Dreaded Staff Infection...

Josh's surgery to reaattach the skull has been postponed because he has come down with a staff infection. Here is a link to his specific diagnosis: https://health.google.com/health/ref/MRSA

Because he will not be having the surgery for at least 3 more weeks (to finish his antibiotics), he will be coming home soon. Which is good news in some ways, and bad news in others. The virus is very very contagious, and the Stevens family is very worried about visitors, and keeping their home sanitized. It is also exhausting trying to imagine the supervision that will be required 24/7! Rebeca said she is happy to have him come home, but very very worried at the same time.

We will find out more information later on today, and at the end of the week. We will keep you posted! For now, if are looking for ways to help out, a few suggestions may be leaving some disinfectant wipes, spray, hand sanitizer, gloves, or other things that would help make his homecoming special(but also sanitary!).

-Amy Hunter

The Great Pumpkin Visits the Steven's Home!

Late last night a wonderful ding dong ditcher came to the Steven's house! When Rebeca opened the door, she was surprised to find this adorable pumpkin full of candy. Upon further inspection, she started looking and thought, "what is that green stuff?" Then, she realized it was MONEY! She immediately started crying! How wonderful! It took her a few minutes to start counting the money because she was so stunned. Shelbi said, "Well, count it!" It was $71.00!! Thank you thank THANK YOU, whoever you are!!!!!

Goodies from Germany, Thanks to Brother Johnson!

These are gifts from Brother Johnson, who brought them back with him from Germany! An erector set, an amazing little chocolate egg with a toy inside, and Josh's first Subway sandwhich! Pure Bliss!!!

Josh's first outing, first CuPcAkE, and Panda Express!

Josh is pretending he's in prison. Let me out!

Panda Express! Josh's pumpkin from the Hastings - so cute!

The helmet!

1st Cupcake!

Doing wheelies! Well, kind of...there's a metal guard there to prevent it.

Josh's surgery to have his skull reattached is scheduled for Friday October 30th. Keep him in

your prayers! Your prayers have worked miracles! It's still unsure whether he will have to have surgery on his neck. We will keep you posted.

Hi everyone,
It's Sandy. In my government class, we are going to see if our bills that we came up with can go through the State Legislature and my bill was to put fencing on busy streets to protect the pedestrians. Does this sound familiar? It should. :) So, I just wanted to let you guys know that a bill could possibly be passed in Josh's memory. Josh can go home in 2-3 weeks. We are so excited! Thanks for all you guys do!
Sandy

hello everyone! josh had his first cupcake today! i would have to say he is still a very messy eater!! today the doctor let us take josh out for a little while. so we went to the planetarium and to temple square. He also had some panda express. he was really happy today!

In one or two weeks, the doctors will put Josh's skull back in place. On Monday, they will do a scan to see if the swelling has gone down. They did a test on the neck, and it looks like that he will still have to wear the brace for a few more weeks. We don't know if he will still need the surgury. It looks like that Josh will be home in 2-4 weeks. He got to eat his first cheeseburger and fries, but did not finish it because I ate it(Sandy). He was going to eat his first cupcake today, but there was none in the machine. :(
Thanks.
Sandy

So, yesterday, my mom asked Josh what he wants people to know. So, Josh said, and remember, this is not about me, Josh said this about himself, "I'm lazy." I just forgot to put that up yesterday. It's great to have your humor back buddy. So, I just wanted to update you guys. Thanks!
Sandy

3 Weeks

So, today is the 3 week mark since the accident. The feeding tube is gone. The doctors gave him permission to take it off. So he did. He's walking faster, and his speech is improving. He's understanding more and more and I want to thank you guys for the support.
Sandy

Hey everyone,
As some of you guys know, Josh is doing really good. So good, that he will probably be home for Thanksgiving. That will definitely be something to be grateful for. He has his humor back. He says that I'm (Sandy) weird, he says, "Try to convince the nurses that I'm strong enough to go home." And he said this to me on Friday, "Try to convince Mom to paint my room black." He's been saying things like, "It's a free country" if he doesn't want to do something. He's getting stronger and he's talking so much more. Thanks for the support. Oh, and one more note. The hospital can only have 2 visitors at a time. This is because of the Flu season, and it's for the health of the patients. So, it will be like this until the season is over, which is in March. Thanks for all you guys do.
Sandy

October 8th, 2009

(Greg Johnson) I was able to spend about forty-five minutes with Josh and Rebecca today. What sweet words to hear when I walked into the room and heard Josh say "Johnson." From the last time I visited Josh, I can see so many changes. I want to report to everyone that Josh was up and walking, and smiling. Although he didn’t walk far, it was walking. (I think he was trying to get away from the nurse that was helping him with his physical therapy.) He was also hitting and catching a ball that was thrown to him. Rebecca was very excited seeing him progressing. She said that on Monday he was barely able to walk and now he is mostly doing it by himself. The hospital is keeping Josh very busy. While I was with him, he went to physical therapy and was starting speech therapy. Following that, he had therapy to help him start to eat again. All of this happened before 10:00 AM. What a schedule! I forgot to mention that in between all of this, he finds time to flirt with all the nurses.

There is one request from Josh. He needs some really cool stickers to put on his helmet.

I'm a SURVIVOR! Pictures of Josh!

The super-hero helmet!

Josh's super sidekicks, frog and bear.

Joshua's walls!

Getting comfy sitting up.

Josh's bedroom. He is "re-powering."

A little smile. There are squeeze balls for him to exercise with above his head.

Going for his first ride.

A handsome smile.

Thumbs up!

Rebeca: "Thank you so much for your love and support, and all the wonderful letters! He wouldn't have made this much progress so quickly without all of your prayers."

Hi everyone,
It's Sandy, and I have an update.
As all of you guys know, Joshua has been speaking. He talks a lot at night to the doctors. And he is also polite. Which is weird. The speech therapist asked him, "What do you do when you are cold?" Josh said, "Ask for a blanket and say thank you." The speech therapist asked him who that lady was(my mom) and he said, "mother". Note that he didn't say mom. He is in a wheelchair, and he did good on the swallowing tests. He can have thick things, but not water-like consistencies. So he is improving so much. And it's been almost 2 weeks. Wow. Keep praying, and when he comes home, my family is going to throw him a welcome home party. Our goal is to have him back by Christmas.
I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me.........
Thanks guys!

A Josh email update from Elizabeth Feil 10.05.09

I was in SLC this weekend, so I stopped by Primary Children's to visit Josh before I came home. He was sleeping when I got there, but woke up when the nurses came into change the dressing on his pic-line/port. Rebecca and Guy were both there and seemed to be in good spirits. He is off the respirator (which is probably old news--I'm behind the times) but still has a food tube. Josh didn't say anything while I was there but his dad said he'd been talking a bit earlier. He's asking for water because he is so thirsty, but the doctors say "not yet." When Josh woke up, he showed off how strong he is getting by squeezing my fingers. His right hand is strong than his left, which is consistent with all the reports that his right side in general is doing better. Rebecca says he understand what people say to him. For example, she told him to hold very still when they were putting the new collar around his neck and even though he wanted to move, he remained as still as he could. The swelling on his head has gone down a lot and Guy told me that as soon as it has gone down a bit more they'll put the piece of skull they took out back in place. Rebecca said they'll probably take the staples out of his head (more than 60 in all) tomorrow. I told him we want to see him back in the neighborhood and riding his scooter as soon as possible and he gave a "thumbs up" sign. He said to tell everyone "hi" at mutual on Tuesday.

There you have it. He's looking good--especially considering all he's been through in the last 10 days.

Elizabeth

An extra note from Diane Anderson, who went with her family and some youth to see Josh on Saturday: The goal for Josh coming home is Christmas. It's a big goal, but that is the hope. Let's all pray that he can come home for Christmas.

Hi everyone,
It's Sandy. One thing that my sister forgot to mention was that Joshua is starting physical rehabilitation today. I'm not quite exactly sure what they are going to do, but I know that they are going to see if he can swallow. Thanks so much for prayers and we know that it is by you guys and the Lord that he is healing at such a rapid pace. Thanks for everything!

hey everyone! its shelby. i just wanted to let you guys know that they took the breathing tubes out and he is breathing well on his own. he is trying to talk but his throat hurts. he is doing alot better! thanks guys for all the prayers!

10.01.09 One week mark.

I just got a phone call from Scott Haymore, who went to go visit Josh and Rebeca this afternoon. He wants to make a HUGE disclaimer that he is NOT A DOCTOR and that any information he passes along may be completely false. :) But, he did his best and I think I got the gist.

He said that Josh is looking great. He actually looks like Josh now. One week ago today, my husband Eric said that he would not have recognized him. That, in itself, is amazing. The plastic surgeon thinks that Josh's scar, which extends from the top of his eyebrow in a half moon shape around to the tip of his jawbone, is going to heal very nicely and probably won't even be visible.

They are waiting for more information about some ligament damage in his neck. They will do a scan, moving his neck little by little, to see the extent of the damage. Until that is done, his breathing tube will remain in. When the tube is removed Josh will have to relearn how to talk and swallow.

The left side of Josh's body is still responding at a slower rate than his right. His left eye remains shut. The pressure stunt that was positioned in his skull has been removed.

Rebeca is looking healthy and well-rested. She is planning on staying up there for the weekend at least. She is taking care of herself, which relieves a major concern because she has been through so much. She sincerely appreciates the support of everyone. She loves the visitors, the well-wishes, the care packages, the meals, everything. I really think it is keeping her going and thinking positive knowing that her family is so supported by angels here on earth, and in the heavens.

If you are interested in bringing a meal to the Stevens family, you may contact Tammi Johnson. She is coordinating all of that, bless her heart!