Keeter Christmas Eve

Brian is doing so well! He's still on a lot of pain meds & the like but he's really starting to come to ever so slightly. It's so nice to see him without that tube down his throat & he's doing well breathing without too much assistance from the ventilator. He opened his eyes a few good times & seemed to communicate a special personal message with each of us tonight. Man, I love that kid.

He pulled the chest tube out yet again today but they don't think it's a problem this time as his body seems to have moved beyond needing it. Maybe he'll get a discount on the bill to take it out? ;)

Thankfully, the CT scan to check his abdomen & pelvis came back fine.

The physical therapist came by just to do a little stretching with him since he's pretty stove up from being in that bed for so many days. This allows him to be unrestrained--his wrists are tied down tightly to keep him from pulling out all the tubes. He was a little annoyed at first but warmed up to her & even did some of the arm movements in his own direction with her, when he wasn't annoyed & trying to sleep. Well, he started heading towards his face like he had a scratch & so she let him have the freedom to itch. FAKE OUT! He totally started grabbing at his neck brace, trying to get it off, little trickster.

God is taking such good care of him: His fever's going down & so is his heart rate. He was pretty hot last night & today so the nurse is trying to keep him cool with cool compresses & she even taped a small fan to the corner of his bed. Apparently, he gets hot, agitated, & that's when he starts pulling at things. He did it with me today with some tubes & just like the neck brace incident you have to talk him out of pulling things--he's still that physically strong!

Myra brought some more (yes, more--you people have no idea what Keeter Christmas is like) decorations to his room--ornaments for his tree, pictures of Rocco in a Santa hat, window decals, & a nativity scene along with some small goodies she did to share in thanks with ICU staff & other families spending the holidays in the hospital. So, some of this Christmas stuff may annoy Brian but the staff sure like it!

Traditional Christmas Eve dinner was a bit nontraditional. Brian's good friend kindly gave us access to her place which is minutes from the hospital so we had a leisurely meal of Harris Teeter bbq, mac & cheese, potatoes, & asparagus (slim pickings 30 minutes before closing) between the evening & night visiting hours. You know what? It wasn't that bad either. Her neighbor even brought us just baked cookies when she found out we were there--& she doesn't even know us!

What this Christmas Eve did was take away all that great but superfluous stuff & really make the meaning hit home. Christmas for us this year is being thankful for a Savior, who has graciously spared my brother to allow us to be together another year as a family, & the outpouring of love, support, prayers, gifts, & the numerous other blessings from you all.

I subscribe to this great, short daily devotional that really touched me today on the Eve of Christmas & I wanted to share...The Steadfast Faith of Joseph & Mary

If a kind & loving God can ask so much of the parents of Our Savior, we can all keep praying & trusting in God to take care of Brian's needs too...