Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
Hello,
It has been awhile since I sent an update on
Sean. This time, I thought I would let
him write it himself.
To all
those who have sent cards, letters or emails and to all those who have prayed
and been praying for me, thank you. The
cards, letters and emails have been so encouraging. Your prayers have also not gone unnoticed. I am now home (about a 10 days now) and more
comfortable yet still in pain and very weak.
Recovery has gone quickly, I guess, but to me it seems very slow. I look forward to the time when I am back to 100%
and can resume normal life.
Thank you all again. Your efforts on my behalf mean more than you
will ever know.
Sean Andrews
So that is about it for now. We continue the therapy regimen and give much
thanks to our Father in heaven and our elder brother for their intervention. And, we are thankful to all of you for all
you have done and continue to do. As
Sean said, it means more than you will ever know.
Steve, Liz, Ryan &
Stephanie.
3/25/2005
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Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
It
has been awhile since I have sent an update but there has not been much to
report -- just the slow steady healing process.
Sean has been in acute rehab (better than the not so cute rehab) for
about two weeks. They have been working on getting him mobile, cognitive skills
and personal care of his wounds. Some
psychological counseling will also be involved when energy permits. He has progressed to the point that they are
prepared to release him to come home next Tuesday. So we are preparing this week to bring him
home. Tomorrow we have a field trip to
Starbucks -- Sean's first trip outside the hospital. And, he is officially back
on solid food. He asked for Pizza and
salad -- the salad was a surprise, the pizza, not so much. I say officially because apparently he has
been snacking on some chocolate chip cookies muled in
by a friend -- two per night -- with milk.
It will have been eight weeks that he was in
the hospital -- much shorter than the initial six month projection. And although he his experienced a remarkable
recovery, there is much work to do yet.
He will receive in home rehab for about two weeks and then he will do
out patient rehab for another six to eight weeks. Sean is a physically strong person so he
should, if he follows instructions, continue to regain
his physical strength.
The greater challenge, true for all of us I
suppose, is the spiritual, emotional and mental challenge that lies ahead. Of concern in his case, as it is for most
trauma patients, are the affects of hypoxia.
Hypoxia occurs when the brain does not receive sufficient oxygen. This is certainly a possibility when the body
goes into cardiac arrest. Sean went into
cardiac arrest 3 times during this ordeal -- the last time he was flat lined
for somewhere between 8 and 10 minutes.
He was receiving oxygen but his heart was not pumping blood. Sometimes it is clear that hypoxia has
occurred and at other times it is not so obvious. It is not so obvious with Sean that hypoxia
is a problem -- however, the extent to which it may be will be known in time as
he approaches a more full recovery. So
we will pray that if there is any latent damage from oxygen deprivation to the
brain, that our Father will correct that just as He has corrected so many other
things.
Also, we continue to ask for spiritual and
emotional rejuvenation for Sean. So much
in life depends on that kind of daily rejuvenation. Thank you for your help in that effort. The constant vigil which has been maintained
on Sean's behalf by so many from all over the world (literally) has been a
tremendous source of spiritual and emotional energy -- and not just for Sean
but for us as well -- thank you to all who have worked so tirelessly for our
benefit.
Thank you again,
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
3/9/2005
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Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
It has been a little while since I have
posted an update on Sean. One week ago
tomorrow they moved Sean from ICU to a regular hospital room since he was
stable and really needed less attention in order to get needed rest. ICU has a protocol which is quite disruptive
to sleep. On Sunday, Sean took a walk on
the patio. It was the first time he has
been outdoors in more than 5 weeks. Then,
yesterday they moved Sean into acute rehab.
That means that he is off the IV and is functioning without all the medical
gizmos.
Today the fun begins. Sean starts what he calls his workouts. Liz and I will take a tour of the facility
this afternoon to see how we can contribute to this phase of the healing. Sean has been looking forward to getting into
rehab and seems to be anxious to get into the program that they have for
him. The good news here is that he will
be busy. He won't have time to lay around in bed all day.
He will also get tired physically which will help his sleep and his
attitude in general.
Sean has been pent up, prodded and poked at
for a long time. It has all been
necessary and it has all been for him.
But you know how it goes - we are not always grateful for what we
receive even when given in our best interest -- especially in circumstances such
as his. His attitude has been fraying in
this department and a little boost in the gratitude department on his part will
certainly lubricate this phase of recovery.
So we are asking our Father to intervene in this area and give him the
boost he needs to see how blessed he is and to give him the patience to
continue (as he has so far) to work with the process.
Thanks to everyone for their continued
prayers and support. We are sharing
cards and letters and stories with Sean so that he can know how much support he
has from all over the globe.
Warmest regards,
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
3/1/2005
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Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA (from Larry Jantzen):
Just got off the phone w/ Steve Andrews and
he gave me an update on Sean.
Sean has continued to make remarkable
improvement from the auto accident. He
has now been transferred out of ICU and is in rehab. He still has some problems with the liver but
the severe infection has dissapated, and no new blood
transfusions now have been required for over a week. He still has some jaundice
and the skin is still showing some effects of that condition, besides his eyes
still having some bruised effects.
He is being required to get up and move out
of bed three times a day, so mobility and strength is being regained. He is still on Methadone at night for pain
relief and Dilaudid some during the day. (Kerby and Ellen
will know what that is, as do I unfortunately.)
That is causing some nausea as it is being administered in oral form,
and Steve would like to ask for prayers to have continued emotional and
psychological damages to be minimized besides the ever present infection
potential. Additional testing is on-going.
Sean is also going through the five stages
of loss and has shown some anger at his condition but on balance he is not
showing depression nor great psychological trauma at
this time. He is expected to be in the hospital for approximately another
month, and then is expected to be released to his home. That is when the greatest workload for Steve
and Liz will occur.
Steve said they are holding up well but
extremely tired from the constant emotional ordeal. I would ask us all to keep them in our
prayers as well.
2/24/2005
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Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
It has been a few days since I have updated
everyone on Sean. I have not wanted to
presume too much upon the good graces of those who continue to be so
supportive. More than that, Sean had
reached a stasis and there was not much to report. The body's natural healing processes are
working for Sean. Throughout this
ordeal, God has intervened to regenerate healing where it would not have
otherwise occurred -- miraculous to be sure.
He has also insured that what He created the body to do naturally it is
doing -- this is no less miraculous but it takes time and patience to allow
these processes to work. We tend to want
the instant gratification of something magical -- Sean certainly does after
being in ICU for a month.
Once again, the news is all good. Sean is manifesting an "attitude"
about being stuck in ICU (and the hospital in general). The nurses say this is the surest sign of
recovery and they should know. A group
of nurses were commenting to me this morning (again) how remarkable Sean's
recovery has been and continues to be.
One nurse told me that no one in the ICU expected Sean to live. However, today, they expect to remove the
tubes that have been feeding him -- he is eating and drinking on his own. They also expect to remove other tubes that
were put into place to help manage infection.
And since he has been able to get out of bed and walk a little each day
for the past week or so, they expect to be able to move him to the rehab area
for ongoing therapy.
What the professionals say is most needed at
this juncture is for Sean to be able to reestablish a normal circadian rhythm
-- wake/sleep cycle. The type of care
administered in any ICU ward of any hospital is not conducive to the
maintenance of a healthy sleep cycle.
And sleep at proper times stimulates hormone production that promotes
mental healing and bodily healing. Our
prayer is that Sean's proper sleep cycle can be reestablished without the use
of drugs. This is particularly important
in his case because such drugs are typically hard on the liver.
Thank you all,
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
PS
Sean is reading the many cards and letters that have been sent. Thank you.
2/22/2005
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Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
This will be brief today. Last night when Stephanie and I went to say
good night to Sean the nurse told us that they had discontinued the antibiotics
-- this means that the infection is gone.
The x-ray of his lungs came back clear -- pneumonia gone. The resting heart rate is down below a
hundred (first time since they have stopped managing it with drugs). The white blood cell count continues to move
toward more normal levels.
Most remarkable of all -- he is asking to
see friends and family other than mom and dad.
This was not the case as late as Monday evening and as you know we were
concerned about him going into a depressed state of mind. The change in attitude came late morning
yesterday. Last night he told Stephanie
and I that he would be out of ICU in 2 -7 days and he
said it with conviction.
Thanks to our Father for hearing and
responding to prayer. Thank you all for
your faith and perseverance.
Thank you all for staying with us through
this.
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
2/16/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
It was a somewhat trying weekend. Sean has been fighting a nasty infection that
has spiked his white blood cell count at about 33,000 and sent his body
temperature to as high as 103. His heart
rate and blood pressure has also been very high. At times he has looked too much like a
holocaust victim for our taste. And a
cat scan taken on Saturday showed he had pneumonia. The pneumonia did not show up on the x-ray so
it was something more to keep an eye on than something to worry about. The bed
they have him on moves by rotating and by moving the bed periodically it helps
clear the lungs. They are also giving
him breathing treatments every six hours.
The real challenge at this point is the
infection. This morning things seem to
be moving in the right direction. His
white blood cell count was down to about 28,000, his temperature at about 100
and the heart rate and blood pressure had come down significantly.
Today he will have another cat scan on the
abdominal region so they can determine where to go with the treatment of the
infection. Our prayers, of course, are
focused on asking God to intervene and simply heal the infected areas so that
Sean's body can take some rest from the fight. And we continue to pray for
healing of the liver (and now pneumonia).
Thank you all for staying with us through
this.
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
2/14/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
I have just returned from a brief visit with
Sean. He was sleeping quite
peacefully. Wednesday and Thursday were
somewhat difficult days for him. Most of
the day Wednesday and most of the night Wednesday night Sean was going through
acute drug withdrawal (they have pulled him off of everything except
antibiotics and one pain medication).
This process seems to have run its course but it has left him enervated.
Nonetheless, he managed to get out of bed on Wednesday for a very brief moment.
Yesterday, Sean underwent a procedure
designed to help his body fight the infection that he has had to contend with
as part of the trauma and its treatment.
This involved inserting two tubes into his abdominal area to drain off
pockets of fluid that were breeding grounds for infection. This too, took its
toll on his energy level. On the
positive side, Liz gave him a pedicure of sorts -- don't really know how a 21
year old male feels about exfoliating, but he didn't complain. And, he was able
to sit up in a chair for this special treatment.
The challenge at this point is the healing
of the liver. It was seriously lacerated
in the accident, has had to process an enormous amount of blood products foreign
to it and metabolize some very harsh drugs all while trying to heal itself and
perform its normal routine functions. To
say the liver is
stressed is to grossly understate the obvious.
I do not have a clue if, or how, other organs of the body are
compensating to assist this most vital organ.
It seems that what is most needful immediately is our Father's
intervention to bring liver function to normalcy. So that is what we are asking for at the
moment. This will help restore energy to fight infection and bring Sean's
elevated white blood count back to a more normal range.
I do get concerned that such requests not be
interpreted to mean that neither God's people nor our Father are doing enough
-- we are deeply grateful for all that is being done and for the overall very
positive direction of Sean's treatment.
Thanks to everyone for the concern and have
a pleasant Sabbath.
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
2/11/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
It has been an amazing, and humbling, couple
of days. On Sunday, they took Sean off
of the ventilator and that was quite a milestone in his progress. His first
questions for his mother related to what had happened to him. Proof that the
memory blockers worked -- he did not remember the accident, events prior to it
nor did he remember the surgeries he has undergone. His first question to me was "can you
take me home now."
Yesterday they removed a chest tube that
they had put in to drain fluid off of the lung that was slightly punctured when
his a rib was fractured. That was one less thing for Sean to manage
but also a sign that he is healing. Sean has of course been laying
in a bed for two weeks on his back. He
was understandably uncomfortable and asked if he could get out of the bed. With some help, that task was accomplished
and he proceeded, to the amazement of all present, to stand on his own two feet
for just under a minute. They will now
get him out of bed two to three times a day.
This will aid circulation and healing.
This is tremendous progress considering that
the initial prognosis was that he would be on the paralytic drugs for two weeks
(we are just over two weeks at this stage).
Sean looks good and he is resting much more peacefully. He will also begin rehab therapy.
As Sean heals, there is pain in his
abdominal area from the multiple surgeries.
They are administering only as much medication as necessary to manage that
pain. The pain and healing of the body
is creating some anxiety. In turn, the
anxiety exacerbates the pain and probably is not helping the healing process. So we are asking our Father to continue to
give Sean peace of mind to help him overcome his anxiety about what his body is
doing as it heals and to continue heal
these traumatized areas.
Thank you all again for
your prayers. They are being heard and answered. It is the
power of the prayer that has the medical professionals
dazzeled -- even if they seem to be unaware of
it. What they are aware of is the
miraculous recovery unfolding before them.
Warmest regards,
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
2/9/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
It was an eventful weekend. Going into the weekend there was concern on
the part of the professionals that Sean
would have to remain on the ventilator for longer than they had hoped. Efforts to wean him off of sedation were
trying. Sean would become agitated --
sometimes extremely agitated. The
narcotics in the sedatives being administered did not enable him to focus. They
undoubtedly contributed to his disorientation and fueled his fears. We were in a vicious cycle -- weaning him off
sedation produced agitation which resulted in the medical staff further
sedating him. Sometime on Saturday they began to reduce the sedation and
administer a non-narcotic tranquilizer.
That seemed to help somewhat but more was needed. So I spent the night with Sean on Saturday
night. When he became agitated, I would "coach" him through it and
pray. By about six in morning on Sunday,
the dose of narcotic sedative was about 35% of what it had been on Saturday.
Liz coached Sean through the day on Sunday and by Sunday night when I relieved
her, Sean was off all narcotic sedatives.
He slept well last night and is lucid when
he is awake. He can focus when he is
awake and is very calm compared to Friday and Saturday. He can, and is, taking instruction from the
nurses and cooperating in his own recovery. This is monumental progress. Since his lungs are strong enough to breathe
unassisted and since he is capable of cooperating with the medical staff, the
plan is to take him off the ventilator today. From the perspective of the
professionals, this is a huge milestone.
This morning, I asked Sean if he knew where
he was and if he knew what happened. He
shook his head "no" to both questions. So the education is able to begin.
Sean has a long road, but our Father and
elder brother, an each of you has brought him a long way. Thank you for your prayers and the love they
express. It is true that Sean was in
God's hands before any of us knew to pray (he went into cardiac arrest twice
before arriving at the emergency room and once in emergency. In the ER he was "flatlined"
-- no heart beat -- for ten minutes. He
came back -- and the medical professionals can't explain that) however, his
progress to recovery is the result of prayer that has been heard and upon which
our Father has acted.
Thank you again,
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean and Stephanie
2/7/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
Good morning,
I have just returned from visiting
Sean. His surgery yesterday went well
but they were not able to do all that they hoped. There is still too much inflammation to close
him completely so that will have to wait. Nonetheless, he looks better and is
better. The Dr. commented to me
yesterday morning that his recovery to this point has been remarkable. That is
no doubt attributable to the prayers of all who are praying for Sean's healing
-- thank you all so much. It means a
great deal to all of us.
As Sean becomes more aware of his condition,
and as time goes on, he is becoming restless.
What he needs now more than anything is a quiet mind -- a peaceful
spirit. So we are asking our Father to
provide that through His Holy Spirit.
Thank you all for all you are continuing to
do.
Sincerely,
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean & Stephanie
2/3/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forwarded from my sister-in-law in CA:
Hello,
Sean continues to do well. Today he will undergo another surgery. Again,
some background may be helpful. Sean had
extensive internal injuries in the abdominal area. To facilitate the healing process, and reduce
the risk of post operative infection, they left the abominal
area partially open and put an artificial diaphragm over the opening. Today they will remove the diaphragm and
close him up.
This is very good news because it means that
the inflammation from surgery and the infection that creates swelling has
subsided sufficiently to take pressure off of the abdominal area and thus allow
them to close him up. It also means that
he can be weaned off of the ventilator completely and then off of the other
drugs they are currently administering to sedate him.
Once he heals a bit from this final surgery,
the rehabilitation process can begin. We
are very grateful to our Father for all that He has done, and continues to do,
on Sean's and our behalf. Sean is well
ahead of where the professionals expected him to be. That fact makes a full recovery more likely.
Thank you for continuing pray, we do
sincerely appreciate it.
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean and Stephanie
2/2/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
Greetings. Here's the latest from Steve on Sean (about 7
AM today). Also, I've received thanks
from many for sending these updates and been asked to continue them. I will do so until Sean is "out of the
woods". Best regards. --Chris
***************************
Good Morning,
Sean had a good weekend. He has been off the paralytics for a few days
now but is still sedated. He has
apparently developed a tolerance for the sedatives so he has periods where he
is quite "conscious." They are
still administering "memory blockers" so when he is
"conscious" he is quite disoriented.
You can see in his eyes that he does not understand what has
happened. He can recognize those he
knows and his eyes reach for you but communication beyond that is not possible
-- largely because he still has the ventilator in and cannot speak. Last night he mouthed the words "I love
you." And he can give the thumbs up
when asked if the pain medication is working.
The progress has been remarkable.
Watching this process, and seeing the disorientation
and accompanying fear in my son's eyes, got me to thinking about the second
resurrection -- the kind of education and comfort that will be necessary for
those who have been unconscious for so long.
This week Sean will have surgery to finish closing
the abdominal wound. They will then wean
him off the sedatives. As he becomes
more conscious the focus will be to reassure and comfort. We are asking our Father to give him His
spirit of peace and a sound mind free of fear.
Thank you all for your labor of love. It continues to make a huge difference. The attending medical professionals continue
to remark about the pace of his recovery.
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean and Stephanie
*****************************
1/31/2005
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Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
Greetings. This was
forwarded to me earlier today. The time
of writing is just after Sean's fourth surgery in two days. Best regards.
--Chris
6:30 PM - Sunday, January 23, 2005
Sean
is out of surgery and all went very well. Although he is not "out of the
woods," his status is no longer hour-to-hour but day-to-day. The
professionals are hopeful that he will fully recover. This is a substantial improvement
in his condition.
We are grateful to our Father for his very
merciful intervention, for the love expressed by all of you in your prayers for
Sean and us, as well as the many other acts of kindness. Thank you all very
much for all that you have done and continue to do on our behalf.
With
love,
Steve, Liz, Ryan, Sean and Stephanie
1/24/2005
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Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
Greetings. We are very
happy to inform you that Sean has stabilized, enough to be undergoing his 3rd
and 4th repair surgeries this afternoon. They expected him to be in surgery
from 2 PM till about 6 PM. Yesterday he
had two surgeries and had to have well over 40 units of blood. As of our last
contact with the family, Sean will be listed in critical condition for 2 weeks,
and sedated during that time to help him rest and heal.
The family wishes to thank everyone for your
continued prayers. Further updates will
be issued as more information is available.
1/23/2005
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Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
Greetings. I have a
clarification and update on Sean. Sean
is not in a coma--there was a misunderstanding on that when I received the
first message. But witness statements
are indicating that he may have been asleep at the wheel when he entered an
intersection and hit a light pole.
The doctors apparently told Steve and Liz
that they'd like to be able to say what the outcome would be, but they
can't. He has serious internal bleeding
and damage to major organs. So the next
24 hours are critical. Fortunately, he
is young and healthy (surfer and lifeguard), and we have a God with whom
nothing is impossible. Thank you for
your prayers and concerns. Best
regards. --Chris
1/22/2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal email from Chris Anderson, UCG Insurance & Benefits
Administration:
Greetings. I was awakened
earlier this morning with a phone call requesting urgent prayers on behalf of
Sean Andrews, the middle son (20 years old) of Steve and Liz Andrews. He was driving last night and apparently fell
asleep and hit a pole. I believe he is
in a coma, and was told he is not expected to live.
Since most of you know Steve and Liz and
their children personally I knew you would want to know. I don't have the name or address of the
hospital yet but will let you know when I find out. For now, Steve's email address is
sdandrews@earthlink.net and their home address is
I know the family would appreciate your
prayers. Take care.
1/22/2005
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