Full Day for Brian

 Today was a busy day for Brian. He had his first non-medical visitor now that his isolation restrictions have been lifted. Conrad, is a combination co-worker, friend, and representative of our faith. He arrived in the late morning and was able to go into Brian's room, and talk to him so that Brian could hear a familiar voice, ask questions of the medical staff and most importantly, administer a Priesthood blessing upon Brian. In our faith, we have Priesthood holders who we believe have authority delegated by God to act in His name for the salvation of His children (see James 5:14 in the New Testament of the Bible). Caring for others is the very essence of Priesthood responsibility. It is the power to bless, heal, and administer the saving ordinances of the gospel. Under normal circumstances, Brian would have received a Priesthood blessing much earlier on but, due to his isolation restrictions, he was not able to receive one. When an individual is given a blessing of healing, a Priesthood holder puts a drop of consecrated oil on the person's head, then the Priesthood holder places his hands lightly on the person's head and calls the person by their full name and then proceeds to give a prayer of healing. It means so much to our family that Brian has finally been able to receive this ordinance! We know that many people of a wide variety of faiths have been saying countless prayers for Brian and we have felt your love, concern, unity, and friendship. Each and every prayer, positive thought, and well wish strengthens Brian and our family. Thank you so very much!

Later in the day, Brian had the tracheostomy procedure performed to allow the breathing tube to be removed from his mouth. Shortly after the procedure, his attending physician gave me a call to report that the procedure had gone well. He was pleased that Brian had it done today rather than waiting until next week. He thinks this will help him to feel more comfortable and allow for less sedation in the near future.  All of Brian's other systems are performing well. During the tracheostomy, Dr. Harris continued to try and remove mucus buildup that is in his lungs and causing a lower oxygen level. Once his body recovers from the tracheostomy a little more, he will resume blood thinners to avoid blood clotting.  He is continuing his antibiotics and is heavily sedated for the time being. 

This evening Nathan, Jillian, and I arrived at the hospital. We could only go in two at a time, so we rotated our visit. To be completely honest, as much as I was looking forward to finally being able to be in the same room and able to hold his hand and speak to him, it was still harder than anticipated to be so close and see so many tubes coming in and out of his body. Seeing him from a distance, through a window, I now realize, kept me from seeing everything he was attached to. We did our best to keep our composure and speak words of encouragement. Tomorrow will be another day that we will be able to visit with him. The doctor told us to come by after 9am and they will try and have him less sedated so that he may better hear us speaking to him. We are extremely grateful to Brian's employer, Basalite, for the many ways they are supporting our family at this time. One of which is taking care of our lodging so that we can have extended time to spend with Brian as we are able to travel to Santa Clara.