Wednesday, July 2nd

Morning update: Great news this morning… Dave is awake! He can’t talk yet, but he answered several questions by nodding yes or no. His eyes are open and he was able to squeeze his hands. It doesn’t take long for him to get tired, but it is very exciting to be able to communicate with him. Please thank God for the progress Dave is making. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate all of your prayers and support; it has been a tremendous encouragement to us. Please continue to pray that the swelling in and around the pancreas will go down. Dave is still running a low grade fever, but his heart rate and blood pressure are looking better. He is on dialysis now, we hope that as his pancreas relaxes his kidneys will resume function as well, please pray for that. Finally, the resident doctors made their rotation this week, so many of the doctors on the floor are new (to the ICU). Please pray that they will be able to quickly familiarize themselves with Dave’s condition and make the best decisions for Dave’s continued recovery. Thank you again for the concern and love you have shown to our family.

Evening update: Dave's white blood count is 24,700! Praise God. Thank you for all your prayers. The doctors and nurses were very pleasantly surprised by the test results! Dave remained stable and conscious throughout the day. However, he experienced an extreme amount of pain and was very uncomfortable. Please pray that he will be able to get some rest tonight and relief from pain. The doctors were able to remove his ventalator and Dave is now breathing on his own!!!!!! Although the nurses discourage it, Dave is able to talk to us in brief sentences. The power of prayer is amazing! We serve an awesome God!