March 24, 2011

Thursday, March 24, 2011 6:00pm

Garren's had another great day. He continues to show small improvements each day. Praise God.

As I write this, Garren is in the middle of his second "cap trial." What that means is that his trach is capped, forcing him to breathe through his nose and mouth. Yesterday he did two hours, with no problem. Today we are going for 4 hours. So far so good. The plan is to extend the trial period a little bit each day, until they determine he doesn't need the trach anymore.

Garren also needs to learn to cough consistently, and he needs to start swallowing. When he can do that, he will be on his way to removing the trach.

Garren continues to show consistent communication with his eyes. Nancy and the therapists played 20 questions with him. At first he didn't want to play. Apparently its a dumb game and he didn't see the point (all of this was communicated through a series of yes/no questions...crazy). He finally agreed to play along, and they did it! One of the therapists left the room. Nancy and the other therapist asked Garren what thing he wanted to think about (again, yes/no questions). He went with a Gator (he was wearing a Florida Gator shirt). When the other therapist came back into the room, she asked him a series of questions (20 questions) and he answered yes or no, until she figured out he was thinking about a Florida Gator!

Later, Nancy wrote simple math problems, then held two possible answers up for him to choose. He chose the correct answer every time.

In speech therapy this morning, Wren got Garren to stick his tongue out just past his teeth. Another huge accomplishment! We are so excited to see Garren making this kind of progress. It's encouraging to see where he is compared to even 1 week ago.

A huge answer to prayer - we got the DVD with the security camera footage of Garren's incident at the school. It shows us exactly what happened, and how long it took. From the time he first complained of the headache until the time he left the school was about 30 minutes. It was pretty tough to watch, knowing the pain Garren must have been feeling, and knowing what was about to come.

We look forward to another great day tomorrow. Pray that Garren's left eye will gain strength so he can start closing it on his own. Pray that he learns to cough consistently, and to swallow.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You just answered my questions that I wrote on the other post. All of this is such good news and we feel so blessed to share in this miracle with you. It has to be a lot of hard work, for Garren, and for each of you, but it is indeed a miracle. I can't say I'd blame him if he didn't want to play the math game...)) My little ones are so excited...Ms. Remona was able to get "Team Garren" shirts small enough for them to wear, so there were lots of squeals when I told them the news. They have not missed one day praying for Garren and they constantly have questions. They pray for him many times during the day. They've proved to be more faithful in their prayers than many adults, so please tell Garren how much he's thought of by two three year olds who really want to meet him. In for the long haul, The Sisk Family

wendypoovey said...

What wonderful news. That is funny he thinks it is a dumb game. I love that. We will continue to pray. Pray for healing, breathing on his own, coughing, swallowing, and strength and endurance for you and Nancy. The kids were very excited to hear Garren is breathing some now on his own. This really is great news and answers to prayers!

The Hines Family said...

That is just amazing! I am a teacher at Benton Heights (and my family visited Southbrook awhile back) and I just wanted to let you know how much I think about your son and your family. Your faith throughout this trying time has been very inspirational to me. Thank you for sharing Garren's story. :-)

Anonymous said...

Good morning family! Excited for your day to end to read of Garren's progress, and yet the day has not begun!! Praying for all that you have asked for and more...praying that you will be able to really relax and lean on Jesus through this trial...trust is a "biggie", even when it is difficult to understand...God already has a plan....we love you...Sandy & Russ

Anonymous said...

Praise God for these milestones in Garren's battle!! The Cianciosa house continues to pray for your hero every day. Thank you for continuing to post the details we can pray each day. It is a blessing to know God is being glorified in your lives as your continue to fight this fight!! I just heard today that God reveals His presence to man during times of worshiping Him. I will continue to worship the God who is in control of the good plans He has for you all. Garren is showing amazing strength and I for one consider him a hero and praise God with you!! Love you all..............

Anonymous said...

Just wanted you to know that our daughter, Robin, and her children have been praying for Garren since his trial began...so, now Dase (age 4) has changed the name of her boy figurine to Garren..."why?" "Because I like him a lot"...she has never meant him...see...that is how God is still working in unseen places. My granddaughter does not even know him, but prays earnetly for him from her heart, so much more those who know him...be encouraged dear family...God is so at work...love and prayers, Sandy & Russ

Anonymous said...

Good morning, family...that is what I want for all of you....a very good morning...praying...love, Sandy & Russ