First of all, I am sorry about the delay getting this posted. The problem is that if I don't get the posting sent in a few minutes, the connection through the hospital internet is dropped and I lose everything I wrote. I have lost my post 2 times today.
So here is another try.
Last night Jon and I went to see Paul from 8-10 pm. The ICU is closed everyday from 6-8 AM and PM for the changing of staff. We came into the room and Paul was wide awake and not fidgeting with his tubes. Just looking around. Jon got to the side of him and said "Hi Paul, it's Paps." (This is the name Paul gave him)
Paul was lookiing intently at him, and Jon asked Paul to give a thumbs up if he knew who it was. Paul continued to look hard at him, but did nothing in the way of movement. At first I was disappointed for Jon, then thought about how much Paul seems to hate that being asked of him. All day long, they say "Paul, give me a thumbs up for yes". So I told Jon to ask him to do something else to let him know he knew who it was. So Jon gave the sign he and Paul do for Rock On, which is a hand sign most people know - you put your middle 2 fingers down on your palm and hold the thumb, first finger and little finger up. Paul immediately gave him the Rock On sign. Jon and I burst out laughing and hugged Paul. It showed that he not only understood, but had the ability to do it well - it was not a modified attempt - it was very clearly the Rock On sign. Another big triumph for the day.
My cell phone rang, so I showed Paul what was ringing, and opened it so he could see the display. I said, "it is your brother Jon". I asked Jon to talk to Paul, and I placed the cell phone to his ear and Paul listened very intently. Paul then looked up at me, and so I checked to see if Jon was still talking and he wasn't.
Also, we told Paul that the sooner he starts to move his left arm and leg, the sooner we could get him out of there. He moved his left leg as best he could, which showed he understood. We wrote the words YES and NO on a notebook and I asked Paul to use the pen to point to either word to answer my questions. I asked him if he was hurting and he took the pen and actually tried to write something. Because it was a pen, and the pad of paper was not on his lap, he wasn't able to really write anything. I was thrilled he knew WHAT to do with the pen. We are going to get him a Magna Doodle to use to try to communicate. It will take more coordination than he has now, but it will be a start for him.
Today was rather slow. No therapy because they were going to take Paul to get a cat scan to see why he is not really digesting his food. We still seem to have a problem with food going directly into the stomach. He needed medication that made him very drowsy, so he didn't have a lot of response today.
Please pray for a simple solution to the issue of digestion. We don't want to have to do a surgery as that will cause a long delay in recovery for Paul.
I decided to play the music Paul recorded with his band Hind Sight, to try to get some reaction from him. He did open his eyes after awhile and he started to move his right leg like he was keeping time. Then the great part was, he started to really move his left leg. I saw him move his left leg more than ever before so I continued to play that music for about 30 minutes. He started to have trouble with lots of coughing, so I turned the music off. He really responds to music though. On Monday, he seemed a bit agitated, and I realized the music that was not normally what he listens to. I changed it to Dream Theatre and he settled down and fell asleep. Music will most likely be the key to getting him to new levels. He responds so visibly to music. And it is what woke him up!
Richard Watson came by today and he had read the site and he then brought DTSI hats to the room and some shirts for the brothers !! It is these kinds of sweet and charitable deeds that make us cry at the outpouring of love for our family. It is so huge a thing for us, we just can't grasp it all. We talk about everyone's response to our call for help in the way of prayers, more than we talk about what happened to Paul! Sorry about when you read this Paul, but it was not just about you dearest! We sit in utter amazement how God is weaving such a huge tapestry with all of these moments of brothers and sisters in Christ sharing their faith. I keep hearing about people's faith stories, from the nurses and friends and people who don't know us, but are staying in touch. I can promise you this - it is all about God. He has taken a simple, obscure family, and has managed to reach so many people with his loving acts of mercy. He is talking to us all - please take time to sit and listen to what He is asking of you. This event is your proof that He will sustain you in all things. He will guide you, provide all the necessary graces and will show you the fruits of your labor. The truth has been borne out in all of this.
Next step: we are waiting for the plastic surgery to be scheduled. The plastic surgeon and neurosurgeon will be together during this, so they are coordinating their available times with the operating room schedules. It will be Friday or Monday. After that, the next effort is to get Paul off the ventilator. That will be an important step for him. Until he is off the vent, the trach stays in place, which means Paul can't communicate verbally, at least not easily. His neck is still in a soft brace, so he doesn't move his head alot and he doesn't lift his head up or down. So he is limited to the range of vision basically in front of him. Lots of things going on that hinder the rehab process.
As you can see, we have a long pathway, but your prayers will keep Paul on this pathway. Please don't think your prayer doesn't mean much. It all adds up. It reminds me of a saying I heard a long time ago - watch out for the dimes and nickels, they add up to dollars. Paul won the lottery!!
God bless all of you in all ways, through the intercession of our dearest Mother in Heaven (and I can personally say, I have felt her constant presence throughout all of this.) On to tomorrow, where again I will say, THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.
Love to you,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Hats off to Paul
I did forget to add one important thing that happened today with Paul.
From very early on in Paul's life, I told people that my son Paul seemed to walk to the beat of a different drummer. Every once in awhile we would think we finally figured out the beat, only to find that it had once again changed.
So today, when he seemed somewhat sluggish in his attempts to obey commands, I figured that with the medicine received earlier, it would be a quiet day. Slowly, Paul started in again trying to get his tubes disconnected, so I gave him the baseball hat that he received from his boss Mr. Watson. He fidgeted with it a minute, but I could tell he wasn't really interested. So I told him he ought to try putting it on. It appeared he was preoccupied with something else when I said this to him, so I turned my back to put on some of his favorite music. When I turned back, he lifted the hat to his head and placed it on top of his head. I was so excited that he knew what to do. It was not pulled down on his head, just placed on top. So we will work on that next, but it was so exciting to see he knew what I had said and had tried to do it. He also recognized his Aunt Bev and gave her a 'thumbs up' sign. It's so amazing how my thinking has changed in the last week. I wanted Paul to recover fully and pictured it happening. What I didn't realize we would have is all the happy moments we have ahead of us as we help Paul regain whatever God wills for him. Each successful effort will feel so triumphant.
I came across this statement by John Paul II:
"Jesus Christ has taken the lead on the way of the cross. He has suffered first. He does not drive us toward suffering but shares it with us, wanting us to have life and to have it in abundance".
We continue to pray that all of you will have a life in abundance, as we celebrate the abundance of His Love in our lives.
Peace in Christ to everyone!
Love, Jon & Rebecca Fidero
From very early on in Paul's life, I told people that my son Paul seemed to walk to the beat of a different drummer. Every once in awhile we would think we finally figured out the beat, only to find that it had once again changed.
So today, when he seemed somewhat sluggish in his attempts to obey commands, I figured that with the medicine received earlier, it would be a quiet day. Slowly, Paul started in again trying to get his tubes disconnected, so I gave him the baseball hat that he received from his boss Mr. Watson. He fidgeted with it a minute, but I could tell he wasn't really interested. So I told him he ought to try putting it on. It appeared he was preoccupied with something else when I said this to him, so I turned my back to put on some of his favorite music. When I turned back, he lifted the hat to his head and placed it on top of his head. I was so excited that he knew what to do. It was not pulled down on his head, just placed on top. So we will work on that next, but it was so exciting to see he knew what I had said and had tried to do it. He also recognized his Aunt Bev and gave her a 'thumbs up' sign. It's so amazing how my thinking has changed in the last week. I wanted Paul to recover fully and pictured it happening. What I didn't realize we would have is all the happy moments we have ahead of us as we help Paul regain whatever God wills for him. Each successful effort will feel so triumphant.
I came across this statement by John Paul II:
"Jesus Christ has taken the lead on the way of the cross. He has suffered first. He does not drive us toward suffering but shares it with us, wanting us to have life and to have it in abundance".
We continue to pray that all of you will have a life in abundance, as we celebrate the abundance of His Love in our lives.
Peace in Christ to everyone!
Love, Jon & Rebecca Fidero
PAUL LEARNS THE RULES OF THIS GAME
When I got to his room this morning, I thought to myself, oh good, they put in the feeding peg in his stomach already'. I commented on how good it was to see Paul's whole face. The nurse said that Paul finally managed to pull out the tube that feeds him and that he was not a happy camper this morning. He had to receive some medicine to sedate him. So when Paul woke up, my first quetion was "I guess you are hungry about now,right?"
He did not do well with the therapists today, as he was still a bit groggy and he really does seem to be wandering mentally. This will be a down day for him since they are just now doing the feeding tube in the stomach, which will require more sedation. We should hear today about when he will have the plastic surgery. I asked the occupational therapist how long after that surgery would the regular therapy start and she said only a couple days. I was wondering how long it will set us back with progress. Yes, God answered my prayers about learning to be patient, and more prayerful in my life, and more giving. And amazingly I have been able to happily say Thanks be to God. Jon and I both are so thankful that God has brought us a greater awareness of his tremendous love for all of us. Each one of you have played a very important part in our ability to keep saying YES LORD and not be wrenched in fear. There is no humanly way possible that we have been able to keep rejoicing in all His wonderous deeds. It is a direct gift of the prayers being offered for our family. We have asked God to bless each of you with great graces, so that we, as your brother and sister in Christ can lift you up also in all your needs.
Please pray for Paul's upcoming plastic surgery. May God lead the hands of the surgeon and the nurses. Praise be God for them all.
Love,
Rebecca Fidero
He did not do well with the therapists today, as he was still a bit groggy and he really does seem to be wandering mentally. This will be a down day for him since they are just now doing the feeding tube in the stomach, which will require more sedation. We should hear today about when he will have the plastic surgery. I asked the occupational therapist how long after that surgery would the regular therapy start and she said only a couple days. I was wondering how long it will set us back with progress. Yes, God answered my prayers about learning to be patient, and more prayerful in my life, and more giving. And amazingly I have been able to happily say Thanks be to God. Jon and I both are so thankful that God has brought us a greater awareness of his tremendous love for all of us. Each one of you have played a very important part in our ability to keep saying YES LORD and not be wrenched in fear. There is no humanly way possible that we have been able to keep rejoicing in all His wonderous deeds. It is a direct gift of the prayers being offered for our family. We have asked God to bless each of you with great graces, so that we, as your brother and sister in Christ can lift you up also in all your needs.
Please pray for Paul's upcoming plastic surgery. May God lead the hands of the surgeon and the nurses. Praise be God for them all.
Love,
Rebecca Fidero
Monday, November 28, 2005
This goes in the book of miracles.............
That is the statement I heard from the nurse today when I walked into Paul's room. The pulmonologist looked at me this morning and said, "this is a miracle". Two other nurses have said the same thing. I believe it is not presumptious to say IT IS A MIRACLE.
And then the fun began.............
Paul was put into a chair today, and they removed the ventilator for awhile. The physical therapist came and worked on his legs and arms, showing me what they will be doing and what we can do to help him. Then, while he was still in the chair, the occupational therapist came in and worked with Paul to see what commands he would follow. He did well and was able to do most of the things they asked him to do. He was then seen by the speech therapist. He was very tired at this point and had had the ventilator off. He got a 19 out of 23 and anything over 15 is good. He was able to swallow water and he chewed an ice chip. They tested his vocal chords, and we heard him just a little bit, but he was also having some respiratory issues at the same time. He was soaking wet from sweating through all of this. I can well imagine that his first shower will be the best one of his life time! He was also trying to pull out the vent tube, and at one point, I needed a nurse to help me get him to let go of the one for his feeding, which is currently going in through his nose. He has let us know he does not want the tubes in him. He also got mad enough today to toss the little stuffed animal they had placed in his hand to keep him from pulling the tubes. He lifted the reindeer up, looked at it and then tossed it to the side and started to immediately reach for the ventilator tube that goes into the trach. We were glad to see an emotion.
He was graded at a level 3, and is also doing just a couple things that would be more of a level 4. The next level will be the toughest level for him, in that it is a time of being easily agitated resulting in over reactions in behavior and speech. It should last no longer than 1-2 weeks. Not a good time to visit, except for those who love him. It made me smile as I have told Paul a couple of times that he can test the patience of Job and only a mother could love him. Keep Geneva, his girlfriend, in your prayers during this period we will be going into! After this stage the real rehab will begin, which will be a level 5. We will be discussing the location Paul will go to from here, but we are unsure of the time frame. That is because they may do the plastic surgery soon, which will delay some things while Paul recovers from the surgery. We ask that you pray hard for the right decision to be made about this. We will probably ask for a second opinion, as we don't want to jeopardize any possibility of Paul's vision recovering.
His boss, Mr Watson, brought a DTSI baseball cap and we gave that to Paul to hold to keep his hands off the tubes. It worked and Paul finally has fallen back asleep, which is the reason I can finally get the message out. He stays awake a lot more than I thought he would. But he had quite a work out today, being in the chair for about 2 1/2 hours and having 3 different therapists working with him. He had been sitting yesterday for only about 25 minutes. After all this work, they did put him back on the ventilator as he was struggling just a little bit. Hopefully, he will be able to handle it tomorrow and will be able to stay breathing on his own.
Please keep praying for the doctors and nurses who work here. They have been doing a great job and they have been very kind to our family. Thank God Paul has been in good hands, - but then again, we prayed that God take over on that first night and it has happened. He is working through all these great people. Yep, this is definitely God's story.
Peace to you in this day, in all ways,
Love, Rebecca Fidero
And then the fun began.............
Paul was put into a chair today, and they removed the ventilator for awhile. The physical therapist came and worked on his legs and arms, showing me what they will be doing and what we can do to help him. Then, while he was still in the chair, the occupational therapist came in and worked with Paul to see what commands he would follow. He did well and was able to do most of the things they asked him to do. He was then seen by the speech therapist. He was very tired at this point and had had the ventilator off. He got a 19 out of 23 and anything over 15 is good. He was able to swallow water and he chewed an ice chip. They tested his vocal chords, and we heard him just a little bit, but he was also having some respiratory issues at the same time. He was soaking wet from sweating through all of this. I can well imagine that his first shower will be the best one of his life time! He was also trying to pull out the vent tube, and at one point, I needed a nurse to help me get him to let go of the one for his feeding, which is currently going in through his nose. He has let us know he does not want the tubes in him. He also got mad enough today to toss the little stuffed animal they had placed in his hand to keep him from pulling the tubes. He lifted the reindeer up, looked at it and then tossed it to the side and started to immediately reach for the ventilator tube that goes into the trach. We were glad to see an emotion.
He was graded at a level 3, and is also doing just a couple things that would be more of a level 4. The next level will be the toughest level for him, in that it is a time of being easily agitated resulting in over reactions in behavior and speech. It should last no longer than 1-2 weeks. Not a good time to visit, except for those who love him. It made me smile as I have told Paul a couple of times that he can test the patience of Job and only a mother could love him. Keep Geneva, his girlfriend, in your prayers during this period we will be going into! After this stage the real rehab will begin, which will be a level 5. We will be discussing the location Paul will go to from here, but we are unsure of the time frame. That is because they may do the plastic surgery soon, which will delay some things while Paul recovers from the surgery. We ask that you pray hard for the right decision to be made about this. We will probably ask for a second opinion, as we don't want to jeopardize any possibility of Paul's vision recovering.
His boss, Mr Watson, brought a DTSI baseball cap and we gave that to Paul to hold to keep his hands off the tubes. It worked and Paul finally has fallen back asleep, which is the reason I can finally get the message out. He stays awake a lot more than I thought he would. But he had quite a work out today, being in the chair for about 2 1/2 hours and having 3 different therapists working with him. He had been sitting yesterday for only about 25 minutes. After all this work, they did put him back on the ventilator as he was struggling just a little bit. Hopefully, he will be able to handle it tomorrow and will be able to stay breathing on his own.
Please keep praying for the doctors and nurses who work here. They have been doing a great job and they have been very kind to our family. Thank God Paul has been in good hands, - but then again, we prayed that God take over on that first night and it has happened. He is working through all these great people. Yep, this is definitely God's story.
Peace to you in this day, in all ways,
Love, Rebecca Fidero
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Sit up and be counted........
They got Paul out of bed today and sitting in a straight back chair. He did not look at all comfortable, but he was moving his right side and seemed to be trying to figure out where he was. The struggle for him was very apparent, as he was sweating profusely. He stayed awake the whole 20-25 minutes, but after he was put back into bed, he slept very soundly. Getting him up is very beneficial for his lungs as it helps in the healing process. He had a few moments of real struggle when the respiratory therapist came in to help him clear his lungs. It's the worst part of Paul's day. We have heard that he will probably not remember any of his stay at Gwinnett Medical Center, and this is a true blessing from God. The pain he has endured as they move him with all his broken bones, the work on clearing his lungs, not to mention all the rides down to radiology, are good things to forget!
I was sent the message from Our Blessed Mother's message in Medjugorje and it made me smile. It is entered here for you also to read.
Medjugorje Message - November 25, 2005
“Dear children! Also today I call you to pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes life for you. Little children, at this time, in a special way, I pray before God to give you the gift of faith. Only in faith will you discover the joy of the gift of life that God has given you. Your heart will be joyful thinking of eternity. I am with you and love you with a tender love. Thank you for having responded to my call"
Our family has learned most especially that we always need to respond to God's call and that He will grace us with His blessings and love. By our responding with the same Yes as Blessed Mary to His call, we then radiate His Glory. We pray that this will not be forgotten by any of us.
We also want to thank today all the priests who have come to bless Paul in these last 2 weeks. How blessed our city is to have such AWESOME priests. God bless Fr. Paddy, pastor of St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic church, Fr. Jack Durkin, Chaplain at St. Pius Catholic High School and Fr. Kevin Peek, Chaplain at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School. Their loving and quick response to all of our spiritual needs is another wonderous gift of this "Miracle Season".
Peace in Christ today,
Love
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
I was sent the message from Our Blessed Mother's message in Medjugorje and it made me smile. It is entered here for you also to read.
Medjugorje Message - November 25, 2005
“Dear children! Also today I call you to pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes life for you. Little children, at this time, in a special way, I pray before God to give you the gift of faith. Only in faith will you discover the joy of the gift of life that God has given you. Your heart will be joyful thinking of eternity. I am with you and love you with a tender love. Thank you for having responded to my call"
Our family has learned most especially that we always need to respond to God's call and that He will grace us with His blessings and love. By our responding with the same Yes as Blessed Mary to His call, we then radiate His Glory. We pray that this will not be forgotten by any of us.
We also want to thank today all the priests who have come to bless Paul in these last 2 weeks. How blessed our city is to have such AWESOME priests. God bless Fr. Paddy, pastor of St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic church, Fr. Jack Durkin, Chaplain at St. Pius Catholic High School and Fr. Kevin Peek, Chaplain at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School. Their loving and quick response to all of our spiritual needs is another wonderous gift of this "Miracle Season".
Peace in Christ today,
Love
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
Dream Theatre
Today at church, Fr. Paddy made an announcement before Mass that Paul Fidero was awake and responding to commands. We heard the people around us quietly respond "Praise be to God" or "Thank God" and it made us tear up, to hear that people were happy like we are. After Mass, there were people who stayed and prayed the Glorious Mysteries. It is still wondrously amazing that so many people really care! We find ourselves saying Thanks Be to God so much during the day for all these signs of God's great love and mercy. God's love is always there, we are just so blessed to be made so much more aware of it. It is a gift from our loving Father in heaven. We got our Christmas gifts early this year.
We are sitting with Paul, and we are not really sure if he knows us today or not. He seems to be going in and out of a very deep sleep. He looks at us and we can tell he isn't really focused on us. It will be a very slow process as he tries to 'connect the dots'. We are playing his favorite music ( his friends know instantly who it is - smile) by a group called Dream Theatre. Appropriate music most especially today. We were told that he can listen to his favorite music and since it was music that helped wake him up, it will be something he can identify with. We are glad we like this music also - it would make for a very long day. All parents reading this can relate right? I know Paul really likes the Vienna Boys choir and classical guitar/music, so that will be enjoyable listening also.
His room is kept very cold, it helps control his fever. It might be the cause of pneumonia for us! He stays consistently at 100-101 degrees. No real changes today for him. They changed his food, and it seems to be working better.
We were told that the recovery will be like watching paint dry - and that is true. Very minimal change, lungs still clearing and with the condition they were in, it will be awhile before they are completely healed. It is a slow day here since it is Sunday. Tomorrow we believe there will be an agenda discussed since Paul has woken and can understand simple responses.
Thank you for the continued prayers for Paul. He will need it for the strength to recover. We pray for all of you also, that you will be blessed abundantly for the time you have taken to pray for our son. God bless you all and may the Peace of Jesus be yours today.
Love to all,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
We are sitting with Paul, and we are not really sure if he knows us today or not. He seems to be going in and out of a very deep sleep. He looks at us and we can tell he isn't really focused on us. It will be a very slow process as he tries to 'connect the dots'. We are playing his favorite music ( his friends know instantly who it is - smile) by a group called Dream Theatre. Appropriate music most especially today. We were told that he can listen to his favorite music and since it was music that helped wake him up, it will be something he can identify with. We are glad we like this music also - it would make for a very long day. All parents reading this can relate right? I know Paul really likes the Vienna Boys choir and classical guitar/music, so that will be enjoyable listening also.
His room is kept very cold, it helps control his fever. It might be the cause of pneumonia for us! He stays consistently at 100-101 degrees. No real changes today for him. They changed his food, and it seems to be working better.
We were told that the recovery will be like watching paint dry - and that is true. Very minimal change, lungs still clearing and with the condition they were in, it will be awhile before they are completely healed. It is a slow day here since it is Sunday. Tomorrow we believe there will be an agenda discussed since Paul has woken and can understand simple responses.
Thank you for the continued prayers for Paul. He will need it for the strength to recover. We pray for all of you also, that you will be blessed abundantly for the time you have taken to pray for our son. God bless you all and may the Peace of Jesus be yours today.
Love to all,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
Saturday, November 26, 2005
'Eye' witness account............
The opthamologist came in to check on Paul's eye and he was very happy with what he was seeing. As he worked on Paul, I held the relic of St. Paul that was given to us by Fr. Paddy in my hands and prayed that just as St. Paul was blinded and then was able to see the love of God, our Paul would come to see the glory of God all around him when he recovers fully. It is our greatest prayer that Paul will be given the strength to continue to do God's will in his life, this new life he has been graced with.
Dr. Tucker said that he was feeling that the eye was healing very well and was happy to see Paul so well. He said that the eye is so much better than 3 days ago, and was glad to see that Paul was able to handle the examination with a lot less visible pain. The first exam was very painful for Paul and you could see his face show the pain. He was much more at peace as Dr Tucker worked on him. Praise be to God for guiding the hands of this doctor, in answer to my prayer as they worked on Paul. I also tried to handle it better.............smile. The interesting thing is that Jon and I had just come back into the room after taking a walk around the park in front of the hospital and we prayed so hard that God in His love would help Paul have restored vision in his left eye and that we understood that a miracle would be needed. We prayed for God's will to be done and then came back in renewed in strength. 10 minutes later the opthamologist walked in and we heard encouraging news. Funny old world isn't it??? We gave thanks to God and asked for blessings for this doctor as he continues his healing work.
Paul's music is playing softly in this room and I am so joyous for all that his life has brought to us this past 21 years and look with joyful hope to all that he may be graced with in the future. Today I was told by 2 women from church that all of my sons have always been so polite to them, but that only Paul was the one who would hug them immediately each time he saw them. I am learning more about this son of mine everyday and am grateful he shared his love with so many people. I look forward to getting Paul up and out into this world again, where so much love is needed.
Dr. Tucker said that he was feeling that the eye was healing very well and was happy to see Paul so well. He said that the eye is so much better than 3 days ago, and was glad to see that Paul was able to handle the examination with a lot less visible pain. The first exam was very painful for Paul and you could see his face show the pain. He was much more at peace as Dr Tucker worked on him. Praise be to God for guiding the hands of this doctor, in answer to my prayer as they worked on Paul. I also tried to handle it better.............smile. The interesting thing is that Jon and I had just come back into the room after taking a walk around the park in front of the hospital and we prayed so hard that God in His love would help Paul have restored vision in his left eye and that we understood that a miracle would be needed. We prayed for God's will to be done and then came back in renewed in strength. 10 minutes later the opthamologist walked in and we heard encouraging news. Funny old world isn't it??? We gave thanks to God and asked for blessings for this doctor as he continues his healing work.
Paul's music is playing softly in this room and I am so joyous for all that his life has brought to us this past 21 years and look with joyful hope to all that he may be graced with in the future. Today I was told by 2 women from church that all of my sons have always been so polite to them, but that only Paul was the one who would hug them immediately each time he saw them. I am learning more about this son of mine everyday and am grateful he shared his love with so many people. I look forward to getting Paul up and out into this world again, where so much love is needed.
Wide Awake and Wondering
Yesterday was a day of wonderment for us all. Paul was able to recognize his family and gave some very familiar facial expressions. As the day wore on, he started to show signs of stress as he tried to figure out why some things were not working on his body. He kept moving his right hand over to his left arm to see why he could not move it. He appears to try to talk, and his look tells us he is frustrated. He has had a couple of panic attacks during the night. He had tears in his right eye today as he looked at Jon and me. It is apparent he is struggling to make sense of his world. This is a difficult thing to watch, especially when we can see he is stressed.
His lungs are improving, he is on about 30% oxygen. At 21% he will be able to come off the ventilator. After some time, the trach will also be removed, but we are looking at weeks ahead for that. He will have the feeding tube reinserted into his stomach, and are prayerful that his digestive system can handle it. He was not tolerating food very well all this last week. He had the tube removed to let his intestines rest. He will be back on it today, with the tube inserted directly into the stomach.
He seems to be sweating yesterday, and the fever was down. It was up again last night, but he is down to 99 degrees again. The spiking in fever has come down, it is not so wide a gap as the past few days.
The inability to move his left arm is physical - not a brain issue. It may be that there is damage at the neck on the left side. It is an issue that they will be looking at, but not crucial at this time. Also, they won't need to do surgery on his eye to remove the blood behind the eye. His body will absorb that on its own. No surgery is a good thing at this time, as it only means added trauma to his body. Praise God for the fact that no surgery is needed.
Please continue to pray especially for his lungs to heal quickly. Getting him off the ventilator is primary and getting his intestinal system back on track is also a reason for prayer.
We thank everyone who has posted a comment, as it brings tears of joy each evening as we sit and read them. As crazy as it sounds, we are able to rejoice in so many things each day and are most especially grateful to God as we start the season of Advent. What an awesome gift given to us in the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Love to all,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
His lungs are improving, he is on about 30% oxygen. At 21% he will be able to come off the ventilator. After some time, the trach will also be removed, but we are looking at weeks ahead for that. He will have the feeding tube reinserted into his stomach, and are prayerful that his digestive system can handle it. He was not tolerating food very well all this last week. He had the tube removed to let his intestines rest. He will be back on it today, with the tube inserted directly into the stomach.
He seems to be sweating yesterday, and the fever was down. It was up again last night, but he is down to 99 degrees again. The spiking in fever has come down, it is not so wide a gap as the past few days.
The inability to move his left arm is physical - not a brain issue. It may be that there is damage at the neck on the left side. It is an issue that they will be looking at, but not crucial at this time. Also, they won't need to do surgery on his eye to remove the blood behind the eye. His body will absorb that on its own. No surgery is a good thing at this time, as it only means added trauma to his body. Praise God for the fact that no surgery is needed.
Please continue to pray especially for his lungs to heal quickly. Getting him off the ventilator is primary and getting his intestinal system back on track is also a reason for prayer.
We thank everyone who has posted a comment, as it brings tears of joy each evening as we sit and read them. As crazy as it sounds, we are able to rejoice in so many things each day and are most especially grateful to God as we start the season of Advent. What an awesome gift given to us in the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Love to all,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
Friday, November 25, 2005
GOD'S MERCY ENDURES FOREVER
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ,
I can hardly keep my hands from shaking as I send out this joyous message to you. Our Paul is awake and responding to us !!!! There is only one thing to say first PRAISE BE TO GOD IN HIS HEAVEN AND ALL HIS ANGELS AND SAINTS.
I am sitting here listening to his brothers talking to people on their cell phones and there is so much laughter and joy in the room and we can hear people on the other ends of the phones laughing with joy and crying. Our God in His heaven has heard our plea for help and I pray that each of you will understand that He touched each of you for a reason. Take time to listen to Him each day, and always be ready to say yes to His will and to have the courage and wisdom and strength to say yes. I can tell you first hand, it is not easy. But I can tell you that I am a very weak person, and that is how I know that this was all God's will and that He was carrying us through.
Last night we brought music Paul and Jon had recorded and let Paul listen to it. He had not been moving much in the last few days. His heart rate went way up, he opened his right eye and moved his right arm, like he was trying to play the guitar. After about 20 minutes, he yawned and fell back asleep.
The doctor who told us that we needed to understand that this was a very severe brain injury and that Paul would probably always be on the ventilator and even mentioned that the next infection could possibly just be left unattended as an option, was the very doctor who called us this morning. He waited until we got to the hospital also, and this doctor was usually out of the unit by 7:30 each morning! This is also the doctor that I stood behind 2 days ago and in my mind told him that he was in my sights and he would be prayed for by me and most fervently, that he would come to know that God loves him and everyone. Another prayer answered!! He is astounded by this all. The nurses were in the hallways waiting for us to arrive, and hugged us as we all said Praise be to God. It was a beautiful sight.
Jon and Jim raced to the hospital first and Paul was letting them know he knew them by squeezing their hands on command and in answer to their questions. We came into the room shortly after and while I was talking to Paul, a tear rolled down his cheek. He squeezed my hand as I tried to let him know that he was fine, to try not to talk and just let us continue to take care of him. We told him to keep talking to Blessed Mother and Jesus as he gets better. There will be much to tell over the next few days and we will share all of our stories about how he responded to each of us and the progress we pray will happen.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD.
OUR LOVE TO ALL OF YOU.
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
I can hardly keep my hands from shaking as I send out this joyous message to you. Our Paul is awake and responding to us !!!! There is only one thing to say first PRAISE BE TO GOD IN HIS HEAVEN AND ALL HIS ANGELS AND SAINTS.
I am sitting here listening to his brothers talking to people on their cell phones and there is so much laughter and joy in the room and we can hear people on the other ends of the phones laughing with joy and crying. Our God in His heaven has heard our plea for help and I pray that each of you will understand that He touched each of you for a reason. Take time to listen to Him each day, and always be ready to say yes to His will and to have the courage and wisdom and strength to say yes. I can tell you first hand, it is not easy. But I can tell you that I am a very weak person, and that is how I know that this was all God's will and that He was carrying us through.
Last night we brought music Paul and Jon had recorded and let Paul listen to it. He had not been moving much in the last few days. His heart rate went way up, he opened his right eye and moved his right arm, like he was trying to play the guitar. After about 20 minutes, he yawned and fell back asleep.
The doctor who told us that we needed to understand that this was a very severe brain injury and that Paul would probably always be on the ventilator and even mentioned that the next infection could possibly just be left unattended as an option, was the very doctor who called us this morning. He waited until we got to the hospital also, and this doctor was usually out of the unit by 7:30 each morning! This is also the doctor that I stood behind 2 days ago and in my mind told him that he was in my sights and he would be prayed for by me and most fervently, that he would come to know that God loves him and everyone. Another prayer answered!! He is astounded by this all. The nurses were in the hallways waiting for us to arrive, and hugged us as we all said Praise be to God. It was a beautiful sight.
Jon and Jim raced to the hospital first and Paul was letting them know he knew them by squeezing their hands on command and in answer to their questions. We came into the room shortly after and while I was talking to Paul, a tear rolled down his cheek. He squeezed my hand as I tried to let him know that he was fine, to try not to talk and just let us continue to take care of him. We told him to keep talking to Blessed Mother and Jesus as he gets better. There will be much to tell over the next few days and we will share all of our stories about how he responded to each of us and the progress we pray will happen.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD.
OUR LOVE TO ALL OF YOU.
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
Thursday, November 24, 2005
More photos...
Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure. The comments are courtesy of Paul's older brother Jon.
(Paul doing what he does best...)
(Christmas with the Fidero's...Paul has always had a strange attachment to Corvette's...and yes, I am wearing shorts underneath all that wrapping paper).
(Rocking out at Thanksgiving 2004...myself and Paul jamming, my father on the right sustaining the rythm...alright, I will admit it: Paul was the only one capable of soloing. Last but not least, Phat Mike on keyboards behind us).
(Los quatros amigos).
(Hands down, the finest looking men on the planet if I don't say so myself...it is okay, we don't mind if you use this shot as your background wallpaper. I know everyone wants to, and we don't blame you).
(Paul doing what he does best...)
(Christmas with the Fidero's...Paul has always had a strange attachment to Corvette's...and yes, I am wearing shorts underneath all that wrapping paper).
(Rocking out at Thanksgiving 2004...myself and Paul jamming, my father on the right sustaining the rythm...alright, I will admit it: Paul was the only one capable of soloing. Last but not least, Phat Mike on keyboards behind us).
(Los quatros amigos).
(Hands down, the finest looking men on the planet if I don't say so myself...it is okay, we don't mind if you use this shot as your background wallpaper. I know everyone wants to, and we don't blame you).
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Riding the waves and surf's up..............
(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
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The Fruits of this labor - God's story
As we fell asleep last night, we knew in our hearts that is was time for us to share all that God has done for our family in response to our plea for prayers. In hindsight, we can see that angels and saints have interceded and that Our Blessed Mother Mary has made perfect, the prayers that were sent to heaven. We have also seen and now understand more clearly, that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
From the beginning, we knew that it was not our strength that helped us breathe, walk or cope each day. It was like we were moving along on a cloud, which was the power of your prayers. There was no doubt in our minds who was in charge of this event in our life. We knew our lives had been changed, our pathway was going to be more of a climb than before. But we prayed for trust each day and the will to allow God's hand to work through everyone involved. That continues to be a constant challenge, especially for this mother who has always thought she was 'in charge' of her 4 sons......smile.
At the scene, I knew that this very surreal occurence was God's will. I called out loud to Him and my dearest Mother Mary to help sustain me in that very painful grief. As I looked down at my hands, I saw the blood of my son and in that second, I started to talk to Blessed Mary and told her how sorry I was for the pain she had to endure. I asked her to hold me as I tried to walk with Jesus in that moment. The torment was so real, and after I told her I was so sorry, I felt her peace. I was able to ask a firefighter to sprinkle holy water over Paul's body, and ask God to bless him. He did not really want to take the time, and another man walked up and asked me what I needed. I told him that I was Catholic, and that my son needed to be blessed and that is all, that I would pray for God's mercy while it was being done. He said he was also Catholic, and he made sure that Paul was blessed. ( I was not allowed to get near my son). This man also drove to our church that was 2 miles away and summoned Fr. Paddy. When I got to the hospital, we had 2 priests waiting to annoint Paul. The peace we felt for Paul was such a comfort.
2 times, when we were told Paul would probably die, there were so many people at the hospital, and as Paul was brought through the hallways for CAT scans or MRI's people were praying over him and then we would get the news that the crisis was over. The doctor seemed surprised after that last crisis was averted. But we smiled and knew who was with Paul.
On the day where we felt our first real despair and grief, a woman came to the waiting room and said she had been led by the Holy Spirit that day to visit us and to help us. At the moment, I felt so drained that my first reaction was to wish I could just be alone. She said that her son, on his 21st birthday, was also injured in an accident where he hit a tree. Very serious and significant damage was done to his brain. She said that she was told to be kind and to take her son off his life support. She received very little encouragement from the medical profession. But the Holy Spirit kept speaking to her heart and she persisted in her pleas to continue treatment. He is alive, walks with the aid of a walker and has full cognitive ability........after being in a coma for ONE YEAR ! She felt that we needed to hear that. And we did, as that day they indicated that maybe we should think about not letting Paul have the trach tube put in. God sent a messenger again.
Yesterday, once again, the hospital reminded us again, that Paul has a severe brain injury and did we understand what they were trying to tell us. We do know it is very severe. I found myself repeating over and over in my head, that where there is breath there is life. Where there is life there is hope and where there is hope there is God. I told them to continue with everything necessary. But we started to waiver in our faith, wondering if we were missing the message that God might be trying to send. So we went into Paul's room and told him to go home to God, if that was God's will. We knew we had to submit to all that God was asking and that we had to say yes to it. We left feeling so much despair. We came out to the waiting room and Paul's boss (Mr. Watson)was out there and said he had brought something for Paul. He had been in Savannah the day before and for some reason, had stopped because a homeless man had smiled at him and the smile just caught his attention. He asked if he could do something for the man, food or something and the man said no. He was making something with a strand from a palm tree while he was talking to Mr. Watson. Mr Watson gave him $10 and the man did a little dance. Mr Watson started to walk away, but then turned around and asked the man if he would do something for him. Mr. Watson asked if he would pray for a young man that he cared for, named Paul Fidero. He asked if the man would get all his friends to pray also. The smile never left the homeless man's face and he quoted some scripture verses, and then handed the palm strand to Mr. Watson and said "Just wait" and then when Mr. Watson looked down, the palm strand had been fashioned into a beautiful rose !! Mr. Watson thanked him, walked a few steps and turned to look back at this man again, but the man was no where to be found. Mr Watson came straight to the hospital the next day to bring the rose to Paul, and today we used it to touch his eye and asked for God's blessings.
That helped us so much in that moment. Another gift to us. I had prayed to St. Therese to please send me roses from heaven that morning as I struggled on my faith journey. And God heard me.
At 10 pm last night, the phone rang and we were startled awake. It was the cell phone ringing and I did not recognize the number. I fully expected it was the hospital because Paul had been in some respiratory distress and they did not know why. The woman who called said that she didn't know us, but that she had heard about our son and she felt that she had to go pray the rosary over Paul last night. She was at the hospital at the moment and saw our number on the message board in Paul's room. She felt she had to call us to share why she was there. Her 18 yr old son, Chip Huggins, was in a very bad car accident 18 months ago. He looked much worse than Paul looked and had to have surgery on his brain right after the accident. She was told he would not make it and that there was not much hope of any recovery. She said she did not listen to the doctors after awhile, and instead lifted her son up in prayer. She asked if I knew of Msgr. Reynolds, a priest here in town. I said as a matter of fact I did. He was dying of cancer at St Joseph's hospital at the same time that my dad was there - also dying of cancer. Archbishop Donaghue was visiting Msgr. Reynolds and I saw the Archbishop in the hallway and asked him to please come bless my father. It was Good Friday and we thought my dad would die that day. My dad found great comfort from the blessing he received and died early Easter morning as we were in Mass for him. Mrs. Huggins said that Msgr Reynolds did not die and that he now has the gift of healing. She said he had prayed and annointed her son and that today, he is a freshman at Georgia Tech (tough school to get into) and he is doing well, even though he lost his sight in his left eye, which is what we feel may happen to Paul. She said that they are still praying for his sight. All is in God's power. Her son was released after only 8 weeks at Shepard Spinal clinic. There were many scares and moments of grave concern, but their faith moved mountains.
There are so many other moments of grace that God has sent us messages of His abundant love. I am trying to get it all written down as a reminder to our family that He will not leave us. That His love is for all of us and that we only need to say His holy name and allow His will to be done.
While this is a very long message about God's love, there is so much more to tell.His is a never ending story! But we felt it was time to show all of you what your prayers have brought to our whole family and countless others. Your prayers continue to be heard and are allowing us to hear and see the GOODNESS OF THE LORD. Our prayer for all of you is that you
'BE NOT AFRAID'.
This is the message above Paul's bed, with a picture of our Blessed Mother Mary holding John Paul II as he prays. This continues to be the "Miracle Season" and we ask all of you to give great thanks for all that has been seen and what is to come.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
From the beginning, we knew that it was not our strength that helped us breathe, walk or cope each day. It was like we were moving along on a cloud, which was the power of your prayers. There was no doubt in our minds who was in charge of this event in our life. We knew our lives had been changed, our pathway was going to be more of a climb than before. But we prayed for trust each day and the will to allow God's hand to work through everyone involved. That continues to be a constant challenge, especially for this mother who has always thought she was 'in charge' of her 4 sons......smile.
At the scene, I knew that this very surreal occurence was God's will. I called out loud to Him and my dearest Mother Mary to help sustain me in that very painful grief. As I looked down at my hands, I saw the blood of my son and in that second, I started to talk to Blessed Mary and told her how sorry I was for the pain she had to endure. I asked her to hold me as I tried to walk with Jesus in that moment. The torment was so real, and after I told her I was so sorry, I felt her peace. I was able to ask a firefighter to sprinkle holy water over Paul's body, and ask God to bless him. He did not really want to take the time, and another man walked up and asked me what I needed. I told him that I was Catholic, and that my son needed to be blessed and that is all, that I would pray for God's mercy while it was being done. He said he was also Catholic, and he made sure that Paul was blessed. ( I was not allowed to get near my son). This man also drove to our church that was 2 miles away and summoned Fr. Paddy. When I got to the hospital, we had 2 priests waiting to annoint Paul. The peace we felt for Paul was such a comfort.
2 times, when we were told Paul would probably die, there were so many people at the hospital, and as Paul was brought through the hallways for CAT scans or MRI's people were praying over him and then we would get the news that the crisis was over. The doctor seemed surprised after that last crisis was averted. But we smiled and knew who was with Paul.
On the day where we felt our first real despair and grief, a woman came to the waiting room and said she had been led by the Holy Spirit that day to visit us and to help us. At the moment, I felt so drained that my first reaction was to wish I could just be alone. She said that her son, on his 21st birthday, was also injured in an accident where he hit a tree. Very serious and significant damage was done to his brain. She said that she was told to be kind and to take her son off his life support. She received very little encouragement from the medical profession. But the Holy Spirit kept speaking to her heart and she persisted in her pleas to continue treatment. He is alive, walks with the aid of a walker and has full cognitive ability........after being in a coma for ONE YEAR ! She felt that we needed to hear that. And we did, as that day they indicated that maybe we should think about not letting Paul have the trach tube put in. God sent a messenger again.
Yesterday, once again, the hospital reminded us again, that Paul has a severe brain injury and did we understand what they were trying to tell us. We do know it is very severe. I found myself repeating over and over in my head, that where there is breath there is life. Where there is life there is hope and where there is hope there is God. I told them to continue with everything necessary. But we started to waiver in our faith, wondering if we were missing the message that God might be trying to send. So we went into Paul's room and told him to go home to God, if that was God's will. We knew we had to submit to all that God was asking and that we had to say yes to it. We left feeling so much despair. We came out to the waiting room and Paul's boss (Mr. Watson)was out there and said he had brought something for Paul. He had been in Savannah the day before and for some reason, had stopped because a homeless man had smiled at him and the smile just caught his attention. He asked if he could do something for the man, food or something and the man said no. He was making something with a strand from a palm tree while he was talking to Mr. Watson. Mr Watson gave him $10 and the man did a little dance. Mr Watson started to walk away, but then turned around and asked the man if he would do something for him. Mr. Watson asked if he would pray for a young man that he cared for, named Paul Fidero. He asked if the man would get all his friends to pray also. The smile never left the homeless man's face and he quoted some scripture verses, and then handed the palm strand to Mr. Watson and said "Just wait" and then when Mr. Watson looked down, the palm strand had been fashioned into a beautiful rose !! Mr. Watson thanked him, walked a few steps and turned to look back at this man again, but the man was no where to be found. Mr Watson came straight to the hospital the next day to bring the rose to Paul, and today we used it to touch his eye and asked for God's blessings.
That helped us so much in that moment. Another gift to us. I had prayed to St. Therese to please send me roses from heaven that morning as I struggled on my faith journey. And God heard me.
At 10 pm last night, the phone rang and we were startled awake. It was the cell phone ringing and I did not recognize the number. I fully expected it was the hospital because Paul had been in some respiratory distress and they did not know why. The woman who called said that she didn't know us, but that she had heard about our son and she felt that she had to go pray the rosary over Paul last night. She was at the hospital at the moment and saw our number on the message board in Paul's room. She felt she had to call us to share why she was there. Her 18 yr old son, Chip Huggins, was in a very bad car accident 18 months ago. He looked much worse than Paul looked and had to have surgery on his brain right after the accident. She was told he would not make it and that there was not much hope of any recovery. She said she did not listen to the doctors after awhile, and instead lifted her son up in prayer. She asked if I knew of Msgr. Reynolds, a priest here in town. I said as a matter of fact I did. He was dying of cancer at St Joseph's hospital at the same time that my dad was there - also dying of cancer. Archbishop Donaghue was visiting Msgr. Reynolds and I saw the Archbishop in the hallway and asked him to please come bless my father. It was Good Friday and we thought my dad would die that day. My dad found great comfort from the blessing he received and died early Easter morning as we were in Mass for him. Mrs. Huggins said that Msgr Reynolds did not die and that he now has the gift of healing. She said he had prayed and annointed her son and that today, he is a freshman at Georgia Tech (tough school to get into) and he is doing well, even though he lost his sight in his left eye, which is what we feel may happen to Paul. She said that they are still praying for his sight. All is in God's power. Her son was released after only 8 weeks at Shepard Spinal clinic. There were many scares and moments of grave concern, but their faith moved mountains.
There are so many other moments of grace that God has sent us messages of His abundant love. I am trying to get it all written down as a reminder to our family that He will not leave us. That His love is for all of us and that we only need to say His holy name and allow His will to be done.
While this is a very long message about God's love, there is so much more to tell.His is a never ending story! But we felt it was time to show all of you what your prayers have brought to our whole family and countless others. Your prayers continue to be heard and are allowing us to hear and see the GOODNESS OF THE LORD. Our prayer for all of you is that you
'BE NOT AFRAID'.
This is the message above Paul's bed, with a picture of our Blessed Mother Mary holding John Paul II as he prays. This continues to be the "Miracle Season" and we ask all of you to give great thanks for all that has been seen and what is to come.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
Monday, November 21, 2005
Prayer for Pope John Paul II's Intercession
James and I returned to Ave Maria University this week and were able to see first hand the incredible outpouring of love and prayers from the entire community here. The signs posted the weekend of Paul's accident still remain and I found the following prayer in our adoration chapel which I know has been said by many for our late Holy Father's intercession on Paul's behalf:
O Blessed Trinity,
We thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II
and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care,
the glory of the Cross of Christ,
and the splendor of the Holy Spirit to shine through him.
Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd,
and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of
ordinary Christian life and is the way
of achieving eternal communion with you.
Grant us, by the intercession, and according to Your will,
the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon
be numbered among your saints. Amen.
Heavenly Father, grant that Pope John Paul II intercede for your servant, Paul Fidero!
Please join us in praying this prayer each day for Paul. Thank you all, and God Bless you.
O Blessed Trinity,
We thank you for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II
and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care,
the glory of the Cross of Christ,
and the splendor of the Holy Spirit to shine through him.
Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary,
he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd,
and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of
ordinary Christian life and is the way
of achieving eternal communion with you.
Grant us, by the intercession, and according to Your will,
the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon
be numbered among your saints. Amen.
Heavenly Father, grant that Pope John Paul II intercede for your servant, Paul Fidero!
Please join us in praying this prayer each day for Paul. Thank you all, and God Bless you.
Yahoo - Week Two
We again want to thank everyone for their continued prayers for Paul. We have received so many blessings and we used Sunday to sit quietly and reflect on all the great out pouring of love shown to this family. We prayed that all of you will be blessed abundantly for these acts of charity.
We met with the pulmonologist (lungs) and he said that Paul has been fighting pneumonia and his white blood count is back down, which means the antibiotics are working. He no longer has a fever either. He is still heavily sedated at this time, something they have had to do to control the pain. Paul was showing signs of distress, so the meds have been increased to help him manage the pain. He needs his resources to recover, not handle pain. They will put in the trach tomorrow at 10 am, a very simple procedure that will be done in his room. This will allow all the tubes to be taken out of his mouth and will be more comfortable all the way around. It will be good to see his full face. The shunt in the brain was also removed, and the draining of brain fluid has stopped. All these are positive things and we are holding on to everything that helps sustain our hopes for a miracle. It is important to remember, that at this time, his prognosis is (in medical terms) not good. There is no response from the brain at this time and we are very prayerful that we will see something soon.
Also, we were told that Paul will, in all probability, not have very good vision, if at all, in his left eye. It was severly damaged. This confirmed our very first thoughts about his sight. But everything remains in God's hands and we are reminded so concretely that we need to keep our trust in our loving God. He will provide all that we need as we go through our day and we give him our love and thanks in response.
Another item on the list for this week is the possible surgery to repair the damage to the left side of the face (bone above his eye) and the left temple area. They will do plastic surgery to reconstruct the left side of the skull and orbital. They wanted to wait until Paul stabilized. After that surgery, we have the possibility of moving Paul out of the Intensive Care Unit. He may be moved to the hospital in town that specializes in brain injury patients. That will be a very critical time for Paul, as there will be very aggressive management of trying to get Paul to actually respond to his environment.
God's blessing to you today. We are so grateful to everyone and please know that we could not do this without all this prayerful support.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
ps - we will be loading some pictures onto this site today, it helps to picture Paul smiling!
We met with the pulmonologist (lungs) and he said that Paul has been fighting pneumonia and his white blood count is back down, which means the antibiotics are working. He no longer has a fever either. He is still heavily sedated at this time, something they have had to do to control the pain. Paul was showing signs of distress, so the meds have been increased to help him manage the pain. He needs his resources to recover, not handle pain. They will put in the trach tomorrow at 10 am, a very simple procedure that will be done in his room. This will allow all the tubes to be taken out of his mouth and will be more comfortable all the way around. It will be good to see his full face. The shunt in the brain was also removed, and the draining of brain fluid has stopped. All these are positive things and we are holding on to everything that helps sustain our hopes for a miracle. It is important to remember, that at this time, his prognosis is (in medical terms) not good. There is no response from the brain at this time and we are very prayerful that we will see something soon.
Also, we were told that Paul will, in all probability, not have very good vision, if at all, in his left eye. It was severly damaged. This confirmed our very first thoughts about his sight. But everything remains in God's hands and we are reminded so concretely that we need to keep our trust in our loving God. He will provide all that we need as we go through our day and we give him our love and thanks in response.
Another item on the list for this week is the possible surgery to repair the damage to the left side of the face (bone above his eye) and the left temple area. They will do plastic surgery to reconstruct the left side of the skull and orbital. They wanted to wait until Paul stabilized. After that surgery, we have the possibility of moving Paul out of the Intensive Care Unit. He may be moved to the hospital in town that specializes in brain injury patients. That will be a very critical time for Paul, as there will be very aggressive management of trying to get Paul to actually respond to his environment.
God's blessing to you today. We are so grateful to everyone and please know that we could not do this without all this prayerful support.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
ps - we will be loading some pictures onto this site today, it helps to picture Paul smiling!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Saturday, November 19, 2005
We will need another round of prayers........
Paul has developed pneumonia, and this was somewhat expected. He has been fighting a fever and it spiked to 103.9 last night. He has a cooling blanket on, and they may have to put the wet towels back on him to keep it from going too high. We are very concerned about the fever at this time. He is on a new antibiotic for the pneumonia, please pray it starts to work quickly to fight the bacteria. He is not having to deal with anything else that will cause problems at this time. He is still in a coma. In Adoration today, as we prayed, we were reading the Way of the Cross. It reminds us that we are to pick up our cross, to walk with Jesus and remember we are not alone. We are surrounded by all the love of God. It will bring us our peace and strength. We believe this with all our heart. We also remember daily, that Paul was God's first. We were blessed that God trusted him to our care and we are thankful for the gifts we received from this child of God. We also know that God knows we are here, asking for his great Mercy for our Paul. We will wait, pray and rejoice knowing that God's hand is in all things. Our love to everyone who is reading this. Your kindness and love continues to help us move forward each day. God blesses you in all ways and at all times. Praise be His Holy Name.
Love, Jon and Rebecca Fidero (parents)
We will be posting some other pictures of Paul later. It brought us great comfort as we looked at his smiling face, in so many circumstances, wth so many friends. Thank you for your support and remember, as we were reminded last night, this is a marathon, not a sprint !!
Love, Jon and Rebecca Fidero (parents)
We will be posting some other pictures of Paul later. It brought us great comfort as we looked at his smiling face, in so many circumstances, wth so many friends. Thank you for your support and remember, as we were reminded last night, this is a marathon, not a sprint !!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Fighting the good fight...
Here is another picture of Paul's car. It is a miracle he is alive.
Today Paul was able to have an MRI taken of his neck. He was not strong enough yesterday, probably due to his fever which came and went. His breathing was much more laborous, it looked as though he was struggling. But we expect that he will calm down after some rest. The MRI test is grueling and takes a lot out of him. We are waiting for the doctors to put a trach in Paul's throat so we can get him off the ventilator. He cannot breathe on his own yet, but his lungs have not worsened in their condition so we have no reason to think he might not be able to breathe on his own one day soon. We spoke with Fr. Jack Durkin, a dear priest friend about Catholic teaching on end-of-life issues. While the trach is an extra-ordinary means of sustaining Paul's life, we will continue to fight as long as Paul is fighting, and we will do whatever we can to help him to fight as well. In other words, we are not giving up on him, despite the "expert" advice of the doctors.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
New Photo and a clarification...
Here is a photo of Paul's car. As you can see, the driver's side recieved the impact. The car must have rolled up the tree somehow, because the roof is caved in as well. Depending on the response I get on the blog, I will put out more photos of Paul's car from different angles, but only if people want to see them.
We have recieved some phone calls and emails with questions about Paul's condition, the reason being that we left out a couple important details. First of all, Paul does have an infection, but he is recieving antibiotics for it at this time and his temperature has dropped. At this point, they have not located the infection, so they will have to do some more tests and hopefully locate it. Another question which came up was the extent of blood loss Paul has suffered. At this point, Paul has lost four pints of blood. I do not think that this amount of blood loss signifies anything substantial, or is cause for alarm, except that his injuries were severe. People have commented today that Paul seems to be looking a little better. His skin looks to be getting its color back, and he seems to just look better overall. I am not sure if that is just because we all have been here at the hospital for a week straight and are beginning to see things, but it seems to be the consensus.
Please keep praying!!!
From Paul's Parents
To all of our brothers and sisters in Christ,
God's blessing to you all on this Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. After her husband died, she embraced a life of poverty and erected a hospital in which she herself served the sick. Please
continue to pray for our son Paul, and ask that St. Elizabeth join you in your prayers this day.
We have learned to a much greater extent, that God's hand is in everything and that we are being called to trust in His love and mercy. The words "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad" is the first prayer of our day. We are so abundantly thankful to God for our lives, and each day Paul is allowed to live. But even more than this, for the very visible signs of God's love in our life. We have been more overwhelmed by the love of all who have come to us in prayer and word and action. This love being shared with us has brought us to tears more often than any other thing this last week. We are very different people than we were last Thursday because we have learned what prayer really is and what love really is and what trust in God actually is. The words, "Jesus, I trust in you" are so alive in our hearts. It is such a gift from God that we have been called in a more visible way, to trust Him. And with your prayers we are able. Your prayers have not only helped Paul in this time, but our whole family. We are so blessed to be lifted up in prayer, it is such a beautiful gift to us.
Our prayer for all of you is that you will hear God calling you by name, and that through the intercession of our Blessed Mary, Mother of God, you will do God's will in all things so that you can return home where God will say to you - Well done my faithful servant. When God wants something done in this world, he sends a child and waits, and we are all the children of God!!
Praise be to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have prayed each day for a miracle and we have received the miracle. It is Love.
As St. Paul said, "pray without ceasing." And we ask this of you for our son Paul, in this time we are now calling "The Miracle Season". Our most heartfelt love to you all !
Peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
God's blessing to you all on this Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. After her husband died, she embraced a life of poverty and erected a hospital in which she herself served the sick. Please
continue to pray for our son Paul, and ask that St. Elizabeth join you in your prayers this day.
We have learned to a much greater extent, that God's hand is in everything and that we are being called to trust in His love and mercy. The words "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad" is the first prayer of our day. We are so abundantly thankful to God for our lives, and each day Paul is allowed to live. But even more than this, for the very visible signs of God's love in our life. We have been more overwhelmed by the love of all who have come to us in prayer and word and action. This love being shared with us has brought us to tears more often than any other thing this last week. We are very different people than we were last Thursday because we have learned what prayer really is and what love really is and what trust in God actually is. The words, "Jesus, I trust in you" are so alive in our hearts. It is such a gift from God that we have been called in a more visible way, to trust Him. And with your prayers we are able. Your prayers have not only helped Paul in this time, but our whole family. We are so blessed to be lifted up in prayer, it is such a beautiful gift to us.
Our prayer for all of you is that you will hear God calling you by name, and that through the intercession of our Blessed Mary, Mother of God, you will do God's will in all things so that you can return home where God will say to you - Well done my faithful servant. When God wants something done in this world, he sends a child and waits, and we are all the children of God!!
Praise be to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have prayed each day for a miracle and we have received the miracle. It is Love.
As St. Paul said, "pray without ceasing." And we ask this of you for our son Paul, in this time we are now calling "The Miracle Season". Our most heartfelt love to you all !
Peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero
More Small Miracles
In the meeting this morning, we were told that Paul's temperature was back down to 100.4, where it was expected to be all along. His temperature has been dropping since Fr. Kevin Peek said the mass in Paul's room last night. This is great news since his temp. had spiked to 103.4 degrees at one point. The body is expected to maintain a higher temperature while it is healing, so a ~100 degree temperature is just fine. Paul is still in pretty critical condition because his lungs are very susceptable to infections like menangitis or pneumonia, so please keep praying for his lungs to heal.
Paul is also still draining a little brain fluid from his ear from the cracks in the dura of his brain in spite of the shunt the doctors have placed in his head to re-rout the flow. The doctors are going to place a larger tube in the shunt because the fluid is obviously seeking the largest hole by which to escape. If the ear stops draining at this point, they will plug the shunt to see if the dura has healed. They are also looking to plastic surgery to put a plate in his face as a method of correcting the draining, but the neurosurgeon is waiting as long as possible to do the surgery so that Paul has more time to heal everywhere else first.
Paul's ventilator dependancy is down to 45% from 50%. Merely 5%, but a great step in the right direction! When he reaches 21%, Paul will be considered to be breathing on his own. This is also wonderful news because he can only be on the ventilator for a certain amount of time. The neurosurgeon is waiting a little longer to perform a tracheotomy, but the trach. will only be temporary when it does go in.
We met with a Shepard Spinal Care nurse today, and she said that Paul will be good enough to be admitted into their center (which is where we want him) after the neurosurgeon puts the plates in his face. This could happen as soon as next week, so please pray for this to happen. This Center takes a very aggressive approach to treating their patients and bringing them out of their comatose states. At the moment, Paul is considered to be between a 1 and 2 with his reaction level. After admittance into Shepard, Paul will be given 3-5 weeks to reach a level 4 or he will be sent home until he reaches that level on his own (and then he will be readmitted into Shepard).
Please pray for Paul's lungs to keep healing because that is the biggest issue we have to deal with at the present. Also pray for financial issues to be addressed according to God's will as the costs are going to be quite devastating to the family. Thank you again to everyone who has been praying for Paul. Paul's parents have been sustained by the graces God has been pouring out due to all the prayers being offered up for Paul. Personally, I cannot thank everyone enough for the outpouring of love we have all witnessed! My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. May God be blessed.
Paul is also still draining a little brain fluid from his ear from the cracks in the dura of his brain in spite of the shunt the doctors have placed in his head to re-rout the flow. The doctors are going to place a larger tube in the shunt because the fluid is obviously seeking the largest hole by which to escape. If the ear stops draining at this point, they will plug the shunt to see if the dura has healed. They are also looking to plastic surgery to put a plate in his face as a method of correcting the draining, but the neurosurgeon is waiting as long as possible to do the surgery so that Paul has more time to heal everywhere else first.
Paul's ventilator dependancy is down to 45% from 50%. Merely 5%, but a great step in the right direction! When he reaches 21%, Paul will be considered to be breathing on his own. This is also wonderful news because he can only be on the ventilator for a certain amount of time. The neurosurgeon is waiting a little longer to perform a tracheotomy, but the trach. will only be temporary when it does go in.
We met with a Shepard Spinal Care nurse today, and she said that Paul will be good enough to be admitted into their center (which is where we want him) after the neurosurgeon puts the plates in his face. This could happen as soon as next week, so please pray for this to happen. This Center takes a very aggressive approach to treating their patients and bringing them out of their comatose states. At the moment, Paul is considered to be between a 1 and 2 with his reaction level. After admittance into Shepard, Paul will be given 3-5 weeks to reach a level 4 or he will be sent home until he reaches that level on his own (and then he will be readmitted into Shepard).
Please pray for Paul's lungs to keep healing because that is the biggest issue we have to deal with at the present. Also pray for financial issues to be addressed according to God's will as the costs are going to be quite devastating to the family. Thank you again to everyone who has been praying for Paul. Paul's parents have been sustained by the graces God has been pouring out due to all the prayers being offered up for Paul. Personally, I cannot thank everyone enough for the outpouring of love we have all witnessed! My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. May God be blessed.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Coincidence? I think not...
We had a vistor today at the hospital whose son, age 21, was in a car-accident a few years ago. He was in a comma for a year, but awoke and is now fully functional except speech (which was not a result of the accident itself). His mother prayed fervently, despite the doctors' insistence that her son would never awake and would be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. She ignored their diagnosis, and today he lives and functions normally. Today this man's mother came in to speak with our mother and father about her experience. She brought with her a medal blessed by our late Holy Father JPII. She also mentioned that the daily prayer which she would pray at her sons' bedside was Psalm 91. Paul has a prayer card next to his bed signed by the students at Ave Maria University which (coincidentally?) has Psalm 91 on the inside.
As you all know, we are praying to our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II and his intercession for a miracle healing of Paul. As a side note, I would like to mention that our fathers' name is Jon Paul, and he named his first two sons Jon and Paul, respectively. Fr. Kevin Peek came to the hospital this evening to hear our confessions and to say Mass. We were blessed to celebrate the Mass in Paul's room. Father placed the altar (Paul's bedtable) at the foot of Paul's bed and we all stood on either side of Paul's bed. The first reading was from 2 Macabees (http://www.easterbrooks.com/cgi-bin/Bible.cgi?reading=2Maccabees+7:1%2C20-31&mode=paragraph). The reading was very consoling for our mother, and was very relevant for Paul and all of us brothers as well. The Gospel reading was from Luke 19: 11-28. At communion Fr. Peek Blessed Paul's forehead and and lips with our Lord in the Eucharist. To top it all off, Paul celebrated the Mass wearing John Paul II's Zucchetto (white skull cap) which our late Holy Father wore at a private audience in Rome in 1996, where Fr. Peek was in attendance. A Second-class relic! In light of all of our prayers for John Paul's intercession for Paul's healing.....a coincidence? (I think not).
(I know there are many visitors to this website who are not Catholic, and I imagine that the content of these posts, particularly the two most recent, may be confusing to some you. So, I would just like to say that as Catholics, we believe that baptized Christians are members of the Body of Christ, and this Body includes both those alive on earth and those that have died before us marked with the sign of faith. As Hebrews tells us, our God is a God of the living, not the dead. Those that have died are alive in Christ Jesus. Thus, just as we ask all of you to pray for Paul, we also call upon the saints in heaven to pray as well, for we are one body in Christ. When we ask for the intercession of John Paul II, Blessed Catherine McAuley, or any other saint for that matter, this grace and healing by means of their intercession, which we pray is an effect of their prayers, finds its power most properly in our Lord Jesus Christ. We Catholics are not bypassing Christ when we pray to saints, just as we are not bypassing Christ when we ask you all to pray for Paul. There is ample Scriptural evidence for this communion of saints as well, and if you are interested in discussing it further or have any questions, please email me at johnnyfid@hotmail.com. I would please ask that Paul's blog NOT become a battlefield for theological (or philosophical) scruples one might have with the Catholic Church. We just ask that you continue to pray fervently no matter what your faith background might be.)
As you all know, we are praying to our late Holy Father Pope John Paul II and his intercession for a miracle healing of Paul. As a side note, I would like to mention that our fathers' name is Jon Paul, and he named his first two sons Jon and Paul, respectively. Fr. Kevin Peek came to the hospital this evening to hear our confessions and to say Mass. We were blessed to celebrate the Mass in Paul's room. Father placed the altar (Paul's bedtable) at the foot of Paul's bed and we all stood on either side of Paul's bed. The first reading was from 2 Macabees (http://www.easterbrooks.com/cgi-bin/Bible.cgi?reading=2Maccabees+7:1%2C20-31&mode=paragraph). The reading was very consoling for our mother, and was very relevant for Paul and all of us brothers as well. The Gospel reading was from Luke 19: 11-28. At communion Fr. Peek Blessed Paul's forehead and and lips with our Lord in the Eucharist. To top it all off, Paul celebrated the Mass wearing John Paul II's Zucchetto (white skull cap) which our late Holy Father wore at a private audience in Rome in 1996, where Fr. Peek was in attendance. A Second-class relic! In light of all of our prayers for John Paul's intercession for Paul's healing.....a coincidence? (I think not).
(I know there are many visitors to this website who are not Catholic, and I imagine that the content of these posts, particularly the two most recent, may be confusing to some you. So, I would just like to say that as Catholics, we believe that baptized Christians are members of the Body of Christ, and this Body includes both those alive on earth and those that have died before us marked with the sign of faith. As Hebrews tells us, our God is a God of the living, not the dead. Those that have died are alive in Christ Jesus. Thus, just as we ask all of you to pray for Paul, we also call upon the saints in heaven to pray as well, for we are one body in Christ. When we ask for the intercession of John Paul II, Blessed Catherine McAuley, or any other saint for that matter, this grace and healing by means of their intercession, which we pray is an effect of their prayers, finds its power most properly in our Lord Jesus Christ. We Catholics are not bypassing Christ when we pray to saints, just as we are not bypassing Christ when we ask you all to pray for Paul. There is ample Scriptural evidence for this communion of saints as well, and if you are interested in discussing it further or have any questions, please email me at johnnyfid@hotmail.com. I would please ask that Paul's blog NOT become a battlefield for theological (or philosophical) scruples one might have with the Catholic Church. We just ask that you continue to pray fervently no matter what your faith background might be.)
Prayer Request
I just recieved word from my friend Sr. Mary Christa in Rome, who is a Religious Sister of Mercy,and the entire Order from Ireland to Rome and throughout the United States are praying the prayer below for a miraculous cure for Paul through the intercession of their foundress Blessed Catherine McAuley whose case is up for beatification. Please join my family in saying this prayer each day for Paul.
Lord Jesus in your loving Mercy,
and through the intercession of
Venerable Catherine McAuley,
we ask you this day to grant us the miracle that our faith demands.
Venerable Catherine, you cared for the sick,
and those in need.
You brought the loving Mercy of our Lord Jesus
to all who asked for it.
We come to you in need this day.
Please intercede with our Lord Jesus
for a complete cure for
Paul Fidero.
With full confidence
we entrust this request to your prayers.
Thank you all, Pax Christi tecum
Jon Fidero
Lord Jesus in your loving Mercy,
and through the intercession of
Venerable Catherine McAuley,
we ask you this day to grant us the miracle that our faith demands.
Venerable Catherine, you cared for the sick,
and those in need.
You brought the loving Mercy of our Lord Jesus
to all who asked for it.
We come to you in need this day.
Please intercede with our Lord Jesus
for a complete cure for
Paul Fidero.
With full confidence
we entrust this request to your prayers.
Thank you all, Pax Christi tecum
Jon Fidero
Fighting infection
Sorry this post is so late, the time just goes by so quickly here in the hospital.
Paul's white blood cell count is up today, which signifies some kind of infection. The doctors have taken blood samples, etc, to locate the infection and hopefully fight it. Paul's lungs are very weak right now, and that is our new concern. He is still fighting though, and we are fighting with him. His room looks like a shrine with the amount of holy cards and relics that are there with him. Today, Fr. Kevin Peak will be coming to the hospital to say Mass in Paul's room and he is bringing a second -class relic of Jon Paul II to bless him with, and all of us. He has soil from Medjugroje in his room, and he has been blessed by a relic of Padre Pio. Geneva is consecrating Paul to our Blessed Mother, reading the prayers with him daily. He is Mary's slave, and she will care for him.
Thank you for your prayers, please continue. May God's will be done...we all have hope that this will is miraculous.
God Bless you all,
Jon Fidero
Paul's white blood cell count is up today, which signifies some kind of infection. The doctors have taken blood samples, etc, to locate the infection and hopefully fight it. Paul's lungs are very weak right now, and that is our new concern. He is still fighting though, and we are fighting with him. His room looks like a shrine with the amount of holy cards and relics that are there with him. Today, Fr. Kevin Peak will be coming to the hospital to say Mass in Paul's room and he is bringing a second -class relic of Jon Paul II to bless him with, and all of us. He has soil from Medjugroje in his room, and he has been blessed by a relic of Padre Pio. Geneva is consecrating Paul to our Blessed Mother, reading the prayers with him daily. He is Mary's slave, and she will care for him.
Thank you for your prayers, please continue. May God's will be done...we all have hope that this will is miraculous.
God Bless you all,
Jon Fidero
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
The Current Procedures
THE RUN DOWN...Basically now we are at a waiting point, where Paul is being let off of the "ativan" and "diprovan" and a decrease in morphine. The reason for this is because the doctors want an accurate examination of Paul's current position in regards to his injuries, and his brain condition. Paul was rated at a 3 yesterday, out of 15 in the comatose test. What this literally translates to is that he was awake enough to not give a response to the tests that he was "asked" to perform, i.e. he is asleep and naturally couldn't say anything, plus there is a tube down his throat. He responds to pressure on his right side, his right eye is also responsive, and he is moving all of his limbs, but his left side, the impact side, is still unresponsive to command driven tests.
Okay...We are not out of the woods yet. Paul's MRI results showed a significant range of damage that the original CAT scan did not reveal. Paul's skull is utterly crushed and is need of repair. The unfortunate news is that the "dura" i.e. the layer that lies between the skin and muscle is cracked in several places leaving the possibility of diseases to enter...The disease that the doctor's suggested was the main one, menigitis. What is more is the lung issue that really has not been addressed until now. The extent of the damage done to the lung is such that Paul has a high probability of Pneumonia, which would be hard for Paul to combat in his weakened condition. The possibilities for more blood clotting has not gone away yet, and so we ask that everyone please pray for Paul, that our Mother Mary watch over him and that God's will be accepted with a strong and humble heart.
We are hanging in there ready to take on any misfortune that comes our way. We each hold Paul in a special place in our heart, and so each of us have been hurt with this tragic news. I can't pretend that just because you are not in the family, you are not suffering equally as any one of us. We all have helped pick up our own cross, and are carrying it with equal suffering.
On behalf of the Fidero family, I must thank each person who has at any point and time said any prayer or taken time for Paul. God Bless you all, I love you each for what you do, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
May the Holy Spirit descend upon you and remain with you forever,
James Fidero
Okay...We are not out of the woods yet. Paul's MRI results showed a significant range of damage that the original CAT scan did not reveal. Paul's skull is utterly crushed and is need of repair. The unfortunate news is that the "dura" i.e. the layer that lies between the skin and muscle is cracked in several places leaving the possibility of diseases to enter...The disease that the doctor's suggested was the main one, menigitis. What is more is the lung issue that really has not been addressed until now. The extent of the damage done to the lung is such that Paul has a high probability of Pneumonia, which would be hard for Paul to combat in his weakened condition. The possibilities for more blood clotting has not gone away yet, and so we ask that everyone please pray for Paul, that our Mother Mary watch over him and that God's will be accepted with a strong and humble heart.
We are hanging in there ready to take on any misfortune that comes our way. We each hold Paul in a special place in our heart, and so each of us have been hurt with this tragic news. I can't pretend that just because you are not in the family, you are not suffering equally as any one of us. We all have helped pick up our own cross, and are carrying it with equal suffering.
On behalf of the Fidero family, I must thank each person who has at any point and time said any prayer or taken time for Paul. God Bless you all, I love you each for what you do, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
May the Holy Spirit descend upon you and remain with you forever,
James Fidero
Our first little "miracle"
TUESDAY 15, 2005-Our family was brought into the "family counseling" room on monday at around 4:50, which is very ironic because it was almost exactly 72 hours after his accident, because the doctor had concern that there may have been an occluded vein in the ventricular area of Paul's brain. If the vein was in fact occluded, we were informed that what would most likely happen would be that the blood leaving the brain would back up into his brain causing it to swell and he would probably die, or even worse than death, he would be in a persistant vegetative state. All we had to go by was the CAT scan that was done earlier in the day, and it suggested that the high concentration of blood in the brain was a blood clot that was the occluded vein. Evidently, the CAT scan is not as informative as an MRI, so they performed the test last night to affirm that the high concentration was indeed an occluded vein. This morning, when the results of the MRI came in, the staff again called the family into that room where they counciled us. By the grace of GOD and all that is HOLY, we have good news to offer. Paul does have an occluded vein, but the surrounding veins have picked up the slack of the one occluded vein. What this means is that he will live, and the occluded vein wont be a problem any more. That is not to say there wont be further complications, but nonetheless, this truly was a miracle and we have to thank all of you for praying so intensely for us. It is by far the power of prayer that kept my brother alive. We have you all to thank for this miracle. I love you so much, God bless you all.
Monday, November 14, 2005
PRAY NOW FOR PAUL, PRAY NOW FOR PAUL!!!!!!
We need your prayers now more than ever! The situation requires that you pray now for a miracle!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Update on Paul Monday 14, 2005
Newest Update-Paul is still in critical condition, and some new information has been brought to our attention. There is bleeding, enough to merit several transfusions, thus a full CAT scan is necessary to determine the origin of the bleeding. His right eye is responsive, (this is a good sign considering both eyes were completely unresponsive when Paul was first brought in) but his left eye is still unresponsive and completely dilated. Please continue to pray!
We had a scare Saturday evening when the doctors had to rush Paul in for an emergency CAT scan to determine whether he had a blood clot in his lung. If they had found a blood clot, this would have been life-threatening because blood thinners might have caused hemorrhaging, but leaving it could have caused heart failure. The doctors were concerned about the level of oxygen in Paul’s blood, which was low, and they were having trouble oxygenizing him. This of course would have been the worst case scenario, so the doctors checked for a clot first. By the grace of God the test came back negative. The doctors believe that the oxygen problem is a result of Paul’s damaged lung.
Paul was driving the speed limit down a narrow road with two lanes of traffic, one northbound, the other southbound. The speed limit on that road is 45mph, and that was the speed at which Paul was traveling. He and my brother Mike were going to the store, and Paul decided to make a phone call to his friend. He looked down for a brief second to dial the number, and his front passenger side tire gripped the edge of the road. The shoulder of the road is downward sloping and it is at a sharp angle. This pulled the car from the road at a little bit faster than normal rate. Paul became startled and pulled the car back onto the road, but with more force than what was necessary. His car swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic, and Paul over-corrected which put his car into a side-ways slide. He left the road and the driver-side door hit an oak tree at circa 40mph. The impact was a direct hit with the driver-side door, and almost perfectly aligned with Paul's body. The car hit the tree and rolled up it a little bit causing the roof of the car to cave in significantly. The damage done to the passenger side was minimal, but on Paul's side, the damage was immense. Paul's head hit the window, and roof simultaneously as the widow was shattering, and the roof was caving in. He sustained 5 fractures to the face, A depression in the skull, fractures to the spine, near the neck, a punctured, and collapse lung, broken ribs, and severe bruising all up and down his body.
Mike, who was very distraught, looked over at Paul, only to see his brother bleeding very profusely from the ears and nose, essentially, he saw Paul hemorrhaging. He called 911 immediately, but only to find that the call was not answered, so again he tried, and the same results were met. He had the presence of mind to call my mother, and asked for her to start praying. He then called me, and told me to do the same, and he called everyone who he could ask for prayers. Someone else came to the scene and was able to reach the paramedics, who were immediately sent to his aide. This entire time, Mike never once stopped calling people to pray. Paul was rushed to the hospital, and has been unconscious and "unresponsive" ever since, in a coma. He is heavily sedated so that his body cannot function on its own, so he is on a breathing machine. The doctor's have placed Paul in intensive care in the neuroscience wing of the hospital, where he will be for the duration of the week. He is in critical condition and has not changed much since.
We had a scare Saturday evening when the doctors had to rush Paul in for an emergency CAT scan to determine whether he had a blood clot in his lung. If they had found a blood clot, this would have been life-threatening because blood thinners might have caused hemorrhaging, but leaving it could have caused heart failure. The doctors were concerned about the level of oxygen in Paul’s blood, which was low, and they were having trouble oxygenizing him. This of course would have been the worst case scenario, so the doctors checked for a clot first. By the grace of God the test came back negative. The doctors believe that the oxygen problem is a result of Paul’s damaged lung.
Paul was driving the speed limit down a narrow road with two lanes of traffic, one northbound, the other southbound. The speed limit on that road is 45mph, and that was the speed at which Paul was traveling. He and my brother Mike were going to the store, and Paul decided to make a phone call to his friend. He looked down for a brief second to dial the number, and his front passenger side tire gripped the edge of the road. The shoulder of the road is downward sloping and it is at a sharp angle. This pulled the car from the road at a little bit faster than normal rate. Paul became startled and pulled the car back onto the road, but with more force than what was necessary. His car swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic, and Paul over-corrected which put his car into a side-ways slide. He left the road and the driver-side door hit an oak tree at circa 40mph. The impact was a direct hit with the driver-side door, and almost perfectly aligned with Paul's body. The car hit the tree and rolled up it a little bit causing the roof of the car to cave in significantly. The damage done to the passenger side was minimal, but on Paul's side, the damage was immense. Paul's head hit the window, and roof simultaneously as the widow was shattering, and the roof was caving in. He sustained 5 fractures to the face, A depression in the skull, fractures to the spine, near the neck, a punctured, and collapse lung, broken ribs, and severe bruising all up and down his body.
Mike, who was very distraught, looked over at Paul, only to see his brother bleeding very profusely from the ears and nose, essentially, he saw Paul hemorrhaging. He called 911 immediately, but only to find that the call was not answered, so again he tried, and the same results were met. He had the presence of mind to call my mother, and asked for her to start praying. He then called me, and told me to do the same, and he called everyone who he could ask for prayers. Someone else came to the scene and was able to reach the paramedics, who were immediately sent to his aide. This entire time, Mike never once stopped calling people to pray. Paul was rushed to the hospital, and has been unconscious and "unresponsive" ever since, in a coma. He is heavily sedated so that his body cannot function on its own, so he is on a breathing machine. The doctor's have placed Paul in intensive care in the neuroscience wing of the hospital, where he will be for the duration of the week. He is in critical condition and has not changed much since.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
