Anderson in the Stepdown Unit

[Tiffany Chen]

Hey everyone,

So today was a pretty eventful day.  :)

They transported Anderson into the stepdown unit and then we slept in between having lots of visitors.  A pastor from Houston came by, the speech pathologist came and rehab medicine came.  Both the speech pathologist and the rehab medicine people said that Anderson's doing really well.  The speech pathologist said that Anderson's swallowing is functional and no signs of risk for aspiration although it's a little bit uncoordinated at times.  The rehab medicine guy said that Anderson's doing really well and should be transferred to rehab maybe Sunday or Monday.  Anderson's hoping that he can be discharged sooner rather than later, but we'll have to see how everything goes.  We very much agree that we like this hospital much better than UCLA med center and we're glad that we're here.

We ate dinner (I ate my burger from the cafeteria... he ate a little bit of his dinner) but he felt a little bit nauseous.  He had a little fish, some carrots, some omlette, little bit of tomato soup, and a whole banana. The food's not too bad here.  There's also chick fil A in the cafeteria.  Yumm.

It's a lot quieter in the regular room and much less beeping.  Hopefully tonight will be a good night for rest for Anderson.  And me too.

Anderson said that he "feels the love" from people and just wanted to let everyone know that he says hi and misses you.  He said that he missed going to small group on Tuesday and he wishes that he could have been there. 

We're having some, but not a lot, of family time (both our parents and Kelly, Anderson's sister).  We all prayed together and it was nice. 

Thank you ALL so much for your prayers, love, and support. We are constantly amazed at how wide and far-reaching your hands extend to us. Thank you thank you THANK YOU.

<3,
Tiff & Anderson

[Tiffany Chen]

Day 2 in the stepdown unit...

Happy Saturday everyone!

Last night, Anderson had difficulty sleeping.  Not sure why, but he felt nauseous again and slept with the basin just in case he felt like throwing up.  He ended up not throwing up but he was still pretty uncomfortable.

This morning, the neurosurgeons came by... twice I think.  Physical therapy also came and helped Anderson sit in the chair and then he took a walk around the unit holding on to the IV pole.  The IV poles here are a lot sturdier than the IV poles back home from what I remember.  I'm very proud of him.  He walked pretty far and really well in my opinion.  The PT said that Anderson was doing really well too.  He might be moving to rehab soon.  Maybe Monday, they say.

After the walk, Anderson sat in the chair and he shaved and brushed his own teeth.  :)  After that though, he didn't feel so good so he went back to bed and now he's resting. 

Please be in prayer for:

• Strength - that Anderson would regain more strength while he's resting here in the hospital.  Pray that his walking and coordination would improve as well. 
  
• Eating - he hasn't been eating too much.  Pray that he'll start to drink more and eat more on his own.  He's still on the IV right now, but it'd be good for him to regain some appetite.
• Hiccups - we found out this morning that his frequent hiccups are caused by the steroids they're giving him to reduce his swelling.  He very rarely used to have hiccups so it disturbs him when they come so frequently now. 
  
• Swelling - pray that the swelling in his head would go down.  They say that the swelling from the laser therapy peaks at 5 days after the therapy and then starts to taper off.  We're on day 3 after the surgery.  Pray that the swelling will decrease quickly. 
  
• Rest - pray for good rest.  Sometimes he rests well, sometimes he doesn't.  A lot of ppl come by in the mornings and it gets tiring sometimes.
  
• Movement - pray that Anderson would regain some coordination and be a little more active.  Also pray for the bowels to move.  I think that if he moves around a bit more, it'll help.  Also want him to rest too so finding a balance between activities and rest would be good.

  Alritey...  once again, thank you ALL for your prayers and encouragements!!!
  
  <3,
  Tiff
  
  

[Tiffany Chen]

Day 3

Last night, Anderson threw up so the nurse gave him some anti-nausea medication and he slept a little better through the night. 

Today, Anderson seems more active.  He wants to walk around more and told me that he already planned out our night.  He's going to take a nap until 4 or 5, then his parents are going to come give him a foot/leg massage and I'll go back to the hotel to shower, then when I get back, we're going to go over his emails and facebook, and then either have dinner and walk around the unit or walk first and then eat.  We like to watch world series of poker on ESPN too so hopefully we can do that today if we have the time and he's still awake.

The discharge nurse came by today.  Anderson said that she's such a tease.  We still don't know when Anderson's going to be discharged but it's good that she's stopped by.

Thank you for praying for us!  His hiccups are decreasing in frequency, he did have some "movement", and he's been eating more today too.

Continue to pray for:

• Numbness - the neurosurgeon says that the numbness in his mouth and tongue are from the surgery and that it should go away with time.  his scalp is also numb. 
  
• Rest - to get good rest
• Physical Therapy - that it would help strengthen his muscles and help him get around easier
• Balance - to regain some balance and stability especially in his legs
• Swelling - they're starting to taper off his steroids, pray that the swelling will continue to decrease
• Protection - against infections in the hospital, for his healthy cells against tumor cells, and in general for all of us here in Houston.
  

<3,
Tiff