Fantastic Second Night of Bible College

The three hours just flew by. We really enjoyed our second night of Bible College. The lecture was great and the material that was covered was just what we needed tonight. We are broke and need a job, but God is so good to meet the need of our heart tonight.

Lee Did Not Make It To Church Tonight

We picked up Preston and Drew for church tonight. Lee seemed to be depressed and weak. I am sure it will take a few more weeks of healing before he regains his strength.

Bible College Class

Mary and I started a Bible College Class this evening through our church and Faith Bible Institute. This is day one for us. Two and a half hours of lecture and many hours of reading the Bible and Willmington's Guide to the Bible. This is not going to be easy. I hope I make it to the end.

Lee Is Home From The Hospital

This morning the doctor gave Lee a choice of going home today or tomorrow. He elected to go home today.

He is still weak but in good spirits. We are glad to have him home again.

We give God the Honor, Glory, and Praise for restoring our son and giving him another chance at life.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Lee Reunited With His Kids

Lee and I had barely got settled into room 4015 when Angela, Preston, and Drew showed up. It was so good to watch as Lee hugged his kids. He had not seen them for the entire 9 days he spent in the ICU. Mary and I left shortly after to allow the family to have the time together.

Praise you Lord for your mighty healing in Lee's life.

Room 4015

We just got word that room 4015 has been assigned to Lee. We are currently in the ICU main waiting room on the first floor (Terrace Room), but expect go to room 4015 any minute now. We were told that he was going to a room this morning at 9:00 a.m. It has taken all day to get a room assigned. Lee has been sitting in a chair all afternoon anxiously awaiting his move.

Physical Therapy came by a little while ago and had him up walking and doing some simple exercises.

Lost Our Private Waiting Room

Donna from Guest Services just came by the waiting room and said she heard Lee was moving out of ICU to a room and as a result we need to vacate our wonderful private waiting room. Looks like we need a U-haul truck to move us out.

I do praise the Lord for the use of this room.

Lee Awake All Night

For the most part Lee has been awake all night. On my shift from 3:00 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Lee did not sleep any. At times he has pain or tightness in his jaw. It really bugs him. At one point last night they gave him a shot of Valium. It relaxed him a lot but no sleep. I took him his laptop about 5:45 a.m.

The doctors plan to cut his medicine in half today and put him on some kind of pain management.

Lee Is Walking

Mary just called me and said Lee is walking. He does not have his oxygen mask so they don't expect him to walk very far. I guess we'll have to go out to country this afternoon and get his walker. He likes it much better.

They are talking like he will be moved from ICU to a room tomorrow.

Lee Up Sitting In A Chair

Sorry, we slept late and I am just now getting around to blogging. Mary and I slept until about 12:30 p.m. We were both shocked when we found out what time it was. After we got our wits about us we tuned into the North Valley Baptist Church in California because their service started at 1:00 p.m. Central Time Zone.

They removed the tubes from Lee's arm and the catheter. He is wearing a patch for pain. I was very surprised to learn after I left him this morning at 4:00 a.m. that he is now up sitting in a chair.

It is a miracle. There is no comparing Lee today with just a couple days ago. Praise the Lord for His mercy toward us.

Lee Ate His Supper and Is Watching TV

Lee is alert sitting up and watching TV. He ate his supper and life is beginning to return to normal. Angela has been in his ICU room all evening. We will relieve her at midnight and take 2 hour shifts the rest of the night.

Lee Had A Full Meal For Lunch

Angela just came back to the waiting room and reported that they brought Lee a full lunch tray and he ate it all. He started with the cookie.

Thank you Lord for your mercy and healing.

My First Conversation With Lee

I took the 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. shift this morning. He was sleeping. In a little while Lee looked over at me and and said, "When did you get here?". Then he went back to sleep. a little later he ask me, "How long have I been here in this place?". Then it was back to sleep again. He slept most of my shift.

Angela called about 7:00 a.m. and was crying. She said Lee had given up. He was just too tried to go on.

It was not too long after that Angela called and said Lee was sitting up in bed and eating pudding and drinking a strawberry milkshake. It seemed like a complete turn around with Lee in just a couple of hours.

Lee Talked and Acted Normal

For the first time since he has been in the hospital Lee talked to his mother.

A little while ago Mary was sitting in the ICU with Lee. Lee was asleep. All of a sudden Mary heard, "Mother". She looked up and Lee was asking for his Bible and his laptop. They actually carried on a normal conversation. Mary came back to the room and said she enjoyed her visit with Lee.

Angela just called down and ask me to go to the car and get his Bible. So I'm off to the parking deck.

Lee Is Calm

It 4:00 p.m. and since 10:00 a.m. this morning Lee has slept for the most part. I hope it is not the calm before the storm. Angela has slept most of the day. She is up now and getting ready to use the shower facilities the hospital so graceously allowed us to use.

Trouble Keeping Lee's Oxygen Level Up

Angela spent a long hard 10 hour night with Lee. I went to ICU to relive her about 5:30 a.m. and Lee was resting quietly when I arrived.

When the day shift came to work the nurse gave Lee a shot of Valium to keep him calm while they pulled him up in the bed and give him his breathing treatment. The nurse did not want to go through the combativeness that she went through with Lee yesterday.

Shortly after the breathing treatment Lee's oxygen saturation level dropped to about 89 and the alarm went off. After about 20 minutes of the alarm the nurse called for respiratory to come back.

They vacuumed his lungs, started him on some kind of breathing treatment and made him cough a lot.

When Mary relived me and I came back to the waiting room about 9:40 a.m. Lee was resting well, his oxygen saturation level was running about 94, his blood pressure was 122/55 and his pulse rate was 89. There was no combativeness while I was with him this morning.

Now He Is Asking For His Bible

An hour ago he wanted to fight everybody. Now he is asking for his Bible and colored pencils. He wrote "blue" and "green and blue". Nobody knows what it means but at least he woke up calm this time.

Lee Off The Ventilator

About lunch time they pulled the tube out of his lungs and took him off the Ventilator. Then they put an oxyen mask on him.

Nobody knows why but about 4:30 p.m. he just decided to start fighting everbody nearby including Angela, his mother, and three nurses. The nurses had to sit on him so they could tie him to the bed. He is hallucinating and talking out of his head. He ordered Scott out of the room. This is just not Lee at all. We will all be glad to get the real Lee back.

Doctor's Report for Lee

The heart doctor came by. Lee's heart rate has averaged in the mid 40's all night. They are trying to wean him off some of the sedative because it is keeping his heart rate low. The doctor again stated he could put in a Pace Maker but he really did not think it was necessary.

We met with the lung doctor and many of the ICU staff and expressed our concern that we could not keep an eye on Lee for 4 hours out of the 24 hour day. Their only reply was that it was policy.

They did move Lee this morning from bed #7 to #9 where the nurses have a better view of him.

They are going to try to take Lee off the ventilator in the next 24 to 48 hours. That will really help us a lot.

Lee Pulled Out His Breathing Tube

Our worst fear finally happened. Lee managed to pull out his feeding tube and his breathing tube. The ICU nurses will not let anybody in the unit between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. or 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. They claim it is shift change and they need the time. During the other 20 hours of the day and night we try to keep a close eye on Lee's situation. While we were out last night Lee pulled everything out. They had to get a doctor to sedate him and replace the tubes. They could not seem to calm him down.

This morning they chased me out of Lee's room at 6:20 a.m. I reminded the nurses of what happed last time they chased us out. They gave Lee another shot to calm him down before I left the room.

Lee seemed to try so hard to communicate with me but I had to tell him I could not understand. He can not talk with the tube in his throat. It is very difficult for me to watch him try so hard to tell me something and see him struggle with his hands tied down.

Heart Doctor's Report

The heart doctor came through and reported that Lee's EKG looked normal and his heart is strong. Lee's heart is not a problem.

Lee Ask for A Pencil and Paper

Scott just called down from Lee's room in ICU and said Lee kept moving his hand like he wanted to write something. Scott got him a pencil and paper and Lee tried to write something but Scott could not read it. It was just scribbles. At least he is trying to communicate.

Doctor's Report for Lee

Mary and Angela just came back to the waiting room from meeting with the doctors. Here are the things they related to me. They are in no particular order.

• Off blood pressure medicine - maintaining good blood pressure on his own
  
  
• He has staph pneumonia - the worst kind.
  
  
• He is sepsis - Definition - Commonly called a "blood stream infection." The presence of bacteria (bacteremia) or other infectious organisms or their toxins in the blood (septicemia) or in other tissue of the body. Sepsis may be associated with clinical symptoms of systemic (bodywide) illness, such as fever, chills, malaise (generally feeling "rotten"), low blood pressure, and mental status changes. Sepsis can be a serious situation, a life threatening disease calling for urgent and comprehensive care.
  
  
• They are getting a pain management doctor to help with the pain.
  
  
• They are detoxifying him from all his old medicine.
  
  
• By the end of the week they plan to take him off the ventilator
  
  
• We are still waiting to hear from the heart doctor.
  
  
• They feel that Lee is recognizing them. When the pain is at it's worst he opens his eyes. He hung onto Mary's finger this morning and did not want to let go.
  

Lee Pulled Out His Feeding Tube

Angela found Lee's feeding tube on the floor a little bit ago. We are preparing to spent two hours shifts in his room tonight to keep an eye on him. We are so glad he did not pull out his breathing tube. Since they put him on the new medicine he is not sedated very well and he keeps doing things. At times he appears to be in much pain. We are hoping he does not remember any of this.

New Waiting Room at St. Vincent

God blessed us with a private waiting room for the Brown Family. We are now located in "3 Center Solarium" just off the main elevator on the third floor. There is a sign labeled "Reserved for the Brown Family" beside the door. This is very nice of the hospital to allow us to use this room. God is so good.

Lee is still in ICU and I am waiting for some new news of his condition.

I just heard that Scott had a wreck. Some duct work fell off a truck in front of him while travling from North Little Rock to Cabot. He is okay but it tore a hole in his new vehicle and broke out the head lights and some other things that I did not grasp from the conversation.

Doctor's Report for Lee

We just received the latest update from the doctors. His x-ray this morning showed some fluffiness in his lungs. This was not good but expected. They took him off the sedative that he has been on for the past couple days and put him on another one to see if it would help his heart rate. The lung doctor ask that a heart doctor come in and check him.

The heart doctor said he was going to do as many test as he could but he was very limited because Lee is so sick. He said he could put in a Pace Maker to help with his heart rate but wanted to wait and do that as a last resort.

At the moment Lee seems to be stable.

Lee's Heart Rate Dropped

Lee's heart rate dropped to 25 early this morning and his temperature went up to 101 degrees. Within about an hour they had him stabilized and his heart rate back to normal and his temp down to about 99.

Lee Sat Up In Bed

He was not suppose to, but the ICU nurse found him sitting up in bed. They were trying to lower his medicine, but it appears they lowered it too low. The doctor said his chest x-ray looks slightly better this morning.

Lee Is A Very Sick Boy

The doctor said Lee is a very sick boy. During the night he developed 103.5 degree fever. They ended packing him in ice and put a fan on him. By mid-morning his temperature was down to 99 degrees. They keep him sedated so we have not had any comunication with him since arriving at the hospital. There has not been any change. He just lays there. He is still in ICU. One doctor, after examining him, said he thinks Lee will pull through.

Lee Near Death

Our life was suddenly interrupted this evening with a call from Angela. She said Lee is talking out of his head and gurgling. Since we were in North Little Rock and not home she called 911. We met them at the St. Vincent ER. Lee was unconscious. The doctor said he must put a tube into his lungs and put him on a ventilator immediately or he would die. His lungs were both full of fluid. He has multi-low-bar pneumonia and respiratory failure. He is in septic shock. The doctor seemed to think he might not make it through the night. After the ER they put him into ICU. We are here in the waiting room for the night. Many prayers have gone up to heaven for Lee tonight.

Scott and Lacey's Big Move

Scott and Lacey's big move day finally arrived. We moved them into the house that we have been working on since the middle of December. Their house really looks nice with furniture in it. It's just like a new home. I think we did a very good job remodeling their house.

200 DVD's Ready For Mailing

I printed the label on 200 DVD's this afternoon so my brother David could get them ready to mail to missionaries with Bible next month. The labels really look nice using my new BravoPro Disk Printer.

Video Without the Remote Control System

I had to get the video cameras ready for tonights service using our old method without the remote control system. I sent it in for repairs. It was kind of nice to get hold of a tripod instead of a game controller to control the cameras.

Start Installation of New Sound System

This morning I met Lee and Scott at the new church building for Crystal Hill Baptist Church. We put together a plan for installing the speaker clusters and started measuring. We spent most of the day sweeping, measuring, and planning. We ended the day hanging two boxes from the ceiling to represent the new speakers.

Scott's Remodel Job Complete

I picked up all my tools from Scott and Lacey's new house this afternoon. I guess that means that we are truly done with the project.

My Grizzly Pro Has A Problem

I have been having problems with my new Grizzly Pro Remote Control System. It keeps locking up. They have sent me a new controller and new interface but it's still locking up. I packed it up to ship it back in the morning.

Lawson School Christmas Concert Video

I received word that we will be able to sell the video that I shot of the Christmas Concert at Lawson Elementary School on December 18, 2007. I spent a lot of time today editing the video and adding a DVD menu to the video. I made the master and several copies for the principle and the music teacher to preview.

Shopping With Lee

We spent a big part of our day helping Lee shop for a lot of stuff. Mostly things for the church.

Grouting Scott's Kitchen Floor

We grouted Scott's kitchen floor this morning. It did not take very long and it looks beautiful. I believe this is the end of the remodel project.

Scott Terminated Because of His Accident

Scott received the bad news this morning that he was terminated because of the accident where he lost his two fingers on his left hand. He is really dragging low today.

First Experience Laying Tile

Scott and I laid the ceramic tile in his kitchen today. This was my first experience laying ceramic tile. I have to admit, Scott did most of the work. I tried to be a good helper. We have not grouted it yet but it really looks good.

Back To Scott's Remodel Project

Scott and I spent a big part of the day repairing the kitchen floor. The floor had some weak spots and we spent a lot of time crawling under the house strengthing the floor.

Then we had to tear into the wall under the kitchen sink to repair two leaks in the drain pipe.

The kitchen floor now feels much stronger and we can use the kitchen sink without fear of getting the floor wet.

First Sunday with Grizzly Pro

I really enjoyed using the Grizzly Pro Video Camera Remote control system today. For the first time at Crystal Hill Baptist Church I was able to control the Pan, Tilt, and Zoom of three video cameras with one control box. Our video quality has improved from what I see on my end. I am anxious to hear from someone who views it in the field.

Packing Video Equipment

It has been three great days at the BEAMS Bible Conference in Texarkana but now comes the hard part. Packing up all the equipment. We slept in this morning a little extra at the motel and then spent many hours winding up cables and packing the equipment. Then I had to spend until about 11:00 p.m. setting up the equipment at Crystal Hill so I would be ready for the early morning service. I am very tired but enjoying my work. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to serve Him.

Huge Videography Day

The First Preaching session was at 10:00 a.m. this morning and the last session ended a little before 10:00 p.m. We made about 120 DVD of the three different sessions. It was a great day but I am tried. So off to bed we go.

Exposure Not Right

I was not happy with the picture with last nights DVD. I spent the day tweaking the cameras exposure until I thought I was ready for the double header tonight. My work today payed off. Things went well tonight. I shot video for over three hours. The DVD turned out much better and we gave away about 40 DVD's.

J.C. House and Johnny Pope were at their best tonight. I really enjoyed the preaching.

Texarkana - First Videography Event

I spent the entire morning and until 3:00 p.m. winding up cords and cables and packing things into our little KIA mini-van. I needed to be setup and ready to video at 7:00 p.m. in Twin Cities' Baptist Temple in Texarkana, Texas. I did not make it. At 7:00 p.m. I was still setting up. I did start the DVD recorder but I could not consentrate on running the camera. By about 7:30 p.m. I was able run the cameras full time with the new Grizzly Pro Remote control system. We gave away about 30 DVD's this first night.

Bird Watching with Grizzly Pro

Check out a few minutes of my Bird Watching Video that I made with my new Grizzy Pro Remote control system today. I spent a big part of my day trying to learn how to use this new system by chasing the birds around the back yard. I figured if I could learn how to keep the camera on the birds the preachers later this week would be easy. So far I love it.