A Busy Guy

Dad's days in the SCIC certainly are busy...I don't think we ever had more than ten minutes alone with him before we were interrupted by nurses and "ists" who needed to see him. He doesn't get much rest during the day, but it helps him sleep well at night...although throughout the night he gets woken up by nurses and "ists" as well. Thankfully, all of his caretakers are great people and love working with him...no question he's in excellent hands.

His kidneys continue to be working, just not exactly how they should be. It's awesome that they seem to have kicked in, but the docs are still trying to figure out why they're not quite right. Still an answer to prayer and encouraging to think he may not need dialysis for the rest of his life.

The secretions were better today, but his lungs are also not what they should be. He has some fluid in his lungs that the doctors can't explain...they don't think it's pneumonia again, but they have definite concerns about what may be causing it. He is still being weaned from the respirator, so they will be watching his lungs closely to see if they improve. Basically, our prayer is for healthy, dry lungs, properly functioning kidneys, and for him to get off that respirator for good.

In between therapists we were able to take a cruise through the halls with him. It was pretty sweet to watch Cole and Paige taking their first "walk" with Bapa...with Cole leading the way, dad closely behind, and Paige marching directly in back of dad's chair. Bittersweet to say the least, as we realize that he'll be a radically different Bapa in so many ways. But, of course, deep down, very much the same.

Thank God for so much that is the same....same sense of humor, same heart, same smile, same passion for all things involving grandkids and/or motors. With all that's been "lost", we praise God that we still have our Pops, Bapa, and Bohr that we all love so much. God continues to do His work, and we continue to give Him the glory.

Bapa of Three, Maker of Pee

What a day! Becky started having contractions early this morning and at four o'clock this afternoon, dad became the proud Bapa of Michael Joseph Bohrman, a beautiful 8 lb. 7 oz. baby boy that joins brother Cole and sister Paige. Mike was able to share the news with Pops via speaker phone moments after the delivery, and as soon as Mike said, "Bapa, you have another grandson", dad just started to cry. Tears of joy, of course, and it was the sweetest silent sobbing I've ever seen. As dad took his power chair for a lap around the floor, his nurses and therapists who had been waiting for news all day came to congratulate him on the new grandbaby. He is one proud Bapa. Becky's doing great and little Michael is super cute and looks a lot like big brother Cole. Mikey and Bapa will officially meet on Thursday, so we'll be sure to get a picture...

To add to the excitement, Pops had some news of his own to share with me when I walked in the room. "I'm making pee!", he exclaimed/mouthed with pure joy. And what's not joyful about making pee! It turns out he did not have dialysis today because his kidneys kicked in and for the most part are doing their job! Amazing! He still may need dialysis in the near future, and it's too soon to tell if his kidneys are functioning at 100%, but for today, his kidneys work, and urine has never been so exciting. My jaw dropped when I saw his left arm today, with absolutely no swelling whatsoever. Unbelievable. Praise God.

The only down side to today was that he continues to have a huge amount of secretions, which is all the mucus and yucky stuff that is getting coughed up from his pneumonia. Because he lacks the strength to cough it up, it just sits in his throat until a nurse can suction him by sticking a tube down his throat through the trach. Sounds gross and totally painful because...well, it is. Although it's necessary to get all that gunk out, it is annoying and very uncomfortable for him to have to be forcefully gagged every 30 minutes. So it was an exhausting day for him in every sense. His body is still in survival mode, so every ounce of his energy is needed for healing.

What a day! When I left the hospital tonight, Pops had fallen asleep with a smile on his face. I couldn't help but think of our prayer last night for energy and hope. God gave dad renewed energy through kidneys that are suddenly making pee...yahoo! And God gave us all hope through the birth of a beautiful, healthy baby boy, little Mikey. Today is a day we stand in awe of the God of the universe, who in the midst of struggle and pain, gave us a glimpse of his power, his love, and his never-ending goodness. After a day like today, how can we do anything but praise God for loving us, for choosing us, for giving us more than we could ask or imagine.

Thank you God for new life, for new hope, and for pure, clean urine. You are so, so good to us.

From ICU To SCIC

Dad moved back upstairs to the Spinal Cord Unit today...thank God. He left the ICU...hopefully for the last time. He's stable for now, so we pray that his body stays strong and it's all uphill from here. Based on past experience, there's surely more downhill road in the future, but we can only take it one day at a time. Mom did say he's a little discouraged that he's starting all over from the beginning, so we pray that God would give him a boost of energy and hope. He should be having dialysis again tomorrow, and hopefully a day full of therapy and rehab. I'm heading up to Wisconsin for the rest of the week and am anxious to see him myself.

God is in control.

Monotony

Alright, alright, Bears lost. Colts are awesome. End of story. On to less frivolous things....

Pops had a pretty good day off of the respirator. He is having a lot of secretions and coughing probably due to his pneumonia clearing. Other than that, there is much less anxiety with his breathing. Praise God.

Tomorrow's move to the Spinal Cord Unit is still on...we'll see what happens. It will be good for him to get back upstairs to continue rehab. The days become quite monotonous so any change of scenery is welcomed.

We continue to have trust in God's timetable...dad will be in the ICU as long as God wants him there. And I pray that the monotony of the days doesn't lessen the fervency of our prayers. God is in day 58 just as much as He was in day 1. My prayer tonight is that we would continue to seek Him with fervency...even when life seems very, very monotonous.

Saturday

An uneventful day for Pops. He seemed a little down compared to yesterday, but thankfully no backwards movement. Tomorrow will be a big day as he will be off the respirator from 6:30 am to 4:30 pm. Keep him in your prayers that he'll have no anxiety. Pray that his lungs are good and strong, unlike Peyton Manning's throwing arm.

As always, praise God for another day.

Hooray for Dialysis

Apparently, it was a great day for Pops. He had dialysis again and it's really helping to reduce his swelling. Even his left arm is less swollen and we haven't seen that go down since the accident. We are realizing how much his kidneys have been affecting his overall health. He is feeling better and better since starting dialysis, and you can see it in his face.

He is gaining a little more control of his right arm, and was working his wrist today more than he has been. Not much finger movement there. But more exciting was when he started moving the wrist on his left hand! Just a little bit of control, and only when mom holds his arm up, but definitely more than anything we've seen so far. Very exciting. Mom said he was in a great mood...seeing his own progress is the best thing for him.

One funny moment was when mom was trimming his mustache. She was trying to get it just right and he was growing impatient. She went in to try to even it out one more time and he stopped her. He rolled his eyes and said, "It's fine. We're not going out today."

Pops may not be going out anytime soon, but he may be movin' on up. Rumor has it that he'll return to the spinal cord unit on Monday. Yes, it's exciting....but we've learned that in hospital talk, "Monday" could very well mean "Thursday". Things tend to take longer than what we're told. But it's encouraging news none the less. They are hoping he will be off the respirator by then, so we keep praying that he continues to do well. He has much less anxiety this time around, and we praise God that he seems to have more peace.

The only anxiety I have witnessed is when I asked him if he was rooting for the Bears or the Colts. A seemingly trivial question, except he now has a son-in-law and daughter-in-law on opposing sides. Opposing with a capital O. He smirked and refused to take sides. Yet. So just a note to our Colt-fanatic Johnson relatives...when the Bears win on Sunday don't let it distract you from continuing to pray for Pops...keep your chins up. Boo-yeah.

Praise God for a great day....exactly eight weeks since the accident. We are so thankful for the way Jesus has brought us closer to Him...albeit in a desperate, hanging-on-for-dear-life sort of way. Closer none the less. I know that this season in our life is so sweet to Him, as we cling to His word like never before. It's easy to ignore God when life is easy and the sailing is smooth. But the pain and desperation of these months, the stormy seas if you will, are what bring us to the feet of Jesus. Smooth sailing is nice, but the excitement, the rush, the real joy...that only comes when you're in the storm.

Thank you God, for being with us in the storm.

Hope

A quiet day for Pops. He works hard to breathe when he's off of the resprirator, but he's doing well. He's usually off for five hours, then on for one. He doesn't like to mouth much while off the respirator because he needs to focus on his breathing, so it was a pretty quiet day.

They did get him up in his chair for some time, so that's good. He'll have dialysis again tomorrow. Doctors are still baffled as to why his kidneys aren't working. All we do is wait.

Who knows...there may be change tomorrow, or things may stay this way for some time. It's hard to tell. I distinctly remember four weeks ago thinking that in a month, dad would be so much farther. It's hard to believe that a month later, he's no better, if not worse. Still lots of unknowns.

But we have hope. Hope that he's healing. Hope that the Lord continues to work in him. Hope that the Bears win the Superbowl. (Inappropriate timing? Maybe. True? Of course.)

Hope is a beautiful thing. Thank you God for not being baffled. In a world of unknowns, thanks for giving us hope. We are trusting in You.