Day 29 - September 21, 2015

Today was much like every other day. Annette got to the hospital in time to help Jeff with breakfast. She actually brings him cereal from home because that's what he likes best. So they share the hot breakfast he orders, then he eats cereal while she eats some yogurt. A happy arrangement for them both!

They report that Jeff did really well in therapy, as always. He has never been one to do things halfway. His pain was better in the morning, but he struggled with it for the afternoon. He did a total of an hour and a half of physical therapy this morning. Yahoo! But it's really no wonder he hurt later on.

Jeff fed himself his entire lunch today! Annette said they chose the easiest meal on the menu: mac and cheese. He used special utensils provided by the occupational therapist and did really well with them. Annette said she's going to have to let him do it more often so he can get used to it.

 

It's been most difficult for Annette, and even for the rest of us, to watch him struggle to do the simple things. It's almost instinctive for us to want to do them for him. It takes quite a bit of self restraint just to allow him to do what he can on his own. We all know it's best for him to practice, but that doesn't make it any easier.

In between everything else that went on today Jeff says he found some time to read, respond to, and delete emails. It's amazing how something so simple can be comforting. It was a part of his everyday routine before the accident and to have even a sliver of that familiarity back is a blessing.

Jeff said, "I actually got a nap this afternoon! It's the first time in a long time that that's happened." He got really drowsy from the pain meds he took after therapy and was thankfully able to sleep for a while without too much interference.

He had several visitors this evening, for which we are so grateful!

An old high school friend, Todd Jex, dropped by unexpectedly. Jeff and Annette were very happy to see him. Annette reported that he struggled a bit during the visit. We understand his feelings all too well and appreciate him taking the time to visit despite whatever reservations he may have had. He told them, "I just had to come see you for myself."

It's incredible the amount of compassion we've seen from people during this struggle. Even people who aren't closely connected with Jeff have been affected. They feel the same pain and confusion we feel over this tragedy. It's brought so many people together and widened our support network tenfold! This is the Lord's work in our lives.

Shane and Janeane Shaw also dropped in. They brought Annette some dinner and Jeff some movies. Jeff has always been a "movie buff" so to speak. Since the accident his list of movies to see has been slowly growing. The two they brought him were on that list and he's looking forward to watching them, preferably without a thousand interruptions this time!

Jeff has officially been diagnosed with sleep apnea. This is a common problem where people stop breathing for short periods of time when asleep. To his family this really is no surprise. In the ICU they noticed it caused a drop in oxygen saturations while he slept, but that wasn't their main concern at the time.

They have discussed a CPAP machine, but he's been told the hospital doesn't have the proper equipment to test for pressure settings and so forth in order to personalize it to what he needs. We are awaiting further discussion before decisions are made.

While Jeff says he's been sleeping better the past several days, he also says that his nose gets stuffy at night and then magically gets better when he gets up in the morning. He also thinks the humidity mask is improving his cotton mouth by at least 50 percent even though it's still a pain to use. Silver linings...

Zach (Brandi's husband) volunteered to stay with Jeff until bedtime so Annette could go home and get a few things done this evening. Some things can only be put off for so long, like grocery shopping and a full night's sleep.

When Annette left, Dr. Jacques was there for a visit. Dr. Jacques has been the Page family Chiropractor for many years and owns Back On Track Chiropractic in South Jordan, UT. In the past Jeff would usually bypass other medical help and go to Dr. Jacques first after having a biking accident. Dr. Jacques expertise and opinion are much valued by all of us. It's unfortunate this wreak was so different than the others.

 

Zach enjoyed watching Dr. Jacques interact with Jeff and insisted that we tell everyone about the funny part of the visit.  For anyone who knows Dr. Jacques, you know that he knows exactly where to "poke" in order to make you scream and it wasn't any different this time.  Dr. Jacques was asking Jeff questions and saying can you feel this, can you feel that, and then he started to talk to Jeff about the muscles in his hands and as he "poked" Jeff in the hand he let out a "scream".  At least we know Jeff has feeling in certain parts of his hands!  We are grateful for Dr. Jacques and his concern for Jeff and our family.

Jeff's inspiring words tonight were, "There is room for improvement every day, but today was a good day." While we may see this as the understatement of a lifetime, we are grateful that he is focusing on the small successes he has each day. These smaller achievements are what turn into larger ones in the future.

It's this broader perspective of the situation he finds himself in that really sets him apart from other people. He sees the larger picture and recognizes the importance of the baby steps required to reach the end goal. This is what fascinates people who talk to him about his condition. This is why he is so far ahead of others mentally, emotionally, and spiritually who find themselves in similar situations.

This is why we are being inspired every day by our dad. We are truly blessed by his example.