John Moved to Kernan Last Night & Here's Heather's Latest Update

Hello everyone,

Dad was moved to kernan tonight at around 7. I am very excited about the therapy they will be starting with him tomorrow. There will be a minimum of 3 hours of it a day. Yippee.

Visiting hours are much different at kernan. Regular visiting hours are from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm, Monday through Friday, and 12:30-8:30 on Saturday and Sunday. However, family members who will be providing care to the patient after his return home are welcome to attend therapy at other times for training, with the permission of John. Also, they are very strict about the number of visitors at a time: no more than 2. There is a family night every thursday from 3:30-4:30 in the patient dining room. This is for educational purposes. There is also a stroke club that meets once per month from 10am-12noon. This is also available to patients and their families. The contact person for dates and information on this is Pam Cauley at 410-448-6320. This place has a lot going on! There is even a healing garden.

All that being said:
Kernan Hospital
2200 Kernan Drive
Woodlawn, Md 21207

Room 733-1 ( his roomate is on the other side of the room in 733-2)

Hospital number: 410-448-2500
Dad still has his cell phone with him.

John May Move to Stroke Rehab Today!

Here's Heather's latest update on her dad (8/11):

This just in: Dad's white blood cell count down today.

Sorry this is going out so late. The television distracted me tonight. It was so nice to veg for a while. We are hoping dad will be moved to kernan tomorrow. Dad has to be without a sitter for at least 24 hours, according to regulation, for this to happen. Currently aunt Susie is at the hospital. She offered to stay overnight again for us. Thank you aunt Susie. Everyone has been so wonderful at rallying around john so far. The family support system has not faltered. Thanks much.

I will be heading in at around 7am tomorrow. Since the sitter was released at 3 pm today, I am hoping the moving process will start tomorrow late afternoon/ early evening. We will see. One step at a time.

Here is the web address for the rehabilitation center we are shooting for:

http://www.kernan.org/rehabilitation/

See you soon,

Heather

Keep those prayers coming! Larry and I continue to pray through the intercession of Fr. John Hardon for a full recovery. When we visited on Sunday John was awake and alert. I put holy water blessed by Father on his fingertips and he made the sign of the cross. Then Larry and I prayed the rosary. He joined a little but mostly rested and even nodded off for fifteen minutes or so. We got a picture of him with one of the sitters, Maddy, who was an absolute delight. Thank God for angels like her and another sitter I didn't meet named Beatrice, I think. May God reward them for being ministering angels.

Happy Birthday, Marianna!

Marianna Rose (aka Anya - but not by Gramma) is celebrating her birthday today which was actually on August 5th, but today is the big party. So here's a birthday greeting to the littlest rosebud in the family who is just beginning to bloom. Won't it be fun to watch those petals unfold. Hugs and kisses and ten pony rides on Gramma's knees for Marianna! Happy Birthday, Girl!

August 7 Update on John....

Hi everyone.

Dad is doing well today. He was taken off the ventilator yesterday and was moved back to the 6th floor today. His left side is still very impaired. The feeding tube is still in place because he is not able to swallow properly yet. He is not on any sedatives currently, and is pretty aware of what is going on most of the time. The antibiotic regimen he is on for the pneumonia is working. He has another 5 days or so of that. The main duty we have all had in recent visits is making sure he gets all of his secretions out, either by his suction wand or spitting. Very exciting stuff. He has longer visiting hours on the 6th floor: 7am till 9pm. He is in room 692.

Be seeing you around the hospital.
Heather

Camp Kreitzer

Ever since we moved to the Shenandoah Valley we've been trying to think of a good name for our property. But after our long procrastination the kids took over the job by calling it Camp Kreitzer. Larry and I decided to get a sign to put on our post and make it formal. So we are now officially Camp Kreitzer.

Unfortunately, there are only two staff members. Nevertheless, the camp still operates somewhat efficiently. Cookies get baked, the grass gets mowed, the pool cleaned, and the weeds (sometimes) get pulled. Our little visitors (and big ones too) seem to enjoy it. (I just saw two in their pajamas walking along the row of pine trees out back and several are jumping on the trampoline. Some of the big campers, aka parents, went running up the mountain to the fire tower.)

We haven't had a visit from the county yet to see what kind of camp we are running, but expect we will at some point. If you're in the vicinity, stop for a visit with the proprietors of Camp Kreitzer. If you're lucky cousins' camp will be in session and you'll get to meet a gaggle of little campers swimming, baking, crafting, dressing up, driving or riding behind the tractor, getting ready to go throw rocks in the river, roasting hotdogs around a campfire, or going on a bear hunt.

Now all we need is a camp song. How about, "Hail to Camp Kreitzer, home of frogs and deer, All critters welcome, Camping's fun out here." Hmmm...may need a little work.

Status update on John -- Keep Praying!

From my niece Heather, John's daughter, sent yesterday:

Dad is doing much better today. He extubated himself again this morning (the 6th). They were already planning on weaning him today too, just like yesterday. He expedited the process. Then, he did so well that they removed the ventilation system from his room. Therefore, he is also off of the sedatives. We are all hoping he will be back on the 6th floor, which is where the stroke ward is, by tomorrow sometime. It has been a good day so far.

So keep those prayers coming. We're looking forward to a full recovery for John and many more years serving the Lord and enjoying his family, like he and his youngest son were at this family wedding last October.

Love you, John!

A Personal Story about John, who is My Hero!

Having begged for prayers for John, I want to share a personal story that reflects the kindness of my brother and one of the reasons he's so special to me. John is one of those people who really would give you the shirt off his back, not to mention the last dollar in his pocket. And he'd even get under his car to wire up electronic brakes to pull your camper.

Last year Larry and I were off on a two week trip to upstate New York and then to Vermont for my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. We planned to camp in the Cascades and were really looking forward to a beautiful and restful vacation. Well...it didn't quite turn out as we planned.

Three hours into our trip, the transmission on our Trooper blew and we ended up stranded on the shoulder of an exit ramp waiting for double tow vehicles to pull our car and our camper to a service center in Lebanon, PA. It was the start of the Labor Day Weekend and there was no way we were going to get the car worked on for the next three or four days. So there we were in Lebanon hoofing it around town on foot, staying at a Comfort Inn about half a mile from the transmission repair place. We tried to rent a tow vehicle to pull our camper and continue our trip or pull it home. No dice unless we were a business with insurance. Then we tried to rent a car one-way to drive home. Nope! We didn't really want to rent for a week or turn around and come right back, so what to do? Any other alternatives?

Then the lightbulb went on. John will help! He has a Suburban with a tow package. So I called John and without a moment's hesitation he agreed to come and even said he'd enjoy the ride. I told him at the time he was my hero, and so he was and is. Now he's a wounded hero who needs all our prayers and support. You've got 'em, John. I love you!

And please pray for John's children as well, who are camping out at St. Agnes. This is a stressful time for everyone. When times are tough it's best to handle them with prayer.