12-26-00

Dan continues to increase his time off the ventilator. He was off the ventilator for 3 ½ hours in the morning on Christmas day, an hour longer than he was supposed to be off it. Two hours later it was time to be off the ventilator again which proved to be more difficult and he got tired after an hour and a half.

Please keep praying for Dan’s patience – especially for the times when we can’t read his lips-he gets very frustrated. You may be wondering why we need to read his lips when the ventilator is out. Actually, the tube remains down Dan’s nose and throat (even when the ventilator is turned off) until he is ready to breathe on his own completely. At that point the tubes will be removed and he will be able to speak audibly.

Candi