Update on Andrew-Feb. 27th

We're all back in SC. Andrew is doing so very well. It was so encouraging to see him doing so well. He's now able to even transfer himself from his wheelchair to a car. I'm so amazed! His surgery should be early this coming week. They told us they cannot nail down a definite time. There was a rather larger helicopter crash a week ago in Afghanistan and unfortunately, a large group of marines have just arrived at Walter Reed. Andrew's surgery will come after these marines have been helped. Please pray for them and their families. I remember so clearly those first few days. Thank you all! ~Katherine

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2007 10:18 PM, AST

Andrew has been hanging out here in the apartment for the last few hours. We've just been relaxing and enjoying the evening. We met him early this morning at the hospital to attend an all-terrain wheelchair demonstration. Andrew will probably get one of these; he'll be able to use it outdoors to go up hills etc. He attended a fly fishing exibition this afternoon that he really enjoyed. I believe it was hosted by occupational therapy. It is very therapeutic for him to learn to do everyday things, as well as enjoyable activities. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend. ~Katherine

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2007 09:57 PM, EST

Andrew is doing so well! We got in early this morning and spent most of the day with Andrew. I can't get over how good he looks. He gets stronger and more independent every day. He had a EMG today in order to test the integrity of his nerves. He said that it was the most pain he has been in thus far. They had to poke him with needles. It didn't sound fun. Later on, we all went out and enjoyed a nice dinner together. It was also so good to see him out and about. When I was here last, he had not yet left the hospital. I'm so encouraged to see him doing so well! ~Katherine

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2007 04:47 PM, EST

I am leaving tomorrow to spend the weekend with Andrew, along with my dad, husband, Charles, and daughter, Caroline. It should be a fun weekend. It sounds like Andrew is continuing to do well. I posted a new picture of him in the therapy room. As you can see, he's already looking and doing so much better. Here he is learning balance and hand-eye coordination. I was told that he did 80 push-ups yesterday! This is compared to the barely one push-up he did when I was there less than a month ago. The doctors did meet yesterday to make the decisions regarding his surgeries. His HO (leg bone growth) surgery will be on either Monday or Tuesday. They estimate the recovery time to be less than a week (which is much better than I previously thought). Also, it is very neat to note that some of the bone growth on his left side (about half) is actually helpful. They will leave it so that it will provide more support for a prosthetic on that side. I thought that was exciting! The other surgeries should be able to be handled all together in one large abdominal surgery. In this surgery they hope to repair the fistula and damaged ureter and reverse the colostomy. If I haven't explained it clearly enough before, the fistula is a tubular-like wound that serves as an unnatural passage between his ureter (which is the small tube from the kidney to the bladder) and his colon. As you can imagine, that can cause a lot of problems. They will perform this surgery in a month or so, hoping to give him time for it to heal as much as it can on its own. All in all, he's doing great. He is gaining weight and strength and remains very positive. Thank you for all of your prayers! ~Katherine