I am not sure if any of you all have seen any of the post on the young man that was injured New Years ride or not. I am going to cross post the story and a couple of inserts from his journal on the "Caring Bridge" website. I know him and his family could use any and all prayers and it really made me think the way his parents give credit to God for everything. I do not know this young man or anyone associated with him but don't think they would mind me sharing and of course the prayers. Hope you all enjoy the read.
Here is a link to the caring bridge page if you would want to read more:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/calebgregory
The Story:
Background Story
Caleb was at the "Wheeling In The Country" Off Road event in Summertown, TN. He and two friends were in a jeep that flipped over and landed in a pond. Caleb was hung up in the passenger seat and was underwater for a couple of minutes. His friends were able to cut him out and get him to shore.
Then God intervened as some folks with medical training happened to be coming by. Caleb's heart had stopped but they were able to administer CPR until the medical staff that were at the event arrived. Caleb was then life-flighted to Vanderbilt Hospital and arrived just after 10pm on Saturday evening, December 29th in critical condition.
Once Brian and Marlena arrived (Caleb's parents), the doctor came and updated them on his condition. The doctor explained that several parts of Caleb's body had been insulted from having been submerged in the pond water and that they were especially concerned about his lungs. He was also very cold from having been in the freezing water but this again was a small miracle as the cold helped slow Caleb's body functions until the paramedics could get him stabilized.
After a few hours, the doctor came and explained that Caleb's lungs were so insulted that they were not allowing the good oxygen to transfer into the blood stream and also not allowing the carbon dioxides and other poisons to exit through his lungs. As Brian and Marlena and friends prayed that the doctors would receive wisdom not of their own, the lead doctor came back in and explained that Caleb's lungs weren't functioning and he had called in an expert who specializes in an E.C.M.O. procedure were a machine actually removes your blood from the body, cleanses the blood, oxygenizes it, and then pumps it back into the body.
The doctor arrived and after explaining everything to Brian and Marlena, he agreed to hook Caleb up to the E.C.M.O. machine and informed them that they would know pretty quickly how Caleb was responding. After the prayers of many people, God again stepped in and caused Caleb's body to accept the procedure even beyond the expectations of the doctors.
At the initial meeting between the first doctor and Caleb's parents, it was said that there was going to be three critical times for Caleb. The first was that first hour which Caleb had miraculously survived (he had actually lost his life and God brought him back to us on the shore of the pond), then Caleb needed to survive the first 24 hours, and then following that, he needed a lot of things to go right over the next couple of weeks. Following the successful E.C.M.O. procedure, Caleb had become stable (athough still critical) and had gotten past the first 24 hour period - Praise God!
Now as we start the first day of 2013, Caleb's body has shown vast improvement and the new concern is Caleb's mental faculties and what damage may or may not have been done from the lack of oxygen to his brain. Throughout this process, Caleb has been under serious sedation and his mind and body have been intentionally put into a coma-like state so that the doctors could get him stabilized.
On Tuesday, January 1, the doctors have started taking him off the medications as they are wanting to see how his brain responds. This is now the next critical period for Caleb and the family asks that all prayers be directed at Caleb making a complete recovery and that there would be no permanent damage to his brain.
Update as of when he went in:
Update as of Wed. 1-2-13
Written Jan 2, 2013 2:40pm by Tammy Patrick
Caleb's Update....
When Brian walked in this morning to get the morning report, the doctor said he had great news. Caleb had began coughing, turning a little red, and responding to light in his eyes. All are signs of brain activity. The doctors no longer find it necessary to test to see if blood is going to his brain. His lungs are continuously getting stronger and are currently breathing on their own. His body is also responding well to the feeding tube.
Caleb is still on the ventillator and ECMO machine. They will try in the next few days to take him off the ECMO machine. They will be doing another procedure on his lungs today. They will be cleaning them and looking at them with a camera. This will allow them to check for infection.
The family is very encouraged with Caleb's progress. They are very thankful and humbled by the support and prayers. Please continue to pray specifically that Caleb will not get any type of infection and continues to increase his brain activity.
Latest update today:
Praise The Lord!
Written 11 hours ago by Tammy Patrick
Everyone will be rejoicing tonight! Caleb woke up and his parents were by him! He tried to sit up in his bed and pull the ventilator out of his mouth! His dad told him to settle down and that he was okay. His mom spoke to him and tears flowed from his eyes! Praise be to God! Caleb has had his rest and he is ready to go it appears! He is amazingly strong!
They had to give him a sedative because he is still on the ventilator which is in his mouth and he is still on the ECMO machine. But, this is INCREDIBLE! Visitation is over for tonight, so we may not know any more until in the morning, but we will take what we know tonight and that is Caleb has the desire in his heart to climb out of that bed!!!
1 Timothy 6:11-12 " man of God, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith."
We pray for Caleb ... Father we praise you! Our faith and Caleb's faith endures! We are thankful Caleb tried to climb out of that bed tonight. We ask that you send your angels to his bedside tonight to offer him peace and comfort as he rests. We pray for continued healing. We pray that he will be able to remain calm as he understands his condition. We pray he will be off the ventilator and ECMO machines very soon. We thank you for these machines and the doctors that have taken care of Caleb and brought him this far! We praise The Great Physician for His healing. Amen