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Suzanne's Status as
of 3PM 12/25/2002
We read and sang to her, she puckered her mouth and moved her arms.
They will do back X-rays next so that they can sit her up. I read
some Colossians to her. 1:17 says 'in Him all things are held together',
I told her that 'all things' includes her very atoms, He holds her
together, in his hands. Scientists try to figure out what keeps an
atom together (I don't think it is what they call 'weak nuclear force'),
he has already told us; in Him all things are held together. He is
ministering to her spirit and soul as she rests. We had prayed that
He would minimize her suffering during the painful recovery, so we
are hoping that she will just wake up 'in His time.' My brother David
was talking about the song where Jesus wasn't late to see Lazarus
when he had been dead for 3 days, he was right on time. We are keeping
positive knowing that He can wake her up, in His time. Matthew
6:34
I really wanted to bring something like a teddy bear to LaShay, they
moved her upstairs to the 5th floor. Jim Pendleton was nice enough
to bring presents for me to give her from ChristEvan. She cried when
we walked in and wished her a Merry Christmas. We were her first visitors
at 3PM, Jonathan who works for us is trying to get a ride to see her.
The PJ's were her favorite color.
Suzanne's Status as of 11:15PM 12/25/2002
The encouragement we received tonight was so refreshing. He really
used Lisa to encourage us. She and Misty are taking care of Suzanne
tonight; she answered all of our questions and explained everything
to us in great detail. Michelle one of the earlier nurses stopped
by just to say hi to us, we really needed that, she is way encouraging,
Michelle has the best attitude. Suzanne is making more friends as
usual.
Vitals, respiratory and ICP's, are all fine. She wouldn't stay still
during X-Ray's, she got a little pain medicine. She's moving to pain,
moving her extremities on her own. Everything in her abdomen is fine!
The feeding issues are due to the stomach taking a long time to wake
up and make some acid. They are moving the feeding / J-Tube lower
to her bowels to take care of that. They are taking out her heart
monitor tube as she is doing so well. We like to see her rest. I'm
confident that He is ministering to her and communicating in ways
that we don't imagine.
This is normally a very, very slow process. But it looks like she
is in the turn now. She made it past the golden grace period - 12-24
hours. And now it looks like she is making it past the next one, past
the 5 day period.
When Ray & Beth were singing to Suzanne, she whispered ever so
softly 'shhh'.
(o.k., I'm just kidding) but she did squeeze Beth's hand very strongly
and her heart rate increased. The nurse commented on Suz's response.
We were sure that Suz wanted Beth to know that she was listening.
We are so encouraged by tonight's visit, but there is still such a
long way to go and many more hurdles and curves ahead. So continue
to 'pray without ceasing' I'm sure that he wants us to meditate on
his word, Luke 18:1 is a good place to start.
Suzanne's Status as of 10:15 AM 12/26/2002
Suzanne's color looked really good. She had a good night, her temp
is down. The Ortho doctors are getting the X-Rays to review, so there
are no answers yet about the body X-Rays. Hopefully we'll know something
at the next visit. Pennie is back today taking good care of Suzanne.
She has been turned and seems to tolerate it, seems comfortable. Pennie
got her awake, had Suz moving her hands and toes by command. (Answer
to prayer, please keep lifting her up) They took the drain tube out
and the swan tube is going to just be repositioned. Feeding tube is
in and she is not rejecting it! She is being weaned off of the respirator,
so she is breathing some on her own. Her ICP pressure is up a little
but still in the normal range.
During our morning songs, she opened her eyes and looked at Jeff.
Even though her mouth did not move, she wanted to say something. She
also looked at Ray & Beth and squeezed Beth's hand.
Suz's eyelids and feet have much more activity this morning. I can
only rest assured in Christ that she will awake to us shortly. For
like Steve's new song that he wrote about Suzanne, 'she is sleeping
in the arms of angels.' As Jeff read the Word of God to her (Rev 21
& Col 1), I could see her open her eyes again and look right at
him. I thought to myself, wow what an awesome God, and just then Jeff
began to sing 'Our God is an awesome God.' chills went all through
me.
David Presley
Suzanne's Status as of 2PM 12/26/2002
Haven't heard about the X-Rays yet but they cleared her spine to sit
her up a bit. Her ICP was down to 3!! No pain medicine since 3 or
4 AM, want to see if she will wake up. Good heart rate, took many
of the monitors off b/c she is doing so well.
Steve Wiggins wrote a song for her, it expresses my thoughts, fears
and pain.
V1) Tonight you sleep in the arms of an Angel,
On a cloud of prayer sent up by the saints below.
CH)There is no pain where you are Beyond the shining stars. Can you
hear me now'
Will heaven send you back to me,
Or will the next time that we meet
be when you awaken me from the arms of an angel'
V2)My heart goes out to the soul who is hopeless.
(But) You have your faith in God's promise of life.
CH)
BR) I can't deny the hurt inside
& why'd it have to be you?
And yet I pray, "God have your way."
Maybe heaven needs you
The way I have come to need you,
The way your love embraces me...like the arms of an angel.
Suzanne's Status as of 11:40 PM 12/26/2002
X-Rays were clear on her spine, no back injuries!!
No back brace, no broken bones, or for now any major breaks. Could
be possible for hairline fractures, can't tell until swelling goes
down. If there are 206 bones in a body, then we have witnessed at
least 206 miracles today.
Even though she is still running fever, all her cultures have come
back negative for infections! They are amazed. She was still sitting
up; it is good for lungs, head, circulation and the rest of her body.
The respirator is giving her 6 breath and she is taking 12 on her
own, per minute. We played Charlie and Marci's song from 2 Chronicles
and then Steve's (AMAZING) new song that brought me to tears; I had
to leave the room.
Suzanne is still in her deep healing sleep, we anxiously await her
full awakening. (We didn't mean to give the impression that Suzanne
is awake yet) Although she briefly opened her eye this morning, and
hasn't since. Lisa said that mornings are when patients are most alert.
So we are excited to see what happens tomorrow. 'I can only imagine'
the question marks in the doctors heads because of His healing touch.
David Presley
1:30 PM - Our pastor Taylor Park sent this poem by Russell Kelfer:
No, that trauma you faced was not easy
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into His likeness you'd grow."
When I start to fall asleep, I imagine her waking. I hope that is
what we will find her doing soon, but His timing is always perfect.
Suzanne's Status as of 10:30 AM 12/27/2002 - (from her parents)
God is so good!! We just want to praise Him! As He continues to heal
our daughter Suzanne, we are truly thankful for each milestone we
complete. Our prayer is that God continues to do His work in her.
She has been such a testimony and such a servant for the Lord that
we praise Him for her. She is such a delight to the Lord and we as
parents are so pleased to see that her life is such a lighthouse!
(This is very evident in the many e-mails and phone calls from so
many family and friends from all over the world.)
Last night was an eventful night for Suz. That word eventful is not
a good one when in a hospital situation. The pressure around her brain
began to go up dangerously high again so she was taken to get another
CT. The fluid was building up around the brain so they put in a lumbar
drain again. This released the pressure and she is doing well once
more. Since she so seldom takes anything like antibiotics or prescriptions,
not even aspirin, they don't have to give her much Morphine to knock
her out so they could do the drain procedure on her spinal column.
There was no "recognition" on her part when we visited her this morning
at 9:00 am as she was sleeping so deeply.
She had a fever last night when we visited and this morning her fever
was gone. PTL! Jeff left a CD player and a couple of CD's of some
really neat Christian music that she is familiar with. We're sure
she can hear it at some point and be soothed by the music. Suzanne
has responded to our voices and the music we sing and that is such
a joy! Ray and I sometimes have a hard time singing as we are trying
to fight back tears of shear joy and a very choked up throat!
The orthopedic surgeon stopped by today for the first time and told
us the results of the x-rays. We had been told that "No news is good
news" and that if she had any broken bones they would have instructed
them concerning treatment. Therefore, we had been assuming there were
NO broken bones. The surgeon informed us her pelvis was fractured,
BUT SHE DID NOT NEED SURGERY! Praise the Lord!! Thank you for your
continued prayers.
Suzanne's Status as of 2:30 PM 12/27/2002 - (from her parents)
We were encouraged by our afternoon visit as she was more "awake"
since the morphine was wearing off. She responded to our singing "Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name. Master, Savior,
Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Let
all heaven and earth proclaim. Kings and Kingdoms will all pass away,
but there's something about that Name!!" She began with a tear in
the right eye and then she started coughing - almost like she had
wanted to sing with us and was unable to. Her respirator is set for
four breaths a minute and she is doing 18 to 20, which is really good.
Again, we can only praise the Lord for his continued healing of Suz.
Singing songs of encouragement and hymns, choruses and children's
songs from when our girls were still at home are helping keep the
name of Jesus in front of her as a source of comfort. God is doing
a great work in her and we are so excited to see what he has planned
for her life further down the road! As a parent, it is very difficult
to watch your "baby" go through such a hard struggle, but knowing
we can trust God for the outcome is such a comfort and source of strength.
Thank you Lord, for all your mercy and graciousness. Thank you everyone
for your continued Prayers.
Psalm 30:2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed
me. Vs. 12b - Oh Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
Ray & Beth Johnson
Suzanne's Status as of 10:45 PM 12/27/2002
Put your seatbelts on for this one and grab a chair. It has been 7
days and as David's favorite song about Jesus being late to visit
Lazarus: 'He's not late, He's right on time' :)
When we went in tonight Samantha said that Suz is OFF of the ventilator.
She is squeezing her right hand when Beth was holding it! She is the
most attentive that we have seen her. We found out tonight that the
staff enjoys hearing us (well at least Ray & Beth) sing. And on
Christmas, night, they all came down to our end of the ICU so that
they could hear. It was difficult to watch her cough in pain,
and get the mucus suctioned, it hurts her so much. Pray that her pain
would be softened. And don't stop praying for her head injuries and
the healing of her brain.
We were ecstatic tonight, beside ourselves. Singing and praying and
speaking encouragement to her. Telling her stories and playing songs
to her was so uplifting. I missed her so much it hurts. But now, it
appears that she is waking up and has more work to do here, as our
good friend and hair sculptor, Misty Howell said. (Go visit Misty
at Goulds, she cuts a mean head of hair, you'll look like you got
in a fight with a weed-eater <- I had to fit in one of my typical
corny jokes here :)
After we left, David said "this is amazing, but why am I surprised'
God's healing presence is in this room."
Then the nurse called and said that she was following intermitted
commands and asked her to give a thumbs up on the right hand and she
did it!!!!! She had prayed before entering her room just after we
left, 'Lord, if it's your will, then give a sign.' I called her back
to make sure I had it straight and she said that Suz is still doing
it.
Thousands are praising
the King right now, for demonstrating once again that he is the King
over all things. Matthew shows us His power as King. King over disease
(Chapter 8), nature, Satan, sin, (9:1-17), death (9:18-26), darkness
(9:27-31), demons (9:32-38), etc.
Stop and ask yourself, could this be a 'power encounter.' Could it
be that He chose to demonstrate this same power today' If your answer
is yes, then the obvious next question is... what is an appropriate
response?
Fall on our face and worship Him?
That is my inclination.
I have to admit that I believed that He split the calendar in half
and fulfilled over 300 prophecies and that He did these miracles 2000
years ago, but I'm dumbfounded that He is actually doing this tonight
in her life. "Oh, Ye of little faith" He is building my faith from
ground zero. He is so much bigger than we realize. The naturalistic
worldview says miracles can't exist. We have seen so many during the
past week. We'll recount a few dozen of them before this is all over.
He is worthy of our worship, no matter what the outcome - even if
it doesn't work out as we would like.
Jeff Presley
Suzanne's Status as of 11:50 PM 12/27/2002 (from her parents)
We have a surprise for you tonight, said the nurse with anticipation.
We walked into Suzanne's room and assessed the situation and when
we looked at her breathing tube, it hit us. Suz was off the respirator!!!
Praise the Lord!!! What a wonderful answer to prayer and God's timing
was sooner than we thought.
We of so little faith need to realize that God is an Awesome God;
He reigns from heaven and earth! Here we're praying for her healing
to take place and confound the doctors and nurses by her progress,
but WE weren't ready! Forgive us, Lord. We don't doubt your faithfulness
and answering our prayers.
The nurse said they shut the ventilator off for three hours this evening
to see if she could breathe on her own since she was doing so well
with breathing over the ventilator. She passed that test and they
now have one tube going to her trachea and she's doing all the work
breathing on her own. Our immediate song was "Count Your Blessings!"
He has blessed us so much and we keep telling Suz how much we are
blessed by her.
Ray & I left TICU and overheard a police officer asking on the
TICU phone about Suzanne. Ray and I stopped to make sure the officer
was checking on our Suzanne and when it was affirmed, we told the
officer that we were her parents. Of course, we wanted to shout the
news to anyone that would listen and she was most willing to listen.
(Jeff said that Officer Taylor was on the original scene and said
that they had to cut her out from the driver side, she was under all
of that, and it was a miracle that she even lived.) She has been checking
on Suz every day and was so excited that she is doing well. Jeff has
been calling her every day or so to keep her posted. She has been
so outstanding that she should receive a commendation from the Memphis
police department!
Not only did God allow her ventilator to be turned off and she can
breathe on her own, but she seemed to know on some level that we were
tonight. She opened her eyes part way again and she had tears when
she heard us. She squeezed Jeff's hand with her left hand. The only
time we know she squeezed her right hand was the first night we arrived
right from the airport. Well, it did Beth's heart good for her to
squeeze her hand with her right hand and when we gave her commands,
SHE FOLLOWED THEM! Talk about excited!! We asked her to lift one finger
and she did the one we asked her to. We asked her to let go of our
hand and she did. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Suz was very aware of our presence tonight and for this we are praising
the Lord. Thank you again for your many prayers.
Psalm 9:11 'Sing praises to the Lord which dwelleth in Zion: declare
among the people His doings.'
Ray & Beth Johnson
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