Update On Stephen " A Letter From Donna"

Dear Friends;

No, I’m O.K.", were the first words that I have heard from Steve since the accident five weeks ago. It was raspy and quiet but it sounded wonderful. I was so surprised to hear him speak that I actually said, “Pardon?” Then Steve talked to his brothers on the phone and then our children. Here, again, is another testament to the power of prayer. I asked you to specifically pray for his speech and only days later he is talking. God is so good to me. He was fed up with the tube in his nose so once again he pulled it out. The medical team does not want to put it back in and would rather put a direct line through to his stomach from his side (called a peg) but I would really like to avoid that as I feel that he is quite capable of eating food. He had a swallowing test yesterday which he failed because the speech pathologist felt he wasn’t cognitive enough. We asked for a reassessment in the afternoon and my mom told Steve that if he didn’t do what they asked he would never get out of the hospital. He obeyed every command and passed with flying colours. He has had pudding, apple sauce and some thick juices. Now I have to convince the dietitian that I can puree anything they want and feed it to him to try to get enough calories into him and avoid the peg.Steve is becoming quite steady on his feet and needs less and less assistance to move around. We seem to have found some medicine to help him sleep better at night which I think is helping him function better during the day. My hope now is that the medical team will see that he has reached a level that is high enough to submit an application to the rehab hospital. The sooner to rehab, the sooner he is home and my ultimate goal is to get him home, of course!I spoke with his doctor yesterday about his specific injuries. I have been concerned with his vision as he seems to be grabbing for things but is about 4 inches off of the mark. The doctor said that the hemorrhaging at the back of the brain has caused vision field loss and that is permanent. So, if you could pray for that and prove him wrong that would be wonderful!What a great network of friends and family we are so blessed with. Your prayers, food, time given and donations cause me to be in awe at times. I tell Steve all the things you each are doing and talk about the big party we want to have to thank you all.

Thank you so much.”There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1In

His grace,Donna Langman