1/10 Wednesday A Voice Of Concern

Hey Friends,

This is Odie here for a Wednesday checking in with you. Thanks for coming by to check on Dad! 

Every prayer that has been prayed for our family is appreciated! We have to keep praying! Below is the current update on Dad's recovery. We have another prayer request to add to the list.

Dad is still in rehab, doing intensive therapy each day. They have sessions with the physical therapist, the occupational therapist and the speech therapist that helps with swallowing.

They have told him yesterday that they are recommending one more week of inpatient therapy. As bad as they want to be home, mom and dad understand that this therapy is critical.

All the therapists are doing their best to give him back use of his body and also to prepare him and train him how to live life while awaiting full recovery.

While working with speech therapists mom and dad have been made aware of additional consequences of the stroke. The swallowing issue is directly related to the same muscles that operate the vocal chords.

Dad's right vocal chord is weakened  due to the numbness on his right side. Therefore, Dad's singing voice has been affected. He is able to sing but his control, especially on high notes, is not as consistent. One good thing, his speech therapist has stressed that practicing vocals will likely improve both the vocals and the swallowing.

As you know, our ministry is based on Dad's preaching and our singing. We are asking you to pray for a miracle. God is able to do all things!

That wraps up the update for today! We love and appreciate all of you, our dear friends. See you next time.

Odie

1/9 Tuesday Praise Required And Prayer Needed

Hey Friends,

This is Odie coming to you from the beach cottage. Thank you for all of your prayers! We appreciate everyone letting us know you are praying! Keep it up, please!

Most of you are coming for an update on my Dad. Yesterday was another busy day. He has worked so hard in rehab. He is dedicated to doing whatever he can to get better. I am so proud of him!

We must keep our eyes looking up for our help. We know our help comes from the Lord! God is our strength and refuge from the winds of life!

My parents sent me a praise report and prayer requests. Reading this reminds me again that God's blessings on my family are abundant! It is just the tip of the iceberg. I join my Dad in praising God and I want to also intend to join him in prayer. 

Thanks for stopping by to visit us today. I will let Dad wrap up this post. Dad said he tried to do an audio recording to post on YouTube. He could not get it done because his voice was too weak last night.

Odie

1/9 Tuesday Praise Required And Prayer Needed 

The miracles we have received and the great favor of God we have been granted the last week or so require us to stop and give glory to God for his goodness to us.

Firstly, we are thankful this stroke happened at home and not in a foreign country or an airplane.

Next, we are thankful the stroke did not happen as I was driving the bus down the road that afternoon.

Thirdly, I am thankful Kelly and my brother Steve were nearby to help me and that I was not alone.

Fourthly, the amazing and miraculous manner in which we came to be covered by medical insurance for this.

Fifthly, something we have not mentioned to this point, the neurologist told us in no uncertain terms that strokes originating in this specific part of the brain are often fatal. It is an unpleasant fact that Kelly Jo and Odie could have planned a funeral last week.

These things are miraculous and we give God glory for each one of them. However, I want to remind you that we have a long way to go to get through this.

In some ways, I am not much better than when they carried me in this place on December 29th. My right leg and right arm are still completely numb and I'm trying to learn how to use them again. I am still dizzy, my eyes are somewhat still jumpy and I have not regained my ability to swallow at this point. I am working with very good therapists and they are guiding me in every way possible. They are hopeful that I will recover my ability to swallow.

So, as you help us continue to praise God for the miracles, please continue praying for the miracles which have begun but are yet out of sight physically.

God has been very good to us and completely faithful to us. We want the world to know that He is our God, and we are thankful to serve him.

We appreciate churches and individuals who have helped us financially during these difficult days. We do not expect that at all but we are grateful for your kindness. If God will let me swallow, it would be worth every dollar that I have to pay times two.

Please pray for Kelly and Odie that they would be strengthened through this. The load on Kelly is substantial and we are finding no tools to cope with some of these things. 

No tools but God. We believe He is enough.

Thank you for being here for us during this time!

Davy

1/8 Monday Davy Update

Hey Friends, 

Happy Birthday

First, I want to wish a very special reader a Happy Birthday! A little birdie informed me that our cousin, Glendon Lamb, is celebrating number 89 today. 

Glendon, Happy Birthday from all three of us! We love you! Thank you for keeping up with our blog. I know you are praying hard for us. We appreciate you!

A Word From Odie

This is Odie writing for this Monday's post. I hope you had a good weekend. Thanks for stopping by to check on us today. 

We are still praying, believing, waiting, and trusting in God to heal Dad instantaneously. I can say God is helping us and giving us strength for the journey. God has been so good to us! 

I have a special treat for you; Dad sent an update for all of you. I will end the post with Dad's words below!

Odie

1/8 Monday Davy Update

This weekend was a special weekend on the schedule, going way back into the spring of 2022. A  very young lady in Tennessee, Evelyn Eason, discovered we had birthdays near each other in January. 

We conspired then to have a joint birthday party at a Mexican restaurant in the Knoxville area in January of 2024. This Saturday, we were going to meet them in Knoxville on our way through. Of course, most of you know we were nowhere near Tennessee on Saturday because I was on the second day of rehab for a stroke. 

I think it's very safe to say we were not where we wanted to be and we were certainly not where we thought we would be, but we must believe we are in the hands of God and He has it all in control. 

I was in inpatient therapy for three days over the weekend. I wish I could tell you I was getting much better, but the truth is I am mostly learning to adapt and hopefully training my body to more normal function. 

Thank you all for praying for us. I must tell you, we need the help of God.

Davy

1/5 Friday Davy Update

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in with another Davy Update. We do not have the miracle yet, that we have been praying for. But God is incredible! 

Dad has taught me this nugget of truth my whole life, and I am clinging to it right now. "We have to believe God can work a miracle! We are gonna praise God like He has already answered our prayers. Until He does answer, we must trust Him!" 

We have much to thank God for today! I  write this with praise on my lips! My heart is overflowing!

1/5 Friday Davy Update

Mom and Dad have good news in two areas. First,  the tube feedings have been going very well and Mom has been educated in the process. After a few days of practice, she will be an expert.

 

Secondly, Dad was moved to the rehab unit on Thursday afternoon. He was moved up one floor but officially dismissed from the hospital and checked into rehab. 

Beginning today, he should have 3 full hours of rehab spread out over the course of a day. It can be pretty intensive but he is hoping to have strength and stamina to charge at it like a bull.

Please pray for Dad during this rehab process. What happens these next several days can determine our future in large part.   We desire the help of the Lord. 

The insurance has approved several days but they will be  involved in the decision making process as they hear reviews from the rehab facility. It is important that they see progress and continue approving the inpatient rehab.

We have been living in a whirlwind of activity. Our family and friends have helped us immensely. I can not adequately say thank you to everyone. May God bless all of you abundantly! 

Thank you for your prayers, friendship and outpouring of love! We can not keep up with timely responses. The voicemails, texts, emails, and comments warm our hearts and make us smile! Stay tuned for more updates as they are available. We will post them here. Feel free to share the blog with others. 

See you tomorrow,

Odie

1/4 Thursday Davy Update

Hey Friends,

This is Odie checking with an update from my parents. Wednesday was another full day of doctors, therapists, nurses and more doctors for my Mom and Dad.

It was also a full day of eating for my Dad. They started him on continuous feeding in his stomach feeding tube at 10:30 pm Tuesday and turned it off at 3:30 pm Wednesday. That is 17 hours of continuous eating. Dad says that’s a record even for him. 😀

Of course, over those 17 hours, they fed him 620 milliliters of food. In comparison, a 20-ounce bottle of Sam’s Choice water is 591 milliliters. He basically drank a 20-ounce bottle of water plus nutrients through his stomach in 17 hours.

His body handled it well, so they are changing over to his choice of feeding. Mom will push it with a syringe every 4 hours and be done with it.

Even better news: swallowing therapy was excellent on Wednesday. He made much more progress toward a full swallow. It will take much more work to get there, but we believe God to work in this area.

They have decided to take advantage of inpatient intensive therapy if they are accepted. There, he will have hours of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy to help him with swallowing.

Perhaps the biggest news of the day is concerning the MRI that Davy had Tuesday. It confirmed the stroke Davy had was involving the medulla part of the brain. That is the brain stem. She said this type of stroke is generally either fatal or mostly recoverable. Since it was not fatal, we hope it is mostly recoverable.

Mom and Dad say thank you for your tremendous encouragement and for your faithful prayers. The family of God is at war for us once again! We are overwhelmed by your love!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Odie

1/3 Wednesday Davy Update

Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in with an update on Dad. Mom sent me some information to share with you today. 

Yesterday was a busy day for my parents. The activity started early in the morning and lasted until nighttime. We are thankful for a good, productive day!

They inserted the feeding tube into my Dad's stomach around 8:30 yesterday morning. This tube can easily be removed when he is able to eat and swallow. Speaking of that, he is still unable to swallow, but the therapist is confident it will come.

Late last evening, he was moved from the ICU into a room.

He received his first nourishment around 10:30 last night. They fed it to him very slowly to see how he handled it overnight. I should have information on that tomorrow.

There is not A Word For Wednesday today. If you missed a special audio message, bringing you up to date from Dad yesterday. Listen and share this message. 

Friends, God is hearing and answering our prayers! Thank you for all your prayers, calls and messages! Your love and encouragement mean a lot to us!

Odie

1/2 Tuesday Davy Update

Afternoon Update 

The feeding tube is in now. Please refer to the post below from this morning. 

Morning Update

Hey Friends, 

This is Odie checking in from the hospital on Tuesday morning. I am on my phone again. 

Dad posted an audio update on YouTube this morning. I have posted the video below. If the embed feature does not work properly. Click here to see the video. 

Thank you for your prayers and concern for all of us right now. We love all of you. 

Odie