Thanks for all the prayers and the comments.
God bless
I will update later tonight

BIG NEWS, Will is coming back to Idaho!!!!! 10/09/08 1:53 AM

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and step off. Either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly! How wonderful that we believe that with our whole heart!

Will is finally leaving Utah. His health team, that includes family, nurses, RT's, PT's and aides, thinks it's time to move him back to Idaho. He's not well enough to come home home but we have found a new critical care hospital in Boise. They can take care of all Will's needs and they specialize in vent weaning (getting people off the vent), physical therapy, and dialysis. It sounds perfect and they take Idaho Medicare. It's a new facility so everything is up and running and shining.

Several of us have gone and looked over the place-Grandma, Grandpa Atwood, Angel, Aaron, Tom, Will's cousins and myself. We have gone several times unannounced and dropped in on patients also. It has passed all those tests. The doctors seem to have experience in all of Will's "issues" --that's what term the docs are using now. I just know it's going to be a positive move.
He's still not doing so well, but maybe a new place might be the push that he needs. Who knows?

So this is the big news-Will is leaving the University Hospital at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday morning in an ambulance and Tom will be going in his truck behind him. Because of all the equipment Will needs and the people he needs to run the equipment, there's just no room for the dad. Angel and I will wait for them in Boise and we begin a new beginning. We took a few days off from school so we can help Will get settled. Our choice was not made easily and we need prayers that it will be the right choice for Will. Sorry we had to keep it a secret for so long, but Will wanted it that way.

The U of U has been our home away from home for the last 7 1/2 months. I can't even begin to describe how much we are going to miss all the people. There was a lot of tears these last few days, but we feel that it would be in Will's best interest to get him closer to home so he can have more family and friends to visit him. Of course we don't want visitors right away because he'll be settling in and getting his new schedule figured out. We will let everyone know when it will be okay to see him. It's going to be quite an adjustment for him, as you can imagine. I think we have to build Dr. Cahill a house so she will move up here with him, but we are willing to do that for sure.

Please pray for Will and our family. I don't know how much sleep we are going to get tonight but I will have a lot to say on tomorrow night's blog. Maybe I can even get some pictures up for you all. If not, I promise to do it real soon. How exciting and how scary at the same time. Will didn't want me to put this on the blog until he actually left because of all the times we have planned things and then something has come up and we couldn't do it. He didn't want to get everyone's hopes up. So I told him I would wait until the day he left to post it on the blog. I still can't believe he gets to do it. It will be good. It will be good. It will be good. Okay, I'm convinced now.

God bless and
Oh, Lord take care of us now. Amen.

P.S. Will's Grandma Cherie just had a big, big birthday(I don't know if she wants everyone to know just how big:). We wanted to wish her happy birthday with our love. Will said he will give her a foot rub when he gets to Boise. The hospital is only about five minutes from Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Oct. 8, 2008 Wednesday 1:08 am

What a fabulous day, the weather was perfect. Everyone must love fall. Tom was able to take Will out for a little while this afternoon to get some fresh air. They both enjoyed it. Tom took Tanya some coffee this morning and he said she was looking so good. Will and Tanya visited for a few minutes while he was going by in his wheelchair.

He was able to get up and walk a little this afternoon, probably about 20 feet Tom said. That's pretty good since he hasn't walked in a long time. Go Willie.

Dr. Cahill didn't come in but Tania and Kelly did. Will just loves visiting with them. I know tomorrow is supposed to bring another beautiful fall day. Please enjoy it with a big smile.
God bless

Oct. 7, 2008 Tuesday 12:09 am

Tom told me that Will had a little better day today. He was off the vent for 4 hours but he still couldn't get up and go for a walk. He did say maybe tomorrow. Will had dialysis and they took about 3 liters which is just under 10 pounds. He's had some good visitors to see him lately-a lot of the staff that has worked with Will. I think they are trying to encourage him to "keep on keepin' on" as they say around the hospital.

Speaking of keepin on--Tanya is moving up to the floor that Will's on tonight as I write this. YEA!!!! It's so amazing!!!! She has made such good progress-she should be going home this week sometime. They have found an apartment because she will have to stay around the hospital for about three months. Her family will be taking good care of her. I will definitely keep you informed.

I wish I had more to say, but I try to think of something and I'm drawing a blank.
Let me know if there's anything you might need to know.
God bless and keep reading our blog. It might get more interesting soon.

Oct. 6, 2008 Monday 12:45 am

Sunday just flies by. I'm back in Idaho and Tom's back in SLC. Will is just hanging around. Danny came and watched the game (the Dallas Cowboys, of course) but somebody (Danny) forgot to look at the schedule or they would have found out that the game wasn't on TV today. So they listened to it on the XM radio. So all is good, and they won too.

Will had some labs done today and a stomach xray. He's having some pain again. Tomorrow he will have a chest xray also. He didn't get up or get off the vent but tomorrow will be better. Tom will get him all lined up.

Hope everybody had a great weekend.
God bless

Oct. 5, 2008 Sunday 12:26 am

It's raining, it's pouring... and I hear that it's raining at home also. God knows we really need all this rain and it's snowing up in the mountains around Salt Lake already. I took Will on a little ride downstairs and he went by the door and listened to it rain. He wasn't feeling well so he didn't want to stay away from his room for too long but I think it was good for him to get out of there for a few minutes.

Tanya is off the Bi-pap machine except at night. She doesn't need it during the day and she's using less and less 02. She's doing great. She made a lap of the nurses station for her walk today. . Wow. Will gets to go and see her Sunday afternoon for a little bit. On Monday she's had her new lungs for three weeks. She's already pink and perky, making everyone smile,but that's nothing new for her. God is so awesome, it's hard to believe just last month she was barely able to walk anywhere. Now this 22 yr. old gets to go for the gusto. We are so happy for her.

I think it's supposed to be very cold tonight so I will sleep with an extra blanket or two. Tom will be coming back this afternoon. They finished the flooring in Will's room. We took up the carpet and put wood flooring in his bedroom. We read that its much better for him to have that. I really don't know why I said "we" because I didn't help at all. Angel, Aaron, Kim and Richard and Tom did it. Thanks guys-Will's going to love it when he gets home.

There are a few changes that Will's team is making and we will tell you all when it's all done so Will needs lots of prayers right now. As all of you know, God knows what we need even before we do. So just pray for good choices for Will. I won't keep you all in suspense too long. Maybe by Wednesday we can finally let everyone know, but for now the prayers are gratefully appreciated again. Every time big changes happen, we all pray and so far it's been working-so all of our prayers are powerful. Will wants me thank you all for the continued support.

The Bible verse Will and I talked about tonight was Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. So every time we get tired of all this "stuff" it's a good verse to repeat to ourselves, right? Couldn't be more perfect right now. He's getting very tired of this constant vomiting. They should have some answers soon.

Tom was so cute today. He called and he was under his hay barn listening to the rain coming down and he was talking to his horse. He sounded 20 years younger. He's always loved the rain and then combined with his horse--he's got it all. So he's had a busy weekend but it was relaxing too. He probably won't like it that I said he was being cute. Sorry honey--and all you Idaho Power friends that read this-don't make fun of him, okay, well maybe just a little bit! hee hee.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday and your church fills your heart with the love of our Lord.
God bless

Saturday October 4, 2008 12:58 am

Well today wasn't the best either for Will. I hope they can get the vomiting under control soon. Sometimes he's throwing up a couple of times every hour. He's getting worn out I think. I think all this will be resolved when he finally gets his trach out. Please pray for a better day today.

Speaking of that,Tanya got her vent tube taken out today. I went down to see her and she looks so good. She was talking and everything. She didn't walk today because they just want her to practice breathing. What a trooper!! God is working wonderful miracles for this young woman.

Coach and Donna came up and Donna, Angel, and I went to Olive Garden. Yum-Yum! Coach stayed with Will and talked but Will just wasn't feeling well at all so he slept a lot. Coach doesn't seem to mind at all. Will feels badly but I think they are happy just hanging out together. Angel rode home with Coach and Donna this afternoon.

Will did dialysis today and they took two liters off. So hopefully he will be feeling better by tomorrow and we can get him up and moving. I want to take him outside but there's a storm front coming in tonight. So, we will see.

Oh, yes, Will had another visitor early this morning, before Angel and I could get up here. Tommy Connor, came up to visit Will. It's been awhile since we saw him and he brought us up some bagels and spread. How nice he was to do that. Will wants me to thank him but I don't have his phone number so I'm using this media to do that. Thanks, Tommy. Tommy is the Coach at Westminster College and Will used to be his assistant.

Today is the anniversary of the third month we have been on this floor. We have gotten very close to these nurses too. We still go down and see our buddies on the fourth floor too. I know I have said it before, but how blessed we are that all these people really do love Will and treat him like one of theirs. They have really touched us.

Enjoy your weekend and God bless

Friday October 3, 2008 12:30 am

We're here in SLC and Will had his bronch this morning early. Dr. Cahill said his lungs were looking good. So that's good news but they had to give him so much sleepy meds so he wouldn't throw up that he didn't wake up all day. He visited a little tonight real late but then he went off to sleep so now Angel and I are going to the hotel. But it was great news about how healthy his lungs are looking. Thank you, God!

Coach will be here tomorrow so Will's all ready for tomorrow. Hopefully he won't be still groggy and feeling yucky. Donna is coming down with him so we probably will go out to eat at our favorite place "Olive Garden" yahoo!!

Tom is back in Hagerman with his horse so he's just chillin'. One of our nurses just got back from Nice, Italy, and she brought in all her pictures. So we had our own slide show.

Angel and I went to visit our Tanya. She is looking so good and they got her off the vent for a whole hour today. She did very well so they will probably be taking her off the vent tomorrow. She also got the last of the drain tubes taken out so she might be moving up to this unit real soon. What a fighter.....Even though she is soooo tough we still need to pray for her. Thanks so much. Hopefully we can get Will outside tomorrow.

Take care and God bless you all

Thursday October 2, 2008 12:20 am

I'll be getting up in a few hours and heading up to SLC. Angel is going with me for a few days and then she'll come back with Coach and Donna who are coming up on Friday. Tom will be able to spend a few days at home which is a good release from all the hustle and bustle of the hospital.
Will did get up and walk a little bit today. That's the first time up in a few days. Tom said he did really well. Will is going to be bronched this morning sometime. I will let you know how that went.

I haven't heard anything about Tanya so I will see her today when I get up there. I'll fill you in on her progress.

Have a good Thursday and God bless

Wednesday October 1, 2008 12:10 am

Where did September go???? Do you know how many days are left until Christmas??

Will is doing a little better today. He still didn't get up and walk but he stayed off the vent for most of the day. Tom said his color is a little better and he stayed awake longer. Dr. Cahill said that she might be doing a bronch but we will see.

I wanted to share with you a little tender moment. Will does have one once in a while, but he's still all about coaching so don't get the wrong idea. Well, when Dr. Cahill leaves Will after spending some time with him she always asks, "Who loves ya?" and then Will points to Dr. Cahill. Then she always says to remember that. We made a blanket for her and gave it to her. I asked Will to sign her card that went with the blanket. I know he can't see but he can remember how to write so I thought he would just put "Will." I came and got the card back from his table and he had written (a little scribbly, but who cares), "Remember who loves ya" Now doesn't that just choke you up? They are tight but after going through what they have together it would almost have to be that way. I just wish that all of you have your own Dr. Cahill and her crew in your life. That will be my prayer tonight.

I won't be going up until Thursday morning. I need one more night home so I can get some boxes unpacked from our apartment. It's like trying to cram two households into one. I think I need a bigger house! Tom, I'm just teasing....

Tanya is doing okay. Tom went down and saw her for a little bit. She had a lot of company. She sat up today for awhile and did her exercises. I know it won't be long before we see her walking out of this hospital. Way to go, Tanya. We will keep praying.

We miss everyone and can't wait to be able to visit. Life will slow down soon. Will always asks me what's happening in our area.
God bless

Tuesday, Sept. 30th 12:45 am

Will's day wasn't so good. He just didn't feel well and he wasn't breathing too well. He tried to go off the vent for a while but then he couldn't keep his 02 up so he had to go back on the vent. Hopefully this will be just a bad day and not anything more. He slept for most of the day. Dr. Cahill came back from her meetings and she told Will to just ignore today and get up and going tomorrow. Good advice. Please pray that there's no infections or anything else going on.

Tanya (our friend that had a lung transplant last week) is doing okay. She had a bronch done today and anyone keeping up with Will's blogs know what that is all about. So she was sleeping when Tom went down to see her. Tomorrow she will have a good day and Tom will get to visit. Will won't be going down to visit any time soon. Not a good idea for a while.

This is a short week at school so I will be going down on Wednesday night after school. Tom will come on home for a long weekend.

What beautiful weather we have been having. I know it won't last but it's so wonderful to have for a little bit.

God bless

Sept. 29, 2008 Monday 12:40 am

Well, I just got home from Salt Lake City. It was an easy drive, not too many cars on the road at this time of the night. Before I left I stopped in and said good bye to Tanya. She's looking better than yesterday. One of our favorite aides (the crazy one), Shaleena, braided Tanya's hair. She told me that Tanya sat up for about four hours and walked to the nurses desk. Way to go, girl. Keep on keepin' on. Please, I hope everyone will continue to pray for her full recovery. She's so awesome.

Will had a good day. We went for a little walk this morning and then I took him in a wheelchair outside for a little ride. It was beautiful outside. We stayed out and visited and then we came back in. Will needed a little nap before the big Cowboys game. Thank goodness Danny showed up. Poor Will was sweating that he would have to listen to me for the play by play. Donna, you hit it right on the head with your comment from yesterday. Who cares??? :) Anyway, Will was sure glad that Danny was there even though Dallas lost. They always have a great time together. Danny is so funny.

They didn't do dialysis today, the doctors decided to go back to just three days a week and see if that will be sufficient. I hope so then he will have the weekend to get up and move a lot. Dr. Cahill is coming back today.

When Danny showed up, I met Tom at the apartment and we gathered the last stuff up and emptied the apartment. Tom will stay there on the air mattress for a few more days. When we got back to the hospital I had to get ready to leave. Will decided to ride down to the garage and see me off. He wanted to get out of the room again. I'm so glad. You know anytime he moves, he throws up and yet it doesn't stop him for going. I don't think I could be that way. So there was Will and Tom in the garage as I drove away. I don't think I want them to do that again. It was hard to see them trying not to cry, well in all reality I think they were trying not to cheer. Who knows??? I prefer to think of them trying not to cry.

I know this has been a question that many, many, many people have asked, but why does the weekend seem to fly by????

I do love Mondays though because I am blessed with loving my job so much. My kids make me feel so good about life.

God bless and hope everyone is going to have a great week. Tanya, that includes you. It won't be long before you are out of there. God has great plans for you- well, really for all of us.

Sept, 28, 2008 Sunday 1:10 am

Well, our apartment is so empty. We just have the little air mattress and a kitchen chair and some junk left to load. We should be out of there on Tuesday. Then we will see what we are doing but we will probably just get a little hotel room around here because it will be cheaper than renting the apartment for another month.

Will and I took a walk and then I pushed him outside for a little ride around the buildings. It was a beautiful September day. We wanted to go outside again in the morning hopefully. The big Cowboys game is on about 2:00. So then we will be watching TV. Hopefully Danny will be here to play by play but if he's not, then I'm all he's got. I think I do a good job, I just get a little confused. All I say is somebody has the ball and then they are running really fast and someone else is chasing them. I think that's good enough, right??? Sometimes they kick it too. (Is it any wonder that Will has any sanity left????) Danny better be here :)

We had a visit from Tania and then Kelly came up. Remember they are the transplant coordinators. They are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. We are very lucky to have them watching out for Will. They just came up to visit because they know I am only here on the weekends. Sweet. Dr. Cahill is out of town until Sunday night so I won't be seeing her this trip.

I got to see Tanya today. She is so wonderful. Still a big grin on her face even with that tube down her throat. She looks good and pink. They moved her to the intensive care unit that we were in for 4 1/2 months. In fact they are in the same room we moved out of. I will stop by tomorrow and see her again before I have to head back home to Idaho. Maybe I will take Will with me. That would do both of them some good.

Tom is heading back our way in the afternoon and then I will be heading back. Angel and Aaron called Will and said they had a great time taking some kids to the big park and feeding the ducks in Boise.

Have a wonderful Sunday and God bless

Sat. Sept 27, 2008 12:55 am

Haven't heard anything new on Tanya, we still need our prayer warriors to be praying for her. We need her to keep fighting and we don't want any more "bumps" in the road. I want to thank those who went to her blog and left her encouraging messages. Those do help so much. If you want to still do that, I know she can use lifting up. The blog before this one has her blog spot on it. Please leave her a message. She's a tough little fighter but it will help her to know how many people care about her. I know it did for Will. Thank you so much.

Will didn't have a good day although he had a great visit with his buddy, Coach. He came up about noon and left late afternoon sometime. I got up here about 7:00 and Will was looking so tired. He told me he had been throwing up much more than he has been. Darn, I wish he could just get over that issue. I will talk to the doctor tomorrow and see why she thinks he's a little worse. I will let you all know.

They did get off 2 1/2 liters today and then he has dialysis again tomorrow so I don't know how much he will be able to walk. But even if he doesn't walk, I will try to talk him into taking a wheelchair ride outside for a little bit. It should be a beautiful day tomorrow. I hope all of you get to enjoy the day with your loved ones too.

Tom is home enjoying his horse and his family and friends, probably in that order too. Angel and Aaron are enjoying their time with Candace in Boise. Tom and I passes each other on the freeway again this weekend. We just talk to each other on the phone and then wave when we see each other. Isn't that cute???


Share a smile with someone who needs it. God bless

Friday Sept. 26, 2008 12:55 am

Well, it's finally Friday. Tom will be coming home with our last truck load and I will be heading up there as soon as school is out. We will wave at each other when we pass.

Will still isn't feeling that great. He seems to be having a little more trouble coughing and he's throwing up more than he has been. So he really didn't feel like walking although he did walk two times. He stayed off the vent most of the day. Angel called him on the speaker phone and gave him a bad time, so that was fun to listen to. That's normal for their conversations.
Angel and Aaron will be going to Boise again this weekend for their weekend with Candace (Aaron's daughter).

Today Coach will be up about noon to visit and hopefully Will won't be too tired from dialysis to visit. I think they have a football parley figured out and they need to make sure they have all the games scheduled.

So I will be blogging you next time from the hospital.
We need some serious prayers for Tanya, our buddy who just had her lung transplant last week. They had her off the vent yesterday but one of her lower lungs collapsed and they had to put her back on it. They gave her a transfusion today also. You can keep up with her story on her blog at 4everbreathe.blogspot.com She has good pictures of her on that too. Her aunt is keeping everyone updated as they can. Tanya is a tough little gal and she will keep fighting. Still, we need prayers, for her and her family. Thank you.

Take care and God bless

Thursday Sept. 25, 2008 12:42 am

Well, another dialysis day today. He did stay off the vent about 12 hours even while doing dialysis. He normally stays on the vent while doing that. So that's a big step for him to try. Way to go Will. They were only able to take off 1 liter because of his blood pressure.

Nothing much happened today. I didn't get an update on Tanya but I will today for sure. Friday's coming fast.

God bless

Wednesday Sept. 24, 2008 1:10 am

Here's Will's room all decorated up for the new season of football. Danny and Will were having a good time.

Yesterday was our good, good friend, Kim's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU YOUNG THING!!

I wish I could have some different news but it's the same. He's still throwing up a lot and they don't know why. I think they have probably given up on doing an MRI right now. It's just not worth the risk of aspirating into the lungs again. Good choice if you ask me.

Yesterday was the first day of fall. (just a little side note)

Will did walk twice today. One of the walks was all the way around the unit but Will was really feeling sick by the time he was back in bed. He stayed off the vent for about 9 hours. So really it's the same. Tom and Will listen to books on tape and usually play a game of cribbage.

Tanya's doing real well and Will still hopes to go visit her this week. I will keep you informed.

God bless

Tuesday Sept. 23, 2008 12:35 am

This is Will's 7 month anniversary when he got his new lungs. Will's been in the hospital for seven months now. He's ready to leave I think and I know they are doing their best to get him out of there.

Not much went on today. Will wasn't feeling well so he didn't want to walk or anything. He has days like that--don't we all?? He did have dialysis and they took a couple of liters of fluid off. Then Tom beat Will at cribbage. Way to go Dad, he's feeling bad already. Kick a guy when he's down. No, just playing, I think Will is still ahead in the points totaled.

Well, Tuesday will be a much better day. We didn't hear anything about Tanya but we should tomorrow. I forgot, Will did eat some homemade pears (thanks Aunt Gloria) and they stayed down. I think he ate four or five bites, now that's progress.

Have a great Tuesday and God bless

Once again, isn't that amazing--70,000 hits on this blog

Monday Sept. 22, 2008 12:30 am

WE JUST PASSED 70,000 BLOG HITS!!

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOU THAT FOLLOW

WILL'S JOURNEY

I'm back home in Hagerman tonight. Tom was back in SLC about 6:00 and then I left about 7:00. My Aunt Gloria and Uncle Bill sent up some fresh fruit from their orchard to give to the nurses and staff. I wonder if that's the reason we don't get to go home. They would lose their fresh fruit??? Hmm...something to think upon.

Will and I went outside today. We found a shady place where nobody was around (because Will is still having lots of trouble with his vomiting) and we sat there and enjoyed the breeze. It was so nice and we didn't want to go back in but all good things must come to an end (I can't remember whose quote that was). He took a good nap and then Danny and friends came up to watch the Dallas game. They decorated his room and I do have pictures but I'm too tired to put them on tonight. I will tomorrow. For those of you that didn't watch--Dallas won YEA!!!!

Dr. Cahill will order something tomorrow so Will can get that MRI done. There is some talk that the same thing that took his vision during surgery might have caused something to go wrong with his inner ear or something. Maybe some type of vertigo. So they need to play this through and find out whether or not it's the reason. The only way they can check is to do that brain MRI. They have tested almost everything else to try to stop the vomiting every time he moves.
So hopefully this will tell them something. Pray for him to be able to get the MRI done in the next couple of days.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and are ready to go back to work.
God bless

Sept. 21, 2008 Sunday

Will worked so hard today. He walked all the way around the unit again and then one more step. I told Tom I would beat his best time with Will and I did. He stayed off the vent for most of the day also. Dr. Cahill came in and apologized for not being by yesterday. There were a few emergencies she had to take care of.

Tanya is doing great and thanks for all the emails checking on her. She is still on the vent because she is still requiring more oxygen. She is sitting up in a chair and Dr. Cahill is very pleased with what she's doing. Dr. Cahill told Will that she would like to have Will go down and see Tanya sometime this week. That would be so great. I wasn't able to see her this weekend because I have got a little cold I think. I'm not taking any chances with Will either. I'm wearing a mask the whole time I'm in his room and I'm sanitizing my hands every two or three minutes.

Tom went to a Jerome girls' volleyball game today since he's home. He saw a few of Will's "girls" and they sent Will messages. What a great bunch. Tom spent some time with his brothers and then most the time he spent with his horse. (Just teasing) He's going to church with Angel and Aaron tomorrow and then he's heading back up here.

Sunday evening Danny is coming up here to watch the Cowboys game with Will. That will be a lot better play-by-play for Will. So Go Dallas!!

We still need prayers for Tanya and her recovery. Thanks

Have a great Sunday and God bless.

September 20

Will went down at midnight for his MRI; however, they spent an hour trying but were not successful because he could not quit throwing up. We did not see a doctor tonight so I am not sure what the plan of action is. I am sure we will see one tomorrow. Will also had dialysis today and they were able to take of 2 more liters. They are hoping to take off more tomorrow.

Coach and Donna came up tonight. They had a great visit. Donna even rubbed Will's feet. This of course made Will's day even better. I am very glad to be back here and I am looking forward to spending some days with Will. Like I have said before, it is so wonderful to be back to teaching; however, it is hard to be away from Will.

Tom is back in Hagerman and sounds so happy. It will be great for him to see all his friends and of course to be back with his favorite neighbor (sorry Coach . . . it's Kim not you)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I look forward to tomorrows blog when I can bring some good news. God bless you all and thank you again for all of the wonderful prayers and emails. Our family is so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Sept. 19, 2008 Friday 12:10 am

It's Friday. Who knows, I might be the only one that gets soooooooooo excited for the end of the week. This trip up to SLC is going to be so much better this weekend. Will is feeling so much stronger and tonight he walked all the way around the unit. For those that haven't been on the floor---that's a long way. I don't know how many steps because I haven't had to count that high yet. But you can bet that I will as soon as I get up there. I'm going to get off half a day so it will be shortly after noon when I can go.

Friday and Saturday are his dialysis days but I'm not expecting that great of a walk. On Sunday though he's walking as far as today and then one more step. Coach will be coming down Friday after school and then going right back after the visit. That's just crazy but it's so nice of him. Will's got such good friends.

I didn't get a report on Tanya today so I assume it's all good. I will let you know tomorrow night when I blog. I think Tom will be leaving around the same time as I am so we will be passing on the freeway somewhere. We'll wave to each other if we can. Tom is really excited about coming home and seeing his friends and brothers.

They are doing the brain MRI as I type this. They took him down just right before midnight. Don't you just love hospital time? Tom and Will waited all day and then waited all night. They are giving Will a lot of medication to relax him so they can do the MRI this time. Hopefully there won't be any vomiting. We should know something about the test tomorrow.

I will be blogging from the hospital room tomorrow night. I should have lots to say (well, when don't I?).
God bless

Thursday Sept 18, 2008 1:40 am

I know that you were all waiting to hear how my Constitution Day lesson went. Well, it went fine. The kids all learned about the five basic freedoms in the first amendment. So the constitution is being explained at a very early age. I don't think I learned anything about it until I had senior government and then it went in one ear and out the other. These future voters are going to know their rights early on.

Will had dialysis today and they got three liters off. He's able to breathe easier and he should be getting close to his dry weight again. Tomorrow will be a good day for walking and staying off the vent. Maybe Tom and Will can get outside for a while.

Sarah, our friend that had the lung transplant a few months before Will, came up to see Tanya, our friend that just had hers two days ago. (I hope I'm not confusing anyone) Sarah was able to report to Will that Tanya is doing fine and might get off the vent tomorrow. Praise God. Sarah stayed and visited Will for quite awhile and Tom was able to go and take a long walk. Sarah will be coming back to SLC this weekend which is good and then I can see her too. I haven't seen her in a long time. Can't wait to see Tanya also.

Dr. Cahill came in and saw Will tonight with Tania and Kelly. She was pleased with how he's looking. He's not so "puffy" (medical term). Maybe things will start moving forward soon. Coach is coming down on Friday to see Will and Will needs to see him too.

Please, please, please continue to keep Tanya in your prayers. We know how rough recovery can be, but she's a tough little thing. She'll be just fine. Still....it makes me nervous and then I read this passage in the Bible tonight:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6


So not to worry, Tanya will be running around in no time. I will keep everyone posted. A friend of mine emailed me and told me how close she felt to these other two transplanted CFers just because of Will. That's really nice to hear. I really do too.
God bless and keep all of you safe.

Sept. 17, 2008 Wednesday 12:45 am

In case our blog readers don't realize, I thought I would leave a little social studies lesson for you all to read. Today is Constitution Day. This is the day that we celebrate our founding fathers writing the great Constitution that governs our land. Teachers, if they get any federal monies, have to teach a lesson on this today, the government has mandated it so. Well I have a good lesson planned on the first amendment. So I will let everyone know how it goes. Okay, enough of the schooling.

Will's day went great. He had Shannon still here visiting and then Danny, their cousin, came over to visit in the morning. I really prayed hard for the nurses that had to put up with the three of them together in one room. I'm sure the nurses went home today and said there are just some days they don't pay us enough (and they're right). When we have family gatherings, we don't let those three stay together. Well, last I heard the hospital is still standing--so good news. Will had a great time with them and they kept him laughing most the time. They're goofballs.

Will had a good, good day. He walked and Tom got him to walk farther than he did with me this weekend. It must be some kind of competition. Well, all I can say is "bring it on" LOL
Will and his visitors took him outside for a ride but it was too hot to stay out long. He stayed awake most of the day and had a great time visiting until Shannon and Tia had to leave.

Tom's sister made him some stew and homemade bread and brought it up with her. He was a very happy camper. We need to be out of our apartment by the end of this month so Shannon helped Tom load some stuff up in his truck and Tom is going to come home to Idaho while I am up there this weekend.

Will was due to have a MRI done on his head because of the terrible motion sickness that he experiences every time he tries to move. They took him down to the MRI place and he couldn't quit throwing up long enough to get the MRI done. Now what?? They need that done so they can see why he's throwing up but they can't do it because he's throwing up. Why does Will have to make everything so difficult? So we will see what the doctors say tomorrow about it. He was off the vent the whole day. Tomorrow is dialysis day.

Tanya, our Cf friend that had her transplant yesterday, is doing very well. She's awake and recognizes everyone. Her lungs are working well. We just couldn't be happier for her. I hope she's out of the hospital in a few weeks. I can't wait to see her and her family this weekend when I'm in SLC. She still needs lots of prayers for recovery. Thank you. I will put some pictures of her on here soon.

Thanks for all the prayers and the loyalty to Will and his recovery.
God bless

Tuesday Sept. 16, 2008 6:25 am

Wonderful, wonderful news today!!!
Our good friend Tanya got two beautiful lungs yesterday. She is doing fantastic and everything is looking great. Please keep her in your prayers for a full recovery. What a super day for her and her family. Also we need to say a prayer for the donor's family and thank them for the wonderful gift of life. Will couldn't stop grinning, he was very happy for her. Tom went down several times to visit with the family throughout the day.

Will had a good day. Shannon, his cousin came up and they had a good visit. Tom's sister was up to (that's Shannon's mom). Will had dialysis and they took 2 liters off. He's almost back to his dry weight. They watched the Dallas game last night and it was a good one with Dallas taking the win. Way to go Cowboys!!!

I need to finish getting ready for school. Have a great day
God bless

Monday Sept.9 2008 1:05 am

I'm back in Hagerman again. I'm feeling a little better than when I left him last week because he seems to be doing a little better. Many of you are able to call him and be put on speaker phone so he can hear your voices. I think that is so good for him to remember his friends and family and hear what's happening in your life. Boredom is getting to be a big problem for Will. We are trying to think of ways to entertain him. He does listen to books on tape but you can only do that for so many hours in the day.

Shannon, Will's cousin, and Tia, Will's aunt, are coming up to see him on Monday and they will go home Tuesday afternoon. Many of you remember that Shannon and Will lived together while they were going to college. There's a lot about that time in Will's life that I don't really want to know about. I do know they had a great time though. Will is really looking forward to his visit.

Will got to sleep in a little this morning, I think it was almost 10:00 before they woke him up. Then he did his meds and got a treatment. For lunch he ate a little cream of wheat and it stayed down for a while, which is good. It just didn't come right back up, well it did, but not until later. So that's good. Then he walked and for those that have been following his "steps" in his walking, this was a new record. He walked 164 steps. It was easier for him because in the last three days he has dropped 13 pounds in his weight. His feet are still swollen but they don't hurt as much.

We took him outside again today. That is really good for him. His motion sickness gets to him but he still will try to go out. Perseverance. The day in SLC was beautiful. It was in the low 80's and nice and breezy so as long as I kept Will in the shade he was happy, but eventually his O2 tank runs out and we have to go back. We had a good visit and he got caught up with his messages. He's looking forward to the Cowboys game on Monday Night Football. Go Cowboys.

God has blessed us with so much. Sometimes it's good just to have a few minutes to reflect on His goodness. I pray all of you can take a few minutes, look around and just see how good our God is. I was driving home and I just knew He put that in my heart to comfort me as I'm leaving Will again. Will is getting such good care from all the nurses up there and also his wonderful dad is there to help him. He's fine, Tom's fine, we all are just fine. Our thanks goes out to everybody that cares for us and mostly for all the continued prayers for Will's recovery. We'll be home soon.

God is awesome and I pray that He will bless all of you.

Sunday Sept. 14, 2008 12:40 am

Saturday goes by so fast. Will had dialysis early this morning. They were only able to pull off about 1 1/2 liters of fluid but he got all the toxins taken off so it's all good. Yesterday they pulled off 4 liters so they got a lot off this week total. He now weighs 13 pounds less than he did three days ago. That's a big difference. He stayed off the vent most of the day. We took a walk tonight and he walked pretty far. Then I put him in the wheelchair and he went outside. The sun had just set and there was nice, cooling breeze, just a beautiful night.

We played some dice game and just read some of his wonderful messages. Some of them made him laugh. It was a good day. Dr. Cahill came up and visited a few minutes and brought us some tomatoes from her garden. Now tell me, how many drs do that???

Tomorrow there won't be any dialysis so we should be getting a better walk, although tonight's walk was very good. Will's good friend, Coach, is in New York City right now having just watched two New York Yankee games. He called Will and told him that he's having a great time. Wow, all the way to New York City just to see a ball game, but he sounded like he was in heaven.

Sunday will be a good day for us and I pray that it will be for all of you too.

God bless

Sat. Sept. 13 1:25 am

Here I am in SLC again. Will looks better than last week when I got here. He's still swollen but not as much. They got another 4 liters off today. So the the last three days Will's got off more than 19 pounds of fluid.

He didn't walk or get off the vent today. He will tomorrow though. He said maybe we could get outside again for a walk in the sun. It should be a pretty day here. We caught up on what's been going on this week. Angel called him from Boise and she filled him in with what's happening there.

Dr. Cahill came in and said that nothing showed up in those cultures and biopsies they did on Monday. That's good but it would have been nice to find something that's causing all of this. So back to the drawing board. I was doing some trach care (cleaning it up) and I accidentally hit him with my elbow (I know, I don't know how I did that either). He asked if it was too late to call Grandma to come back. I think he was teasing (maybe??). I didn't get his messages read to him yet but we have all day to do that.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Have fun and laugh a lot. God is good.
God bless

Friday Sept. 12, 2008 12:10 am

It's Friday and when school gets out, I'll be on my way back to SLC. Grandma and Grandpa Atwood are leaving this morning to go back to Boise. Will sure has enjoyed having them there. I'm afraid Grandma spoils Will a lot more than his mom does.

Will got up and walked today to the double doors. He was throwing up a lot so he couldn't go any farther. That was a good walk. Today, Friday, they want to try to get another four to five liters of fluid off when they do dialysis. His feet are still so swollen that when he steps of them, they hurt. With the other four liters off, that should help his feet so much.

Dr. Cahill put Will on a different drug to help his stomach troubles. This is the same drug that they use for Aids patients. She is just going to start him off on a low, low dose and see what it does. Hopefully we will see some results.

Angel and Aaron are headed to Boise this weekend to be with Aaron's daughter. They stay at Aaron's mom's house and they can take their dog, Duke, also. They will have a great weekend together.

So tomorrow night I will be posting from the hospital. I hope he looks better than he did last Friday when I got there. We will try to get him outside again this weekend if the weather cooperates. Maybe I can get some new pictures up also. I hope all of you have made great plans with your families or friends. Stay safe.

God bless

Sept. 11, 2008 Thursday 12:30 am

Today is officially Patriot's Day. This is the day that Pres. Bush set aside for us to remember 9-11 and the heroes that lost their lives that day. I ask that all of us take some time today and pray for the lives that were lost that day and the families they left behind. We need to pray for the ones that were affected by the act of evil cowards. Now the hard part: God told us to pray for our enemies and we should do that to. Then if you have a mind to, find the old song "What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love" and sing along.

Okay, back to Will. He had dialysis and they were able to take off FIVE liters. Yup, that's right-5. That's 11 pounds of fluid and there's still more to go. That was very hard on the body so he has slept the day away, which is just fine. Tomorrow he will get up and take a walk I'm sure. It must feel very good to just wake up one day and be 11 pounds lighter. Where can I get a machine like that??? Grandma and Grandpa Atwood are still up there helping out. They are keeping Will entertained and great feet rubs.

We have been getting such great emails for Will. I can't wait to share them with him when I get up there on Friday. Thanks so much (again).

We love you all and God bless
and God bless America

Sept. 10, 2008 Wednesday 1:28 am

Tom said Will had a much better day. (Tom is feeling much, much better also) Yea! Will woke up and found that he had to go back downstairs for another procedure to put in another PICC line (central IV line) because this one wasn't working again. We just had that one put in about two weeks ago. Well, anyway they had to take him down to the imaging room so they can see when they thread the wire up to his heart from his upper arm. Things are working just fine now. We haven't heard from any of the tests from yesterday, it's still ealy yet. We don't want to find anything and yet we need to find something that is causing all these problems.

Will did walk today just past the double doors. He slept a lot because of the procedure but he stayed off the vent for most of the day. That's so good. When I talked to him tonight, Grandma Cherie had been rubbing his feet for most of the night. I call him and then they put him on speaker so he can hear me and then Tom or Grandma can read his lips and he can answer my questions. Grandma and Grandpa got there this afternoon and they will stay for a few days to entertain Will. If you people know my dad, he's pretty entertaining, even when he's not trying.

Many of you have been sending me emails to forward on to Will. I really, really appreciate them. He could use them right about now and it's very sweet of you all to do that for him. It will help lift his spirits. Some are very funny stories which he will appreciate. God has blessed Will with so many good people in his life. Your acts of kindness for our family is wonderful. Remember if you don't want to put them on the blog, you can send them to my email at harbisonterri@hotmail.com

God bless all of you and smile today. It's a wonderful day to be alive.

Sept. 9., 2008 Tuesday 1:00 am

I just got home from SLC and as I unpack the car I feel so different. I thought I would share those feelings with you all since you have been on this journey with us for the last 6 1/2 months. I'm being torn two different ways. I never thought I would be sad to see my home, but believe me people when you hear "home is where your heart is," it's the truth. My house is too empty to be my home. I need all my family here so that is what I am going to be praying for really hard the next few days. After all these tests, after all these days, and after all the doctors, we have to be getting close to some answers. Will needs to be coming back to Idaho soon.

God has given us so many blessings already. He has His plan for Will. I pray and pray that it's bringing him closer to the time that he gets to come home to all the people that love him.

So the test were done today, the endoscopy and the colonoscopy. It was not fun to prep for this procedure. We were up all night "cleaning" out everything there was in Will. We don't have any answers yet because they took cultures and biopsies of different areas that they found some concern with. It takes a few days to get any results. The doctor that did the procedure forgot to come in and talk to Tom and me. When we asked to see him they told us he was already doing another procedure and he will come up and talk to us afterward. Well, he didn't show. So we have more questions than answers right now.

That brings me to a funny story, well maybe not funny, but it tells you where Will's head is right now. I was getting ready to leave and I told Will to try to keep a positive attitude this week. He told me he's positive that nothing will get done. No, that's not the funny part, in fact that's sad to hear from him. Anyway, I told him that I had been praying harder the last few days and that might be what he needs to be doing. He asked if he could pray for the doctors to show up when they say they would--this is his sarcastic voice here. I said God could do anything---thinking I am very wise and giving him such food for thought. He said he doubts the doctors probably would even show up if God told them to. They probably have another meeting first. Okay so it wasn't that funny but I like it when Will starts having a little spirit. He's been just getting more disheartened these last weeks. We were so close to being out of there, it's hard for him to see the progress slipping backwards. ALL in God's perfect timing. That seems to be my mantra this last month. ALL in God's perfect timing.

He had his dialysis within minutes of getting back to the room after the procedure. They took 3 more liters off during the four hour procedure. He slept most of the day away which was what was expected. Yesterday because of all the goings on, Will stayed off the vent for 15 hours--new record. I hear your cheers right now, and I will pass them on to Will. Tom will be waiting to hear from the doctors and I will let you know what they say. Grandma and Grandpa Atwood are coming up today and spending a few days with Will to help out. That's good because Grandma Cherie loves to rub Will's feet. Good times ahead for Will. We will continue to hope and pray that Will's health will improve.

Psalm 52:9
I will praise You forever for what You have done;
in Your name I will hope, for Your name is good.
I will praise You in the presence of Your saints.

Amen and God bless

Sept. 8, 2008 Monday 12:50 am

I can't remember if I told the blog that I took Monday off so I can stay in SLC for the procedures that they are doing on Will this morning. He's having a colonoscopy and an endoscope done. They said they will do that first thing in the morning. Well, it's hospital time so who knows when it will happen. They turned his tube feeds off at 6 tonight and then they give him a lot of stuff which cleans all his intestines out. They will take a little camera and check his intestines and bowels. When that procedure is done, then they will go down the throat and check out the stomach real good with a little camera. (Not the same one LOL) Maybe after all that, the drs. will have some answers for us.

He had a better day on Sunday. He visited with Angel all morning and they played cards. We got him some that are for visually challenged. He can see them if he holds them just right. It was great to watch him play a game. We took him outside just for a few minutes because he wasn't feeling well. Angel and Will were teasing each other and it was so good to see. That's the old Will.

Then Danny came up and watched the first Dallas Cowboys game with Will. For some reason, Danny's play by play is so much better than mine. ???? Cowboys won---GO DALLAS
Then they played a game of cribbage. Will used to play that all the time. He really enjoyed that even though Danny won. It's been a long time since Will has had to use his brain like that. So all the company really helped get his attitude adjusted. I hope he holds on to that through the week coming up.

It depends on what the drs. find out with the procedures, but I should be going back to Hagerman tomorrow night. Grandma Cherie is coming up on Tuesday for a few days to help out again. That will be so good.

Today please we need prayers that some of the questions that need answered about Will's stomach problems will be answered. We have faith in God's timing so I pray that God is ready to help the doctors get something going here. I will tell everyone how the tests went. The drs. said that after he will sleep most of the day away. He also has dialysis today.

Take care everyone and God bless.

September 7 Sunday 1:49 am

Today was a little better than yesterday. Will is getting pain meds a little more frequently and that seems to help. He had dialysis and they took off three liters again. They did that yesterday also. It seems that Will might have an extra twenty one pounds of fluid to get off still. Dialysis has already taken off 8 liters this week. Which is about 17 pounds. I don't know where it's coming from, neither does the doctors. But I think they have found an answer for dialysis. They give Will a shot an hour before and it seems to keep his blood pressure up. So now maybe they can keep getting fluids off along with the toxins.

He walked a little tonight and then we put him in a wheelchair and went for a walk outside. It was a beautiful evening, with a nice little breeze blowing. He was off the vent for about four hours today.

A good friend of Will's got married tonight. Congratulation Camille and Cody, we sure wish we could have been there.

Tom didn't come up today because he's not feeling too well today. He stayed at the apartment and slept. He is already feeling a little better. Maybe just a little cold. He'll stay away from Will until he feels better for sure.

I will be getting this blog up on time but I wanted to thank our "hot" secretary for filling in for us this morning. She's also feeding our animals back home. Thanks "hot" secretary.

No dialysis on Sunday and maybe we can get him on a bigger walk today.

God bless and enjoy your wonderful Sunday.

August 6, 2008 Saturday late, late, late

I'm so sorry I worried so many people. I left the hospital about three this morning and thought about doing the blog when I got back to the apt. Well, I left the computer at the hospital so no blog. I had so many calls before 8 to check on Will. So I apologize for the worry but I really appreciate all the concern. I told Will about all the calls and that made him feel good. He's feeling the love people. Thanks

I got up to the hospital about 8:00 last night. Angel and Aaron got up there just a few minutes before I did so Will was up talking to them when I walked in. I could tell by his face that he was hurting, and he really has gotten more swollen than when I left him Monday night. So what's up with all that????? His stomach problem is a little worse and he's just tired of it all. So it's a good thing that Aaron and Angel are here. They will get his spirits up for sure. He hasn't walked in about four days. We are going to try to get him off the vent sometime today. I will remember to blog tonight before I go back to the apartment for sure.

Right now, Will and Angel are playing a game of war. Aaron is checking and making sure that Angel doesn't cheat so rest assured he's got Will's back. Aaron went back to school this semester and he's doing his homework up here too. He's just so smart.

God bless

More news coming soon

The Harbison family is all together in Salt Lake :) The computer is temporarily out of service, so a complete report will be posted within the next few hours. Thank you for your patience and all of the continued prayers.

Sincerely,
The Hot Secretary!

Friday Sept. 5 1:22 am

Will walked just a little outside of his room. His feet are hurting too much and he's still not feeling that well today. I thought he would be doing better because this is his off day. Nope, he's just not feeling well at all.

Tomorrow he will do dialysis again and the doctors think they might have a way of cooling the blood during dialysis and not having Will freeze for four hours. I am not quite sure how they are going to do it but Tom said he will have them explain everything as they go. Then I will let you all know. It's amazing how they can change things like that. I just hope that they can get some of the fluid off. He will probably feel so much better if he did.

His stomach is still the same and he's still vomiting whenever he moves too much. I don't know how Will even wants to get up and walk. Well, I will be going up there just as soon as school is out. Angel and Aaron are coming up also so Will will have some new company to visit with. Coach can't come down this weekend because he's going up to Seattle (I think) to watch those silly Yankees. Why is he even wasting his money, especially this year??? Will's been enjoying listening to the Mets' game on the radio. They play almost everyday.

I will let everyone know what's going on first hand when I get up there. I don't know why Tom won't write the blog since he is actually seeing what's going on. Hmm... maybe if I paid him....

God bless and TGIF

Thursday Sept. 4 7:00 am

Sorry I didn't get this up earlier.

Will's day just wasn't a good one yesterday. He didn't feel well all day and he just didn't get off the vent or get up to walk. He did have dialysis and they tried something new. They wanted to get some fluid off this time because he's starting to swell up again so they tried cooling the blood as it goes back into the body. They were hoping that would keep his blood pressure from dropping so low. It worked sort of and he got about 2 liters off. He had to be wrapped with warm blankets for the four hours that he had dialysis. It wasn't the most comfortable he's been.

Today is his off day so hopefully he will feel like getting up out of bed and walking.

God bless

Sept. 3, 2008 Wednesday

Will took a ride outside today with Tom, a respitory therapist, occupational therapist and a nurse. What a parade. Tom said it was good to get him out of the room for a while. Maybe after this weekend he needed a change even if it was only for a minute. He did take a short walk and he stayed off his vent for about 11 hours. He still is hurting and they are trying to figure that out and they will try something new for his stomach troubles as soon as they find something.

Dr. Cahill came in and she had taken the weekend off so she didn't know any of the stuff that went on. She is going to do some tests on Will tonight and tomorrow and "get to the bottom of it"
Those are her words so it will be done.
This is a little set back but I was so happy that he walked. Coach said I start all this stuff with Will on the weekend and then poor Dr. Tom has to get everything fixed up. He's real funny like that. I know this week Will will be so much better.

Our prayers worked again because Hurrican Gustav wasn't as bad as predicted. Thank you, God. Those poor people in Lousiana didn't need any more trouble. They are still reeling from Hurrican Katrina, three years ago. At least there are homes to go home to this time.

God bless

Tuesday September 2, 2008 12:45 am

I just got back from Salt Lake, it's so much easier to leave him when he's feeling better. It's a lot harder when he isn't. He had a terrible day today with lots of pain and not much he can do about it. I thought yesterday was rotton. His right front of his stomach is so sore to the touch and it really hurts when he coughs so they wanted him to go down and have a CAT scan on it to see if the feeding tube was infiltrating. That was this morning and they came about 5:30 this afternoon to get him for the CAT scan. (I'm getting tired of this "hospital time") In case he needed any surgical procedure, they turned off his feeding tube and held his meds--that included his pain meds. So I waited to come back to Hagerman until we knew something. At 8:30 tonight they still hadn't heard from the radiologist so I had to get on the road. Tom called about 10:30 and said the dr. just called and said the feeding tube wasn't infiltrated so that was really good news. Why he's hurting so badly---we don't know and they will figure it out tomorrow.

I know this sounds like I'm frustrated---well, I am. He just starts doing better and then something has to happen to set him back again. And if I think I'm frustrated, I can't even imagine what Will's feeling. He was pretty much growling at everybody today. Thank goodness everyone understands where he's coming from. Tom stayed with him until after midnight to make sure he's doing better and able to control the pain somewhat.

They did do a four hour dialysis early this morning but they couldn't take any fluids off because of his blood pressure. The kidney doctors hope that when this last episode of the allergic reaction is out of his body, then the blood pressure will be stronger and he can start getting some fluids off again.

I want to again thank God that the people that are taking care of Will are so caring. The nursing staff is unbelievably compassionate and try to do everything in their power to help Will get his positive attitude back. I hope God heaps His blessings on them all. I can never thank them enough-not just one or two but all of them that have been taking care of him the last six months.

We haven't seen much of Dr. Cahill lately so maybe if she comes in today things will start happening. I know we will have better news this evening. Please say extra prayers for attitude adjustments that we need :). We DO feel God's loving hand in all of this-look how far He's got Will already. (okay, my venting is done now). Hope you all had a great three day weekend, now it's back to work.

God bless

Monday September 1, 2008 12:10 am

September already. Pretty soon we are going to be saying 2009 already.

Will's day was not as good as we wanted it to be. He had a allergic reaction to the medicine they have been giving him for the stomach trouble. We thought it was starting to work, too. Oh well, back to the drawing board. Since he didn't get any sleep last night because of the itching and then this morning he was having such trouble breathing that he couldn't get off the vent, he didn't do any walking. After they had to give him steroids and iv benedryl he started breathing okay. He slept for about four hours without moving a muscle. That takes a lot out of a person. His heart was really working overtime. Everything is back to normal tonight.

Hopefully we can get a walk in this morning before dialysis starts. I will have to leave around five tonight. It will be hard again to drive back. I am praying that it won't be for much longer. He needs to get back to Idaho before Utah starts putting him on the jury duty list.

There was a terrible storm tonight and the thunder just rattled Will's hospital window. I thought it was going to break. Will didn't let me jump in his bed with him though. I told him I was a little afraid he told me to get over it. He's so caring and compassionate.

Please keep the people in your prayers that are experiencing the terrible hurricane effects. I will also. This is still a holiday so I hope everyone gets one more good day of play time before summer is over for good.

Thanks to all of Will's faithful readers. God bless