Move out of the PICU

They moved Simon out of the ICU today and into a regular room in the hospital. They have also decided removed one more of his remaining two IV's and probably some of the best news is that he has begun to bottle feed. The doctors have decided to begin mixing the formula with breast milk in hopes that he can continue to break down the proteins and turn it into energy (an inability to do this could possibly be one of the causes of all his troubles). The doctors said they will be looking for him to remain active, see increased tension in his movements (that means muscle growth), and weight gain. If we can continue to see those things then it means he is properly breaking down his food.

I know Summer is excited to be able to bottle feed him and it's even better if he can digest the breast milk because that means she will be able to nurse him when things continue to improve (I think most moms know how important nursing is.) It is comforting for me to know that a majority of his day is now spent in Summers arms, close to the way things were before all this started.

The doctors still don’t know the cause and I am uncertain if they ever will, though I am hopeful. I can’t believe that we are at this point, but we are beginning to start thinking about and asking the doctors when we can take him home. Hopefully we will be able to bring him home and begin doing much of the diagnosing on an outpatient basis. We will wait and see.

Again, it’s amazing to think that almost two week ago I wasn’t sure if I would ever see my son alive again. The day after I was thanking God that he was alive, I knew God could do a miracle and heal him in a heartbeat but was also trying to be realistic and prepare myself and our family for the long haul as Simon began to recover. I knew that he could have been terribly harmed and possibly never recover (for a short time we were contemplating renting a house down in Indy or buying) or suffer for the rest of his life. Now we are at the point where it seems as though he has recovered from all major issues and we can begin planning on taking him home. What an answer to prayers.


I think most people have seen Princess Bride. I remember the part when they were talking about the pit of despair. In the movie it was a place where a very pale man with a deep voice tortured someone in a comical way (hard to imagine if you haven't seen the movie). In my mind I think of a place of solitude, dark, lonely, and hopeless. September 28th, 2006 was my day in the pit of despair. It was the day that one of the most precious things in my life was being destroyed and taken away and I was helpless to do anything, I felt alone and though I knew God could do great things I must admit that I didn’t have much hope either. In the two months prior to 9/28/2006 my family has been through allot, the most notable event was our house fire where we lost almost everything. Though those events were difficult and by no means easy, they were things that I could work hard to resolve and continue to protect and provide for my family. The night of 9/28 I had no power at all. There was nothing I could do to affect the outcome of that situation, I could do nothing to save my sons life, and I was helpless. The only person I could turn to was Jesus Christ. He was and is my family's only source of hope. We turned to Him as many others did and pleaded for Him to save my sons life and He did. We are all helpless to save our own lives, but incredibly enough we do have someone who can be our Hope and Savior.

I know that many people have been reading this blog and have been continually and habitually praying and thinking of Simon and my family. Some of you might not have been through the same experiences that my family has gone though in the past few months but many of you might feel the same hopelessness and helplessness in life. To those of you who don’t already know Him, I would like to introduce you to the One who saved my son Simon's life. He is the One who gave me hope in my pit of despair; He is the One who gives me reason to live. If you want to know Him, please email me and I can send you my phone number so I can tell you about how Jesus has saved my life.

In case I haven’t said it enough I would thank all of you for your prayers and support the past two weeks or more. Some of you I know, some of you I will never have the chance to meet but to all of you I want to say Thank You!

Dean Avey
Dean@RedwoodIT.com

PS. It is Summers birthday on the 13th (this Friday). If you know her I am sure she would enjoy a note from you in the comments section.