Thanks Brad for the update.  Isn't God Awesome?
Vinny
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "B Dunse" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2006 3:59 PM
Subject: Andy Update Friday


>I got in to see Andy today. When I got there he was sleeping. It was 
>getting close to noon and I figured he'd be eating lunch soon so we stuck 
>around. After a little commotion from the bed next door, Andy woke up. He 
>was moved to intermediate care instead of right in the ICU department. When 
>he woke up he sat up and I started to talk to him and etc. He gets on this 
>spitting thing and was doing that. I don't know why he gets on that but he 
>begins to spit, or tries to. I asked him some questions and he mumbled 
>something, I asked him to speak up cause I couldn't hear him, so he said 
>the same mumble louder, I never did figure out what he was trying to say. 
>Then the rehab nurses came in to take him for a walk. My daughter got to 
>wheel the IV stand and the two nurses walked on each side and I  walked 
>along side or behind them and talked with the nurses. I found out that he 
>is walking very good. A slight issue with balance at times but he was 
>trucking along at a pretty good clip, a normal slow walk.  The nurses, just 
>shortly being assigned to him asked me if there was anything more they 
>needed to know about Andy, that is with reference to topics of general 
>conversation so they can begin to talk with him. I said he had a son 
>Bradon. They said "Oh that's what he was writing, we wondered, he wrote out 
>Bradon's name on paper". I thought that was awesome. As we were walking 
>down the hall they asked him where he lived and he said Marinette, which 
>really isn't true, he lives in Peshtigo, but had lived in Marinette most of 
>his life though. He mumbled something about  probably needing a smoke a 
>couple of times. Between his walk and lunch I had asked him again if he 
>remembered who I was, I had asked him when I first got there and he didn't 
>really reply, just that mumbling. This time I asked him and he didn't say 
>anything again, then I asked him again more persistently and he said "Brad 
>Dunse" right out clear as day. That was moving for me. I asked him if he 
>was anxious to get out of this place and do some fishing. He said he went 
>fishing Monday and that's where all the pictures came from. He has some 
>pictures in his room of him holding some fish. Then he got on a repeating 
>thing which his mom said he will do. He kept saying over and over "Went 
>fishing Monday, went fishing Monday, went fishing Monday" and  what seemed 
>sort of encouraging to me was he was saying each phrase as though  he was 
>saying something else, he was using a different intonation in his voice. 
>Like he was trying to say something else but the fishing thing kept coming 
>out. And he would wriggle his legs sort of fidgeting like a boy. So I asked 
>him what kind of fish did he get and he told me Walleye. Then he went on 
>with the fishing on Monday thing and then I asked him where did he go 
>fishing and he told me Hattie Street Bridge, which is  where folks do go 
>Walleye fishing in Marinette. One time, before his walk he said something 
>about his cousin, my daughter. I think he was asking if his cousin was 
>going too on the walk. Because they asked my daughter to hold the IV stand 
>and walk with it ahead for them. He asked about her again and then chuckled 
>a bit. One sort of funny thing happened. I asked him if he'd been watching 
>any fishing shows on TV or if they had any good fishing shows on TV. He 
>replied "55 should be alright". Of course I dismissed it as more jibberish. 
>But later when talking with a  guy in town here, he said that channel 55 is 
>the outdoor channel here. So I guess I was the one off the mark. Andy 
>doesn't talk much but answers you. He doesn't initiate conversation, but he 
>seems to understand things at times. If you ask him persistently or firmly 
>louder he answers you.  The nurses came in and said we're your favorite 
>nurses, and he chuckled at that. He also had asked if the "other girl was 
>coming", he was referring to another day nurse who had been there. At one 
>point I mentioned his son Bradon, he said something that sounded to me like 
>"my son is helping me", I asked him to repeat it and he repeated the same 
>thing. I think from his comments, which there was another mumble he did 
>that I thought referred to his son, plus his writing his son's name, I 
>think he is very much fighting out of this thing for his son's sake, using 
>his son as incentive to get out of the dazing state he is in. I talked to 
>him asking him stuff like. "did grandma and grandpa come see you" and he 
>said "I don't think so". They did but he was sleeping at the time and I 
>told him so. I was extremely pleased at his progress. He fed himself some 
>today, said "yuck" when he ate some of the hospital food, told the nurse "I 
>can't " when she wanted him to eat more. He can speak very clear, even 
>cussed once which came out clear haha. I don't mean to make light of that 
>but we'll work on that later, now just getting him back to dialoging 
>normally is the goal.  He's done some muddling too but I think could be 
>just his pain meds and perhaps because he has of course had major head 
>trauma and is a bit internal in his thoughts and communications. After 
>lunch  the patient next bed over was coming back from a test and so they 
>asked us to leave. I went to Andy and told him that we had to go but we'd 
>stop by before we left town, he didn't say anything, so I told him again, 
>and then again, and my daughter said... "Dad he's holding out his hand to 
>shake your hand", I grabbed it firmly and told him I  loved him a couple of 
>times and we'd be back and to take it easy. He didn't say anything but just 
>the fact he held out his hand to shake it meant he was cognizant and also 
>caring about our relationship. I am really really glad I came. I could have 
>spent the day there no problem just to see him and talk with him. He has 
>got a long way to go, and I pray the repeating phrases ,spitting , and 
>boyish behaviors and stuff goes away. He sometimes will sit up half hunched 
>over looking at his bed and moan a bit or move about a bit but I suppose he 
>is still hurting pretty good. We spent nearly three hours there and maybe 
>an hour or so of that was waiting for him to wake and waiting out the door 
>while his roommate was being attended to. Your prayers are affective and 
>yet coveted, and I plead with God to maintain the miracle he's working in 
>him, and that Andy somehow realize God is healing him and that he turn to 
>him for all he has to offer.
>
> Brad
>
>