Andy here. Thanks to Taylor Gahm for creating this blog at the beginning of the summer. I have been extremely appreciative for all the comments from family and friends. Today is my first attempt at putting a post on the blog without any adult supervision. Please accept my apologies for allowing so much time to pass prior to today's post. I am continuing to recover. (Praise Christ Jesus!) Since late August I have been attending LearningRx, a brain (re-)training facility. It has been interesting, fun, and hopefully effective. I am scheduled for a doctor's appointment Oct. 29; I am hopeful that he will pronounce me sufficiently recovered so that I can return to work either part-time or full-time. The broken arm and finger are doing well. They aren't what they use to be; however, they are reasonably effective. As I close, I want to thank 1) Carol, my wife, for all her support. I am so very glad she married me; 2) my friends and family for contacting me via this blog, cards, visits; and 3) God. Years ago He saved me from hell. His rescuing me in his summer's car crash was icing on the cake. What a great God!!

News Coverage

Hello everyone,

Now that Andy is doing much better, we have decided it is time for us to post some photos from his wreck.

Side view of the minivan

Trunk view of the minivan

Front/Top view of the minivan

A message from Andy!

Me writing this post!

Thanks to all who reached out to me through this blog, or other means, since my 5/23/09 car crash.

My simply saying "thanks" doesn't really convey the heartfelt emotion that I have felt.

As I've already told a few individuals, prior to visiting the blog, I understood that one's family and friends care; however, when I saw the blog (and cards), I was truly overwhelmed (blown away) at the amount of well-wishing and promises to pray for my recovery. I think I was confronted by the difference between the concept and the practice of expressing love.

The difference is huge.

Again, thank you.

God is a great God and He is answering your many prayers for me. I have been home for about a week or so and continue to go to therapy. I think I'm improving; however, I'll leave that assessment to my medical professionals and my remarkable wife, Carol.

Sincerely,

Andy

Update!

Andy has been doing well- resting and recovering.

Last night we all sat down with Andy and read all 170+ of the comments he received over the last couple of weeks. Andy was overwhelmed by the amount of love and support he received from everybody.

Andy has asked me to personally thank all of you for your prayers and kind words.

Thank you so much...

Reading the blog together

Day 12 Update

Thanks for being patient everyone, as I am a little behind in posting today's news...

Today was Andy's big meeting with all of the surgeons, doctors and therapists- and let me tell you, they were ALL there- all 14 of them!

Our meeting this morning

The reports where all very favorable, and everyone was pleased with his progress so far. The BIG NEWS for today is that they have agreed to release Andy to COME HOME on Friday, June 5th!

That is in 2 days!

We are so thankful for the healing and progress God has given us!

The doctors have made it clear that Andy will still need several weeks (or more) of out-patient rehab at the hospital, but feel that he is well enough to be released to home care. In short, he is making incredible progress, but is still very much in the process of healing. (The surgeon also informed us that he will have more surgeries on his arm in the next few weeks.)

We met with one of the trauma counselors this afternoon, and they explained that Andy will still need to have his visitation limited for the next week or so, as having too many visitors at home can overwhelm, and unnecessarily tire him.

In light of this, we will keep everyone informed through the blog as to when would be the best time for Andy to start receiving visitors. For now, we plan to allow Andy to lay low here at home through the weekend, and then maybe start receiving visits (of 15 minutes in duration) mid next week for those who wish to drop by! (Please contact Taylor at info@thepcmgroup next week if you are interested in coming by.)

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement! Please continue to keep Andy and the family in your prayers. Today's news marks a SIGNIFICANT milestone in God's work and healing in this situation, and also marks the start of a new season of caring for Andy at home, and learning (for us the family) what that means.

Thank you , Thank you, Thank you God!

Day 10 Update

Hello again everybody,

Andy is doing very well. He was in rehab all day doing various exercises with his many therapists. We briefly talked with the doctor today and he was very pleased with Andy's progress. He said he looked very rested after the weekend- which really makes us appreciate the cooperation we received from everyone regarding his order for suspended visitation.

There will be a meeting with of all Andy's surgeons, doctors and therapists on Wednesday. At that time we will be receiving an official and thorough update on Andy, including diagnosis, further treatments and hopefully some sort of time frame for his recovery.

We will post again after that meeting to keep everyone up to speed, so until then we will operate on the basis of "no news is good news'!

Thanks and God bless!

Andy and Carol listening to the Doctor

Visitation...

Good Morning!

Andy (and the family) really enjoyed seeing all of the wonderful people that popped in to see him this week! We were so amazed to see so many people gather around him! Before visitation was suspended yesterday, Andy probably had over 25 people come see him! His nurse noted that throughout the entire day, she only recalled a 15 minute period when someone wasnt there to see him! What a testimony to the amount of people that know and love Andy!

Thanks again to everyone for your understanding, support and cooperation in regard to the current suspension of visitation. Visitation will perhaps resume in another week. I know its hard for friends and loved ones who really want to see him, but we must respect and appreciate the doctor's order for suspended visitation, understanding that it makes it very hard for Andy to rest and recover while entertaining others- not to mention that now that Andy is in rehabilitation, he is going to be exhausted from the exercises and training. We sincerly appreciate the support in this matter.

I have already received several emails asking for an address to send cards and flowers to. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness! We are asking that you send these and other items to the Ballard residence in Bulverde, Tx. Upon receiving gifts, flowers, cards, etc. at the house, Stephanie and Carol will be taking them to Andy's room to ensure that nothing will be lost at the hospital (we will post a picture of the room and the gifts next week!).

For now these thoughtful gift's- and many, many comments on this blog, are the absolute best way you can tell Andy how much you love him, as well as show him and his family your continued support!

As always, if you have any questions (or need the Ballard's address), please email me at info@thepcmgroup.com

Thank you again!!!

Praying for Andy

I took this image of the family praying over Andy tonight before we left;


Be encouraged.

-- Posted From Taylor's iPhone

Suspended Visitation

More of the same today- Andy is going through the expected healing cycle of coherance, sleeping and then waking to confusion.

He was just moved to the rehab unit. The facilities are wonderful and he has a private room. He will be going through rehab for a while which will be really tiring for him.

The rehab doctors have asked that no visitors would come to the hospital until further notice. This will greatly help to conserve his energy and aid the healing process.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and kindness towards Andy and the family.

P.S. Many of you have requested an address to send cards, gifts and flowers. If you need the address, you can email me at info@thepcmgroup and I can give it to you.

-- Posted From Taylor's iPhone

Day 7 Update

Day 7! A day of rest. And that is exactly what Andy is doing. No news is good news as usual.

We will keep you posted.

Day 6 Update (part 1)

I was very encouraged today! I went in to see Andy after lunch and as we walked in he was moving from a chair to the bed on his own strength. Although it really exhausted him, it was great progress to see.

When he saw Stepahanie and I, he asked how we liked Portland and Seattle, and asked about what interesting things we had seen! We were so excited to see him remembering things like that!

We told him that one of his coworkers mentioned on the blog that Andy (a traffic engineer) will probably get an award for stopping traffic in front TransGuide on 410, and Andy laughed REALLY hard!! He was very coherant and conversing extremely well- although it is important to note that he is still visibly tired and talking a little slower than normal (which is to be expected according to the nurse).

If we are to expect 2 steps forward and 1 step back in this process, it sure felt like a 2 steps forward moment to see him so coherent for a while. Join us in our hopeful patience, as we take each day at a time, understanding that some moments (like today) will be better than others.

Andy's nurse today is a believer and we talked about some great stuff. It was encouraging to see God in such details. His nurse was taking very good care of him and told us that he looked great. He also re-enforced that the healing process for head injuries is a cycle of coherence, sleeping and then awaking to a state of confusion.

Philip asked Andy how he was doing, and Andy said, "Maybe more people would pray for me if I was orange and white." ( for those of you outside of Texas, Andrew is a Texas A&M Aggie and their rival Texas Longhorns wear orange and white... LOL!!)

Please lift Carol up in your prayers. Pray for her strength and peace, a discerning spirit for her to hear the Lord and see the good things He is doing in this recovery, and pray against the schemes of the Enemy- designed to instill fear, anxiety, hopeleness and dispair in her heart.

Thank you all...

-- Posted From Taylor's iPhone

Blog Back Up

Some of you may have noticed that the blog was down for a little bit this morning. The issue has been resolved- sorry for the inconvinience.

Day 5 Update - (part 3)

Andy's surgery went well as mentioned earlier. We have him in a great room with good supervision. We will find out more tomorrow about how he is doing and where they plan to move him.

Good night everyone...

Surgery Complete

The surgery is finished and the surgeon told Carol that he felt like it went well! Andy is recovering now and the nurses believe they are going to relocate him to a new room sometime later tonight.

This is all we know right now. No news is good news. We might post another update tonight, but it will likely be tomorrow morning before we have any "new" news.

Stay tuned though for any further updates and prayer requests.

Arm Surgery

Andy is heading into surgery for his arm in the next 15 minutes or so, and is likely to be finished around 2:30 or 3pm.

Thank you so much for your continued support...

Day 5 Update - (part 2)

"Andy's Angel" by Madison Elliott (age 8)

Andy is still awaiting surgery right now. He recognized Carol and Stephanie this morning and he doesn't remember falling out of the bed last night. He is a little confused today, mixing up his words.

Not much more news than that. Visiting hours are over until 1:30pm, so hopefully when the girls go back he will already be in surgery.

Thanks to Madison for her wonderful and encouraging drawing for Andy (pictured above).

Day 5 Update - (part 1)

Good morning everyone.

Well, we had a minor scare last night after receiving a phone call informing us that Andy had fallen out of his bed. Apparently he was a little confused and wanted to get up and walk around. After running precautionary tests and scans, they confirmed that he DID NOT further injure himself and that he is fine. It is also our understanding that he is now in restraints to prevent that from happening again- what a relief he is okay!

(At the time, I comforted Carol, assuring her that if he can survive a wreck like this, he should be able to handle falling out of his bed once in a while.)

As far as today goes, we have been told that surgery is at 10am(ish). If you would please join us in prayer for Andy starting at 10am through lunchtime. The surgery should take about an hour and a half once it get's going. I will post a small update informing everyone when he is out.

We won't know much more until after the surgery, so please be patient with us as we all wait for more good news. Keep the prayers coming!

Thank you!

100+ comments!

We are humbled at the response the blog has received- over 100 comments encouraging and praying for Andy within 24 hours!

The Lord has been showing me so much as I watch this blog. I created this blog because I sensed an opportunity beyond simply keeping people informed. The Lord gave me a vision of what it could look like to see the Church surround Andy in this time. Not only the local church who meet together on Sunday, but the "Big C" Church.

When I see people in San Antonio, Houston, and other parts in Texas, Michigan, Nashville, Portland (and more), coming together in prayer for Andy, I see the unifying Spirit of the Lord working in and through his Church.

And what an amazing phenomenon of seeing the Lord use blog technology to reveal his goodness to us all.

Thanks again for everything. I humbly ask you all for a small prayer for my own strength and for wisdom as I "sit in" for Andy during this season.

God bless you all, and praise God for his goodness to us.

Day 4 Update (revised)

Hi everybody,

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful comments on the blog- over 84 and counting in less than a day!!!

Can we hit 100 by tonight? (Post prayer and encouragement comments here.)

We know you are eager to see how he is doing for yourself, so we have included several pictures for everyone to see.

Carol giving Andy a kiss!

Andy is even better today! He was very coherent this morning, and is asking questions- which is new in his recovery as he has previously only been able to answer questions. His eyes were both open, making eye-contact and looking around the room. He offered several smiles, and even cracked a few jokes! He is also sitting up which is just one more good thing! He was drinking juice as seen below, and was even telling us he wanted to walk around!

Andy sitting up and having a sip of water.

Bob Allen was telling Andy that the visitors would leave if it made him feel better, to which Andy replied: "Your first, Bob." and then (Andy) smiled. Andy was even trying to figure out how to make the Red Sox game he and Phil where supposed to go to tonight! (Sorry Andy, I think you will probably miss this one).

Looks like the humor is back!

In other good news, they have moved up his arm surgery for tomorrow instead of Thursday. This is good for 2 reasons; it means that the doctors feel that his brain is stable enough for surgery, as well as the fact that they really need to fix his arm and hand.

A close up of his left hand and arm (the red is mostly iodine)

The surgery should be straightforward, and it sounds like the doctors are going to have to put a permanent plate in his arm as well as some pins in his finger. They are also going to decide (once they are in) if he might need a special elbow joint. After the surgery, Andy will be back in ICU just to recover his arm, and then they feel that Andy should be ready to downgrade out of ICU- meaning that his condition is improving and requiring less intensive monitoring and support!

The swelling in his head seems to be completely gone from outward appearances- such a miracle from what we all remember it looking like right after the wreck! The CAT scans are not showing any difference which also seems to be a good thing... its not getting worse and he visibly seems to be doing better.

We are also amazed to hear that he is not on any pain medications. We weren't sure what to think about that but the nurses say that is good news regarding his ability to process information and relate to us. She did note something to the effect that his body is essentially in shock, and his brain isnt really "telling his body there is pain yet". This probably means there will be some discomfort to come, but like we keep saying- we are taking the good news day to day.

The nurses did tell us to be prepared for the possibility that this could be a 2 steps forward and 1 step back process. He might not be as coherent tomorrow as he was today. Either way we are thankful for the day to day healing and blessings we are experiencing- Thank you God for protecting and healing Andy day by day!!!

We know many of you are eager to come visit Andy. This will be much easier to coordinate after he has had his surgery and is transferred to a much more visitor friendly non-ICU unit.

(Contact Taylor if you have any questions about this.)

On behalf of Andy, Carol, and the kids, thank you so much for your continued prayer and support.

And keep the comments coming!!!

Prayer Wall

PLEASE click here to leave a comment below for Andy and his family!!

Day 3 Update

Andy looks GREAT today! The nurses have really cleaned him up well and the neck brace is off! He is a little more responsive today and was even able to take a sip of water from the nurse. He also opened his eye for a brief moment. The nurses say that he is resting well.

As of this morning he is tentatively scheduled for surgery on his arm and hand this Thursday. We also received an UNCONFIRMED comment from a nurse that there is "talk" that he might be downgraded out of ICU this week.

Stay tuned and keep the prayers coming!

Day 2 Update

Andy is stable and recovering in ICU this morning. He is slightly responsive to the voice of his family. He is able to offer yes and no answers and managed to utter "I love you" to his wife and then to his kids.

Andy has some bruising in his brain, but as of yet, the doctors have not had to take surgical action to reduce swelling- for now this is a very good thing! We have been told that no news is good news regarding the swelling. Andy also has a fractured cheek bone, a broken left arm and broken left hand. He received some stitches in his head and is wearing a neck brace as a precautionary measure. He is breathing on his own and the doctors believe all of his organs are healthy and do not believe there is internal bleeding.

It appears he is doing well but it is still too early to make any other assessments.

Stay tuned for more details and please keep the prayers coming.

The Accident

(The following was back-posted using information from police and hospital staff)

Andy was part of a multivehicle car-crash that involved a pickup truck flying over a highway median and onto the roof of his van. Police said a man driving a white BMW, was westbound on Loop 410 near Fredericksburg Road at about 12:30 p.m. when he collided with the gray pickup. The truck flipped over the median and landed on Andy's van that was eastbound on Loop 410.

From the way it looks, and from 3rd hand accounts, it is our understanding that they might have used the "Jaws of Life" to extract Andy from his vehicle.