2/14 - Sam's Journey - Day 64

This has been a very good week! There's lots of good stuff going on, so I'll get right to it.

He's finally "waking up." I can't report on some big Hollywood-esque coming-out-of-a-coma scene because, well, this ain't Hollywood.  He is however, now doing the following:

• Nodding for yes, and occasionally shaking his head for no. (And by shaking his head, I mean he turns it once really fast with shifty eyes, like he thinks someone's sneaking up from behind his pillow or something. We're still counting it as a definitive "no" though.)
• Holding up 1, 2 and 3 fingers on command pretty consistently. He also pointed down a couple of times to indicate he'd had enough of being up.
• Moving his left side extremities a little more every day. 
• Using the trach cap (meaning he does all the work of breathing) during the day and has been cleared to use the HME instead of the heated collar at night. 
• Sporting a size 6 trach, the smallest they plan to go.
• Receiving breathing treatments through a mask instead of a trach, and there is pretty much no suctioning required. This week, they are planning on doing a sleep study to see how he does with the cap for 24+ hours, and after that--DECANNULATION!!! We cannot tell you how excited we are for that to happen. We know Sam is, too. He's also starting to grab at it more, so the sooner that bad boy comes out, the better.

Everyone there could not be more excited about the progress he's making. They might even extend out his discharge date farther so they can work with him longer. The commute is the bane of our existence, but the care and treatment he's receiving there are excellent, and that is exactly what we need for him to receive for the foreseeable future.

As for challenges, he continues to have some trouble keeping his food down. We are hyper-vigilant about him not getting jostled or receiving breathing treatments during or right after feeding, and it's working for the most part. Tonight the RT came in and said "I'm here to do your breathing treatment, Sam." Sam promptly threw up. She then said, "I'll skip his treatments." Jim thinks he's doing it on purpose. That works just fine for us. As for the lip-biting, that has decreased dramatically, but occasionally he still gets a hold of it. Now, though, he only gets a little piece of it, and with him being more aware, it's easier to get him to release it. One other thing I don't think I had mentioned previously were the leftovers from road rash on the back of his head. Worst bald spot ever. Initially, they looked like a sloth face, and I took a picture (just for posterity) that I will NOT be sharing here. Those were--and continue to be--some wicked persistent scabs. They've been treating them, and they're starting to go away, but I noticed this weekend that there is actually hair growing up through them. How incredibly irritating that must be! You can tell he's had enough of them because he's been picking at them. It's great that they're healing, but we'd really love for them to go away completely.

This weekend has been another hard one for us. One year ago today, we were in San Antonio watching Sam perform in the Men's All State choir. Here he is, center stage:

A few weeks prior to the accident, he had competed in the Pre-Area competition and received first chair, and he was poised and ready for the Area competition (last step before All State) on January 9th. As we all know, that did not happen. One of his classmates, however, did make the Women's Choir. As she competed in Area and went to All State, Sam never left her mind or heart, and she carried him with her every step of the way. This afternoon, Jim got a message from a friend of his who has no connection to our school. She has been following Sam's story along with all of you. Her daughter was also in Women's All State Choir, and she got to sit in on some of what was happening. She shared with him that the clinician had the girls share what music and the All State experience meant to them. Some of the young women shared their stories with the group, and said she was stopped in her tracks when suddenly, one of the stories was about Sam. In that moment, she says that in that moment, everyone's thoughts were on this boy that they did not know.  The story did not end there. The women had some down time, and frequently, this is used to explore freedoms they don't normally have. Instead, a group of them got together and talked about their relationships with God, and they prayed for Sam and his healing. I feel like any commentary I would make would not add to the powerful nature of this story. I will only say that we are very happy that Sam ended up at All State after all.  A special thanks to all of you who took him with you.

And, if you didn't have enough feels with that story, tonight's pictures are my view from this weekend. Our school has an annual Valentine's carnation fundraiser. I received these on Friday along with a message from one of Sam's friends. She sent 5 carnations for the Loefflers--so that each of us could have one. They are some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever received.