Saturday at the Hospital

We were hoping to go home today but he is a lot weaker than what we had planned, so he will be here overnight one more day and hopefully go home on Sunday!

Thank you for everyone who supported the kids and for my wonderfully clean house that I get to come home to!

Well we are finally in a regular room! Every hour he looks and feels better. A lot of nurses and doctors coming in and out so this will be short. But if you're anxious to see him he is here and awake :) If all goes well he should be home tomorrow !!!

Today was an amazing, wonderful, exhausting day! The ventilator has been taken out, and he is awake. Still a bit groggy but, he is awake and talking. I am so very happy I can’t even begin to explain. Thank you God for continuing to heal him and keep him safe.

He is still being monitored here in ICU because his lungs are still very inflamed and asthmatic. If all goes well he will be moved over to the regular floor sometime tomorrow and all friends and family will be welcome to come and see him! I can’t thank you enough for your prayers and all the wonderful help we have had for the kids.

Tonight Bryce had a football game and Chelsea had her first concert and although Jami and I were not there both kids had an audience and cheering section. I am just amazed and overwhelmed at how much support and encouragement we have received from all our friends and family. You are the best!!

He's Awake :o)

Well, Mr. Jami is awake! Yesterday was a huge breakthrough and they finally got his lungs to loosen up. One critical issue when you have respiratory failure is the lack of oxygen to the brain and other organs. They have brought in a physical therapist and run through a series of tests and he seems just fine.  Maybe a bit anxious to get the ventilator out but that is to be expected. They will be taking out the ventilator over the next few hours and this will be very critical. Anyone who knows asthma knows that just about anything can set it off. Cough, laugh, too cold, too hot.. So, it will be very important to keep him comfortable to make sure they don’t have to put that tube back down his throat. If all goes well he will be one more night here in critical care and then hopefully moved to a recovery room tomorrow and any one and everyone is welcome to come and say HI!!! His immune system is pretty shot after this so of course if you have something coming on.. hold off and send a card 
I will do my best to update again later today and let you all know how things go.. Thanks for the prayers, love, encouragement, and support. 

Wednesday evening..

Just a quick note to let you all know today definitely had its ups and downs. Unfortunately, Jami could not sit up for very long without going into some severe coughing fits. This has become extremely dangerous so he had to be left on the ventilator for another day. Also, throughout the afternoon he started to run a low grade fever. There is always a risk of infection and that is never a good thing. But, we serve a Big God who listens and knows everything :o) He was been switched to a different sedative and has been taken to a level where he can communicate with us!! I just love to see his eyes open and answering questions. This evening his temperature has gone down and we are hoping it stays that way. Tomorrow is a new day and we will patiently see what God has in store.
Thanks for all your wonderful prayers and support, and help, and oh everyone who has cared for the kids, fed them, drove them to and fro!! I love you guys!! I finally got to see them today thanks to Alicia and Kathy. I am so blessed to have such a great family and wonderful support group.. Thank you!! And I will see you all soon. <3

Well, it’s Wednesday morning and all is quiet here in the CCU. Jami had a really restful night sleep. I just loved the night nurse. She was an older lady who definitely learned her nursing back in the days where things were a lot different. She just cracked me up!! She took such good care of him. Today they have changed the respirator settings to allow Jami to try to breath on his own. If it becomes too shallow the respirator will kick in and help him out. If all goes well they will try and take out the respirator completely today or tomorrow morning. Yeah!! They have talked about switching him over to a different sedative so they can pull his respirator out while he is still sleeping. Usually they wait until you are fully awake but our Mr. Jami does NOT like his respirator and starts to get a bit rambunctious if they keep him alert for too long. Which they said is not a bad thing. He is young, healthy, and as soon as they get his lungs fully operational he will be back to his regular activities. Unfortunately his lungs are still very tight and wheezy even after 4 days of nebulizer treatments and steroids. We are really hoping and praying the doctors have all the wisdom to make the correct decisions for care over Jami and that his lungs loosen up and start working freely!! Thank you all for your encouragement, your help, and your wonderful prayers. Although we are still in critical care Jami is on the mend and we are hoping to be coming home soon!

How we got here..

This has been the wildest ride I have been on in a very long time. I have been shocked, scared, confused, amused, light headed, and tired. I have also been so blessed with the amount of love and concern that has come through from all our friends and family. I really appreciate all the help and encouragement Jami and I and the kids have received. Not much can go wrong with chocolate chip cookies and marshmallows at your side. Well, maybe but the're great to hand out to all the nurses and doctors coming in! It puts everybody in a better mood. :o)
So, my wonderful sister had the idea to help me keep everyone as up to date as possible without repeating or forgetting and retelling the situation over and over again. I thank you all for your concern and I still appreciate talking with everyone. Your voices are always an encouragement. But, this should make things easier to communicate correctly. So, I will do my best to update Jami's progress through this blog... If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them here. Jami is sedated and on a ventilator but when he wakes up (and he WILL) he will truly LOVE to hear from you and read your notes.
Now the story and update:
Jami has been dealing with a bad cough and respiratory problems for about a month or so. We weren't too worried because he is in pretty good shape and has never had any asthmatic or respiratory problems in his life. After a few weeks we went into Urgent Care to be checked out and they did a few things; meds, and tests and sent him home. He seemed to be getting better after a few days. Not completely but was showing signs of improvement but, after about two weeks things started to go bad very quickly. We were back in Urgent Care on Thursday and a few more tests were run and more meds prescribed. Unfortunately, by Saturday he was in respitory distress and I hauled him into the ER in Albany. Since then it has been just a whirlwind of every emotion I can think of. The most unnerving part is the fact that they can't pin point why his system crashed so fast and so hard. When we left Urgent Care on Thursday he was doing "okay."
He stayed in the Albany CCU for about 24hrs and was transferred to Corvallis Critical Care. Since then he has been "stable" and his vitals are all in good shape. He is on a ventilator and completely sedated. Until they can get his lungs functioning at a safe level by themselves he will stay this way. He has made some improvements and his lungs are opening back up and moving air... little by little. I've observed that sometimes patience is the worst tasting medicine but gives the most comfort and relief. Yesterday afternoon they pulled down his sedation level to a point where he was able to open his eyes and recognize me :o) They checked to make sure there was no signs of stroke or neurological issues. When your brain goes without oxygen for too long this becomes an issue. Thankfully, Jami was in great shape... so much so, he started to get rambuncious and didnt like his ventilator and they had to sedate him. They told me that was a good sign and they like to see their patients fight back! So, today he is resting and little by little the swelling is going down, the mucus and leaving, and his breathing is improving. Thank you so much for all your prayers... We serve a BIG God and I am so thankful to have all of you with us! And one more thing... the kids are doing great! Kathy grabbed them up on Saturday and they are at Grandma's house for the week and Alicia is in charge of breaking them out of school when necessary LOL!! You guys are amazing!!