Steve's First Post

God is good and God is in the details! Thank each and every one of you for prayers, your donations your slightested uttered prayers of encouragement,your simple expressions of enduring love, and the tender loving care you have shown us all.

Through Him I am alive and through Him I will recover to love each of you more. So much to say - more later. love, Steve

Awsome kids, huh?!!!?!?!?

Deepest of love, appreciation and pride in my girls!

Steve Seeger

Hey all! Since my dad is getting better and better everyday, I think he's probably the best at updating everyone on his progress! It's been amazing to see the love and respect and faith that family and friends of the family have shown throughout this ordeal. Everyone that has taken the time to say something on here has really uplifted my family, and now dad's getting to enjoy reading all your kind words. It's truly an honor to know or have met each one of you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

So sorry for not updating! I haven't been on the computer for almost a week because of my schedule! Well, I went to MOntgomery on Saturday and dad was still in the ICU. But after our first visit he was moved to a regular room. He was off the IV by then and just taking regular pain medicine. He was still pretty disoriented, but obviously getting better. By the time we saw him on Sunday he had made major improvements. Unfortunately the boys and I had to leave that evening. But I've talked to him everyday, and if you've been reading my mom's blog, you know that he's doing sooooo much better! He is moving out of the room tomorrow, but not sure where he'll be going yet. I promise I'll update everyone!

Today they took the ventilator out, and it isn't going as well as they'd hoped. Dad's breathing is still labored and he's not getting the oxygen he needs. They'll monitor it through the night and if it's not better by the morning the doctor will do a tracheotomy. That's something we obviously don't want to happen. But if it will be better for dad in the long run, then I guess it'll have to be done. He's off the morphine because it makes him dilusional. They've put him on deloded, another form of pain medication. His fever is still fluctuating. Not much else to say tonight, just pray that his breathing improves over the next 8 hours or so!!

Although I'm not there, mom updated me about today. Dad is doing much better! His temperature has fluctuated, but tonight it's just a low grade fever. He keeps trying to talk, but of course can't until the ventilator is out. Hopefully that'll be in the next couple days. I know it's going to be a slow recovery, but the most critical part is almost over. It'll be such a relief. I know dad is ready to move on to the next step. I'll still be updating on a regular basis, so look for more info tomorrow! Love you guys!

Sorry for not writing sooner, between work, the boys, visiting dad and Terry being gone, it's been a little difficult to get on the computer. I saw dad on Thursday evening for 5 minutes and he was not doing very good. He had a high fever and the oxygen mask was not doing enough for him. He came down with pneumonia, so between that and the pulmonary contusions, he was putting a lot of strain on his heart and lungs. He seemed very agitated (he was like that since Monday). So they put him back on the sedation medicine and put him back on the ventilator on Friday. I was scared to see him on Saturday because it had been hard to see him in so much discomfort that week. Also, I felt like it was a big step backwards. But Saturday's visit was very uplifting! He woke up and was not dilusional at all. And although he couldn't talk because of the ventilator, he was joking around with us. The Lawrence Welk show came on t.v. and he was trying to dance and conduct the orchestra. When the piano played, he moved his hands like he was playing. And at the end he tried to clap (his hands are restrained so he won't take the ventilator out). He had his sense of humor back, and seeing that made it the best day in the last two weeks. You can tell that he is aware of what is going on. We don't have to keep reminding him, and he's not agitated in the least. He seems very comfortable (considering). He should be off the ventilator next week and moved to a regular room. The doctors say that orthopoedically he's doing great! So, things are gradually getting better and we feel very blessed!

Today was a better day. My dad had a fever over 103 last night and there was concern about pneumonia. But today his temp went back down to 99! So that's wonderful news. I hate that I can't see him, but I talk to mom all day long to keep updated. He was in and out of sleep today, and mom said he was feeling a little better. He's able to talk a little more. I had mom hold the phone up to his ear while I talked, but I couldn't hear him respond. His oxygen mask is still on. If they take it off his breathing drops to a critical level. It's because of the pulmonary contusions. He should be moved out of SICU as soon as he's able to breathe well enough on his own. We're hoping 2-3 days. After that, off to a regular room where we can visit whenever we like and the kids can see him! We'll see what happens after that. Sorry I don't have any more than that to tell you. Mom's calling back tonight after the last visitation is over. I'll let you know if there are ANY changes!

I know I've said this before, but I sincerely thank each one of you that has taken the time to read and write on here. I just cannot/do not know how to express my gratitude and how much it warms my heart to know how loved my dad is! We are truly blessed to have such amazing people in our lives!

It was my first full day back at work, so I wasn't able to update earlier. Mom kept me informed the whole day. Dad's experiencing some psychosis from the drugs left over in his body. It's slowly decreasing. Mom, Stevie and Joanie started writing down what he's saying. So far Queen Latifah is heading up a conspiracy and the world's collapsing, among other things! He's still on a breathing mask and his throat is slowly healing. They should move him to a regular room by Thursday. I'll be back down tomorrow night if he's moved, if not, then definitely by Thursday. I'll update this with the information I get from my mom. It's hard to do it during the day since I'm so busy, so please check back at night.

Uncle Jim, sorry I didn't get back to you today, I'll call you tomorrow.

Hey all,
Dad was taken off sedation today. He was a little lucid at our 1:00 visit and emotional (probably the meds, mostly). We saw him again at 5:30 and he was much more aware of the situation. He got panicky that he had lost his legs. We kept reassuring him that his legs would be fine, but he's not able to fully understand yet. The respirator is out finally, but it's very difficult for him to talk. He wanted to write something down, but all we got was a scribble. Mom, Stevie, Joanie, Matt, Anna and I are headed back up there at 8:30. He should have his neck brace off (precaution only) and the breathing mask off by then. I'm hoping that the Diprovan (the sedation meds) will have worn off a little more by then. He kept repeating "I love you" and "I'm sorry" which was very emotional for all of us. Even after all of this, he's still more concerned about us than himself. That's my dad though. This is another hurdle I wasn't expecting. The emotion he has for us hit me like a ton of bricks when I first walked in there. It's very hard to have only 30 minutes with him at a time. None of us want to leave his bedside. I hate the thought of him not remembering we were there and waking up each time without us. Hopefully he knows we wouldn't leave his bedside if we weren't forced to. I'll give another update after this next visit. Thank you for taking the time to read this and know that without all of our family and friends this would be much harder!!

We were hoping that today would be the day the doctors would take my dad off the sedation. It was disappointing to see him at the 10 am visitation and realize he was still sedated and in the same condition. They will try sometime this week. Probably not tomorrow. It's getting close to the maximum time he can be on the ventilator. We're just praying we will get to talk to him soon! I'll be headed back down the minute I hear he's waking up! I'll post everyday on here to update everyone on his condition. Please feel free to comment or ask questions on this blog as well!

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