05.22.09
Posted in Updates on Sean at 11:25 pm by kleung
Terri titles this evening’s post "More of the Same" but in reading it, that’s hardly the truth. See for yourself!
More of the same
Posted at 10:30pm PT
That’s what today was, more of the same. That is finally a wonderful thing to say. Sean just cruised through the day. For the most part he slept but in his brief periods of alertness he was very animated. There were a few times that he mouthed words. He mouthed yes to his nurse a couple of different times in answer to questions. He is not consistent but this is pretty exciting stuff!
It’s amazing how quickly life turns and changes, sometimes slowly over months or years. Sometimes quickly, in a moment with a phone call late at night that sets your world spinning off its axis. And sometimes gradually over a day or a week, you realize that subtly things have been altered and if you take just a moment to reflect you can see that everything looks and feels a little bit better. That, I believe, is why Jesus told us to live in the moment, in the day. To not worry about tomorrow, but to have faith that God will see us through this day. We can’t change yesterday and we have no idea what tomorrow will bring. We can plan, we can "do everything right".
But you know what, no matter how hard we try to control the outcome of our lives, sometimes things happens that we couldn’t have foreseen and we couldn’t have safeguarded ourselves against it. I’m not advocating a fly by the seat of your pants, **** the consequences lifestyle. We all have to live somewhat responsibly and make plans for our future well being and the well being of others, but, we can do that and still live in the day. We can wake up in the morning and thank God for the upcoming day and say " Your will, not mine Lord". We can look at the day ahead and have faith that God will help us to conquer our battles or to identify and appreciate small blessings.
You know why I’m thinking about all of this? It’s because I have been thinking about how carefully we protected our children when they were small. When Sean was in grade school we wouldn’t let him ride his bike to the store with his friends because we were afraid that he would get hurt. We did everything humanly possible to keep our kids safe. When Sean was in high school and after he was out he became an extreme sports guy. He loved snow boarding fast and cliff diving and rock climbing. He was an adrenaline junky and he scared us to death. The last couple of years haven’t been the easiest for Sean and for the most part he has lost his zest for that kind of thrill and I have found myself being thankful that he had all of those experiences because he will always have them to look back on and enjoy those memories.
Now this accident happened and it was just that, an accident. Nothing we could have foreseen or safeguarded against. A horrible tragic accident. I am rambling just to say that for now, at this time in my life, I get it. I get that God gives us today with all of it’s grief and glory. All of it’s challenges and blessings. And we get the choice, the freewill to trust God and live fully in this day or to regret yesterday and fret tomorrow.
Today, this day I am trusting God and if there is a tomorrow then He will see me through that as well.
Goodnight beautiful people, thank you for loving our boy and trusting God with his well being.
Love,
Terri, Vince, Sean & Kiersten
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Posted in Updates on Sean at 1:09 pm by kleung
All is well
Posted at approximately 12:30 pm PT
I’m sitting by Sean’s bedside and all is well. His BP and heart rate are good. He has opened his eyes a little bit here and there. He’s still pretty sleepy but more awake then I have seen him in a few days.
Skip forward. I started this a couple hours ago. Now I’m in the waiting room. Sean has a few little things going on today but for the most part he should have a relatively peaceful day. When I came out here he was getting blood, which reminds me, I really want to encourage everyone to donate blood. Sean has had several bags o blood over the last few weeks and we are very grateful to everyone who donates. I wont try to make this an assignment, but how about a strong encouragement.
A little while ago some friends came in and I had such a nice visit. Yesterday we got to visit with a few people here and at home. We are hard to find now because we are usually in with Sean, but when you can find us we still enjoy your company. The best thing to do is text us and we will let you know if we’re around. We don’t always get them when we’re in with Sean but we check when we come out.
Last night Vince and I were able to meet with a couple that has been through a similar experience and it was so wonderful to talk to people who fully understand this. It was great to get their advice and just to see that they survived it.
I have to end now because I’m antsy to get in and see Sean. Have a great day and keep on praying because God is great and He is present.
Love,
Terri, Vince , Sean & Kiersten
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05.21.09
Posted in Updates on Sean at 11:45 pm by kleung
Posted at 11:20pm PT
I was just about to post an update and the computer ate it. I’m
sorry but I’m to tired to retype the whole thing. I will find time
tomorrow to write a proper update. Sean is well, when we left the
hospital he was mimi. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see
his face. Thanks for your prayers. God is working miracles in that
room.
Love you mucho,
Sean and family
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Posted in Updates on Sean at 11:58 am by kleung
Posted at 11:12am PT
Sean’s surgeries went well. That’s all we know. We haven’t been
able to see him yet. I will update more after we see him. Thanks
God!
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Posted in Updates on Sean at 9:28 am by kleung
surgery continued
Posted at 9:20 am PT
Sean is in surgery again this morning (actually they are doing them in his room). He had an okay night. His heart rate and BP were very high coming out of surgery and it has been a battle to try to get them down ever since. They think that pain that is the root cause. Please pray for successful surgery and a lowered heart rate and BP. When we visited last night and this morning Sean was knocked out so we are really looking forward to all of this being done so we can see him awake again. We are also looking forward to seeing his face without all of the tubes and tape in and on his mouth.
I will update more later. For now know that God is listening so don’t quit talking to Him.
Love,
Sean and family
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05.20.09
Posted in Updates on Sean at 1:16 pm by kleung
Posted at 1:15pm PT
Sean just got out of surgery and everything went great! He is
doing post-op in his ICU room so we will get to see him in an hour.
Unfortunately they couldn’t coordinate his tracheotomy and feeding
tube today so he will have them done tomorrow morning. Let’s be
thankful for one good day at a time. Thanks God! I will try to
update more later but if things get busy remember no news is good
news and I will update tomorrow.
Love ya,
Sean and family
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05.19.09
Posted in Updates on Sean at 8:34 pm by kleung
Surgery tomorrow
Posted at 8:15pm PT
Sean will be having surgery tomorrow morning at 7. They are going to repair his humorous, elbow and tibia. The surgery will last approximately 4 1/2 hours. Sometime after he returns to his room they will put the feeding tube in his belly and do the tracheotomy. Those will probably happen in the afternoon.
We are excited and nervous. Excited that Sean is moving forward in his recovery and nervous because Sean is having surgery tomorrow. It is a relief to have confidence in the hospital staff and many doctors and nurses that will be caring for him tomorrow. We have been so impressed and thankful for the amazing people that work at [the hospital]. And of course above and beyond all else God has seen Sean thus far and He will see him through tomorrow.
Sean had a good day today. He slept most of the day. I think he was resting up for tomorrow. Before Kiersten and I left the hospital at 7 he was wide awake. I told him that he should get some rest before his Dad came back at 8. I told him to imagine himself sitting at the cliff at the disk golf course. I said to picture himself there at sunset on a warm summers evening with a nice cool breeze and he is alone and at peace. I said imagine you have a nice cool beer, probably an IPA and you are relaxed as you watch the birds soar on the breeze below. The story continued on in that vain as he drifted off to sleep. When we left he was sleeping peacefully. It is such an amazing feeling for a mother to be able to comfort her child, even when he is a man. What a special gift I received tonight. Thanks God.
So tomorrow as always please pray for Sean.
Thank you
Love,
Terri, Vince, Sean & Kiersten
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Posted in Updates on Sean at 7:46 pm by kleung
In case you’re new to the situation, a fellow firefighter’s young adult son was struck by a car and seriously injured late Monday, April 28th, night. He was transported to the trauma center, his injuries so severe the responding firefighters didn’t even recognize him, where it was determined he had severe head and brain injuries as well as multiple broken bones. Further examination showed that the brain swelling was so severe the planned surgery couldn’t occur and instead, he was put into an induced coma. It was a roller coaster of a ride for everyone, especially Sean’s family, Terri, Vince and sister, Kiersten.
Through a combination of positive thinking, prayers and good – no, great – medicine, Sean is starting to stabilize. They are not out of the woods, his prognosis is unknown and rehabilitation will be months in the making. What has kept this family together has been their faith in God and the outreaching of people both known and unknown, from across God’s earth. As updates are given by Sean’s family, they will be posted here (posts prior to today can be found here: http://ejourn.net/journal/archives/category/updates-on-sean). Several of you have requested an email update when the blog is updated. If you wish to be added to the email updates, please leave a comment asking to be added to the update email list with a working email address (it never gets published nor sold, traded, posted in bathrooms…) and you should receive a confirmation which you’ll need to follow the instructions before you start receiving updates.
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