(This photo was taken at St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church in Lilburn, Ga in the summer of 2005. From left: Jon and fiance Marie Hennessy, Mom and Dad, James, Michael and last but not least, our hero Paul on the far right).
We had a conference today with the case manager and the problem still remains that Paul is not responding to attempts to wake him up. This becomes a very difficult issue, as the body is continuing to respond to treatment but the brain is not showing any signs of waking. They try to work each morning with Paul, but he doesn't respond to commands to open his eyes. ( We did let him know today that his room is clean, it is safe to wake up - smile). They have decided to get him up and into a chair for 30 minutes each day to help his lungs clear. This will help with the pneumonia. His temperature fluctuates each day between 99 and 103.7 degrees. This is normal signs for the body since there was significant injury to the brain. They are not sure if his respiratory problems are due to the brain injury or to the lung injury. If it is the lungs, it will be a much better scenario, as time would heal the lungs and eliminate this problem. If it is the brain, then we may have some long term problems in that Paul would remain dependant on a ventilator. He is still being assisted with a machine to keep his lungs inflated. They put in a trach tube yesterday, and are hoping this will help him be more comfortable. Next week, they will put the feeding tube into his stomach. It is in the lower intestines right now, as his system could not process the food very well. All this sounds really bad, but we have had some encouraging signs of recovery in Paul's body. One very hopeful thing is that Paul's brain did not swell like they anticipated and that may work in his favor.
We need your prayers so much and thank you for any time you can give in this matter. We have full knowledge that it will probably take a miracle for Paul to reach a good level of recovery. We will remain prayerful and hopeful, like we have these past 12 days. In some ways it seems like a half a year has passed so far!! But the days of vigil go fairly quickly and we are able sleep well each night, due to the drain on our bodies from emotions. Sleep is a great blessing. Thanks be to God for all that He has given us.............including sleep.
Paul will be in the ICU at least until next week, and will be moved to another facility (hopefully to Sheperd Spinal) if he can wake up a little bit and show some movement. As we have asked before, pray with your whole heart that God will answer our prayers according to His will and that we will have the courage and wisdom to accept it. Knowing what his plan is would be a wonderful help about know............smile. Since we don't know we say JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU.
God's peace to all of you. I am working on getting those pictures posted, but like a good number of parents out there, I need the help of my sons to figure out how to do it. They will be home tonight and so pictures should be up and running by tomorrow.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
7 comments:
Dear Mr. And Mrs. Fidero, I feel your pain. I am a member of St. Stephen's Church. My family went through a similar situation with my Mother two years ago. I know it is very hard, and my prayers are with all of you. When my mother was in the hospital the case workers kept trying to get us to take her off her venilator. We refused. She finally got well enough to be moved to a nursing facility for people with her condition. She never really woke up, but we kept talking to her and she died three months later. But she went when God called her and not when the doctors wanted her to go.
I'll continue to pray for you and all of my love,
Gayle
To the Fidero's
Thank you for taking the time to give everyone updates on PauL. People will continue to Pray, Pray, Pray for Paul, and all of you. Your family has been such a testimony to us. KEEP THE FAITH
AND EVERYONE DON'T STOP PRAYING.
(AND GIVING THANKS TO GOD THAT PAUL DOES HAVE THE GREAT PHYSICIAN TO CARE FOR HIM.)
Jon and Rebecca, Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time
Mark Warren
IKON
Mr. and Mrs. Fidero,
Thank you so much for keeping all of us updated! It is such a blessing for your sons to have such loving, selfless, and devoted parents who go out of their way to keep their prayer community up to date on all of Paul's problems and procedures. Thankfully, through this technology, we all have a better idea of what to pray for regarding Paul. I will be up in GA at the hospital in two days, and I will be spending the night there on Friday night to help keep the vigil for Paul. Paul is constantly in my prayers, as is the rest of your family! Tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I have been reflecting on how much I have to be thankful for in my relationship with your family and Paul. My life has been so blessed, and thus I have always been able to identify with the risen Christ. How blessed are we then that Christ is allowing us to identify with His passion, that Paul has been given a share in Christ's suffering, and that we have been given a share in Mary's suffering! I am learning every day how much I have to be thankful for. I will keep all of you in my prayers!
His,
Geneva
Dearest Bec -- Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I wanted you to know that I'm thankful that Paul has you, a fierce and loving mother who believes in miracles and the power of prayer. I'm thankful that you have Paul for a son, who, along with three other amazing boys, has helped you grow into the incredible woman you are today (I smile and remember the naughty young girls we used to be!). I'm thankful that you and Jon have each other to lean on, to share this grief that is beyond human understanding. I'm thankful that I've been able to count you as one of my dearest friends, at times as close as a sister (but so sorry to have missed so much time with you). I'm thankful that you have a wonderful, supportive extended family all around you. Your faith is an inspiration to me, and I know your love of Christ will get you through this. Please know that I am with you in spirit as you walk this difficult walk, and I hope that you can feel me there with you. My sister Linda sends a message also: her son Eric suffered a severe head injury in his teens . . . his brain activity was very low at first and it took him several months to wake up completely. He's 30 now and doing wonderfully. We truly believe his recovery was a miracle. Always keep your hope and faith alive. My love to you and to all the Browns and Fideros. Judy
Dear Jon and Rebecca,
My thoughts and energy are with you in this hard time. I fell in my heart that he will pull through. Although our beliefs are different I was wondering if you would be open to trying something else along with your current treatments for Paul. My friend Travis told me of his current condition and I have a friend whom believes she would be of great help to Paul. Please email me and let me know. Although I can't promise results I can promise that it won't do any harm.
Blessed be
Michelle
mmscollan@bellsouth.net
Dear Fidero Family,
Lisa and I, Bonnie and Brendan and the whole Hanrahan Family want you to know that you are in our hearts and prayers every minute of the day and will be until and after Paul comes back to us.We look forward to hearing your laugh again. As a side note the work is really piling up on your desk, we need you very badly, we miss you terribly and when you do come back you can make as much noise as you want! Hurry back, all our love, Lisa Joe Bren Bean Chloe and the leggo man.
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