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April Update

  It's been awhile since I've posted.  Justin's situation is hard to write about, but I know there are people who want to know what's going on with Justin, my son.  In truth, he is getting sicker and weaker.  For awhile,he made great progress, talking, eating, and getting back into his power wheelchair.   Then he started getting weaker.  His left lung became covered with secretions, and he needed surgery to scrape things out. Then a CT scan revealed more new spine fractures (total of 7).  After that, he just hasn't been able to get over the hump.  This week, Justin decided to discontinue the weaning from the ventilator.  He is on full breath support and can no longer use the voice valve to talk without dangerous oxygen drops.  Pain medication has been significantly increased to help him deal with the pain. It's a tough thing for a 23-year-old to confront one's mortality.  We will continue this journey with Justin to the end to the best of our abilities.  We

Catch-Up

For the last several months, I haven't been posting in real-time. 


The first reason for that is security.  I've blogged before about one of my neighbors who had some trouble with the law.  As far as I can tell, he is on some kind of work-release program and not allowed to drive.  I don't think he is living in the house, but I'm not completely sure.   When we were in Texas, another neighbor called to let me know that the outlaw's adult sons were parked in my front yard for a couple of days and had walked up to their Dad's house. 

Nothing was stolen or damaged, but it did give me pause to question whether or not I should be "live blogging" my whereabouts/plans when no one is at home.  

The second reason is that our family has been going through some tough times, and I haven't felt like writing during those times. I've mentioned that Gene, Julia's dad, has really struggled for the past couple of years post-stroke.  After a number of weeks in hospice, Gene passed away on April 1st.  We were advised that it would probably happen before that, but my brother-in-law Scott predicted that his Dad would hold out for April Fool's Day, and he was right.  

Justin made it through the semester and is now fully vaccinated. There were some hiccups along the way.  One of Justin's caregivers had to leave suddenly when his father died from Covid.  There wasn't enough back-up to make things work so Justin ended up unexpectedly at home for awhile.  At least, we weren't in Texas when that happened. 

We have been sneaking in trips when we can, including a two week Scamp adventure to southern Illinois and Iowa, which I will be blogging about in future weeks.  The summer is up in the air, but we hope that more trips will be possible from time to time.  

Justin will be home for a couple of weeks and then is heading back for summer school to try to catch up a little after a reduced-credit semester.  He turns 21 this week, and there may be a masked, socially-distanced, limited shindig of some kind.  Justin doesn't really like alcohol, and overindulgence is a really bad idea for someone dependent upon a power wheelchair,  but he said he would like to try a very spicy Bloody Mary. 


Comments

greg said…
I agree whole-heartedly with not blogging real-time, especially when away from home!

Sounds like Justin is sticking with his scooling despite the challenges. Strong kid!
John said…
Well, I kind of picked up the idea from your blog. :)

Justin is continuing to hang in there, despite the challenges. He really enjoys college life, which is a good thing because he will be there a few more years at the rate he is going.
Bill said…
Speaking of Iowa... I noticed that Toppling Goliath Brewing in Decorah has some of the highest rated beers (https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/top-rated/). It's a 400 mile drive for me, however might be worth it. Would want to call ahead to see what beers are on tap though.
John said…
That is an excellent idea, and only 140 miles away for me. I believe a trip to Toppling Goliath will be in my relatively near future.

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