Friday, February 27

Hope everyone has had a good day. We had a good day in the Burn ICU. When we went in for the 6:00 a.m. visit, Clay really wanted to open his eyes. He tried several times and I explained to him he was not ready to open them yet and that it would not be long before he could. The night nurse for Clay and another of his nurses said that he talked to them last night. They had to turn him on his side to change his dressing. The nurse said, "Clay, we are going to turn you on your side to change your bandages". They were surprised when he responded with a forceful "No!" through his trachea tube. She then told him that they had to turn him on his other side. He responded once again with "No". She told us that he knows exactly what he wants. Mom has been at home with the other boys (they haven't been feeling well - stress probably has a lot to do with this too). Clay was breathing on his own today. When Mom arrived this afternoon, she sang some hymns to him. This relaxed him so much, that the respiratory therapist had to come in 4 times to make sure he was getting the proper amount of oxygen. After the 4th time, Mom decided that she should let him concentrate on his breathing. The nurse explained to us that after two weeks on the machine he had started to rely on it and he would have to recondition his little lungs to start the breathing process again. We rubbed his left hand each visit and told him how much progress he had made. We feel like all of the prayers have done wonders in the healing process, please continue. We had several folks visit today and all were appreciated. Thank you to everyone, we have been overwhelmed by the support and generosity. Also, a special thanks to Grandma Joy for taking care of the boys & us while we rotate back and forth.