Just Dance.

All right, It's true.... I am the flakiest blogger ever.

But Drew- He is so good. He takes frequent cat naps. He walks like a cowboy- for stability and coolness reasons. He thinks its funny to push me over and then lay on the guilt when I go to return the favor telling me 'it's not nice to push a cripple'. He plays Just Dance for Wii moving only the arm that has the controller; meanwhile I am sweating- putting everything I've got into each move. Every time he beats me... and I end the night frustrated with the makers of Just Dance. How come someone can win while sitting on the couch moving only one appendage?! Just Dance needs to be renamed Just Move Your Arm Around. It's outrageous.

Funniest moment in the last week was during a trip to get gourmet carrot cake mix at Williams- Sonoma. They happen to have a beer making kit on sale. A lady working overheard Drew say that is was cool; she walked over and said 'we have samples I can get you one'. Drew quickly and awkwardly spat out 'Oh, well I am actually not drinking anymore, I mean right now'. It came out oddly but it was too late, we both knew that the sweet lady was (understandably) convinced that Drew was a recovering alcoholic and began to apologize... over and over again. I started to explain but then decided it was funnier this way and let it go. 

The wedding is still on for March 25th, which is six months from yesterday. Get excited. 

Btw, If you know Drew well you know that he loves FIFA soccer. All of his dreams came true the other day when we spotted the FIFA van in downtown Naperville. All my dreams came true when this little girl smoked him. 

Lots and lots of love,

Whitney

My Old Man

I can't believe it's been a week since I updated this- sorry, but at least I've got good news. After 3 weeks & 1 day Drew was discharged from Winter Park Memorial Hospital! Last Monday he was released and flew home later that night. It was a long, exhausting day for Drew but he made it- hooray! Drew’s right side of his face is slowly catching up with the left side. He will start physical therapy in the next few days. Right now Drew is working on gaining the 15 pounds he lost in the hospital.

On Tuesday I drove from Orlando to Nashville (only stopped one time!) and then on Wednesday from Nashville to Chicago. I am so happy to be able to be with Drew and help out his family. For now I am working from Drew’s home in Chicago.

Yesterday I went into Drew’s doctor’s office. We stopped by to pick up paperwork for at home physical therapy and a handicapped-parking tag. The precious lady at the front desk looked at Julia and I and said ‘It’s just so hard when they get old’. Yeah, late twenties are some challenging years!

Drew, John, Julia and I are so thankful for all of your sweet prayers and support. This journey would’ve been much more tiresome and lonely without all your love and encouragement. We are trying to keep visitors to a minimum- Drew does not have much stamina and tires easily. Feel free to email me if you’d like to stop by or get an update whitneycdixon@gmail.com. 

Smiling's My Favorite

We were told the hospital beds are made for people up to 6’4” but at 6’2” Drew hardly fits on the bed. When doctors walk in they ask, “Does he play basketball?” It reminds me of this:

Drew is doing better everyday! Yesterday the hospital threw us a curve ball. We found out that Drew’s insurance rejected him for inpatient rehab. This leaves Drew with some options:

#1. Going to a nursing home for 2-4 weeks

#2. Having a nurse and physical therapist come to him each day.

We are moving towards option #2.

The second curveball is that they think he will be well enough to be discharged and start rehab in a few days! Praise the Lord for great start to recovery. We are excited and praying for the logistics now. Thanks for walking alongside us in this adventure.

Mail Time

My day starts with a trip to Dunkin Donuts to get a number one. The coffee is for me and the donuts are for my favorite person. The lady that works there knows how I like my coffee and asks how Drew is. I tell her he is getting a little better everyday. I look forward to these moments.

We had a very exciting morning. A lady from the hospital walked in with mass amounts of cards and a care package in her hands. She began apologizing before she could even explain what had happened. Apparently there was a mix-up and they couldn’t find Drew in the system; she almost sent all his mail off to Chicago. Luckily everything (we hope!!) was salvaged- even the flowers that were almost given to an extremely lucky stranger.

Here are some photos of all of Drew’s mail and goodies! We need a bigger bulletin board- THANK YOU!

Drew continues to progress- he walked down the hallway using the walker yesterday. Today he has physical therapy, a respiratory treatment, speech therapy, plasma exchange… and perhaps some others I am blanking on. He is in good spirits- exhausting to talk too much but still chimes in here and there.

Peace and blessings,

Whitney

Lucky Number Five

Drew is making the rounds at Winter Park Memorial- we are on our 5th room. His appetite and sense of humor are back. You may have picked up on this from previous posts but it was confirmed yesterday when one of the doctors (so many- I can’t keep count anymore) asked Drew, “When is the last time you had a drink?” and he responded “Not in weeks”.

I will try to paint a picture of exactly what's going on right now. A doctor this morning said he sees maybe 10 cases like this a year in the Orlando area, which is not that many! Drew’s numbing is slowly receding, little by little, daily. The right side of his face is still numb- we've noticed it getting better but as of now he can’t move his right eyebrow and does a very nice half smile. To me he is just as handsome as the day we met- 10 months & 2 days ago, but who’s counting?

Drew has 2 plasmapheresis treatments left; I think we will all be happy when they are over. The doctors are concerned about some of his blood tests and each has different ideas of what it could be. Some think it is just a side effect of the Guillain- Barre Syndrome and the plasma exchange. We will wait to hear and let you know when we do.

The road ahead…. We do not know, but God does. Physical therapy can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 years. I am praying for 2 weeks. Once Drew is 'medically stable' he will start inpatient rehab. The plan is he will stay in Orlando for that and then move back to Naperville for outpatient rehab. We are still planning on March 25^th for the wedding. Drew is just starting to process what the future will look like and I am trying not to worry about it.

THANKS for all the notes, prayers and encouraging comments. They mean a lot. Drew is starting to read the blog now, so feel free to write a comment to him- I’m sure he’d appreciate it!

Two Weeks

Drew asked for his phone for the first time today. I knew it wouldn’t be long before bejeweled and angry birds was taken away from me. Today marks two weeks of Drew being super sick in the hospital. He had his 7^th plasma treatment- out of 10.  They are painful and long but Drew gets meds to help him through it.

Doctors were in and out a lot- they said Drew’s enzymes that fight copper are low. They are not sure why they dropped… they were high last week. So, they gave Drew four units (bags) of plasma today. Which is interesting to me because tomorrow they will wash it out of him during the plasmapheresis. This is why I am not in the medical field.

Drew is more talkative and hungry now. I am looking forward to spoiling him with smoothies, once he has cravings and redbox movies when he can concentrate.  It’s an interesting thing spending so much time at the hospital…. When I am here I look forward to getting out and then once I’m out I miss Drew too much and can’t wait to get back.

Happy Labor Day Weekend & thanks for praying alongside us for 100% recovery for Drew!

Dream Big Drew!

All of Drew’s dreams came true today. After yesterdays request for a donut, we asked the doctor when he could get the feeding tube out. A speech therapist was sent in to test his swallowing. He passed and was rewarded with a snack pack. Drew’s eyes were wide- it reminded me of a 9 year old being handed a hundred-dollar bill. The snack pack had no chance, it was gone in three bites.

With a lot of help, Drew sat in the big chair today- it made him nauseous again. Then back into bed for the plasma-exchange. For lunch John, Julia and I escaped from the hospital to get the best BBQ in Orlando, 4Rivers. We returned to find Drew free from his feeding tube and snacking on a delicious edible arrangement. Fruit galore! 

All around this day has been great- Drew has shown big improvements. We are now thinking of what the next weeks and months will look like. He has been accepted for inpatient rehabilitation here at Winter Park Memorial- they think he will spend 2 to 4 weeks there but he can’t start until he is medically stable. He is in pain now and they are giving him some meds for it.

The rehab won’t stop there- but that is as far as we are thinking ahead right now. If I’ve learned anything it’s to take it one day at a time. It scares me to think of next month but I know God will give me what I need to make it through today. I’ve got to run, we are moving out of ICU… finally!