Josh Chandler Update

UPDATE!!! (3.1.07)

2007-03-03T22:29:00.000-05:00

The fam at Christmas!!

Dixie and Sandy!!!

Josh and Dixie

Josh at Christmas!

Hello to all!!! I know, I know that you probably think that we have fallen off of the face of the earth - I apologize for my extreme delay in writing an update since last year. It has not been that I have not wanted to write, but in the hustle and bustle of daily life good intentions get left behind somedays. I guess I kind of take it for granted because I see Josh on an everyday basis and I forget that not everyone has that luxury. So I would like to try and give you a clear picture of what is happening in Josh Chandlerâ€™s life now. Friday marks nine months since Joshâ€™s accident.

Josh is doing well. He finished up his outpatient rehab on Dec. 20, 2006 and was looking forward to his â€œChristmas breakâ€, but unfortunately that break has lasted up until the present. He was supposed to transition into a vocational rehab program, but due to government paperwork and now the fact that the rehab building is closed for remodeling - Josh has not had a structured therapy since December. That does not mean that he isnâ€™t progressing, just a minor setback until we can figure out what is the next best step.

Right now I believe that Joshâ€™s biggest setback is his physical strength. Joshâ€™s legs are still fairly weak, so his endurance is not where he wants it to be. He walks with a cane now (even that is only when he leaves the house) and that is more for him to occasionally lean on to help him keep his balance - which is an issue that he has minor difficulty with. He still has very mild tremors in his right hand, so he hates writing, but even that is not bad - you can still read his handwriting. The tremors only seem to get worse when he is tired, but hey, who doesnâ€™t have bad handwriting when they are tired!!

Joshâ€™s speech is doing fine, but Josh gets very frustrated with this (and a little self-conscious) because sometimes it is difficult to understand him (mostly when he tries to talk too fast) and we have to ask him to repeat himself which is annoying for him. His speech is definitely not where he wants it to be. I believe in a lot of ways it has gotten a little better, but as with his tremors it is a little worse when he is tired. I know that the more he works at it, the better it will get, but Josh is a NOW kind of person and it frustrates him when he doesnâ€™t speak as clearly as he used to speak.

The most recent news with Josh is that he has moved in with me. I know many of you may think that this is crazy, but so far it has worked out fine. I think it gives Josh a whole lot more independence which he needs right now. Because goodness knows that I am not going to do everything for him now since he can do so much on his own!!! He can get up, fix himself a sandwich or a drink, do his laundry, clean his room, let the dogs in and out, etc. Itâ€™s a win-win situation because I am not home by myself and I have help with the dogs. Also it helps mom and dad out by giving them back their â€œfreedomâ€. Josh decorated his room in, yep, you guessed it, DUKE colors. You would think he was obsessed or something! Really the one thing he is not doing yet is driving. Even he said he isnâ€™t ready for that yet. Another thing Josh is doing to help him get back into the real world is going to work a few days a week with mom. He helps another lady in the office by doing data entry into the computer (which is good exercise for regaining dexterity back in his fingers) and sorting invoices. He only goes in when they have work for him to do, which is not everyday. It breaks up his week a little and I think it is good for him. Granted he doesnâ€™t want to do this for the rest of his life, but for now it is okay.

Josh turned 25 on this past Saturday, February 24th. A milestone that I am so very thankful he has lived to see. Eight and a half months ago his future was uncertain, but God miraculously saved his life and I know He has great things in store for Josh. To celebrate his birthday Josh and mom traveled to Pensacola, Florida to see many of his friends still at school. I think this really lifted his spirits to see old friends and some kids from the youth group when he assisted there a couple of years ago. Not that he doesnâ€™t know that he is loved, but it is occasionally nice to be reminded of it from time to time. Seeing as how he was in a coma for 2 months I donâ€™t think Josh completely realized how many different peopleâ€™s lives he has touched in one way or another. Thank you for loving my brother and please continue to keep him in your prayers. He still has obstacles to overcome, but with Godâ€™s help and our encouragement I do not believe that it is out of reach.

If you would like to encourage Josh personally his address is now
121 Montclaire Circle
West Columbia, SC 29170
Or email him at:
Soccernut1702@yahoo.com

Love to you all,
Cari

P.S. I will try not to let months go by before the next update. Have a wonderful week!
I hope that you enjoyed the pictures.

Apology and Reminder (1/4/07)

2007-01-04T11:07:00.000-05:00

Friends of Josh,

I am sorry to not have posted in a long while. I can explain...

In the road to recovery, Josh went from 0% - 70% pretty quickly, relatively speaking. Now, he is in the cumbersome process of fine-tuning all of his movements and reactions back to normal. Because of this, 'new things' are not happening every day. Also, in a way, life has gone on for the Chandler's as they are trying to adapt back to normal life. I know Josh is ready for that day!

Anyway, I had the chance to visit Josh last weekend at his home in Columbia, SC. He looked so much better. Even though he would disagree, he had come a good ways in progress since I saw him last in Charlotte in August. (I will be posting a picture later, hopefully with an official update.)

Please keep praying for Josh. When tragedy strikes, many people want to 'be there' for the family. However, after the initial shock goes away, many times the people do the same....they go away. Josh and his family still need your prayers. The challenges keep coming for them. I don't mean to portray them as if they are in despair every day, because they are not. But be careful to remember them in your prayers and in your actions. Calls, visits, and cards mean more now than they did 4 months ago!

In Christ,

Brandon

New Update! (10/16/06)

2006-10-16T18:58:00.001-05:00

Hello to all. I know, I know, it's about time that I write an update. I want to apologize for my lack of speediness in continuing to keep you updated on Josh's condition. However, Josh is doing well. The above are pictures of the family (mom, dad, Cari & Josh) taken on Sunday morning October 8, 2006. This past month and a half that we have been home has seemed to fly by. Where to begin again? Well, we came home on August 31st but it wouldn't be for a couple of weeks before Josh got set up with all of his outpatient therapy. So, he got to rest for a little while, but in mid September he jumped back into therapy on an outpatient basis at HealthSouth. Josh was able to get a scholarship for one month of therapy (hopefully they will be extending that scholarship for another month or so - praise the Lord!). He goes to therapy from about 9am to 2pm Monday thru Thursday. Thursday is just a play day really - they go to different places in the community to help them get back into socialization. So far they have been to the museum, a fun park, a Greek festival, and next week they are going to the State Fair. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Josh still continues on with his Occupational, Physical, and Speech therapy, and he has little activities of daily living classes that he goes to. He isn't always thrilled to go to therapy, but he does it non-the-less because we make him and he knows it is the right thing to do right now.

Let's see, for his progress - Speech therapy. One of the things that I am most thankful for is that Josh still has his mind. Granted he may forget a thing or two, Josh is becoming very much his old sarcastic and witty self. For example, a couple of weeks ago mom was having to take Josh to therapy by herself for the first time and she was a little nervous about transferring him into the car by herself (now he does it all on his own). So she had a good friend of ours and our federal congressman's wife there for moral support. Needless to say it was raining that day, imagine that! Mom had the bright idea to take Josh down the back wheelchair ramp and wheel him around to the front to the enclosed garage to get out of the rain faster. Well, we live on a VERY steep hill/driveway and mom didn't make it into the garage with Josh. Mom lost control of the wheelchair, but she hung on for dear life!, and they both went down the hill, mom skidding in her shoes and Josh holding the umbrella yelling - heading straight for, you guessed it, a tree! Thankfully they missed both trees and ended up safely in the road. First thing Josh told me on the phone was that mom was trying to kill him! He said "I made it through the accident and rehab only to have my mom kill me!". It is a very comical story now; I don't think mom will live that one down for quite a while. Meanwhile back at the ranch ~ As far as his speech is concerned Josh is doing pretty good. He still has some volume to get back (bet those of you who knew Josh before would never have thought that would be a problem!). The louder he talks, the clearer his voice is - if that makes any sense? Sometimes he talks too fast and you have to ask him to slow down and repeat himself, but actually it is easier to carry on a conversation with him now than it was a month ago. He likes to practice by talking to his friends on his cell phone in the evening when the minutes are free.

Physical and Occupational therapy - they both work with Josh on strengthening his arms and legs. They stretch him out, because his muscles are very tight in some respects, but he is beginning to loosen up. He is not walking on his own YET, but he is very close. He has walked with a walker and with some help (mom and I cried the first time we saw him walk), but his legs are still very weak and give out on him rather easily. He has also been going through a process of serial casting to the left foot due to an inward rotation of his foot, but hopefully tomorrow he will get this cast off for good. They have been casting it the last several weeks to get it back into proper alignment. On Monday he gets the cast off, a mold taken of his foot for a brace, and then later that day he goes back to have it fitted. If all goes well, the brace will work and then Josh can really concentrate on walking again because the cast seems to throw his balance off when attempting to walk. Josh still has a little ways to go in his fine motor skills, but as with everything else it is getting better with time. He still has mild tremors to the right hand, but it is limited pretty much to his thumb and pinky finger. If he is really tired it goes up into his shoulder as well. The bad part about this is that he is right-handed so it is very difficult for him to write because of the tremors. He is standing for short periods of time and he pretty much can transfer himself from the wheelchair to car/bed/recliner - mom, dad, or I are really just there for guidance. Once he is walking steadily Josh will pretty much be doing everything for himself.

As for the rest of us - dad is back to work full time and going strong. He travels several days a week to Greenville, Charlotte, or Charleston. Mom is almost back to working part-time. She tries to work while Josh is at therapy. I work 3, 12hr days a week and on my days off I will take Josh to and from therapy or stay at the house with him. Josh has ventured out to a couple of restaurants with the family and he has gone to a few little league/high school/college ball games. I think it really helps him to get out and do things. Even though life is not quite back to normal, it much better now than it was a month ago.

I want to again express my extreme gratefulness to all of you who helped Josh in his road to recovery. I know that God has ultimately healed Josh, but he used such incredible people (the doctors, nurses, and therapists in Chapel Hill and Charlotte and now HealthSouth) to work a miracle in my little brother's life. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts; words cannot express our gratitude. Thank you to all of those who have prayed and are continuing to pray for Josh and our family. Thank you to those who sent cards and letters of encouragement in a time when it was needed most. Thank you to those who came to visit Josh throughout this journey in his life. Thank you to those who have given their time, gifts, friendship, and love to us. We love you all! You will forever be in our hearts.

With much love,

Cari

Home...at Last! (September 1)

2006-09-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

!!!!!HOMECOMING!!!!!

Hello to all. It is with great pleasure that I am writing to you from HOME - I have been waiting to say that for a very long time. That's right - Columbia, SC. Josh made it home safe and sound on August 31st. That marks 90 days since the time of the accident. My how time flies when you are having fun - NOT!!! We are just so thrilled to finally have Josh home!! In true Chandler traveling fashion, Tropical storm Ernesto made sure that we traveled in the rain (that seems to be our lot in life), fortunately God kept us all safe and we made it home just fine. Josh did not even seem a little bit nervous riding when in the car for the first time in quite a while, even though we took an unintentional tour of Charlotte prior to our journey back to Gamecock country.

Josh is doing well. He is very thankful to be home. Fist thing he did was just take in all the sights of home. He relaxed in his wheelchair, played with my Dixie for a little while (she really missed him!), and rested. He will be chillin' for the next few days until we can get all of his outpatient therapies set up. Today (9/01/06) we went and met the physician who will be taking over Josh's care here in Columbia. We all really liked him. We also have an appointment set up for Thursday the 7th to meet the new rehab doctor and get things in motion to continue on in Josh's road to complete recovery. Don't worry, he won't be skipping out on any therapy. We will just do things with him at home until all of the outpatient appointments are in place. I will make sure to all of that!!

Before Josh came home we were able to get a lot of the little stuff taken care of like have a wheelchair ramp made for the back (thank you to Bobby and Stephen), get the house cleaned up a little (thank you Teresa, Mallie, Alex, Michelle, Starling, and Irene), and become semi-organized to help make the transition to a newer environment a little easier. I am sure there are some details I am leaving out, but please forgive me.

Josh told a few people prior to leaving Charlotte that his goal was going to be walking a little about 3 weeks. I like the sound of that. Josh still has a ways to go, but he can do it. His memory is fine, he justs gets confused on occasion with very minute, insignificant areas. Like arguing with you whether or not the wheelchair is in the room or not. Thankfully all true family memories are still very much intact and it is nice to reminesce on these from time to time. As far as Josh is physically concerned we are continuing to work on stretching out the fingers to his right hand. His left arm is moving a good bit, it is just very weak. The right leg remains his strongest extremity. I can tell a huge difference when we transfer from last week to the present because it is sooooo much easier to transfer him yourself. The left ankle is still turned in a little bit, but I am hoping that this will soon relax and he can go back to leading a somwhat normal life. Josh still remains patient with mom and I as we transfer him. We finally got the cast removed and Josh is faithfully wearing his new splint and doing exactly what is aksed of him. Josh still has lots of mediations that he is taking, but hopefully over time it will decrease. He was also able to get his feeding tube out this week. I know that he is sure glad for that.

Please don't stop praying for a complete recovery. I know that he can do it, and I am sure that he will thank me later when he realizes why I have been so "pushy". Josh is still getting up a lot during the night so mom isn't getting a lot of sleep right now. Story of all our lives, we're tired! hehe!! Josh still has his sense of humor though, he tries to cheat if he can when doing certain movements.

Anyway, all is well on the home front. We are very thankful for every step of progress that we see. Josh told me to tell you that he IS home and that he is doing fine. All feels like it is right in the world when you have days such as these. Thank you again for your continue love and prayers. We truly would not have made it through this without our friends and family all over the world. God's family is very big. We love you all.

Love ya,

Cari

P.S. Notice the "Cameron Crazie" t-shirt. Josh wore it in honor of all his new friends at UNC!! Have a wonderful week!

Target Date: Thursday! (Aug. 29th Update)

2006-08-30T18:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, baring no bumps in the road Josh will be coming home to Columbia, SC (a.k.a. mom and dad's house) on Thursday morning August the 31st. Please pray that all the little final details get worked out so we will have everything ready to go come Discharge day!!!!! Thank you for you continued love and prayers.

August 27th Update

2006-08-30T18:00:00.000-05:00

Josh Chandler - August 20th - Just chillin' with his new haircut

~~~ Josh and Cari ~~~

Hello to all. I bet you thought that I had forgotten about the updates, but no, I have just been a little busy. I hope that you like the pictures. I know it is easier to see progress when you can sortof see it for yourself. Josh is continuing to do well at rehab. This past week he has been working a lot with his arms and strengthening his legs.

Let's see. In speech therapy Josh has been working on making his speech slow and clear - annunciating his words. If he tries to say too much in one breath or if he is very tired it can be difficult to understand him. Also in speech therapy they have been working with Josh and his memory. Josh's occasionally gets a little confused with his timeline from about two weeks prior to the accident and on. For example he sometimes can't remember what he did the day before in therapy. But, his memory prior to the accident is still very much intact (in fact, he has corrected me on details from the past on several occasions!).

In occupational therapy Josh has really been working on his arms. He is whooping up on the little old people who have had a stroke when he is in his reachout therapy group. This is when they play checkers or stack blocks or something of that sort to help with their motor skills in their weak arm. Lisa has been focusing on working with his right hand; it is still a little tight to the point that he cannot extend his fingers all the way out. He still wears a splint to that hand and he follows a schedule of when it comes on and off. He doesn't really like it and is very happy when it is time to come off. I think he is about due for the splint to be changed this week which means they will make a new one that will extend his fingers out just a little bit more. He still has a fair amount of tremors to that right hand also. This contributes to his difficulty to try and use that right hand a little bit more. The doctor has been increasing his medications to try and alleviate this problem - some days you really notice the tremors and some days you don't. It is just playing a game of trying to figure out the right combination of medications that will help control the tremors.

In physical therapy they have been continuing to work with Josh's legs. They recasted his left ankle again on Wednesday and it is beginning to get back into alignment, but it is also causing Josh a good deal of pain. He doesn't sleep well because he can't seem to get comfortable most of the time. This is just something he is going to have to deal with for the time being. I thought that his ankle looked pretty good this week. Before they recasted the ankle they put Josh on the tilt table and put him up to an almost standing position for thirty minutes. Josh said he felt like his legs were giving out on him (obviously his legs couldn't give out because Ben and Amy were helping to hold his ankle and he was strapped down to the table), but he made it. Josh also worked on standing up and he was able to stand (with Ben's help) for about 5 1/2 minutes. He was also able to go from a lying down position on the mat to sitting on the side of the mat by himself this week. He was a little wobbly but he made it on his own. I can tell a big difference in his strength from last week to this week.

Okay now the big news. We have a TENTATIVE discharge date of this Thursday, August 31st. I stress tentative because they could decide to keep him just a little bit longer due to the fact that he is continuing to make pretty good progress. We should know tomorrow, Monday the 28th, after they (doctor, nurse, PT, OT, ST, & case worker) have their weekly care team meeting and discuss Josh's progress. I will let you all know with a quick update tomorrow on our possible discharge. They have been training mom, dad, and I on how to transfer Josh from the chair to bed, etc. They are just trying to get us prepared for home. I am very excited that home is in the near future, but we are all in agreement that if they decide to keep Josh a little longer it is okay because this is where Josh needs to be right now. If they decide to let us come home, then HOORAY, I think we could make it just fine. Josh really wants to come home this week, but home is all in God's timing.

Oh, I almost forgot. Josh is getting his feeding tube removed on Monday or Tuesday of this week. They watched what he ate for a couple of days (i.e. calorie count) and decided that he is eating enough by mouth and does not need the feeding tube anymore. Josh is very excited to get this out. He told me to tell you all "hey". Josh is in pretty good spirits most of the time, but he does get easily frustrated. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to be so dependent on everyone for practically everything you do. He has his good and bad days. Josh had several visitors this week and it really seems to lift his spirits to see familiar faces besides mom, dad and I. It won't be too long until we get back home and Josh can see friends and church family on a more regular basis. My Dixie (yellow lab) is gearing up to see him as well. She will probably lick him to death because I know she misses him! Anyway, that is about it for this week. I look forward to telling you that we are on our way home. Have a wonderful week. We love you all.

Love ya,

Cari

Continued Improvements! (Update: Aug. 19)

2006-08-19T16:10:00.000-05:00

Greetings to all. I hope that everyone is having a pretty good August so far. I am sorry that I haven't written in a little over a week, but right now weekly progress seems to be the best when updating.

Josh is doing fine. We got the news on Monday that Josh's stay has been extended until August 31st - that means HOME! Josh was a little bummed about it because he wants to go home now, but it is good news in the fact that he is indeed making progress. They will continue to work with him as long as he is progressing. This August 31st date could also be extended so we will just have to wait and see how it goes.

Josh continues to eat on his own and only occasionally needs to be fed through his tube. His appetite still could use a little work, but I believe it will come in time. He is trying to feed himself, but his right hand tremors a lot so it is difficult for him to do this. They are still trying to adjust his medications to help with the tremors. Some days are better than others. Please pray for the tremors to stop and stiffness to his right hand to get better. In occupational therapy they have been working all week with Josh on feeding himself, brushing his teeth, and washing his face etc. They are trying to get better movement with his arms. They also having him using the arm bike to help with strengthening.

Speech therapy has been working with Josh in math and reading comprehension this week. He does pretty well. He was only off by $1 when he was adding up the money in his head. He also reads a paragraph and answers questions appropriately on what he has read. His speech is still doing pretty well as long as he remembers to slow down. If he gets to trying to say too much in one breath it is difficult to understand him. He still is laughing a good bit though (thanks to dad) and that is always nice to see.

Physical therapy has been working a lot with Josh on his legs. This week his left ankle was recasted on Wednesday. When the cast came off on they felt like his ankle was beginning to give a little. Praise the Lord. It hurt Josh a lot, but if it will get his ankle back into alignment it is just something he is going to have to put up with. They will recheck the ankle again on this Wednesday and hopefully he will only need one more cast until they can begin working on strengthening that ankle. This week Josh almost sat up from off of the mat by himself - he was so close. Also this week, Ben with PT, had Josh stand (with help of course) for 5 minutes. It hurt Josh's legs to do this but it was great to get weight into his legs. This gets the muscles firing so they can get used to this motion. I am hoping by the end of next week that Josh will be able to sit up to an upright position on his own and stand for maybe 10 minutes.

Please also pray for Josh because he is getting a little frustrated with himself at times. He knows what he used to be able to do and a lot of times I think he feels trapped in his body right now. It is only temporary, but at times it is difficult for him to see the end of the road of rehab. Josh has had several visitors over the past couple of days and I know that it helps to cheer him up along with several phone calls from friends. This week Josh also got a haircut from yours truly (my first one ever!). I think it looks very good. I will have to get a picture of it out soon. Dad liked it so much he had me cut his too! Josh will be mad at me if I do not tell you all "hey". I forgot with the last update. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and support. We love you all.

Pictures!!!

2006-08-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

- the whole Chandler gang!

- Josh and Cari (sister)

- The sign in the background reads, "Please call me Josh... and yes I'm a Duke fan!" (Very helpful when he was at UNC Chapel Hill!)

- Josh and dad

- Josh and mom...any resemblance???

- just chillin' ... (hopefully at home in a few weeks!)

- the vintage smile!

"Leaps and Bounds" (Update: Aug. 12)

2006-08-12T09:07:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone! I hope that you like the picture. It was taken today. There may be a few more pictures at the website http://chandlerupdate.blogspot.com (once Brandon gets a chance to post them of course). Mom, dad, and I are in a couple of them.

Josh has had an incredible week!! This is the week that he has made leaps and bounds. Where to begin? Of course he has been working hard especially in his speech, but in the last few days he has truly excelled.
When I got here on Thursday morning Josh was talking up a storm. It is like it all kicked in one day and there he goes, talking nonstop. He has to take it a little slow because if he goes too fast you cannot understand him for his words run together, but when he goes slow he speaks perfectly and in complete sentences. It is sooooooooo wonderful to be able to communicate with Josh. I know that he likes it too. He even has his sarcastic sense of humor back. I can't begin to tell you how good it is to hear that again. His voice is pretty strong, he just sounds a little horse. Josh has spoken to several of his friends on the phone already which I know has boosted everyone's spirits, including Josh's. By the end of the day though when he gets really tired it becomes a little bit more difficult to understand him.

Because Josh did so well in speech therapy at the beginning of the week Melissa recommended a swallow study. We thought it would be next week some time, but low and behold Thursday morning he had it and passed with flying colors. So much so they moved him directly to regular food. He had a few bites of a cheese burger that night - go figure. Now mind you he has to be sitting straight up, take very small bites and follow it with a little liquid, but he is doing very well. He is a little apprehensive when eating because he hasn't done it in two months and I think he is afraid he is going to choke, but he's getting the hang of it again. It doesn't take much to make him full either. Good thing he has "reserves"!! Once he is consistently eating enough of his daily calories by mouth they will take the feeding tube out. I know Josh will be glad for that even though he has gotten used to it. He even started taking his medicine by mouth today rather than thru his feeding tube.

Physically he is getting stronger too. He is able to hold his balance pretty well and his left arm and left leg are moving around so much more than they were last week. Lisa changed the splint to his right hand today to help extend the fingers a little further. This is what they did for his left hand while we were in Chapel Hill and now those fingers are not contracted at all, so I am hoping that in just a little while his right fingers will be pretty straight. He is still tremoring to the right arm a little bit, but even that is not as bad as it has been. His right leg remains the strongest of all his extremities. He is even able to help push off with this leg a little while they transfer him from the bed to the chair or vice versa. As far as his left leg is concerned - Tuesday they injected medicine to the left foot nerve to deaden it so they could begin to manipulate his ankle back into proper alignment. Josh said "it hurt really bad" and that "it was a very long needle", but he was a trooper and made it. Wednesday they casted it, and today they took the cast off again, reset the ankle into proper alignment and then recasted it until probably next Wednesday (if Josh can tolerate it for that long). It does appear to cause him some discomfort at times from all of the manipulation. Today while the cast was off Josh stood on the tilt board for about 30 minutes. He was hurting the whole time, but he persevered (even though he said he was being a wimp!!).

I know that deep down Josh is glad to finally be able to communicate with everyone, and I know that he is pleased with himself (even though he won't admit it). I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to see his progress. I really couldn't believe how much he had made from Sunday night to Thursday morning. Mom and dad are very excited as well. Josh and dad go back and forth in teasing each other all the time getting mom and I in on the action occasionally. It is funny to hear Josh tell stories of things that happened when you didn't think he was paying attention. For the most part he gets everything correct, it is just at times he gets a little minor detail mixed up. I cannot wait for everyone to see him, you will all be amazed by how much better he is doing now. He still has a long way to go, but there is light at the end of the tunnel - Praise the Lord! I am hopeful that it will only be another couple of weeks here in Charlotte before they discharge Josh to HOME!!!!!

God has been so good to us through these last 9 weeks! We thank you for your continued prayers, love and support. We could not have made it this far without them. We love you all.

Update: Aug. 7th

2006-08-07T21:13:00.000-05:00

Hola to all. I hope that you are having a good day. Everything is going well here.

Josh has had a really great weekend and a pretty good Monday. Josh seems so much more alert most of the day as of late. I think he may be adjusting to his therapy schedule. This weekend he took it easy, but he did everything everyone asked of him. He practiced all of the exercises that the therapists gave him to work on, and he is really working hard on his speech. It really hit me Friday night that Josh is very motivated to overcome this injury. Sometimes I will look over at him in the bed and he is moving his arms and legs up and down just to practice the movement they make. I know he is going to be fine, no doubt in my mind now.

One thing that was so wonderful to see was Josh laughing alot this weekend. He even showed his sense of humor a little bit. It is so good for him too because it forces him to take deep breaths and it works out the muscles in his mouth a little bit. Dad was being very silly all weekend long and Josh would just laugh (it mostly sounds like a huff, but his face shows such joy) and sometimes he would roll his eyes. We were teasing dad that we were not really related to him - Josh agreed! (Just kidding dad)

Today at speech therapy, Melissa was blown away by how much Josh was doing. She could tell he had been working on it and was so pleased. She even tried thickening some water and let Josh have a swallow and he did very well with it. He may even get to try a bite of ice cream or pudding tomorrow! I am very hopeful that a swallow study is in the near future to clear him to eat again. Slowly, of course.

Josh is set to get the cast tomorrow to his left ankle. Between 1pm & 2pm they will give him the shot to deaden the nerve and then cast it a little bit later. I pray that it won't be too painful for him, but it is the best thing for him right now. I will let you all know how it all goes. Physical therapy is continuing to help strengthen his legs. They are really working with his right leg so that he can help assist a little when they transfer him from bed to chair and vice versa. Once his left foot is casted they can also work a little more with that leg (if it is still not too painful).

In occupational therapy (OT) they continue to work on his arms (especially the left) so they he can relearn to do the basics. He usually has about an hour in the morning and maybe a 30 minute session in the afternoon of OT. He still wears the splint on his right hand off and on to stretch out his fingers but I have a feeling that it due to be changed soon. Lisa also works with him on sitting and balance. Today Lisa came back for his afternoon therapy session and Josh said "long time, no see!" Mom said Lisa just laughed. We all really like her because she works well with Josh.

The doctor, therapists, case workers, etc. had their weekly meeting today regarding Josh's progress and they had nothing but good things to say. Everyone was so pleased with all that he has accomplished in the past week. When they measure progress they do it on a week by week basis, rather than day by day. I am really praying that he has another good week so there will be more good things to share.

That is about it for today. I am very hopeful that home is in the not-too-distant-future. There is still alot to be done in preparation, but it is getting closer everyday. Thank you all for your continued love and prayers. We love you all.

August 4th Update

2006-08-04T23:39:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone. I pray that you all had a wonderful week. All is going fine here in Charlotte.

Josh had a real good day today. I can see alot of progress since the beginning of the week. Today Josh sat up on the side of the mat by himself for 5 minutes on two seperate occasions. He had a hard time doing it, but he persisted with PT's, mom's, and my encouragement. I could tell that he was very pleased with himself though when he was finished - a sense of real accomplishment. He also was able to do leg kicks pretty good today. Of course he moved his right leg very well against resistance, but today he was picking up his left leg just a little bit - remember, baby steps. His speech therapy was interrupted today with nursing care so we didn't get far, but he was trying to work on his breathing. His speech still has a little ways to go, but Josh is saying words that you can understand occasionally. They are going to add a session of speech therapy tomorrow because of the interrupti on. Josh did very well with occupational therapy today too. He was able to move his left arm a little today - which is more than on Monday, because he didn't move it at all.

We had a long talk with Josh today about therapy, the future, and what he has to do to get better to go home, and I think he is very motivated to do well. I could tell that he really wants to make a full recovery. Deep in my heart I know that he will, it will just take time. I can tell this because Josh keeps an eye on the clock because he is afraid that he is going to miss his therapy. He looks at mom and I when the time comes and says "therapy". Josh even laughed a little bit today - mostly because dad was being stupid - imagine that! It was more like a little huff, but he was laughing. It was really good to see this.

Josh had a few visitors this week and I know that it really lifted his spirits to see them. I know that he is ready to come home - so any familiar faces help. Thankfully we are much closer to home than where we were when we started out. Josh had another roommate for a couple of days who was pretty much in the same shape as Josh, but they were able to move him to another room so Josh again has his own room. It is nice to be able to spread out.

I think Monday they are going to try and cast his left ankle. They do this by first injecting the nerve with medication to numb it then stretch his ankle into proper alignment then cast it. It can be pretty painful so they give him pain medication prior to all of this. I hope that it will correct quickly so he won't have to be casted for too long. We will see how this goes. The schedule for next week is the same - therapy, therapy, and more therapy.

Josh is still being fed through the tube in the stomach and today they started what is called bolus feeds. This is when they give him a certain amount of tube feeding at certain times of the day which will equal the amount of nutrition Josh needs to maintain his body. Mom did her first bolus feeding for Josh today and she did very well. She is also giving Josh the shot that he has to have everyday to keep his blood thin so he won't develop blood clots. Again, mom did really well. She is beginning to learn how to properly take care of Josh's needs until he can do things for himself. We are praying that Josh will be able to help out alot more before mom has to help transfer him from the bed to the chair and vice versa. I did it for the first time today by myself and it was a workout. Josh was very nice and said that I did okay - I am sure he was just trying to make me feel good, but at least he made it safely!

That is about it for today. I will write again later and let you know how the weekend goes. Thank you for your love and prayers. We love you all.

A New Update! (Aug. 3)

2006-08-03T18:22:00.000-05:00

Hello all. I hope that you are having a good week. Things are going fine in Charlotte.

Two months ago today Josh's new adventure in life began. God has been so good in bringing Josh this far, but he still has a long way to go. Josh is doing just fine. He is trying to do everything they ask him to do and I can see progress - it is just tiny baby steps (but they are baby steps forward!).

In speech therapy he is working on coordinating his breathing with his tongue movements to help him re learn to speak. He can talk a lot better when he is lying down than when he is sitting up because his diaphragm doesn't have to work so hard when lying down. Who would have thought that you would have to re learn how to do this? Melissa, speech therapist, is also working with Josh on swallowing. Today he was swallowing much better than he has in the past and she was very pleased. She is using a lollipop to help him re learn to swallow properly. I am hopeful that in the next few weeks he will be ready for a swallow study to see if maybe he can start taking something by mouth. He will have to start out very slow, but eventually he will work up to eating regular food agai n. I know that he is looking forward to it.

Occupational therapy is working with Josh on his upper body like holding up his head, moving his neck around, and working out his arms. When the time comes they will help him with coordination so eventually he can brush his own hair, brush his teeth, eat, etc. They also are the ones that have made the splints for him. He got a splint for his right hand today. They have done a very good job (along with the nurses - you know that I have to put a plug in for them!) at keeping his hands and elbows loose so they don't contract to where he has limited motion in his hands and arms. They also work with Josh on his balance. Yesterday he sat on the floor and was able to hold himself up for a minute and a half.

Physical therapy is working with Josh on his strength and working out his legs. Josh is getting stronger day by day. He is staying in his chair most of the day. They stretch him out everyday and they do different exercises that will help to strengthen his whole body. Today they put him on the tilt board again, but they didn't get him as high as the previous time due to the pain it is causing Josh's left ankle. The right ankle is fine, but the left ankle is very tight and has begun to turn inward. This causes Josh alot of pain, especially when they try to move it. (It really looks like it hurts.) They are probably going to have to work to stretch is out to the correct position then cast it for awhile to get it to stay in alignment. You can really tell when Josh is hurting becaus e he cringes his face and almost begins to cry. That is when they have to stop and try again later. He is on pain medicine around the clock but they have to be careful that they don't give him too much so that he is not too drowsy to do his therapy. Josh is picking up his right leg pretty good though. I am glad to see this because for a little while he wasn't moving his legs very much at all.

Everyone is very pleased with the progress Josh has made in the week that he has been here. I am excited to see his progress as well. Josh is doing good and he is trying his best, but he does get very frustrated at times and he gets tired which is to be expected. He told me Sunday that he wanted to go home. I look forward to that day, but I know Josh is where he needs to be right now. Please pray for him to continue to have the strength to do his therapy, for his left ankle to continue to loosen, and for his speech. I think it will be easier for everyone if we could communicate with each other a little better.

Mom and dad are doing fine too. Dad is adjusting to working out of Charlotte. I am going back to work full time beginning next week and will come and stay up here on my days off. Thankfully it is only temporary. Please pray for strength for us as well. It gets very tiring on the body with all the going back and forth. But God is good and we are managing just fine. I am probably going to be doing the updates every 2 or 3 days now because the progress is very slow and it is hard to write if Josh doesn't do alot one day. If anything exciting happens be sure that I will write and let you all know. Please keep us in your prayers. We love you all.

Two Updates: 7/30 - 7/31

2006-08-01T21:44:00.000-05:00

Good evening all. I pray that you are all having a good Monday. I am sorry that I didn't get an update out Saturday or Sunday, but I am currently in the process of getting my computer worked on. Hopefully in the next few days I will have it back.

Josh is doing okay. He had a pretty okay weekend. He was alert a good bit of the time especially since he didn't have as much therapy this weekend. Today he returned to 3 hour therapy so he is pretty tired. He is getting a little agitated (and a little frustrated too, I think) again, but this is something to be expected. They are giving him medicines to help out with some of this. This agitation means his brain cells are firing so he is trying to heal. He is doing well in all of his therapy. He is picking his right leg up off of the bed on command pretty well. He is doing better with holding his head up by himself, although he is still weak. He sometimes can move some of the fingers on his left hand which is something more than what he has been doing in the past. For this I am very thankful. Today they put him on tilt board which is something they use to help him try to stand. They strap him to a board that they slowly tilt upward to a standing position. He doesn't do this on his own, it is just to help put weight through his legs to help strengthen them. He is talking a little, but most of the time it is just sounds and you cannot always understand him. Once he coordinates his tongue movements he should be able to speak better. All in all he is making progress, just some days are better than others.

Due to outside circumstances Josh had to have his room changed. This is a good move, trust me. So, his new address is the same with only a change in room numbers.

Josh Chandler
Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation
1100 Blythe Road
Room 114-1
Charlotte, NC 28203

Thank you for you continued prayers. We love you all.

Update: Friday (7/28)

2006-07-29T08:56:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I pray that you had a great week.

Josh is doing fine today. He is continuing his therapy as scheduled. When he is not in therapy right now he is pretty much sleeping. They say that this is normal because of the increased level of activity they are putting him through. Mom says that sometimes he appears to be sleeping, but she feels that he is awake but too tired to open his eyes. It should get better in a week or so. He tries to do everything they ask him to do - which is great. Physical therapy really worked hard on his legs today. They are pretty concerned about his left ankle. It is just soooo tight. They may have to do alot more to that ankle than just stretching it out - like maybe a splint or a cast. We will have to see how it goes.

Speech therapy worked today on his swallowing. He was attempting to swallow today and so hopefully it won't be too long before they will try a swallow study. If he passes it then he can slowly begin to eat. I think it is in the not-too-distant-future.

The doctor seems to think that the tremors are caused by the tone of Josh's muscles. He believes that they can control it with medications. The only thing with that is finding the right combination without making him too drowsy. I hope that the medications will help. I know Josh gets a little frustrated sometimes when he can't control his arm.

That is about it for today. Thank you for your love and prayers.

Update: 7/27/06

2006-07-29T08:54:00.000-05:00

Good evening to all. I hope that you are having a good Thursday - it's almost the weekend - you can make it!

Josh had a pretty good day. He participated to the best of his ability today by trying to do everything that was asked of him. Today he sat up in his chair for 6 hours. Now mind you he is reclining a little and he takes cat naps, but at least he was out of the bed. He went down to their gym today for physical therapy and they stretched out his back and worked alot on his muscles. They even tried to play a little soccer with him and he attempted to roll it back, but it's a start. All the therapy is really wearing him out, but it is stimulating his brain and muscles so that they can heal.

Josh is getting all fancy on us! He got an air mattress for his bed and he has a wheelchair they are sortof customizing to fit his needs. The mattress helps to relieve pressure to his body while lying in bed since he can't turn himself and by him sitting up in the chair it helps to work his abdominal and neck muscles by strengthening them.

I pray you all have a wonderful Friday. Until next time.

Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.

Updates... 7/25 , 7/26

2006-07-27T16:35:00.000-05:00

Good evening to all. I hope that you are having a great week. I am sorry that I did not get an update out yesterday - I am having computer problems. But, it is with great excitement that I am writing to you from Charlotte. You read it right! We got the word around 10am Tuesday morning that Josh was accepted to Charlotte and they had a bed ready for him. We left around 12:30pm via ambulance to come a little closer to home. We are very excited and Josh said he understood why we were moving. I think he is ready in his mind to get better, now we just have to get the rest of his body to comply.

God is so good in opening the doors for Charlotte. There were several times the answer looked like it would be "no", but everything worked out. At first we didn't think we could get North Carolina benefits and just as we were told that we couldn't - dad got Josh's NC card in the mail that same day. Then there was a possibility Charlotte wouldn't have a bed for a little while and Tuesday morning after everything was confirmed here we were, on our way to Charlotte. How perfect is that. The EMT's were really cool. They kept calling me and letting me know that Josh was doing fine. I really appreciated this because we went through alot of nasty weather and I wasn't sure how Josh would do. I don't think he remembers anything, but still I was a little weary given the circumstances. We are going to miss t he staff of UNC very much for all of the wonderful care they gave to Josh over the past 53 days, but it is time to move on and make new friends.

Once in Charlotte, we were treated very kindly. The facility is nice - it is located directly beside the big Charlotte hospital - Carolinas Medical Center. We were met by Josh's attending physician and he was very kind - I think he will take good care of Josh. The staff was also very nice to us all as well. I look forward to getting to know them over the weeks to come. Josh does have a roommate. He is a 22yr old guy that also had a head injury riding a skateboard. We like him and he said he would look after Josh when we are not there - he is able to get up and move around freely. We are not able to stay with Josh overnight which was very difficult the first time because he really can't fend for himself right now. I know they will take good care of him, but still it was hard just the same. Family can be there for therapy and pretty much all day, but visiting hours are from 4pm to 9pm. Josh is starting off with about 3 hours of therapy a day, (a short session on Saturday and on Sunday he justs rests) between physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. He is also followed by a dietician, case worker, educator, aides, and nurses. They try to keep the same people working with Josh everyday (as much as possible) to keep with continuity of care. The first nurse we met was Katie and she seems like alot of fun. She works the evening shift and as mom and I tearfully left for the evening she asked if it would be okay if she could pray with Josh - of course we said YES. She said she and Josh made a deal that they would say a prayer every night together that she worked. I know God is watching out for Josh!

Josh made it just fine through the night. We anxiously got back to the rehab center at 7:30am when Josh was to begin his therapy. Lisa, his occupational therapist, met him first. She came in first thing, got Josh dressed in real clothes and got him sitting up in the chair. He really seemed to like this. He had a happy and peaceful look on his face while sitting up. I know it had to feel good to get out of that bed. He did okay, he is just sooooooo weak. He was able to hold his head up for a little while, but it wasn't long before he was looking straight down. He also needs assistance when sitting; he just can't do that on his own right now. He sat in the chair for a little over an hour. Ben with physical therapy came in next to evaluate Josh. His muscles are very tight, so it is going to take alot of work to get them to where they need to be. He is moving his right arm and his right leg a little, but the tremors to the right arm and left leg limit some of what he can do. I pray that in time the tremors will go away and he will begin moving that left side a little more. At the end of PT Josh was very tired so we got him back in the bed. He did really well for his first time being up. Next Melissa with speech therapy came in and saw Josh but he was pretty tired at this point so he wasn't talking as well as he has been. But he did answer all of her questions appropriately. She is going to see him first tomorrow so she gets to see him before he gets too tired. They are also going to spread out his therapy to give him breaks in between so they can get the optimal usage of their time with Josh. Every evening Josh gets a schedule for the next days therapy. It really helps plan your day. Eventually Josh will work up to 4-4 1/2 hours of therapy a day. Josh says he is going to work hard to get better. I think that as he gains some strength back we will really see a difference.

That is about it for his first day of rehab. He did well, but I know that it wore him out. Mom and dad are staying in an extended stay hotel about 8 miles away. Dad is going to sortof temporarily base his business out of Charlotte while Josh is in rehab. I am going to work a few days in Columbia then stay up there for the rest of the week. Hopefully this won't last too terribly long. But whatever it takes to get Josh back to functioning on his own. That is the goal and I know that with God's help, prayer, and people working daily with Josh it can be reached. Thank you all for your continued love and prayers.

Josh's new address:

Joshua Chandler
Charlotte Institute of Rehab
1100 Blythe Road
Room 104-2
Charlotte, NC 28203

Charlotte!!!

2006-07-26T06:31:00.000-05:00

(Posted by Brandon)

I talked with Cari yesterday, and she told me they would be carrying Josh by ambulance to the hospital in Charlotte at about 1 pm, or so. Charlotte is the best hospital in the area for the therapy Josh will need. It looked like Josh would be going to Greenville, SC instead, because after finally getting approved, Charlotte did not have a bed for Josh. The Lord worked in such a way, that every detail went smoothly.

I know the family is ecstatic. Instead of being 250 miles from their home in Columbia, they are now only 90. It also marks the completion of the first stage of Josh's recovery. Josh, by God's grace, has come a long way.

I'm sure when the family gets settled in Charlotte, Cari will send out an update with more information. Until then, praise God for His work and continue to pray for Josh and the Chandlers.

Grace and Peace,

Brandon

Trach-Free!!! (7/24/06)

2006-07-25T06:16:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I hope that things are going well for the first of your week.

All is going fine in Chapel Hill. Josh had a pretty good day. Guess what, as of 2pm today Josh is trach free! He is breathing on his own and seems to be doing fine. His oxygen level is staying up without the trach in. He is trying to talk a little and is beginning to get the hang of it. It is going to take lots of practice. We were playing a cd from the Wilds and Josh was trying to sing along to a song called, "Bow the Knee". We all really like that one and Josh is mouthing the words and attempting to put sounds with it. I asked Josh today what he wanted me to tell everyone in the update and he says, "HELLO!".

Josh had a couple of visitors today and he recognized them and was able to communicate a little with them. He listened intently as they talked to him. I am looking forward to when he can speak with everyone tell you how thankful I know he is have everyone care for him so much.

Rehab - we could possibly be going tomorrow (Tues, July 25th) but it is still an uncertainty. We are really trying for Charlotte and could possibly go there if a bed opens up in the next day or so, otherwise it will probably be Greenville. The social worker was trying very hard to get something nailed down today, but time was against her. I am hoping to hear something first thing in the morning. We have told Josh about rehab and he seems to understand. That is about all I know for now. I know we will end up where God would have us!!

Please continue to pray for his complete recovery. Thank you for all of your love and prayers. We love you all.

Weekend Update (7/22,23)

2006-07-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone. I am sorry that I did not get to the update yesterday. My roommate got married Saturday (congratulations to Victoria and Jerry!), and I just couldn't get around to it.

Josh is continuing to do fine. We are just in a stagnate place of trying to get to a rehab facility. I am praying that come Monday morning we will get the ball rolling again and get some answers. We had a few answers to prayer late Friday afternoon, but I will tell you about all of that at a later date (I am waiting for confirmation of rehab first).

Josh is having a little problem right now with tremors. He still follows commands, but he just shakes alot and I think it interferes with how well he can move his hand. The doctors seem to think it is the side effect of some of them medicines he is on, so they are trying to adjust some things to get them to stop. The tremors seem to have slowed down a little, but please pray this will go away. He did have some visitors this weekend and he was able to recognize them. Mom said he intently listened to what they were saying.

My goal for Josh this week is to get him into a chair and really work hard with him as far as physical therapy is concerned. I know that he would love to get out of the bed, so that is what I am going to push for tomorrow. Anyway that is about it.

I pray you all have a wonderful week. I will talk with you soon.

Update: 7/21/06

2006-07-22T18:35:00.000-05:00

Josh did fine again today according to mom. Physical therapy was able to sit him on the side of the bed for about 10 minutes today. Josh needed a lot of help to sit up but he was able to use his right arm a little bit to hold himself steady. I am sure that he really enjoyed being in a different position, even if only for 10 minutes. They are continuing to rotate the splints to help out his arm (left) and ankles. Nothing too exciting happened today.

As far as rehab is concerned, a door opened up so that we MIGHT be able to get to Charlotte. Thursday they told us that his benefits fell thru for Charlotte and that he would be going to Greenville, but then my dad got home and opened the mail and Josh had a card for benefits with North Carolina - so the Charlotte door opened back up!! Unfortunately all of this happened late Friday afternoon so we will have to wait until Monday morning to get some more definite answers. God is good. I was very excited about the unexpected benefits surprise.

I pray that you all have a great weekend. Josh is supposed to have a couple of visitors this weekend which I know will boost his spirits. Thank you all for you love and prayers. We love you all.

Update: 7/20/06

2006-07-21T20:23:00.001-05:00

Hello all. I hope that you are having a good week. Only one more day until the weekend!!

Josh is doing fine according to mom. All is going about the same. Mom and Josh are practicing with his speech each day. We are still trying to help Josh stay loose in his joints until he gets into a more intensive rehab program. I am hoping this will happen at the beginning of next week.

I believe we will have the answer tomorrow about whether or not it is Greenville or Charlotte. I will be sure and let you know. Other than that, nothing exciting happened today. Have a wonderful Friday.

Update: 7/19/06

2006-07-21T20:23:00.000-05:00

Good evening all. I pray that your week is going well.

According to mom Josh had another good day today. He was awake for all of his therapy today and everyone was very pleased with the progress they have seen with Josh. He was able to get the splint for his left hand and the brace for the left elbow today. I really think this is going to help Josh as he tries to get his left arm back to moving. Tomorrow the occupational therapist is going to take a look at Josh's ankles to see if there is anything he can do to help keep them in their normal position. He has not walked in a month and a half so his feet are getting pretty stiff. We are trying to curb future problems by getting all of these splints for Josh. The speech therapist says Josh is doing all of the right things as far as getting back to talking by moving his lips and tongue - he just needs to practice coordinating everything together but once he has done this (watch out) we should see great improvements in that area.

Josh had a better night's rest last night, but he was still awake for a couple of hours thru the night. Mom said he took lots of little cat naps today and that he was looking pretty tired so I pray that he sleeps completely thru the night tonight. I did talk to Josh for just a second on the phone this evening and he sounded good. I think it won't be too much longer before he is calling everyone himself. I guess that means I have to give him back his cell phone!

No word yet on rehab placement. I will let you know as soon as we know something. Anyway, that is about it for today. I hope you all have a good day tomorrow. We love you.

Unbelievable!!! (7/18/06)

2006-07-18T21:49:00.000-05:00

***Posted by Brandon (site publisher)***

I was able to go and see Josh for the first time since he has been in his "normal" hospital room. My friend Mark went on Saturday, and Josh said his name as soon as he entered the room. I guess I was kinda hoping the same would happen to me. Each time I had been in the last two weeks, Josh would always be out of it, having responded a lot the day before. This time, I was hoping it would be different (for the better - that may be a little selfish). I called Cari to make sure that they would tell him that I was coming to see him tonight, so he had better stay awake so I could talk to him (I was partially kidding). She told me that I could actually talk to him, although she didn't know if I would respond. I told Josh I wanted to see him tonight, and that I was coming to Chapel Hill to visit. He said (somewhat weakly), "OK Brandon." I honestly did not know what to say. My heart raced. It had been about 2 months since I had been able to actually talk with him, not just to him. The LORD is GREAT!

This primed me for the visit tonight, and the visit was more than I could have wished for. (I mean regarding his overall health, but also me personally seeing him doing better.) He was conscious, looking around the room. When I began talking to him, he looked at me and steadied his glance. His hands and arms shaked the whole hour-and-a-half that I was there at his bedside. My dad, who came with me and my girlfriend, gave Josh a haircut, his first in about 2 months. He looks much much better, even though I know people liked his blonde curls... The long hair was causing him to sweat more than was necessary. He had told his mom and sister several times that he was hot.

Basically, I talked with him the whole time, asking him questions about things in the past he remembered. A few times, he looked at me intent on telling me something, but it was hard to make out what he was saying. He had been laboring all day. It really seemed like he had been out in the sun sweating all day. That's how tired he looked. The haircut also wore him out, even though it was good for him. He told us he liked the haircut.

His family is thrilled with his improvements. I know it had to have been difficult for the family not to be able to communicate. He has sweet parents and a sweet sister who all love him dearly and unconditionally. He has much to be thankful for, as do we all. Cari travelled back tonight to Columbia. Josh's dad travelled back a few days ago.

As I saw Josh tonight, I couldn't help but think of a psalm, Psalm 145:

I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. the praise

Day 45: 7/17/06

2006-07-18T10:30:00.000-05:00

Hello all. How did your week start? All is good here in Chapel Hill. Today is day 45 - it is hard to believe that much time has gone by since the accident.

Josh had another good day of being alert and following commands. The little booger stayed awake all night last night and he was up most of the day with the exception of when physical therapy and speech therapy came in to work with him. He pretty much slept right through it!! We will have to have a talk about this!! He did do a few things for them, but he is capable of so much more than what they have been able to see. Do you think they will come at 1am? He seems to be moving and shaking a good bit then! He does do stuff for his nurses though, so at least people don't think we make it up! Josh did not get the splint for his hand today because the occupational therapist was sick so hopefully he will get it tomorrow - I guess that just means I will have to work with it more to help keep the joints loose.

They were able to change Josh's trach down to a size 4 today and he seems to be doing just fine with that. I am not sure that he even knows there is a difference. The next step is taking it out for good! Josh is able to talk just a little bit with the valve over the trach and at times he is getting much better at it - he is still very weak and sometimes it is difficult to make out what he is saying and other times he is very clear.

It looks as if Josh will be going to either Greenville, SC or Charlotte, NC for rehab. It is a matter of paperwork right now. I am still praying for the door to stay open in Charlotte. The physical therapist that Josh had today said she did some of her work in that rehab center and that it was a very good place to go. We will just have to wait and see what God has planned.

Have a wonderful week. I look forward to telling you of more progress to come. Thank you for your continued love and prayers. We love you all.

Slowly...but Steady! (7/16/06)

2006-07-17T19:57:00.000-05:00

Josh had a pretty good day again today. He was alert for a good part of the day. He talked just a little bit. It is still pretty difficult to understand what he is saying because he is so weak. Dad got him to hum a little with the music and sometimes he mouthed the words of some of the songs. I am glad that he remembers them. Josh didn't do anything new today, but I am so pleased with all that he is currently doing. I am going to try and get a big wheelchair (almost like a bed that folds to a wheelchair) from physical therapy and see if we can get Josh out of the bed tomorrow. I hope they will let him - I know that he would like it very much.

That is about it for today. Dad is traveling back home tonight - pray for safety. I will be going home on Tuesday night to go to work for a couple of days. I hope to get alot done on Monday and Tuesday regarding rehab placement. Please pray the doors open up for Charlotte.

More Improvements! (7/15/06)

2006-07-16T16:18:00.000-05:00

Josh had a pretty good day today as well. He was alert for a good bit today. I would venture to say that he is alert about 60% of the time right now. Which is fabulous - I am encouraged everyday with his progress. At this point in time Josh could go to a rehab facility right now, we just have to find the right place to go. Josh is breathing so much better; he seems to be healing very well; and he doesn't need as much medicine as he did before - just a little every now and then.

Today Josh talked a little bit more when he had the valve over his trach. He answered all of our questions appropriately. Josh had a friend come to visit him and without hesitation he recognized him by clearly saying his name (Mark Lopez). Josh asked for me to move a pillow that was under his arm and I did and then I asked him if that was better and he said, "much better" very clearly. He still says some things that are so weak I can't understand him, but some things he says very clearly. He said, "I want to stand up" and "get me something to eat". I also showed Josh about 5 or 6 different pictures and he correctly identified everyone in the pictures - without hesitation! He also clearly spelled different peoples names by signing them. He spoke to my friend Wendy on the phone and said "Hi Wendy", to which she just about cried because she wasn't expecting that. I really feel that Josh is moving in the right direction. I know that he has many more obstacles to overcome, but he is getting there, slowly but surely.

He gets tired very easy, but to Josh's credit he is driven enough to push himself to get better. I think in time that he will push himself even more and he sees his own self progressing. Please pray for strength for Josh. He is moving his left arm around a little bit, but he has a long way to go on that. He keeps it so tightly in towards his body (especially the wrist) that I am afraid that he might develop a
contracture to that arm. I asked for a splint today and hopefully will have one on Monday. Otherwise we exercise it and all of his joints several times a day. I guess that is about it for today. I will keep you posted. Thank you for your continued love and prayers.

First Words!!! (7/14/06)

2006-07-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

Josh had a really good day today. He was pretty alert alot today. I can think of 3 different times that he was awake and alert and he didn't seem all that agitated. Each of those times he was awake for quite a while, an hour at the least. He was following all the same old commands with some new things as well. I was making faces at him and he copied me a couple of times. I scrunched up my nose like a rabbit and Josh did too as well. It was pretty funny - he did it several other times throughout the day. Another new thing Josh did today was play a little game with me by throwing (very weakly, but throwing!) a little stuffed animal that was given to us. He did it repeatedly. He also correctly showed me with his fingers how old he was (24). It was fun to see a few new things today.

We also tried putting the cap on Josh's trach today while he was awake and he did say a couple of things. I had to strain to hear him because it was soooo weak. Some of it I didn't understand, some of it was just noises, but some of it I did understand. He told me his last name; he told me what my dog's name was - "Dixie"; he asked, "Where's mom" (she went downstairs for dinner); I asked him if he was okay and he said, "I'm thirsty though", and something else I think but I don't remember what it was. He then began to get very frustrated because I couldn't fully understand him so we had to stop so that he wouldn't get too agitated. It was very exciting to see this progress. I know in time he will get it. To address the "I'm thirsty" question, I explained to him why he couldn't drink, but I did wet his mouth pretty good with some toothettes. I think it satisfied him for the time being.

Another thing I noticed today was that Josh is having a hard time with is depth perception. I know he can see because he correctly copies things that I show him, but when goes to grab for the stuffed animal or give me five he misses by a good bit. I don't know why it is like this but I told the doctors and they are going to get Opthalmology to check him out just in case. Maybe he is just so weak that he can't do it. I can tell he is going to have to gain alot of strength back. I guess I would too if I had been lying in a bed for 42 days and counting.

Charlotte is a still a possibility at this time. I am really pushing for it. I will know more next week.

All in all it was a real good day. I pray that you all have a really great weekend. Thanks for your continued prayers - I know I say this everyday, but I really do mean it. We love you all.

PICC in (Thursday Update - 7/13)

2006-07-13T21:49:00.000-05:00

Hi there. How's your week going? Great, I hope. All is pretty okay here in Chapel Hill.

Josh had a pretty good day today. He was awake part of the day and following the usual commands. He was able to get his PICC line later this afternoon without any difficulty, so we are very thankful for that. Now hopefully that will last the rest of our stay here which is uncertain at the moment. Everything is still in the works for a possible move to Charlotte, but no word at this time (not that I really expected any this early - it will take just a little time to get all the paperwork here and there). The physical therapist tried to do an evaluation with Josh this morning, but he had just received some medicine so he was pretty sleepy and didn't really respond for her. She is going to try again tomorrow. Nothing new to report. We are kindof in a wait and see mode right now.

Thank you for your continued prayers. We love you all.

Wednesday Update: 7/12/06

2006-07-12T21:50:00.000-05:00

Hey there to you all. All is going okay in Chapel Hill on this Wednesday.

Josh has been pretty much awake all day today according to mom, not always fully alert and following commands but not really resting that much today. This is in part because Josh has lost the iv in his arm and they are having a very difficult time trying to find a place to put a new one. I think his veins are pretty much tired of all the poking and prodding they have been through thus far. They had some specially trained nurses come up and attempt to put a more permanent (by permanent I mean not forever, just for a few weeks or so until he no longer needs it) iv line in called PICC line, but they were unsuccessful. They jokingly asked if Josh was a Rugby player because his arms are soooo strong! and they were having alot of difficulty trying to hold him still while they looked for a good place to put the iv. Now Josh is going to have to go back to the radiology department in the morning so the doctors can&n bsp;try to put it back in with special ultrasound equiptment. Josh has not been able to get some of his medicines today since they have had nowhere to put it and I believe this is the cause of his agitation today. Mom has said that he hasn't been too terribly agitated, but that he hasn't gotten any rest today and he has been sweating like crazy all day. Hopefully they can both make it until the morning. Otherwise Josh has done fine - still following the same old commands.

We haven't heard anymore on regarding anything with the rehab placement. As soon as we find anything out we will let you know. I am traveling back up to Chapel Hill in the morning so I can help mom out for the rest of this week.

I pray that you all have a wonderful rest of the week. I will talk with you all tomorrow.

Tuesday Update: 7/11/06

2006-07-11T21:53:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. I pray that you are all having a good week so far. All is going fine in Chapel Hill. I am sorry that the update from yesterday did not go through. I did try and send it, but I wasn't feeling so well last night and I was too tired to deal with it.

Josh has had a pretty decent couple of days per mom. Yesterday was not too exciting. He pretty much slept all day - he was only really awake a little in the morning so that meant mom was able to get a pretty good nights sleep as well. Also yesterday they were able to switch the trach out to a 6.0 and Josh seemed to tolerate this very well; I guess he really didn't know the difference in trachs. Today Josh had a good day as well. The speech therapist was able to work with him and she put the valve over the trach for about 30 minutes and it didn't seem to faze Josh one bit. Basically what this means is that they covered the trach and Josh was breathing using his nose and mouth - not dependent on the trach! They monitored his oxygen level and it stayed at 100% which is the best he can do. Over time they will do these little trials a few times each day to get Josh used to breathing completely through his nose and mouth. Then once he is alert most all of the time and is having no difficulty breathing they will begin to go down on the size of the trach until they take it completely out. Physical therapy works with Josh a little bit right now as well. Mostly just stretching all of his muscles out. In time, it too will get more intensive. Other than that Josh did the basic commands he always does which is good. We don't want him to stop doing the things we know he can do right now because that would suggest a change in his neurological status. Mom said that he isn't coughing as much as he usually does so I am hopeful that he getting over his pneumonia. I think that he transferred a touch of that to me! Anyway, I am very thankful that mom has had a good few days with Josh by herself. All seems to be going in the right direction.

As far a rehab is concerned we have been told by numerous people that Charlotte is the way to go. They have a very good rehab program for head injuries such as Josh has. The speech therapist today thought that Josh would be a very good candidate for a program such as this. What will have to happen is they will come out and evaluate Josh to see if he would benefit from their program, then Josh would have to be accepted for it, and then he would have to wait for a bed to be available - that is the short version. Charlotte would only be two hours away verses the four hours it is to Chapel Hill. But I know it is all in God's hands, so Josh will end up where he needs to be. Thank you all for your continued love and prayers.

No Update Yesterday

2006-07-11T06:31:00.000-05:00

(Brandon) I did not receive any emails from Cari regarding Josh in the last few days. If I remember correctly, she will be returning to UNC-CHapel Hill Memorial on Wednesday. I know that everyone, like I do, anticipates daily the improvements with Josh. The family is extremely thankful that you are praying for Josh. Please continue praying, for Josh, and also the family. They have been at the hospital for most of the 6 weeks that Josh has been there.

I will look forward to posting the next update tonight.

Sunday Update: 7/9/06

2006-07-10T17:38:00.000-05:00

Hey there to all. Well, dad and I made it back safely from Chapel and I will be returning on Wednesday and dad will return either on Friday night or Saturday morning - please keep us in your prayers as we travel back and forth.

Josh had a pretty good day today. He was alert quite a bit today and his agitation did not seem to be as intense as it was. He was able to follow commands and I think he was trying to say something, but I couldn't make out what it was. Josh was also following people around the room with his eyes and if you said something to him he would turn and look in your direction. All in all he had a pretty good day. I guess that means he will sleep all day tomorrow!! haha!

I spoke with the doctors today and they are planning to change the size of his trach tomorrow to a 6.0 (smaller in diameter) instead of the 8.0 that he currently has. This can be a very good thing because then they could possibly put the valve (like a cover) over the trach and we may be able to see if Josh would be able to say a word or two in the near future. This is only a POSSIBILITY - it doesn't mean that he will talk. We will have to see how he does. I know for sure they won't try this until his breathing becomes much easier, but it is something to look forward to!

They also mentioned about the possibility of being transferred sometime in the near future (hopefully end of this week, beginning of next - that is what I am shooting for). We will know more tomorrow once we talk with the doctors, social worker, etc. It is all dependent on who will accept Josh as a patient and who has a bed available for him. These are all things to keep on your prayer list for Josh. I would personally like him to be transferred to Columbia, but I want to go to the place that will best suit Josh's needs so he has the best chance for a full recovery. They say that once patients are in the different therapies (physical, occupational, and speech) that this is where you will really see the progress. I can't wait for that!!

Please also pray for my mom to have strength for the days ahead. She will be with Josh 24/7 now that he is in a regular room. Josh can't do anything for himself right now and is totally dependent on those around him. She is going to have to help care for his basic needs since a nurse is not going to be just right outside the door like in ICU doing ALL of his care (the nurses help out as best they can and they have been awesome, but when they are looking after 6 or 7 sick people their time is limited to the nursing stuff). Taking care of Josh can be a lot right now, emotionally and physically, so please keep her in your prayers.

I will let you all know of any plans for the future. Thank you for your continued love and prayers. We love you all.

Saturday Update: 7/8/06

2006-07-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone. Sorry this is getting out so late, I didn't have access to a computer last night.

Josh is doing okay. He was moved out of ICU today to a regular floor room. His new room number is 5207, but this could change because they did not have a bed available on the trauma unit, so when one becomes available we may have to move again. We'll see. I am happy for the move because that means mom, dad or I can stay with him at all times. I am going to stay with him tonight because mom will have to do the next three nights on her own as dad and I travel home later tomorrow evening to get back to work. I will be back probably sometime on Wednesday. Josh pretty much slept all day, but he did have a few times when he was awake and looking around and following commands. Hopefully as we can get more involved with physical therapy and other related therapies we will see a vast improvement. But the big step was accomplished - we moved out of the ICU!! I pray that nothing comes up (i.e. Josh has difficulty breathing) that he may have to go back for a short stay. That's about it. Have a wonderful Sunday.

Thank you for your continued love and prayers. We love you all.

36 hours and counting... (July 7th Update)

2006-07-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

Josh had a pretty good day today. He was awake when we got there this morning and mom and dad got to see him nod and shake his head appropriately to our questions or comments. It was very exciting for them to see this, me too, but it was there first time. Josh smiled at mom and dad today and he blew a kiss to them as well. He also did the squeezing of the hand, wiggle of the toes, etc. He was a little agitated at first, but he was able to calm down and he seemed pretty alert this morning. When alert, Josh will follow you around the room and turn to look your direction if you say something to him. The funniest thing he did today was towards dad. Dad was being silly (imagine that!) and we told Josh to stick his tongue out at dad if he was crazy - I haven't seen him stick it out that far yet!! We all got a good laugh out of that one. Today Josh also gave the "I love you" sign in sign language to each of us individually. That really means alot! Tonight before we left Josh was again a little agitated, but they gave him some medicine and he seemed to chill out and was drifting off to sleep. I pray that he has a good night.

Today Josh was moved to the CCU unit (room 3731). This is a lateral move; he is still in intensive care, they just had to move him because he was the most stable patient in the unit that he was in (I like hearing that!) and they needed his room for someone much sicker. Hopefully tomorrow he will get moved to the stepdown unit (intermediate intensive care) - Guess what that meant - he has been off of the ventilator now going on 36 hours!!! He has done pretty well too. Occasionally he breathes hard, but he will calm down so the ventilator is not necessary at this time.

Josh also got his feeding tube today as well and all seemed to go fine. They can't use the feeding tube for 24 hours to let his stomach rest, but hopefully later tomorrow he can get the one tube that is in his nose out. Other than that, nothing left to report. I was very pleased with Josh's progress today. Hopefully even more progress tomorrow.

Have a wonderful weekend. We love you all.

Thursday Update: 7/6/06

2006-07-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

(Brandon) Just for those who may not know me, and are expecting Cari to write, I am Josh's friend whom he was coming to see the night of the accident. I am maintaining the blog site for the Chandlers, and I post from time to time, as well as posting Cari's letters each night.

I was able to go see Josh in Chapel Hill tonight. He basically rested peacefully all day. From all that I know and heard from the family, he wasn't agitated at all today. He has kinda been on an every-other day rotation between active and restful. One day will be full of responses and reactions, and the next day will be restful. Today was the restful one. But that's good for Josh. He ended up being off the respirator for 14 consecutive hours yesterday. That's a milestone so far! (When he achieves 24 hours off the resp., he can come out of ICU.)

He did pull his feeding tube out of his stomach last night late, so they had to re-insert a feeding tube in his nose, as they had done originally. As of now, they are planning to do a minor surgery tomorrow in order to connect the feeding tube back into Josh's stomach.

Continue to pray, and don't forget to share the story of God's faithfulness with others. It can be a great evangelistic opportunity. The story involves Josh, but it is ultimately about God. He has a great plan. He is loving and gracious! We praise Him for how good He always is! (Psalm 145)

Until Tomorrow!

Joy Unspeakable (7/5/06)

2006-07-06T07:08:00.000-05:00

(Cari)Hey there everyone! It is with great excitement that I write this evening.....

Josh has had an awesome day - praise the Lord! When I walked in this morning Josh's eyes were wide open and he was looking around the room. I started talking to him and asking him questions and Josh began to nod and shake his head appropriately to my questions. I was getting so excited. I asked him if he knew who I was and he at first mouthed, "Heather" (she is our favorite nurse who took care of him last night and she also has blonde hair), but after I corrected him he mouthed, "Cari." I asked him if he knew what tomorrow, July 6th, was - I said, "mom and dad's...." and he clearly mouthed "wedding anniversary" - which is correct. They will have been married 32 years tomorrow - what a wonderful anniversary present! I then began talking to him about all of the sporting news that he has missed while sleeping and he listened intently, nodding when appropriate. I told him that USA lost in the World Cup and he made a funny frowning face. I told him that J.J. Reddick (his favorite basketball player) was drafted to the Orlando Magic and I told him that it wasn't too far so maybe one day we could go to a game and he just smiled real big. I told him of all the people that have written and called and he seemed to know exactly what I was talking about. His friends Katie and Jonathan sent Josh a World Cup soccer t-shirt which I had hanging in his room and I pointed to it and asked Josh if he could see it and he mouthed "Fifa" which is what the saying on the shirt read. It stands for the name of the tournament, "Fifa World Cup." He had to have read this because I never mentioned this to him. This communicating went on for about 2 hours. He then took a little nap and woke back up in time to watch France beat Portugal in the World Cup semi final
. He was sitting in an upright position in the bed and actually watched a good bit of the game. He would wave to the doctors as they were standing in his doorway. Everyone was excited for his progress. He kept looking out of his door into all the commotion in the nurses station like he was taking it all in. I could tell there were several times he was getting frustrated if I could not figure out what he was trying to say, but that will get better with time. Sometimes Josh is weak when he mouths words and it is difficult to tell what he is trying to say, but there are other times when there is no mistaking it. It was such an incredible feeling seeing Josh do so much today - I only wish that mom and dad were here to see it, but tomorrow they will because they are traveling back in the afternoon. \n \nThere are sooooooooooo many new things to tell you all. I clearly could read his lips that he had "to go to the bathroom." I explained the situation to him and he seemed to understand. Apparently last night he told Heather that he was "thirsty". Today I was explaining all of his tubes to him and when I got to the feeding tube he looked at me and clearly mouthed "I want to eat!". I think he understood why he could not yet once I explained it to him. He also did something different - I thought he was reaching up to pull out his trach tube/oxygen and I was telling him not to; but he just reached up and began feeling it then he moved to feeling his face as if to see if it was still there. I asked him if he wanted to look in a mirror and he shook his head no. I told him that he only has a scratch on the left side of his nose. Still, looking in a mirror may take a little time. One of the funnies that we had recurring today was that whenever I asked him in front of his doctors and nurses what he thought of UNC he just stuck his tongue out!!! They all laughed and said they would let is slide since he is in the hospital, but once he was better they would have to debate that!! Josh did all of the old commands as well: wiggled toes (but this time on his right side too!), thumbs up, squeeze hands, blink, gave "yes an no" in sign language, etc. By the end of the night I think that Josh just wore himself out. He was getting a little agitated but nothing like it has been in the past. He was sweating a good bit, so I am hoping that once he got a bath and some clean sheets he would drift off to sleep for the evening. He needs to rest up so he can show mom and dad all his new stuff tomorrow! I know that some of these things that Josh does seems so insignificant and trivial, but right now it is monumental. Keep praying that it only gets better from here. He was sitting in an upright position in the bed and actually watched a good bit of the game. He would wave to the doctors as they were standing in his doorway. Everyone was excited for his progress. He kept looking out of his door into all the commotion in the nurses station like he was taking it all in. I could tell there were several times he was getting frustrated if I could not figure out what he was trying to say, but that will get better with time. Sometimes Josh is weak when he mouths words and it is difficult to tell what he is trying to say, but there are other times when there is no mistaking it. It was such an incredible feeling seeing Josh do so much today - I only wish that mom and dad were here to see it, but tomorrow they will because they are traveling back in the afternoon.

There are sooooooooooo many new things to tell you all. I clearly could read his lips that he had "to go to the bathroom." I explained the situation to him and he seemed to understand. Apparently last night he told Heather that he was "thirsty". Today I was explaining all of his tubes to him and when I got to the feeding tube he looked at me and clearly mouthed "I want to eat!". I think he understood why he could not yet once I explained it to him. He also did something different - I thought he was reaching up to pull out his trach tube/oxygen and I was telling him not to; but he just reached up and began feeling it then he moved to feeling his face as if to see if it was still there. I asked him if he wanted to look in a mirror and he shook his head no. I told him that he only has a scratch on the left side of his nose. Still, looking in a mirror may take a little time. One of the funnies that we had recurring today was that whenever I asked him in front of his doctors and nurses what he thought of UNC he just stuck his tongue out!!! They all laughed and said they would let is slide since he is in the hospital, but once he was better they would have to debate that!! Josh did all of the old commands as well: wiggled toes (but this time on his right side too!), thumbs up, squeeze hands, blink, gave "yes an no" in sign language, etc. By the end of the night I think that Josh just wore himself out. He was getting a little agitated but nothing like it has been in the past. He was sweating a good bit, so I am hoping that once he got a bath and some clean sheets he would drift off to sleep for the evening. He needs to rest up so he can show mom and dad all his new stuff tomorrow! I know that some of these things that Josh does seems so insignificant and trivial, but right now it is monumental. Keep praying that it only gets better from here.

Other good news, Josh had been off of the ventilator since 9am this morning. He has done very well. Sometimes when he coughs alot he loses his breath and it takes him a minute to catch it again, but then he settles down. I was very encouraged that he was able to stay off even while he was awake and communicating alot today. These are very good improvements. \n \nI look forward to telling you all nothing but great things from here on out. I know there may still be some bumps in road, but God is good and I am thankful for all that He has allowed Josh to accomplish so far. Thank you all for your love and continued prayers. We truly love you all and now Josh is joining in on that - he nodded when I ask him if he did! Have a wonderful day.

Tuesday Update (7/4/06)

2006-07-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

(Cari)Hi to all. I hope that you all have a fabulous Independence Day.

No fireworks from Josh today. All he did was rest. I guess that I cannot complain after all of the activity that he had yesterday. He still followed commands on occasions, but he was pretty zonked all day. He was able to be off of the ventilator 6 hours last night and 6 hours today. This is good progress. I pray that tomorrow he will do even more.

Mom and dad traveled home today and will return on Thursday. They had some things to take care of and they felt that this was a good time to do it. Other than that, nothing new. I wish I had more, but thankfully nothing bad to report.

Have a great rest of the week. We love you all.

Monumental Improvements! (6/3/06)

2006-07-04T15:58:00.000-05:00

Hey there everyone. Today was a good Monday, no make that a great Monday in Chapel Hill!

Josh had a very good day. I felt like he made alot of progress today. Josh was able to stay off the ventilator for 4 hours today. I was very pleased. Hopefully tomorrow he will be able to stay off a little longer. Maybe 6 or 8 hours??? When he was off the ventilator he seemed pretty comfortable, but as it loomed around 4 hours he looked a little more restless so they placed him back on the ventilator until tomorrow.

Josh had a great day neurologically as well. During the middle of the day today he seemed the most alert that I have yet seen him through this whole ordeal. He kept his eyes open for quite a while today and he was looking around and tracking mom, dad, and I while we were talking to him. He also did many more new commands today. Lets see, he did his "a", "b", "c", an "r", and an "i" in sign language (selfishly I think he was trying to spell CARI!! but that is up for debate). He also did "yes" and "no" in sign language. He would open his mouth and stick out his tongue on command too. I don't think that Josh has lost his sense of humor either. Today dad asked him how he liked his mustache/goatee and instantly Josh stuck out his tongue. I laughed so hard. He did it four times because dad kept asking him to see what he would do. For those of you who don't know my dad this is something new he started since the day of Josh's accident and is continuing to do so until Josh completely wakes up. Way to go Josh! because I am not so fond of dad's new found hair. Dad is feeling pretty left out of "feeling the love" from Josh so I asked Josh to blow dad a kiss and he kind of puckered up and missed and spit. That was pretty funny too. By the third time Josh had blown us a kiss. For real!!! It also looked like he was trying to say words, but he just couldn't get that out. He won't be able to physically make words until the trach is able to be covered up or taken out, but he can mouth words if he wants. Josh is also making this weird growling type noise. Mom thinks that since that since he can't talk he is doing this instead. I don't have an answer for that one. Josh is getting there, slowly but surely. He also did the usual commands, but we are really excited over the new stuff. I guess that is about it, but whew, what a day.

The doctors are very pleased with Josh's progress and they believe it will only continue unless Josh were to get sick or get another infection which could set him back a little. For this reason please pray that he stays well and infection free. His nurses get just as excited as we do to see his progress. They have been awesome in taking care of my brother. His nurse today has said she knows that he must be loved because she has not seen anyone get so many cards and letters. He has over 80 cards (not to mention tons of pictures as well) on display in his room. They are lining the window sill and they have a domino effect if you knock one over. So thank you all for the love that you have shown to Josh and our family. We love you all.

Sunday Update: 7/2/06

2006-07-02T22:42:00.000-05:00

Hola everyone!!! I pray that you had a great weekend. All was good here in Chapel Hill.

Josh had a good day. He did as the Lord commanded for Sundays, he rested!! He looked comfortable all day. He followed commands as usual but today he did something new - mom asked him to smile if he could hear his music and he cracked a smile to right side. We both looked at each other like, "did he just do that!". He has had more facial expressions over the past two days than he has in a long time. I don't know what he is thinking about, but it is nice to see something different. He still doesn't follow commands all the time but he is doing them a little more frequently which I really like. Today his nurse, Matt, was pinching him and asking Josh to stop him to see if he was responding to pain and Josh was looking in Matt's direction and then he raised his right arm like he was going to swat at him. I have never seen him do that as well. It was quite funny. Matt just laughed.

Physical therapy has started seeing Josh a week or so ago to help keep his joints moving. As he progresses it will get more intense to help him regain strength and fine tune his motor skills. For now, they just do exercises everyday and they have a splint they rotate on his feet to help so he doesn't develop foot drop. Foot drop means that since he isn't moving his feet or placing any weight on them they just simply could lose their tone and can make it difficult later on down the road when he tries to walk. Obviously this is not what we would want so the splints are a good thing.

They trialed Josh off of the ventilator 2 times today so far and he has done just fine which is great. They spaced the trials further apart which I believe has greatly helped Josh succeed in the trial. The doctors estimated it would take from 3 to 7 days to get him completely off the ventilator. They felt that a full 14 days of antibiotics (we are on day 7 of 14) should get rid of the pneumonia and this should help him in his breathing as well. Otherwise, nothing new. But praise God that he had no steps backwards.
Thank you for caring about my brother. We really appreciate all the love and support we have received over the past month. Please continue praying. We love you all. Have a wonderful holiday.

Saturday Update; 7/1/06

2006-07-02T07:18:00.000-05:00

(Cari)Hello to all. Happy Saturday. I pray that you all had a pretty good day today. All was okay here in Chapel Hill.

Josh did alright today. They did try to "trial" him off of the ventilator and he did okay the first time, but struggled the second time. What they do is turn off the ventilator for 30 minutes and place oxygen over the trach and see how he does. They then turn the ventilator back on and try again later. As I said, he did okay the first time, but I think with everything he was doing it just wore him out and it was difficult for him to breathe easily the second time. Think of it as exercising. Josh has not completely used his own muscles to breathe for a month now and he has to work his way back to be able to function as it was before the accident. So each time they "trial" him off the ventilator he is getting a little workout for his lung muscle. Hopefully it will strengthen quickly and then Josh will be able to co mpletely come off of the ventilator. We will see how tomorrow goes. I am hoping they will give Josh a little more rest period between trials.

His agitation level was fair today. He is still was following commands at times, but you have to catch him at just the right time to get good responses from him. He is healing, it is just taking time. Thank you all for your continued prayers. I pray that you all have a great Sunday. We love you all.

One Month Ago Tonight... (Friday Update)

2006-06-30T22:24:00.000-05:00

(Cari)Hello to all. Congrats on making it through another week! I hope that you all have a wonderful fourth of July weekend.

Josh had a pretty good day. He really wasn't all that agitated today. He followed commands as usual - wiggle toes, squeeze hands, and thumbs up. I think everyday that Josh is more aware of what is going on around him, but he is getting very frustrated because he cannot communicate like he wants to. I can tell this by the look on his face. I can only imagine how it must feel to know some of what is going on around you and not be able to express what you are thinking or feeling. I know I would get incredibly frustrated. We just try to reassure him and do our best to be there for him always. The nurses are realizing that he is getting frustrated as well and are doing their best to help him however they can. I know that in time he will be able to communicate and then it should get alot easier for all.

Josh did get his feeding tube today. It didn't happen until around 4pm, but he was able to get it. They have to leave the tube in his nose in for another 24 hours because they wait that long after the feeding tube is placed. Hopefully by tomorrow evening he won't have any tubes on his face. Yeah! Then we can see the whole Josh. Josh has adjusted to the trach pretty well. They did not trial him off of the ventilator today because it was so late in the day to get the feeding tube in, but I am pretty sure they may try tomorrow. We will have to see how he does. I think it may be okay, he just doesn't always take deep enough breaths, so we'll see. He is oxygenating fine which is great; he just sometimes breathes fast especially after he coughs. I can tell that he is getting better though.

That's about it here in Chapel Hill today. Daddy will come up in the morning for an extended weekend since it is a holiday. I will keep you all posted. Thank you for your love and prayers. We love you all.

Thursday Update: 6/29/06

2006-06-30T06:45:00.000-05:00

Hello to everyone. I trust you all are having a good week. Today was much better than yesterday here in Chapel Hill.

Josh had a good day as far as not being agitated. Mom and I watched him sleep all day (the highlight of our day is arguing over who will get to open the mail that day!!), which I am very grateful for, because it is hard to see him fight and get worked up. They are trying to figure out all the kinks in his medication so that he won't be too sleepy to follow commands but not so agitated as well. They believe that he gets so agitated because this is when the hurt part of his brain is trying to heal or that he is fighting through the injury so that he can function optimally. Josh is still in there. I truly know that! Tonight before we left for the evening he followed a few commands. I asked him for the typical thumbs up and he did. I asked for a squeeze of the hand and he did squeeze both hands tonight (stronger on the right than the left, but a squeeze none-the-less). And finally, I asked him that if he loved mom and I to wiggle his toes and those little toes were just a wiggling quite a bit. It was like a mini-emphatic statement! How encouraging. It is much easier to leave on that note for the evening than if he is restless and agitated.

Tomorrow's schedule holds a placement of a feeding tube in the radiology department. It is tentatively scheduled for 11am, but we'll see. Also, later in the afternoon if Josh's breathing status is okay then they may do a trial off of the ventilator to see how he does. Currently he is breathing on his own again and only using the ventilator for pressure support and doing just fine. Hopefully that will continue into tomorrow. If all were to go well over the next few days we could possibly be transferred to an intermediate intensive care unit at the beginning of next week. Then hopefully maybe a transfer closer to home in the near future - but that is all speculation. We will have to see how the next week goes.
Thank you all for your continued prayers, love, and support. We love you all.

Typical Day After Surgery

2006-06-28T22:40:00.000-05:00

(Cari) Good evening all. Today was a rough day here in Chapel Hill - mom and I stayed with Josh until 1:30am last night because he was having one of those restless fits, then we came back around 10:00am to stay with him for the day. And today Josh didn't have such a good day. He was very restless/agitated all day and he wasn't responding to commands as well as he had in the past. I am unsure as to why he is like this; I am praying that it is just a "phase" he is going through. It is very disappointing seeing as how we had such a good weekend, but it is all in God's hands though. He is breathing okay, just when he gets restless his breathing increases a good bit. They only made a few changes to the ventilator today. We will have to wait and see what tomorrow brings. We want to thank you for your continued prayers - please don't stop. We love you all.

Tuesday Update: 6/27/06

2006-06-27T21:04:00.000-05:00

Praise the Lord Josh finally got his trach! It it good to see his whole face again. Josh looks more like himself now. All went well. They did not have any problems today with the trach. His nurse, Greg, did a good job. He gave Josh lots of good drugs and I guess that made him very happy because he behaved. I know that God ultimately saw him through it. The only thing that Josh was not able to get today was his feeding tube. They tried but were unable because they could not visualize the tube going into the stomach like they wanted so they put it off for now. They didn't want to do it blind because they may have nicked his colon and that is not good. He may go tomorrow to radiology and have it placed under special instruments if they feel it is needed. If Josh were to wake up and make s ome significant progress they may hold off and just feed him thru the tube in his nose until he is able to eat for himself again. We will just have to see how everything plays out. After the trach Josh was sleeping good. He is probably just going to be pretty sleepy today until all the medicine wears off and then we will know a little more tomorrow.

Nothing else new today. Josh looks much more comfortable and he is resting well. Before the trach placement Josh was still following commands as before so maybe in the morning he will be able to try and say a few words. We will see - I may just have alot of wishful thinking. Mom and I are going to say good night to Josh - if anything has changed I will let you all know.

Have a wonderful evening. Thanks for your prayers. We love you all.

Good News!

2006-06-27T18:10:00.000-05:00

**posted by Brandon**

For those of you who knew of the tracheostomy that Josh was having today: the procedure went very well and Josh is doing fine. Having the trache (sp?) allows the doctors to remove the breathing tube from out of his throat that was causing him so much aggravation. I assume that they removed that at the same time as the procedure. Check back for a more detailed post tonight. (Probably after 11:00)

Monday Update (6/26/06)

2006-06-27T13:22:00.000-05:00

Josh had a pretty good day today. He started out comfortable and he is still following commands on a fairly consistent basis. Today he did squeeze hands, wiggle toes, blink twice, and thumbs up all on command. He did this for Bro. Dave Smith, his nurse and the doctor. This is the first time that the doctor has seen him do anything on command. Nice plus. They tried to turn down the ventilator but Josh seemed to get a little tired with everything going on today. He wasn't breathing as well as he had been (his respiratory rate increased and his volumes were not adequate) so they moved the settings back to where they were at the start of the day. I do not consider this a setback. We are asking so much of him right now and to add some ventilator changes can wear him out at the moment. Josh is continuing to hang in there!

Prayer request for tomorrow the 27th: Josh is going for round 2 - the trach and the feeding tube are scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. They are going to do it at the bedside this time. They feel that keeping him on the same ventilator will curb any problems they ran into the last time. I am a little nervous because of our last experience, but they feel very confident that this is the best way. They tell me they do this all the time at the bedside. Don't worry, Josh will be completely sedated so he should not feel anything. I have peace about the trach and I think that it will really help in his progress neurologically. I'll keep you posted.

Josh did do something today that he has not done in the past. We asked him if he remembered the sign for "yes" in sign language. We reviewed it with him and he was able to correctly repeat this on command. He only did it once, but hey, we'll take it!

Thank you again for all of your prayers. We love you all.

Cari

More Improvements! (6/25/06)

2006-06-26T06:44:00.000-05:00

Hello and good evening to everyone. I pray that you all had a good weekend. Dad and I had safe trips back and forth from Columbia to Chapel Hill and vice versa. We waved as we passed each other on the highway!

Josh had a very good weekend. It was the most alert that he has been so far. I was quite impressed with all that he was doing when I walked in to his room this evening. All his nurses have said that he is following more commands for them as well. I am VERY encouraged. Josh also has not needed as much medication as he has previously which I really feels helps with clarity in thinking so he can follow commands.

When I walked in Josh's room tonight his eyes were open and he kept them that way for a little while. He even looked over at me, but I don't think he was focusing very well. I asked Josh lots of questions tonight and he was responding by squeezing my hand (ON PURPOSE!!) and wiggling his toes on command. Let's see, I asked him if he loved me and of course he squeezed my hand (he better or he might be hurting later!!!) and wiggled his toes. I asked him if he was in pain and he did not squeeze my hand. FYI a squeeze is a yes and no squeeze is a no tonight. Mom asked him if he was praying to be able to come out of this and he squeezed my hand and wiggled his toes as well. I asked him if he was cold and he practically pushed my hand out of the way, I took that as a big NO! Josh is very hot natured guy. Best of all we talked for about 10 minutes and he had purposeful movement for all of my questions and he responded immediately. It also looked as if he was trying to talk but he can't right now because of the tube in his throat. He is moving both of his arms and his left leg well, but not as much on the right leg so we will have to see if this improves. I really believe that Josh is in there, it is just going to take a little while to get him back to his old self. I believe that God has great things still planned for him and what a testimony he can have when this is all said and done.

They did not change any of the ventilator settings today, but I know they will begin to wean them back down as the week progresses. His oxygen level has been very good today as well. He did have a fever today so we will have to keep an eye on that. Otherwise things are looking good.

Thank you all again for your continued prayers. We love you all.

Love ya,
Cari

Steps Forward! (6/24/06)

2006-06-24T22:49:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope that you all are enjoying you weekend. Today was a much better day for the Chandlers.

Josh had a pretty good day today. The doctors did not attempt to turn down the ventilator settings any, but Josh seems to do best when they leave him where he is for a day or so then attempt the changes. They said he was breathing much better today and his oxygen level was staying right where it needed to be. Josh also seemed to be more alert today. He kept his eyes open longer than he usually does (mama even said he looked at her then turned and looked at dad). I do not believe he was focusing, but they were quite encouraged by it. Josh also seemed to follow commands better tonight than he has in awhile. His night nurse tonight said he opened his eyes, squeezed her hand, wiggled his toes, and gave a thumbs up on the right all on command. How wonderful!!!! Josh has not needed as much medication today as he has in previous days. Also a plus, because the more he gets the sleepier he is to try and follow commands. Hopefully they have found a combination to help alleviate agitation, but not make him too out of it. All in all today was a good day for Josh. Best part was, my dad got to see him do all of this. It is hard for him to see progress when he is only here on the weekends.

I, unfortunately, did not get to see any of his progress today. I am just living through the eyes of my mom, dad, and the nurses. I came home to Columbia today to get some things done and to see my puppy and my kitties - I really miss them. I am going to attend my church in the morning then return to Chapel Hill in the afternoon. I am very happy that I do not have to report any setbacks! I pray you all have a blessed Sunday. Thank you for your continued prayers. We love you all.

Friday Update (6/23/06)

2006-06-24T08:48:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. I pray that all is well with you. Today marks three weeks in our long adventure.

I wish I had great news today, but Josh had another big setback. It started off okay - the doctor was teetering on whether or not to do the surgery, but she decided to go ahead with just the trach only and leave the feeding tube for later if needed. She decided this because Josh had a borderline fever last night and his white blood cell count went up a little bit which indicates some type of infection. Probably the pneumonia starting back up again. They started him back on antibiotics this morning and went ahead with surgery as scheduled. Josh went to surgery around 9:45am doing okay, but as they were beginning to cut for the tracheostomy Josh's oxygen level went way down and they had a difficult time getting it back up. For this reason, she did not feel comfortable enough to continue to switch out the ET tube for the trach, so they stopped. They did several things to check to see what the problem was, but they were unable to pinpoint exactly why it happened. I know this is in God's plan, it was just very unexpected for me. Maybe Josh likes that tube in his throat more than I thought he did!!! They also had to significantly increase his ventilator settings, so he will have to slowly come down again which will take a little time. The doctor said they will probably work on decreasing it this weekend. They did a chest xray and it appeared to look the same as the ones from before. The only explanation they have as to a potential cause of why this happened is that the small airways in his lungs could not hold up with the change in ventilators (i.e. the one in his room to the one in surgery) and that a little pneumonia could also be interfering with oxygen exchange as well. Combine these two together and this could happen. So, we will try again sometime next week. It took a little while to get Josh settled back in his room, but once there he was able to pretty much chill out for the rest of the day.
Dad is almost here for the weekend. He made it through the rainy weather - praise the Lord. I will keep you posted on Josh's progress. Thank you again for your prayers. We love you all. I was reminded two times today by a bumper sticker and a sign - Relax, God is in control. I have to keep telling myself this and it does help!

Dad is almost here for the weekend. He made it through the rainy weather - praise the Lord.

I will keep you posted on Josh's progress. Thank you again for your prayers. We love you all.

Thursday Update: 6/22/06

2006-06-23T06:19:00.000-05:00

Josh had a pretty decent day today. They kept him medicated when he was agitated, but it seemed to hold him longer than before, so it didn't seem as though they were giving it to him as often as they have the past two days. I hope that is a good sign. They were able to turn down the ventilator settings just a little bit more today. He tolerated the new settings fine. Again, good sign. Finally at the end of the evening Josh did give a thumbs up to his friend Brandon Godwin and his family. Josh was beginning to settle down by the time mom and I had left.

Okay, big prayer request for tomorrow the 23rd, Josh is having his surgery for the trach and feeding tube placement. This is scheduled for 9:30am. Now whether or not surgery is running on time is another question. Also, Josh cannot have a fever or show any signs of infection tonight or they will cancel the surgery and reschedule for next week, because it is more of risk for complications if an infection is present. Besides, I really like this surgeon, and I would rather her do it tomorrow than someone else next week.

I was able to get away today for a couple of hours and visit a patient of mine that got a double lung transplant in March at Duke University. It was wonderful to see her (Mabel Hall - for those of you who know who I am talking about). She looked great! She is staying at the Ronald McDonald house in Durham. I got a tour and then we she took me to a Duke bookstore and I bought Josh a Cameron Crazies t-shirt and a pin that says, "Yes, I am a Duke fan"!!! I am going to make a cute sign above his bed to put it on so everyone will know just what kind of fan he is - as if his room doesn't give it away!

I just don't feel like I can say this enough, but thank you for all of your prayers and emails and visits and calls. My family really appreciates it, and we are overwhelmed by the love shown by you all. Thank you!!!

Wednesday Update: 6/21/06

2006-06-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is having a great week - you're more than halfway to the weekend!!!

Josh had an okay day today. He was still pretty much agitated most of the time, but they are working on finding a good mix of medicine to help keep him calm. It is pretty much a balancing act. Mom and I really didn't stay with him much just to help decrease the stimuli around him so that he would not be so agitated. We just frequently went back in to check on him.

We spoke with the doctor this morning and she was trying to let Josh come off the ventilator on his own, but it doesn't look like he will be "awake enough" to do that any time soon without compromising his airway or breathing. He really needs to be able to follow commands and communicate in some form all the time so they can know for sure that if anything were to happen to his breathing they could help him out before he were to stop breathing and then have to emergently place the tube back in his throat. For this reason, they are putting him on the surgery schedule sometime Friday morning to have the tracheostomy and feeding tube placed. I really have a feeling that this will help alot, because I think alot of his agitation is the tube that is in his throat right now. I could be wrong, but we'll see. They did not turn down the ventilator settings anymore today because of his agitation. I think they will be more aggressive with this when he has the trach. He still doesn't have a a fever which I am very thankful for. We are trying to stay infection free so we can concentrate on his neurological status.

That is all the news for today. I pray that you all have a safe Thursday. We will be cheering on the USA tomorrow as they play their third soccer game in the World Cup (silently of course, for Josh's sake!). Good night and thank you for your prayers. We love you all.

Tuesday Update: 6/20/06

2006-06-20T22:24:00.000-05:00

Good evening to all. I hope that your day was better than ours, but we made it through.

Josh had a very rough and frustrating day today. It started out with Josh being very agitated and fighting against the ventilator. This pretty much continued all day with the exception of 10-15 minutes here and there. They gave him lots of medicine to calm him down, but that really didn't work today. I couldn't figure out what was causing him to be this way, and neither could anyone else. On top of this Josh flirted with a fever all day. I think he lost about 2 pounds of sweat in all his fighting!

Mom and I are going in early in the morning to talk with the doctors about his progress. We haven't crossed paths with them in the last 2 days and I believe tomorrow afternoon or early Thursday morning will be when they do the trach - we'll know more once we talk with the doctor. Josh needs it because he really pushes against the ET tube (tube that is down his throat right now). I think that this surgery will relieve alot of his anxiety which, I believe, causes him to be somewhat agitated. I would be if I had a tube down my throat for 18 days. They were able to wean the ventilator a little bit more today, but Josh didn't tolerate it as well as he has in previous days.

When we finally left for the evening he was resting peacefully - praise God. It was very difficult to watch him today, knowing I really couldn't do anything for him. I think he probably wore himself out from all of the day's activities. I pray that tomorrow goes much better. I'll keep you posted. Have a wonderful day tomorrow.

Sunday Update: 6/18/06

2006-06-19T20:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day! I trust you all had a great day. All is fine here in Chapel Hill, NC. Thank you for your prayers. Dad made it back home safely!

Josh had a good day in the respect that he did pretty much the same stuff as yesterday. He continues to follow simple commands when he is not too agitated or sedated. He had his eyes open alot this evening, but he was not focusing on anything. I was hoping that he would do something different on Father's Day for dad, but he is being his stubborn self, so just the same thumbs up, blinking twice, and moving his right arm and left leg around alot. After dad left he picked his left leg up off of the bed and put it over his right leg. That was a first that I have not yet seen!

They had to start back the continuous sedation drip for Josh, because he was needing medicine so frequently. He seems to do better getting it continuously rather than just every couple of hours. I really feel that once the breathing tube comes out, either via trach or just him not needing it anymore, he will do much better because he really seems to be fighting it right now (like he is very aware that something is there). They did not adjust any ventilator settings today. I feel that when the trauma teams comes back from the weekend tomorrow, they will be making some changes. Because he was so restless this evening, mom and I stayed until about 11:30pm. When we finally left he was resting peacefully again.

Tonight we were going through Josh's cd's and we found one that had a song on it where he sang a solo part. It was the first time I had heard his voice in more than 2 weeks - it's amazing how we can take things like that for granted. It sounded really good. I can't wait to hear him talk again (even though he can be very obnoxious and loud!), hopefully very soon.

Glory to the Father (from Josh's dad)

2006-06-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

TO ALL OUR FRIENDS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST,

Today is Father's Day, and I am in Chapel Hill, N.C. visiting my son. As you know he is in intensive care after a serious auto accident. For the last 16 days, he has been in a coma and on a ventilator. As all of you know, it's very difficult to see your child sick or injured. You would rather it be you. I believe that nothing can hurt a parent more than to see his child in a situation like Josh is in. It's incredibly hard to see Josh just lying in the bed, knowing that you can do nothing to help him physically. More people have seen me cry over this than any other time in my life. As you would expect, this has been heart-wrenching for Barb, Cari, and I.
However, this e-mail is not about our problem. I want it to be a letter of Praise and Thanks to all of you.

Some of you have heard me say some of these things, but most of you have not. I need and must do so again!
From the beginning, Barb and I have decided not to be bitter, but better from this. We have only 2 questions of GOD about this chapter in our family's lives. The first is, "what does GOD want us to learn from this?" The second is, "how can we make sure that GOD receives the Glory and Honor from all that happens?" As incredibly difficult as this has been, GOD has shown his love to us in exceedingly, abundant ways. Through other people and Christian friends, GOD has shown us how much he loves us. We know that thousands of people are praying for us and Josh! I know of people in South America, Russia, Guam, and Canada are praying for our Josh. Even Laura Bush has heard of Josh's accident and is praying for him! I don't have time to give you that story. So MANY people and Christians have done so much for our family during this time. They have given their time, talents, and money to help us. Our church, Grace Baptist Church, has done so much for us. They have shown their love to us. They have sacrificed for us. They have driven to Chapel Hill to see us giving up their day. They have cried as we have cried. They have shown the love of Christ to us. They are family !!!
I want you to know that GOD's family is greater that just Grace Baptist Church. A special thank you to Falls Road Baptist Church here in Rocky Mount, NC for all they have done for us. Also, many other Christian friends have come by to visit us, give us food, money, a phone call, and a hug as well. They have heard of Josh's situation and wanted to stop by and let us know that they are concerned for us, praying for us, and love us. It has been enormously encouraging to Barb, Cari, and I. There will come a time in your life that is so overwhelming, that without the love and support of others, you won't make it through it. I have learned at this time, it is important to let others help you and demonstrate the love of God to you. Accepting everyone's help is very humbling to me.
I can't tell you how special each of you have been to me and my family. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Please continue to pray for Josh, Barb, Cari, and I. At times we may seem down, but we are confident in the victory that GOD has planned for Josh and us.

Saturday Update: 6/17/06

2006-06-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

**Written by Cari**

Good evening to all. I hope that your Saturday was just fabulous. Daddy made it safely early this morning to visit for the weekend - praise God. I get a little nervous now whenever people take road trips!

Josh had a pretty good day today. Nothing exciting and new, but definitely no steps backwards today. That is a phrase that I like to hear! Josh again is continuing to follow little commands like blinking and raising his fingers, but he is still having some agitation (which they still have to medicate him for). Today seemed to be a little better than yesterday. Finally, at the end of the night, he gave daddy the thumbs up sign - it was the first time my dad had seen him respond in any way. I was glad that daddy could actually see some progress. They were able to turn down his ventilator settings even more and he seemed to still be able to tolerate it by the end of the day. He is now again breathing on his own, using the ventilator only for pressure support and for oxygen needs. We will see how he does overnight. Hopefully tomorrow will bring much the same with less agi tation. Wouldn't it be awesome if he were to communicate more on Father's Day? That is my prayer. I hope that you all have a wonderful evening and Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there.

Friday Update (6/17/06)

2006-06-17T06:10:00.000-05:00

**written by Cari**

Today was a good, but rough day - if that makes any sense? No setbacks today. It was two weeks ago around this very time Josh had his accident. It is hard to believe how far we have come and how far we have to go since then, but with God's grace and the strength of so many friends and family behind us - we will make it!

Josh is continuing to follow commands such as blinking and holding up his fingers, but I feel that he is in sensory overload now that he is "awake" and can sense everything going on around him. I think it sends him into a bit of a panic and therefore he becomes very agitated, very quickly. This is very common with patients who have sustained head injuries. I believe he realizes that he has a tube in his mouth and he can't communicate like he wants to, so he begins to fight in the only way he can right now and that is with his arms (he pulls very hard against the wrist restraints) and the harder he fights, the heavier and heavier his breathing gets. For this reason, they have to give him medicine (they turned off his continuous sedation drip today and are only giving it to him as needed) to help calm him down. Hopefully, as the swelling in his head continues to go down these symptoms will lessen. I pray that it doesn't l ast very long because it is very difficult to see my little brother suffer. Mom and I tried not to stimulate him much today so as not to further aggravate him even more. Therefore, we are really limiting the amount of visitors he has for the moment while he is so easily agitated.

Good news is that they took both of his chest tubes out today. I know that it has to be much more comfortable for him. They were also able to decrease the settings on the ventilator just a little bit today and he seemed to tolerate it okay. His is coughing alot and I think that sometimes makes him lose his breath, but he is doing okay in the respiratory department. When we left this evening Josh had just gotten cleaned up and was resting very peacefully.

We are just in the wait and see mode right now. My dad will be traveling up early in the morning to visit with us all for the weekend. I hope that you all have a wonderful Father's Day weekend. I will write again tomorrow. Keep praying for a complete recovery. Again, thank you all for the encouraging emails and cards. We truly appreciate it.

An Eye Opener - Thursday (6/15/06)

2006-06-16T06:11:00.000-05:00

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thursday, I know you must be glad that Friday is closing in and hopefully a good Father's Day weekend looms ahead.

Today Josh began the day as usual - sleeping!!!! Mom and I repeated yesterday to a tee -- we watched him breathe and sleep. They were able to turn the down the ventilator settings even more today and he seemed to tolerate that just fine. They are talking about taking out the chest tubes in the morning. I am sure that will make him feel a little more comfortable. I do not believe they are going to do the trach and feeding tube tomorrow. They said they are probably going to wait until Monday.

Now on to the big news. We thought Josh was not going to do much today, but around 9:15pm Josh began to stir, so we tried the thumbs up thing. I guess he is getting bored with this and he would not do this on command. His nurse Heather suctioned him out and he opened his eyes, which he has been doing, but this time he kept them open for awhile (about 5 minutes). He was not focusing, but it appeared as if for the first time he was aware of what was going on around him. Per Heather's request I asked Josh to hold up two fingers, and HE DID!!!!! Next I asked him to blink twice, and HE DID!!!!! He was moving around alot at this point in time to where he even moved his left leg off of the bed twice. Two seems to be the magic number! He again wrestled mom and I with his right arm - and, let me tell you, I thought one time he was going to break my fingers. Josh was moving around alot and appeared that he was a little anxious - we kept telling Josh that he was in an accident, is in the hospital, and that they are having to breathe for him right now, but he is okay. So, after about 30 minutes of agitation Heather had to give him medicines to calm him down. When we left for the night around 10:45pm, he was again resting comfortably. We are SO encouraged by all of this progress it even made his nurse cry because she was so happy for him. I pray that tomorrow goes just as well - God IS good.
Until tomorrow, we love each of you and covet your prayers!!

Wednesday Night Update (6/15/06)

2006-06-15T20:10:00.000-05:00

**written by Cari**

Josh had another calm day. Mom and I again watched him sleep!! And let me tell you what fun that is! However, I am very thankful that he did not have any steps backward today. I don't think that Josh will remember, but he is watching all of the World Cup soccer games, so he can't say he didn't watch it. His friend Brandon brought him a USA jersey from the 2002 World Cup that we have hung up in his room. I know that he will really like that.

I think that mom and I have figured out the Josh has got his days and nights mixed up. He sleeps all day and when we go back to visit and say good night he is much more active. Tonight he was just moving his right arm all over the place (or at least as far as the restraint would let him move). Mom was holding his right hand and Josh was throwing her around - his strength has not left him in his arms. He does move the left, but not as much as he does the right arm. I think that he and mom were having an arm wrestling match! He did give the thumbs up to us twice - that seems to be the magic number. He did open his eyes for us twice as well today, but he doesn't focus or do this on command, just a spontaneous movement. But we are taking all we can get right now. They did not change the ventilator settings any today. I think they feel is best to decrease them slowly to give his lung the time it needs to heal. Josh does have a pneumonia to that left lung which he is currently on antibiotics for and it seems to be doing the trick. I belive Josh hasn't had a fever in the past two days. The type of pneumonia Josh has is resistant to certain types of antibiotics (ORSA for those of you that care to know) so he is on what they call contact precautions. This is only precautionary so that it is not spread to other places or people in the hospital. Because of this mom and I have to put on gowns and gloves when we are in the room with Josh. We feel so special! Hopefully this only temporary until Josh completes the antibiotics and the pneumonia cultures are cleared.

Tonight Josh has our favorite nurse Heather (who requested to take care of Josh), so I feel very comfortable leaving him because she is very compassionate and takes excellent care of him. We are beginning to have a fondness for UNC because Josh has gotten such good care here. Don't tell him that though, he might get mad that we are beginning to change our tune!! Josh is hanging in there as always, so keep praying for his recovery. One of these days he is going to wake up and we look forward to sharing all of the love and cards and emails from everyone all over the country. We love you all. Until tomorrow.

Tuesday Update (More Thumbs) - 6/13/06

2006-06-14T08:25:00.000-05:00

**Cari**

Hello to all. Josh had a pretty restful day today. He was not moving around like he was yesterday - I guess all of that movement wore him out, so mom and I just watched Josh sleep all day. How exciting!!! He didn't even give a shout out to his friend Brandon and his dad when they came to visit. We thought that sleeping was all that we were going to get, but tonight when they tried to take him off of his sedation and change him to oral (feeding tube) pain medication he became pretty uncomfortable and restless (it was obvious by his breathing heavy and grimacing), so they had to restart the iv medication. During the time when he was hurting he was moving around a good bit - so I bugged him like usual and he did give me the thumbs up twice. This time his nurse saw him, so we were pleased with his progress even though the poor baby was hurting. When I left him tonight he looked like he was resting comfortably. I pray this continues tonight and tomorrow brings more progress.

If all goes well, Friday is the target date to have the trach and feeding tube placed. This would require surgery. I am still a little anxious about this, but I know it is the right thing to do, and the best part is that it is only temporary. I tell everyone my head knows it is the right thing to do, but my heart is having a difficult time with it. Anyway, we will have to see how it all plays out.

Thank you all for the cards and emails you have sent to me and my family. They are very encouraging. It is nice to feel so loved when you are so far away from home. I pray you all have a wonderful Wednesday.

Monday Update (6/12/06)

2006-06-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

**written by Cari**

Josh had a good day today. NO setbacks!!!! Yeah!! We were very excited about this. He seemed pretty comfortable all day, with the exception that he was moving his arms around a good bit (right more than left), but unfortunately not on command. No eye openings spotted today. I will say that mom and I were encouraged because as we were talking to him we asked him to hold up his thumb like we do everyday and he did. We thought it was just a fluke, so a minute or so later we asked him to do it again and he held both thumbs up. We were very excited, but of course he only did this for us, not his day shift nurse so her assessment of him had not changed (but hey, what do I know, I am only his sister, the nurse!!). He only did this one other time later in the day (Victoria Lowder saw him do it), but he wouldn't do it anymore for me. We will keep a close eye on this. I am hoping he will possibly do more tomorrow. As far as his lungs are concerned they only moved the ventilator settings down very minutely - which I am okay with. Josh is hanging in there, so keep praying.

Many of you have inquired as to what I am doing for work. I have a wonderful boss and understanding coworkers and 6 weeks of PTO (paid time off), so I am taking a personal leave. I am doing fine for the moment, but I will return to work when Josh stablizes a good bit more. I am needed here right now.

Pictures of Josh

2006-06-12T17:09:00.000-05:00

Two of these are from the WILDS. The other one is from a friend's wedding about 3 weeks ago. The girl with Josh is not Josh's girlfriend. (you're welcome M-Lo!)

For those of you who were at the WILDS two summers ago and might remember Josh, he was in the Cabin: "Oh-I-Know." He was the loudest male counselor on site.

How I came to know Josh (a WILDS experience!)

2006-06-12T16:54:00.000-05:00

Josh lived to work at the WILDS, a Christian camp in Brevard, NC. His parents told me that's all he ever talked about. Since beginning college, Josh has been home about 2 weeks at a time for Christmas break, and before and after camp in the summer. He worked at the WILDS for 4 summers. He served as a counselor for 2 summers, a COR counselor (an experienced counselor who roves from team to team to meet team needs - a counseling honor), and as a Junior Boot Camp (Jr. Camp) lead counselor last summer. I had the privilege of going to the WILDS for 7 consecutive summers, 6 times a camper, 1 time a counselor. My last summer as a counselor, I went to CIT (camper-in-training... a two-week program intended to help develop servant leaders among Sr. High teens.) My CIT weeks, Josh was one of the CIT counselors. Even though he was not my counselor, because we were in all the same sessions, we became friends. The next summer when I went to check in as a counselor, he was the second familiar face I saw. Barely remembering his name, I hesitantly approached him, seeking to re-introduce myself. I was met with a "Brandon Godwin!!!" and a friendly, masculine embrace. He had not forgotten me at all! That summer we spent several weekends hanging out. I had the privilege of counseling on his team for two weeks. He placed me in a leadership role when he was not around. He pushed me to grow those two weeks. He also helped me physically when I got sick one afternoon. He gave me his bed and took my seven 4th-6th graders for the afternoon. (What a guy!!!) We remained in touch throughout my Sophomore year at BJU. He always encouraged me wherever I was at. He always smiled, a charateristic not common at most college campuses. He became one of my best friends. I look forward to the day when we can recount God's goodness together and laugh about old times. (And Josh, when you read this soon, remember you still owe me a DC Utd. game...)

A Few Steps Forward

2006-06-11T22:31:00.000-05:00

**written by Cari Chandler (Josh's sister)

Hello to all. I hope that you all are having a wonderful Sunday. Things went much better for Josh today than yesterday - praise the Lord. I was getting tired of all the steps backward. It is very trying emotionally. I guess Josh just wants to make sure that we all know how big our God is by showing how much he will have to overcome with God's help.

Josh has had a pretty peaceful day. They did not adjust his ventilator settings today, which I am happy for because I think he just needed a day of rest. We had a little scare when they thought his neurological status has not been as good as it had been for the past week, so they took him straight to have a cat scan of his head. Everything turned out fine, or at least, the same as it has been. The neurosurgeon said that her assessment of him had not changed, so we were very relieved. I am, in a way, glad that they did the scan because we haven't had any tests done in awhile. It puts my mind at ease a little to know that he has had this done. And he didn't get too agitated when traveling off of the floor. I believe tomorrow we will talk with the trauma team about the tracheotomy and feeding tube, so I am preparing myself for that. I am assuming that it will be at the beginning of the week if they can wean down the ventilator settings a little. They also changed some of his antibiotics around today because some of the cultures they had gotten from his lungs were sensitive to a different antibiotic. His fever has not been as bad today as yesterday - only a low-grade fever.

Today Josh did do something he has not done yet, he opened his eyes just for a second (only twice today), and I missed it! Now mind you he did not do this on command, only to outside stimuli, but I will take anything I can get. I am very cautiously optimistic that it was a step in the right direction. Can you believe that he did this while he was being
suctioned? I knew he didn't like it, so I guess he was trying to tell his nurse something!!!Tomorrow the USA is playing in their first game of the World Cup, so Josh will be watching!! He was so looking forward to it, so we are taping all of the USA games for him to enjoy later down the road. Last night too, when I was saying good night to Josh, I leaned over to give him a kiss on the forehead and my hair tickled his face and (can you believe it?) he turned his head in the opposite direction!! Mom just laughed. I told him that I would not take any offense to it. Anyway, I pray that you all have a good night. Pray for my dad, he is traveling back home tonight to work for the week and then come back on Friday night. We love and miss you all.

Saturday Update: 6/10/06

2006-06-11T07:11:00.000-05:00

**written by Cari**

Hello again and thank each and everyone one of you for your continued prayers in Josh's recovery. I trust you all have had a great Saturday.

Josh took another big step backward today. He started out the day with alot of difficulty breathing. They are unsure as to why, but they had to go up quite a bit on his ventilator settings. Once again they are breathing for Josh. They have changed the way they are delivering breaths to him. Now instead of just forcing the air into the lungs while Josh breathes, they have increased the volume of air so as to meet the needs of his body to be able to oxygenate well. Josh has also been fighting a fever all day. For this reason, they took out some of his lines and restarted some iv's in case this may have been causing the fever. Since the ventilator changes earlier this morning Josh has seemed pretty comfortable throughout the rest of the day. It has been a long day, but I pray that Josh has a restful night and that things will go better tomorrow.

Update: 6/9/06

2006-06-09T21:29:00.000-05:00

***written by Cari

He had a good day today. No big steps forward, but definitely no steps backward today -praise the Lord! They were able to wean Josh down on his ventilator settings again so that he is breathing on his own and using the vent for pressure to fill the lungs and to give him oxygen thru the breathing tube. They were also able to get him off of the heavy sedation to a milder one, so we are hoping that maybe he will be able to do a little more - all in time though. Josh is basically calling the shots now on how the doctors treat him. As his lungs heal they will be able to wean him off of the ventilator and as his brain heals we will know just what kind of damage was done, if any (that is what I am praying for). Josh looked very comfortable all day today with the exception of when he had to be suctioned. He truly doesn't like it.

I pray the weekend will be much the same as today, unless he decides to wake up and tell me to quit bothering him. Josh always joked that things were "all about Cari", I guess he decided this is the way to get back at me!
I wish there was more to report, but I am just so thankful that we didn't step backward today.

Thanks again for all of your prayers. We love you all, and I know Josh would say the same. Keep praying for our miracle.

Update: 6/8/06 (#2)

2006-06-08T21:31:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to give a quick update from what has happened since the last update this morning. Some of it good, some of it not so good. For starters, Josh is continuing to hang in there. So keep praying.

Good news: They felt that the pressures in his head were acceptable over the last two days so they decided to take the drain out of his head. He tolerated that fine and has appeared to be okay since. I have spent most of the afternoon in his room and he looked pretty comfortable. His nurse even shaved him today and I will have to say he looks so much better. I just tell him all the time to wake up and argue with me. So far, he's winning!

Bad news: They had to put a chest tube on the right side earlier today. Now he has one on both sides. They did this because he had air leaking into the tissues just under his skin. They believe this happened because of the amount of pressure they needed to push air into the left lung was more than the right lung needed and it caused one of the air sacs to open therefore leaking air into the surronding tissues. Don't worry, it should heal on its own but it will take time. Also, Josh is beginning to have a little pneumonia in his lungs. They have started him on 2 heavy duty antibiotics and hopefully these will kick in before it spreads too much. They have to suction him more often and he hates that. Don't worry, I am taking names so he can get them back later! They were able to decrease some of the settings on his ventilator and as his lungs heal they will be able to decrease them further. I did not realize exactly how bad his lung was damaged, which means it is going to take a little longer to heal, but it WILL heal.

Billy and Linda Aulds and the girls came by for a visit today, and I will have to say that it was definitely an encouragement to see him. Mrs.Aulds was very encourageing to me as well, seeing as she has been through all of this fairly recently. It is awesome to see how God has healed him. Josh has a long road ahead of him, but he too can recover.

Thanks for all of your love and concern. Keep praying.

The ICU Walk...

2006-06-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

(written by Cari)

Josh took a step backward yesterday. We knew this could happen, but it doesn't make it any easier when things were looking so good. They call it the "ICU walk" - a few steps forward, a few steps back. But God is good! I think of Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Josh ran into some breathing problems yesterday afternoon. His oxygen level slowly began to decrease so they had to increase the settings on the ventilator. Right now Josh is breathing some on his own, but the ventilator is breathing for him as well. They also had to increase the pressure to fill his lungs. I am not quite sure if it is pneumonia setting in or if it is the pulmonary contusion (bruise to lung) that is causing all of the problems. I am waiting to talk to the trauma team regarding their thoughts on his difficulty breathing. He did have a fever yesterday and they are starting him on antibiotics (Vancomycin).

Good news is the pressure in his head is staying down a little bit even while the drain is closed, which is a good thing. They are still monitoring him very closely though. Neurologically he is still the same, but they are keeping him pretty sedated so as not to complicate his breathing or the pressure in his head. I believe today they are just going to let his body rest and heal.

Josh seems to do worse when they have to turn or move him so they are giving him extra pain medicine before doing so to help with any pain he may feel from the broken ribs. I guess if I had some broken ribs you better be giving me something to help control the pain before movement!

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. Josh is hanging in there and we tell him everyday who called or wrote or visited. I know he can feel your prayers. We got him a CD player and have been playing his stuff since he loves music so much and I am also filling his room with pictures and cards.

Again we thank you for all of your prayers. Keep praying. We love you all.

Update: Tuesday, June 6

2006-06-07T06:32:00.000-05:00

(written by Cari Chandler)

Josh had a good night. Still the same neurologically, but that is what we are expecting - VERY slow progress. Yesterday Josh had an MRI of his neck to try and clear his spine and praise the Lord no fractures found. They are going to take off his cervial collar once the neuro people say it is okay - so probably within the next 24hrs. We found out Josh doesn't like to "travel" (or leave the ICU unit), he got pretty agitated in MRI, but once back in ICU he settled down. I told him he should be nice, but you know Josh - he doesn't listen to his sister.

Today Josh went and had an IVC filter placed which is a meshlike wire netting they place in the great vessel of the heart to stop any blood clots from going to the heart and lungs. It is pretty basic stuff for trauma patients because they are at very high risks for blood clots. He didn't go to surgery it is something they can do in the radiology area. He tolerated this much better today than the MRI because they loaded him up on sedation! Guess what, he actually listened to me when I told him to behave!!!

The trauma doctors said they think his spleen is going to be fine. They are not really that concerned with it anymore, but they will continue to monitor it. The next step from their standpoint is getting him off of the ventilator, but that will probably be awhile. They have already prepared us that Josh will probably be getting a tracheostomy (tube in his neck that helps him breathe) and possibly a feeding tube at the end of the week or beginning of next week. This is just temporary - but it is better for Josh in the long run. He is still breathing on his own, but requires the ventilator for the pressure to force air into the lung.

I know many of you may have a picture of Josh in your mind that he is all beat up and cut open, but I want to assure you that to look at Josh, he just appears as though he is sleeping with alot of tubes coming out of his body. He only has on scratch on his nose - all other injuries are internal. So in that respect we are very thankful.

I am traveling home tomorrow and coming right back. I need to do a couple of errands and get some things to bring back, but I will still try and give you a report tomorrow. Josh doesn't have any procedures scheduled, so I feel it is the best time to make a run home. Please pray for safety (a friend from college will be riding with me to keep me company).

Many have asked for an address to send cards to, so I have one (please no flowers because you cannot take flowers into the ICU area).

Josh Chandler, Room 2711
UNC Hospitals
101 Manning Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

How It Began

2006-06-07T06:29:00.000-05:00

(written by Cari Chandler, Josh's sister)

Friday night (June 2nd) around 10pm, my brother and a friend of his (Seth Bacon) were traveling to Washington DC to a DC United soccer game (Josh has a friend who plays on the team). They were stopping at a friend's house in Rocky Mount, NC to spend the night and finish traveling Saturday morning. There had been a lot of storms in the area that night and due to the rain Josh hydroplaned off the road, spun around and hit a tree. The impact was on the driver's side of the car. Josh took the impact and currently remains unconscious in ICU in Chapel Hill, NC. Thankfully, Josh was the only one injured in the accident - Seth was able to walk away with just a few scratches (praise the Lord). I know that some may not understand why this has happened, as I do, but I do know that God is in control and that He has a perfect plan already set in motion. I believe God still has great things planned for Josh.

From the beginning God has been working, let me tell you how. The first responder to the scene was a trauma surgeon who just happened to be passing by, he stayed with Josh until the ambulance came. The second responder on the scene was a nurse, who also stayed to help in any way possible. I believe the trauma doctor realized how serious Josh's injuries were and he somehow notified either the EMT's or local hospital that Josh would need to be airlifted to a Level 1 trauma center. Second, Seth was able to remain calm and call both my parents and his parents, and help be our eyes and ears since were were so far away. Josh and Seth were traveling to Brandon Godwin's house that night. Brandon and his father were an incredible help that evening and the days to follow. Brandon's dad realized something might be wrong when Josh and Seth did not arrive on time and he had Brandon call Josh's phone. Seth answered in the ambulance and told him about the accident, and Brandon and his dad quickly made their way to the hospital. Upon arrival to the local hospital, doctors were already preparing to transfer Josh to Chapel Hill via helicopter. They immediately took care of Josh's collapsed lung by placing a chest tube and intubated him prior to getting on the helicopter. He was still breathing on his own a little bit, but they intubated him as a precaution - he would have needed it later anyway. By helicopter I am told it is about 15-20 minutes to Chapel Hill, probably a little more because the weather was so bad. Josh got to Chapel Hill and immediately was being worked on. They placed a ventricular drain in to monitor the pressure in his head, continued to keep him on the ventilator and monitor his collapsed lung. He also suffered several broken ribs and a lacerated spleen which they have been keeping a close eye on to watch for any further bleeding. In the meantime, Brandon and his dad took Seth home with them while Seth's dad traveled down to meet everyone. Mom, dad, and I immediately took off in the car and headed to Chapel Hill. We arrived safely around 4am and we were able to go right in and see Josh. I will have to admit that it was very difficult
\nto see him just lying there knowing that the next 48 hours would be critical in the fight for his life. Josh is my only brother (or sibling for that matter). But Josh is hanging in there. \n \nToday is Monday, June 5th and Josh has passed the critical 48 hours, but there is still a long road ahead. Currently he is still on the ventilator, but he is breathing on his own now. He just needs the ventilator for pressure to take good effective breaths. He is being continuously monitored for his blood pressure which is remaining stable on his own and they are continuously monitoring the pressure in his head. For a trauma patient his intracranial pressures are elevated, but not as high as some are and the good news is that it has not elevated any further over the past two days. He still has the chest tube in to drain his left lung, but even that is beginning to slow down a little bit. His spleen is doing okay. They do not feel right now that they need to take it out. His major injury is his head. They do not know how much of his brain is injured right now, because they have to keep him sedated or else he becomes too agitated. Twice a day they turn off the sedation to assess his neurological activity and yesterday he did respond a little to pain, so that was encouraging. \n \nWe are just taking it day by day. I can tell you that the love we have felt from all over the country and even different parts of the world is overwhelmingly incredible. I know Josh and our family is constantly in your thoughts and prayers and we greatly appreciate that. Words cannot describe how thankful we are to all of you. God is still in control and we are trusting him to bring Josh through it. \n \nAll of the doctors and nurses here have been incredible. They see this type of thing all the time (unfortunately), but they are taking Excellent care of Josh and my family. We are kidding them that Josh is going to be mad that they took him here instead of Duke (which is just 15 minutes down the road), seeing that he is a huge Duke fan!!! Don\'t worry, we are going to take pictures of him in those baby blues!!!",1]
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to see him just lying there knowing that the next 48 hours would be critical in the fight for his life. Josh is my only brother (or sibling for that matter). But Josh is hanging in there.

Today is Monday, June 5th and Josh has passed the critical 48 hours, but there is still a long road ahead. Currently he is still on the ventilator, but he is breathing on his own now. He just needs the ventilator for pressure to take good effective breaths. He is being continuously monitored for his blood pressure which is remaining stable on his own and they are continuously monitoring the pressure in his head. For a trauma patient his intracranial pressures are elevated, but not as high as some are and the good news is that it has not elevated any further over the past two days. He still has the chest tube in to drain his left lung, but even that is beginning to slow down a little bit. His spleen is doing okay. They do not feel right now that they need to take it out. His major injury is his head. They do not know how much of his brain is injured right now, because they have to keep him sedated or else he becomes too agitated. Twice a day they turn off the sedation to assess his neurological activity and yesterday he did respond a little to pain, so that was encouraging.

We are just taking it day by day. I can tell you that the love we have felt from all over the country and even different parts of the world is overwhelmingly incredible. I know Josh and our family is constantly in your thoughts and prayers and we greatly appreciate that. Words cannot describe how thankful we are to all of you. God is still in control and we are trusting him to bring Josh through it.

All of the doctors and nurses here have been incredible. They see this type of thing all the time (unfortunately), but they are taking Excellent care of Josh and my family. We are kidding them that Josh is going to be mad that they took him here instead of Duke (which is just 15 minutes down the road), since he is a huge Duke fan!!! Don't worry, we are going to take pictures of him in those baby blues!!!

Welcome

2006-06-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the official Josh Chandler Update site. The purpose of this site is to provide current information on Josh's condition as well as other information pertinent to the situation. I will be receiving information from Josh's family almost every day. Please pass the address of this web site along to anyone interested in keeping up with how Josh is doing.