Monday--February 28

Well it is hard to believe but in one hour the month of February will be over.  Can you believe we have spent the month of February in the hospital??!!!! I can hardly wait for March to begin.  I believe we are going to "March" right through this rehab and be home soon.  Today was a good day.  Jacque is transfering from his wheelchair to the bed with no help. He is walking with the help of the parallel bars.  He can lift his legs but still does not have much feeling in his feet.  I am sure that will come with time.  The doctor came in today and said that Jacque is progressing better than any Guillian Barre patient he has ever had.  We can go home when Jacque can walk out of here or until the insurance kicks us out---which ever comes first.

Jean went back home today.  That was so hard.  She has been such a great help.  I really miss her. Jacque and I are so blessed.  We have the greatest kids in the entire world.  I have no idea what we did right to deserve such caring, loving children. But we thank God everyday for them.

When we count our blessings, we definitely count our friends!!! The cards continue to pour in.  We have over 200 now.  I have them taped up on the walls of  Jacque's room.  We are running out of room, but we really enjoy hearing from home. Bart Stewart came by today.  He has been such a blessing.  He and Jacque told stories all afternoon about growing up in Winnfield. They laughed for 30 minutes telling the story of Tommy Milam and Mike Smith spilling the collection basket at the First Baptist Church.  Ha Ha!!!

Preparation for the blood drive seems to be going smoothly.  I got an email from Michelle Whisonant telling me that the people from Central Management were planning on giving blood.  Many thanks to everyone.  Jacque and I are so humbled by the outpouring of love.

God bless you all.--Laure :) 

Family Weekend

Hi everyone - this is Jean!  It has been a great weekend with Dad.  Although experiencing some discomfort (and having some cabin fever), he is still making such progress.  The feeling in his legs continues to improve.  He has had a few hours of therapy both Saturday and Sunday and on each day, he walked (with assistance) with the parallel bars.  Today, they allowed the family in to watch therapy and Dad did great.  For those on Facebook, I have posted pictures of his walking - check it out :)   He is now able to raise his legs off the bed and bend his legs...again, great improvements.  Everyone is so impressed with his progress. We are going to buy an IPod for Dad tomorrow, as listening to tunes (he has been listening to mine) seems to cheer him up.   Any song suggestions?? :)

Jacque Jr., Kristen, Jamie, Nelson, and Lil Mia all came by today.  Lil Mia put a smile on Dad's face, of course :)

Again, thanks for all the prayers, calls, cards and emails!  (For those that would like to email Dad, you can send him a note at laure.derr@hotmail.com.)  Dad really really appreciates it.

God bless and good night -

Jean

Saturday Morning--February 26

Good morning to all.  Sorry that I did not blog last night. Jean came in and we spent the night visiting.  She was so pleased with her daddy's progress.  He looked so bad when she left two weeks ago.  Yesterday was another great day.  He had visitors, phone calls, and a wonderful day in therapy.
One of his old law school buddies that he had not seen in 40 years came by--Jack Miller.  Then after lunch Ike Funderburk, another one of his good attorney friends, came by to visit.  Ike is such a mess.  It is so good to have some south Louisiana friends that are here for support.  Jane Purser was in Lafayette visiting her daughter and called and wished Jacque a speedy recovery. I think Jacque's favorite phone call of the day came from Rayford Riley.  He is coming to cut Jacque's hair today.  WOW!!! He needs it.  Now if I could just find someone to cut and dye my hair.  By the time I get home I will be gray headed again. Ha Ha !!! In therapy Jacque amazed everyone. He walked the length of the parallel bars three times.  He is now moving his feet on his own.  His feet are still numb but he can move them.  Jean came in around 8:30 p.m.  He was so excited to see her.  His children are his life. Well, I guess that is all the news for this morning.  Jean will probably blog some this afternoon.  I do have one OPPS from Thursday.  Elena and her grandmother Bettie came to visit Jacque on Thursday evening.  They brought Jacque some beautiful red roses.  Elena is our Mia's birth mother.  She is the wonderful young woman that gave our Jamie the gift of life. I can't believe I left them out of our Thursday news.  But as you all know I am a little crazy these days.  God is good.  My many thanks to everyone for all your prayers. Keep them coming. We are so thankful.    Now for my thought for the day. It comes from Oliver Wendel Holmes. " If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I wouldn't pass it around.  I wouldn't be doing anyone a favor.  Trouble creates a capacity to handle it.  Meet it as your friend, for you will see a lot of it and you had better be on speaking terms with it. "  So true.  And here is one more--"What may seem like coincidence, As we live out our story, Is God at work behind the scenes, So give Him all the glory." Amen--Love --Laure :)

Thursday Night--February 24

It is really late--11:56 pm. Just got in from the hospital.  Jacque was having some bad gas pains, so I stayed until he finally went to sleep.  I think his belly is bothering him because he ate all the pizza yesterday. Oh well, I am sure he will tell you it was all worth it.  He had a good day.  It did not start off too good. He was going to take his first shower, but his blood pressure dropped too low so he couldn't.  The therapist reminded him it was only his third day in therapy and that they would try the shower next Tuesday.  He did great in his walking today and took eight steps. He went from one end of the parallel bars to the other end. He had a lot of help but everyone is soo excited about his progress.  They tell us he is really doing better than most patients with Guillian Barre.  He had a special visitor today. A lady who had Guillian Barre in September came to visit.  She was in rehab for two months, home health two months, and is now doing out patient.  She looks great, walks, and everything.  She did not get the plasma pharesis like Jacque.  She could not believe Jacque had only been in rehab three days.  She said Jacque was way ahead of where she was at the three day mark.  He told her his goal was to be well by October 1--first day of deer season!!! Ha Ha!!! Jamie came and shaved her daddy and washed his hair.  She is such a joy.  You would not believe how highly she is thought of at the hospital!  Everyone knows her.  I don't know what I would do without her.  She has made my life so much easier. My buddy Vivian Adams came and brought us all milkshakes. I had lost some weight but if all my friends don't stop feeding me, I am going to be chunky again.  Jean is flying in from Denver tomorrow.  I can't wait for her to see her daddy. He is so much better than when she saw him last.  Well , it is officially Friday, so I had better get some sleep.  We have a family meeting at 8:30 am with the doctors and therapists. Only Jamie and I can attend.  Jean will not get in until 8pm and Jacque has to work.  I am really going to bed now and will leave you all with a bible verse sent to me from a priest friend, Fr. Martin Laird.
"Praise God and tell everyone about the good things he has done for you, so that they too will honor him and sing his praises.  Let everyone know what God has done. Never stop praising him,"  Tobit 12:6

Great Day--Wednesday--February 23

Today has been a wonderful blessed day.  God has been such a huge part of our fabulous day. The day began with Jacque's swallow test being scheduled for 8 a.m. this morning.  I was a little worried because Jacque's mornings are not as good as his afternoons.  Then the speech therapist came in and said the test was reset for 1:30 p.m.  Praise God.  Well 1:30 came and no test, 2:00 p.m. came and no test, 2:45 came and finally a knock on the door.  But instead of it being the people to do the swallow test , it was an elderly man. He was a Eucharistic Minister and  was bringing communion to Catholics .  He wanted to know if Jacque and I wanted communion.  Of course we said yes.  The man gave us communion and prayed with us.  There is no way I can put it into words, except to say it was very emotional.  The man left and Jacque said, "What a gift from God, there is no way I am going to fail that swallow test.  Immediately after the man left, the speech therapist and the people with the xray machine came in and you know the rest of the story---Jacque passed his swallow test.  He was so excited.  I cried and he grinned from ear to ear.  He immediately sent me to Pizza Hut for a large thin crust cheese pizza.  While I was gone, he went to therapy.  During therapy he took his first steps, four, then six and then six more. Now of course this is with a lot of help and he used the parallel bars--but hey--we will take what we can get. When I got back he shared his good news, then he proceeded to eat all of the pizza except for three pieces. Then he had a piece of cheese cake for dessert. Following his feast, he enjoyed an evening filled with visitors, phone calls, and surprises.  My sister Terri and her husband Jim came for a visit and brought a "heart gift" .  In the Spatafora Family we always give "heart gifts", which simply means. it is something sentimental.  Terri brought Jacque a small stufffed monkey that used to belong to my daddy.  The monkey was my dad's when he was in the hospital with a broken hip.  We all called it his "good luck monkey".  I cried, it was so special.  It was like my daddy saying--everything is going to be OK. Bridgette Bartlett also came by.  She brought a bundle of cards from the teachers and students of Atlanta High School, where I teach. I miss them all so much.  It is so much fun teaching there, they are all so special to me. It is a great place to teach. Some friends from Olla,  Nicki and Dennis Baum ,then stopped by for a short visit.  They shared stories about our grandbabies.  Jacque also enjoyed a day of phone calls from family and friends.  He talked to the girls in his office.  They are such a wonderful group of women. He always says he has the best office in the world.  Lee Wood, an old high school buddy, even called.  He was excited to hear from him.  I even got to speak to some of my friends too. Julie Boatman spoke on the phone and told me she is saying two rosaries a day for Jacque. Praise God.  Jacque even got a  beautiful hunting and fishing basket filled with goodies from one of his old exercise buddies Kelly Lawrence. So as you can see, we have had a GREAT DAY.  Please continue to pray for us.  I know we would not be doing as great as we are, had it not been for your prayers. Thank you, thank you.  God bless and good-night.  Love--Laure

First Day of Rehab--Tuesday--February 22

Well I am really tired, so this will be short and sweet.  Jacque completed his first day of rehab and boy is he tired.  He did have a few problems with his blood pressure, but everyone assured me that this was par for the course.  Everyone seems real pleased with his progress. It is very slow, but we are still moving forward.  He is tube free, no ivs!! Tomorrow he will take his swallow test again.  Please say a prayer that he passes the test--he really wants to eat some real food. We did have a visitor today.  It was so funny.  Jacque was in his room, at the therapists and aides were putting Jacque back in the bed.  Someone knocked on the door and said it was a doctor from Winnfield.They asked the visitor to wait until they had finished the assessment.  Guess who it was?? Charlie Bice--yep he is doctor from Winnfield --a juris doctor--Ha Ha!! It was a good visit--Jacque is such a people person--he loves the visits.  Keep the prayers coming--We love you all.  God is so good and we are so blessed!!!

Blood Drive in Winn Parish

I received some information from Life Shares, the blood service for North Louisiana.  They are going to have a blood drive on Monday, March 7, 2011, from noon until 5 p.m. in front of the hospital in Winnfield.  If you would like to give blood to help replace the blood that Jacque used, just go and tell them you are giving in his name.  They can not replace what we used here at Lafayette General, but they will donate up to $500 to our hospital bill.  They do not have an agreement with the south Louisiana hospitals.  The blood service in south Louisiana is United Blood Services.  If you give to United Blood Services (337-235-5433 ext 3060 Liz Celeste ), they will also give us a credit on our bill and the blood used will be replaced right here in Lafayette.  But the most important thing is that no matter where you give blood, you will be helping out someone--just like some strangers helped us. Thanks for all the prayers.  God bless.  Love--Laure :)