The theme for today is: Talking.
Zach is trying to talk. He is able to copy saying a few words here and there. Talking. It’s a gift. The gift of the gab. God gave us voices. Voices to talk. Voices to communicate. The past twelve weeks or so have taught us how easy it is to take our voices for granted. So, what a joy it is to see Zach and to hear Zach talk. Small yet incremental steps of improvement. Look who’s talking!
Ever since Zach was little, he did most of his talking before bed. He would talk and talk and talk. And we would listen and listen and listen. It was his way of getting a lot of things off his chest so he could sleep. Talk first. Sleep second.
Zach also loved to walk and talk. Short walks and short talks. Long walks and long talks. He would talk all the way there and he talked all the way back. Especially in recent years, the walks and the talks got longer. The talks got more serious. He talked about life, faith, marriage, work, business, money, changes, struggles, leadership, and the future. A young man growing. A young man sharing. A young man talking. A young man praying.
Most importantly, Zach started talking more to God. He talked more about God, his need for God, and his love for God. I’m sure he wants to do this again. He’s trying. John Bunyan, wrote, “It should comfort your heart if the anguish of your spirit keeps your words few. The Holy Spirit stirs up your heart in groans and sighs so much the more vehement when your mouth is hindered. Though your mouth is hindered, your spirit is not.” Zach’s voice is hindered. But it’s being helped. God is his helper. God is his healer. God is his hearer.
God hears you, Zach. He’s inclining, bending down as it were, to hear you. Keep trying. Keep praying. Keep talking.
Today’s Updates:
Zach’s last couple days have been pretty busy, with a few different specialties working with him, so it’s a longer update today! Zach is still having restless episodes, but most times he’s able to settle himself after some reassurance and time. They’re trying to reduce the amount of medications for agitation he’s receiving, and will try to get Zach to work through his agitation for a while before administering anything extra. Today Zach got quite agitated when they tried to remove the stitches on his legs and he stayed restless for a long time, so they had to give him some extra calming meds to settle him. Please continue to pray with us that Zach’s agitation may lessen and that the peace of God which passes all understanding may continually rest on him.
Zach has been performing extremely well with the capped trach. Today the respiratory therapists are attempting to keep his trach capped (making him breathe normally) for 24 hours. At the time of writing this, Zach has had a cap on his trach tube for 12 hours and still appears comfortable while maintaining good oxygen levels. Praise God for this progress! The doctor said that Zach’s progress with breathing makes Zach a candidate to move out of the ICU into a step down unit, so we’ll see what happens!
Physiotherapy has been doing daily sessions with Zach that focus on strength building (especially sitting independently) and following commands. They’ve been getting Zach up into a recliner with wheels, and yesterday the physio team even gave him a tour of the ICU! Zach’s making good progress, but he does get tired of holding up his head and still requires support to sit up. Today the physiotherapist got Zach to follow commands for kicking a ball with each of his legs, and he did great! Following commands still requires a lot of effort for Zach, so we’re so thankful for Zach’s determination and resilience with these long exercise sessions.
Occupational therapy (OT) also came by to look at Zach’s left hand. In Winnipeg, Zach’s hand was very relaxed and flexible, but since he’s arrived in Calgary his hand has been tense and unable to stretch far. The OT said that his hand likely became so stiff because of the transfer here, which is something that the OT from Winnipeg did warn us about. The OT attempted to get a brace on Zach’s hand that he had fitted in Winnipeg, but his hand and wrist can’t stretch that far anymore. The OT encouraged us to continue doing stretches with Zach’s hand and wrist when we sit with him. Please pray that Zach’s hand may relax and regain full function in God’s good time.
Zach also had speech language pathology (SLP) come by today, who are specialists that focus on talking, eating and communicating. Today SLP’s focus was finding a way for Zach to communicate yes and no. They tried a few different methods but no specific method was foolproof with Zach, so the SLP encouraged us to try a mix of methods and see which works better on which day. Zach has sometimes been moving his right arm voluntarily to point at things, but this also requires a lot of effort and it is sometimes difficult to understand what he’s trying to communicate. He will also sometimes move his mouth as if he wants to say something, but isn’t able to yet. Zach has been able to imitate some more words in the last few days, but it takes a lot of effort and focus for him. Please pray with us that Zach will continue to improve in his ability to communicate again!
Thank you so much for your prayers, the Lord hears and answers! Please continue to pray for healing for Zach, that his brain may fully recover, especially the ability to communicate, and that he may regain his strength and mobility.
“I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”” (Psalm 116:1-4)
