Funeral Details

We will be celebrating Graham's life at St. Andrew's United Church in Lacombe on Saturday, July 4 at 1:30pm.

Sadness for everybody

Just shortly after midnight (June 30) Graham passed away with his family at his bedside. We of course are devestated. This great man has touched our lives in such a profound way.

Please stay posted for funeral details coming.

Not much to report today

Docs were able to give us a picture of Graham's life if he recovers. It's of course their best guess.

Much of the same and some reflection

Today saw little change for Graham. He was stable and continues to battle pneumonia and the other various infections internally. Sedation kept him "sleeping" most of the time.

As a family we are reaching exhaustion and frustration, yet continue to cling to the small glimmer of hope offered by docs and other care-providers. However, it just occured to me, that he is a step or two (or three or four) further from the very bleak place we were in just a few days ago. So that right there provides hope. Those who came to his bedside the other night proclaimed that it be a "false alarm". I guess it really was. (Don't get me/us wrong, we know that we are far from being out of the woods.) Care providers, friends and family continue to be amazed at his will to live and strength to hang on fighting.

Our bodies and spirits may be weary but we remain thankful for the support and love shown and shared from up close and far away. Thank you for continuing to lift us up.

Graham's morning went well in terms of more regular and slower heart rate this morning. Looks like a bit of a rally. Hopefully that means the infection is getting under control. We continued to wait for surgery. He finally went in this afternoon around 3pm. Results are less than encouraging. They were unable to reconnect the bowel. Doc's have suggested we wait and try again in a couple of days.

Things not looking up...

On Tuesday night/Wed am Graham was sent for more surgery because of sepsis shock (they found more eschemic bowel to remove/repair).

Wednesday found him still fighting heaving infection and organ failure. His heart has been racing and very irregular. It is no longer responding to defibrillation.

Doctors have told us what we've been suspecting- that things are very bleak at the moment; however they do say there is a small amount of hope and are continuing to seek solutions.

Immediate family and friends have visited Graham on Wednesday afternoon/evening.

Graham is scheduled for surgery number 5 early Thursday morning.

New day and new challenges

Graham had a rough night last night and day today. He wasn't tolerating the food (liquid stuff)and was sick in the night. During the day his blood pressure was low and his heart rate high and was generally uncomfortable. He was sent for ct-scans and abdominal ultrasound to see if other bleeding was happening. They said nothing showed up. So the mystery continues. Ups and downs are to be expected. Hopefully tomorrow will find a well rested Graham with happier vitals.

Great news today!

Graham regained consciousness today! He remained awake for most of the day minus a couple of rests. He recognised us all and was even smiling and "joking". He even initiated communication by pointing and gesturing.

What a lovely surprise for all of us! We've been holding our breaths (collective and individual) for such an event. Each of us feels a burden has been lifted.

Well tonight it's a good exhaustion. Good night.

Sparkle of hope

Today we found Graham trying to open his eyes and quite responsive with his body in response to specific questions/situations. (Blinking, head moving, hand squeeze, toe wiggles etc.) This is leaving us each feeling good and a bit lighter. We of course hope that this means his brain function is recovering/restoring and shortly he'll be fully conscious.

Day Post surgery #3

Graham had a good night of stability. Docs seem happy with what they see. He is not on any pain killers nor sedation. Today we saw a slight crack of the eyelids, some eye movement (closed), hand and leg movement. We're hoping that this is signs of him moving towards consciousness. Right now everything like that seems to be positive. Doc has warned us that there will likely be ups and downs in progress. Waking up in the next 5 - 7 days is said to be the crucial window.

Out of surgey successfully!

Graham has come out of surgery successfully and did remain stable through the surgery to remove some large intestine. He is back in ICU and is stable. We are thankful for this. We again wait, hope and pray for the Graham to regain consciousness and for further improvements; however, we are not out of the woods yet. Graham's Mom and sister (& husband) are here too.

Still waiting for surgery

It is early evening and we continue to wait for the surgery for bowel removal. Part of it has been deprived of blood for too long and is infecting him internally. Hopefully this getting cleared up will help him regain consciousness shortly after the surgery. We are still faced with risky outcomes but not doing the surgery will lead to the least desirable outcome.

Facts slowly dribbling in...

After an agonizing wait for more information we still find ourselves waiting for clarification. One doctor feels that Graham needs bowel surgery and will likely recover very well. Others have a less cheerful prognosis.
Thank you for continuing to pray and lift Graham up.

First Post

Graham remains unconscious in icu. Docs are concerned about the time between removal of sedation (no sedation since Thursday pm/Friday am) and wakefulness. Further tests are in the works to determine why and what is happening. Dani & Ryan have decided to postpone leaving Calgary area and wait for results.