Week at Home

Troy has been home for a week. He sleeps and rests a lot still, but he is more comfortable than the hospital because he can move from room to room and bed to sofa. He is going to therapy twice a week. He has exercises to do at home...pray for him to have to will to actually do them. He is still very week. For example, he called me Saturday and was telling me that he almost dropped a gallon of milk. It takes a lot for him to lift it to the counter. His muscle strength will come back with time and dedication. His endurance is low at this point. Keep praying for him. He is home, but he still has a journey to get back to where he was. Also pray for him to be encouraged; to find blessing in the small successes. In high times and low times "Our God is an Awesome God"

Gosple Music Benefit

Troy is home! He has taken a big step on the long road of recovery. We are happy to have him out of the hospital. Bill and Tammy have been singing gospel music for years and Bill sang country long before that. Every year he comes to Louisville to have a jam session with some the people who used to play music with him. This years session is being held on Labor Day weekend and they would like to make it a benefit to aid Troy and Robin. All proceeds from this event will help pay for medical expenses. You can imagine the strain on a family when going through a serious illness. Combine medical prescriptions with a lowered income, and that can cause some stress. But God has been good. This is something that God has laid on Bill and Tammy's heart and we are here to spread the word. There are no tickets, donations will be taken. Please prayerfully consider contributing to Troy, and come out and enjoy a good time with family and friends. Refreshments will be served. It will be at Cloverleaf Baptist Church, 4401 Manslick Rd, Louisville, KY, 40216, on September 4th, 7:00 pm. If you can not attend and would like to contribute, please send contributions to 8312 McKenna Way, Louisville, KY 40291. Please make checks payable to Troy Clayton. You may call 502-937-7007 with any questions. Thank you for your love and support. "Our God is an Awesome God"

Home

Troy was in better spirits today; much better than last week. He got to leave the hospital yesterday on a day pass and go home. He was sleeping on the couch when I checked on him around noon. He told me today that the day went really well, even better than he expected. He got to eat food that he liked. He got a haircut. Some friends came over. And the dogs were very excited to see him. He was in therapy when I arrived today, they were really working him hard. He is doing everything well. The struggle is endurance; he tires quickly. He is walking alone and will not be taking a walker home, as originally discussed. They were going to come in some time today and remove the feeding tube from his abdomen and the pick lines from his arm. They are expecting that he will be leaving tomorrow before noon! I can't believe this day is finally coming. His recovery since he has been in the rehab hospital has been amazing to watch. My job as blogger is almost over! I will keep you posted for a few weeks after he is home, because I some times wonder how people are doing after a serious illness. And the doctor says it will be 6 months to a year for a full recovery from this. But I probably will not post everyday. Thank you for all of your prayers. "Our God is an Awesome God"

Down Days

Troy was very discouraged when I got there Thurs afternoon. He was upset because they told him is discharge day was set for Tuesday, if everything continued to go well. He had his heart set on leaving the end of the week. He was angry. He didn't even want to do his therapy. As hard as we tried to lift his spirits and encourage him, nothing seemed to work. He just wanted to go to his room and sleep. He was trying hard to convince the nurses that he was ready to leave. Then the doctor came in and put him back on an IV drip because he was dehydrated. He said he had to stay until Tuesday. His hopes were squashed. Our family meeting was scheduled for Friday, and I thought he was just having a bad day and would be better by then, but he wasn't. Pray for his spirits to be lifted. The therapists say that when people get down, it makes them just want to lay around, especially when they go home. This can really hinder their progress. They must keep up the therapy to get strength back. The temptation is strong at home to just lay on the couch when they don't feel good. He gets to go home on a day pass Sunday. We hoped this would make him happy and look forward to something, but he still seems angry that he is not getting to go home. We can not give up on him now, we have come to far. This is just another challenge for us. We must be the ones to make him persevere. Pray for us to have the right words to say to him. Pray for Robin. Even in the difficult times, "Our God is an Awesome God"

Troy had a biopsy done this morning on his pancreas. The CAT scan results showed some cysts and they wanted to check them to see if medications needed to be changed. He was eating lunch when I arrived this afternoon. He got to rest for just a bit before they came to get him for an hour and a half of therapy. He is still doing remarkably well. Strength building is a main focus at this point. Continue to pray for his recovery and for the family. "Our God is an Awesome God"

Troy got his trach completely off yesterday. And they took away the walker. They are being very aggressive with the therapy. He is eating, trying to intake enough calories to get off the tube feedings. He says things taste ok, but he has no appetite, so eating is not that easy. He is trying to keep it up though. He has been sleeping a little better at night, but is looking forward to going home. He thinks he will be able to improve more when he is home. We have not gotten results yet from the CAT scan. Pray that he will have a smooth transition to home life and that he will adjust to a new diet. His 1st week in rehab has been amazing. His improvement...I don't know how to describe. It's funny how you ask God for something and then your amazed when it happens. To see this recovery-from how bad he was, to where he is now-is a miracle. I thank you once again for being there with us and for all of your prayers. "Our God is an Awesome God"

Troy didn't have therapy today, but he will have 3 hours again tomorrow. They had given him some weights to work with today in his room and he has some putty that he is supposed to be squeezing to improve his hand muscles. When Byron and I arrived this evening they were giving him some liquid with medicine in it, in preparation for a CAT scan he was going to have tonight. They are checking the condition of the pancreas. Everything else is going really well. He hasn't been sleeping well at night and he says he dreads the night time. Pray that he will get some restful sleep at night so that he can have more strength for his therapy sessions. "Our God is an Awesome God"

Talk Talk Talk!

Troy was sitting in the wheelchair when Byron & I arrived tonight. Kim & Ronnie came shortly after us and Troy wanted to walk down the hall to the sun room. We were still sitting there when Robin arrived. He was very talkative. He even said at one point how he was surprised that he wasn't getting tired from all the taking (which proves that he is getting stronger). He talked for a solid hour and a half!! We even joked to him about how he was making up for lost time. We couldn't get him to talk for so long and now we couldn't get him to stop! He called Bill on the phone and got to talk to him for a while too. He and Byron and Kim were telling stories and laughing about childhood memories. It was a nice visit. "Our God is an Awesome God"

A Record!

3 Great Days in a row! Robin just called me and said, "Guess what I am doing? Watching Troy eat!" He was having turkey and mashed potatoes! The swallow test went perfect this morning and they started him on a food diet. He said it tasted good. The doctor said they will be testing the pancreas some time this week, so please keep that in your prayers. Byron and I will be going up later tonight; if I have anymore news I will post it. This is so exciting!! "{Our God is an AWESOME God"

Another Great Day

Troy had another great day. They took the trach out today. There is a plug in the hole right now and his voice is much stronger. If he does well for 24 hours they will remove that also. They were checking his oxygen level at lot, since they took it off, and it was in the high 90's every time. Today the speech therapist did a swallow test, which went very well. She gave him a bite of ice, applesauce, and diced peaches. Tomorrow, they will do an xray swallow test. Based on the result, they will decide the proper diet for him. She seemed to think that by Monday he would be eating some kind of food. When that begins, they monitor how much of his plate he is eating and cut back on the tube feedings accordingly. They make sure he his getting the right amount of nutrition each day. We went on to occupational therapy and physical therapy. He had a busy day and was tired at the end of the afternoon. After he was back in bed, I left so he could rest. We are grateful that he is in this rehab and making the progress that he is so quickly. The therapist, and nurses are so nice and they say he is doing great. "Our God is an Awesome God"

Great Day

Troy looked great today! He was awake and in the wheelchair getting ready to go to physical therapy when I arrived. He was very alert and talking well. His voice is still soft, but it is above a whisper. We went to the gym, where they had him do some arm extensions to test his range of motion. He also did some strength tests; he had to squeeze this device that measured lbs of pressure in his hands and fingers. The technician said there was a lot of work to do, and he estimated 2-3 weeks to get him where he should be. The next stop was speech therapy. In that room asked him a lot of questions, some word associations and some yes/no questions. One of them was, "Which is lighter books or feathers?" He paused of a moment. I got a little nervous; he had been doing so well on this test. Then he said, "It depends on how many books you have and how many feathers." She told him 1 book and 1 feather, and he had no problem answering it. He completely aced the test. The therapist said she was amazed at how well he did and that they would be able to devote all of their time to swallowing therapy and getting him ready to eat, since his memory was fine. When we got back to the room, he wanted to take a nap. Once we got him all settled back into be, he started to go to sleep and told me to go home. He did well today. It was such a relief to see the progress. "Our God is an Awesome God"

New Room

Troy was moved to rehab this evening. Robin says his new room is really nice. He asked her earlier today if she thought he would get a better bed. She told him definitely. He has been approved for a 6 week stay, but hopefully he will not be there that long. He will be going to therapy 3 hours a day in 30 minute increments. He will have physical, speech, and occupational therapy. He will be required to get up and get dressed every morning. He will be shaving and brushing his teeth himself. When able to eat, he will go to a dining area and eat at a table. One of the therapy rooms has a car in it! He will be learning to do everything he needs to go home. When he got into his room a nurse came in and said she needed to see what he could do. He took his shoes off, got in bed, shifted around in the bed to position himself. She was still talking when suddenly, he sat straight up in the bed, and did this little pose. As if to say, here is what I can do. She started to laugh. His medicine was reduced again today, so he was more alert. They will continue to wean him off the meds and be removing the trach very soon. We will be getting a cat scan in the future to determine the condition of the pancreas. Please keep that in your prayers. That will determine when he will be able to start eating and get the feeding tube removed. We are very positive about this move and excited to see the progress. Pray for him as he begins this part of his recovery. Pray for him to have strength, endurance and the will to proceed. "Our God is an Awesome God"

A Walk Outside

Troy was awake this afternoon for almost 2 hours. He was in the wheelchair when I got there, waiting for them to find a portable oxygen tank so he could go for a walk. Byron pushed him and Kim rolled the oxygen along the side. We went to a window first and looked out. We were telling him how hot it was outside. He got impatient with the window, so we went to the lobby. He kept pointing to go outside. We told him we couldn't stay, but we would walk out the door for a second. As soon as we rolled through the doorway and he felt that heat he was pointing to go back inside. We stayed down in the lobby for a bit. He wanted to sit in one of the chairs down there. I still think he's trying to find a place to get comfortable. He is so tired of that bed. He tried to lay down on a love seat in the lobby! We were going to walk upstairs to see the gym where he has physical therapy, but he got tired and wanted to go back to his room. I think he was worn out. He asked for Tylenol and then went to sleep. He has no fever, so they are planning to move him tomorrow. Hopefully a new bed will feel better to him. Just pray for a smooth move. "Our God is an Awesome God"

Better Day

Troy's fever was down today and his color is good. They said if he goes 24 hours without fever he will be ready to go back to Baptist East for rehab. Kindred's objective was to get him off the ventilator and now that is done. He will be moving back to Baptist to have the trach removed, finish getting off the medication and feeding tube, and for rehab. 9 men from his Sunday School class came up tonight to pray over him. They surrounded his bed and prayed. Troy was awake, but not talking. I'm sure this was encouraging to him and we thank them for coming. Bill has been back to visit, and is spending a lot of time with him too. The medicines were reduced again today and we hope to see him more alert because of this. Thank you again for all your prayers; they are being felt. Robin has been dealing with an enormous load. I have wondered at times how she is able to keep going from day to day. But tonight she was telling me how at peace she was and how God had been there for her is such a real way over the last week, sending sermons to her with words that she needed to hear. And amid all the stress, tension and impatience that other family members are feeling, she has found a calmness that can only be from the Holy Spirit. I ask you to pray for a smooth move to Baptist and that he will be moved soon. We are anxious and ready for more progress to begin. "Our God is an Awesome God"

One Step Back for Grandpa

That's right!! I said Grandpa!! David called Troy today with the news. Troy is going to be a grandpa. April is expecting. I'm sure Troy is excited; I only wish he was having a better day physically. The fever continues; today it was 103. They are going to do some tests in the morning. His lower back has been hurting. Probably all results from the kidney infection, which they say is common when a catheter is removed. He really was not feeling good today. We had thought the trach would possibly be out by now, but this infection has stalled progress for a bit. We ask for prayer for the fever, the infection and the back pain. Pray we have good test results. Pray that the medication is able to be reduced soon so that he can perform his physical therapy and get stronger. And keep David & April in your prayers over the next several months. "Our God is an Awesome God"