Four months ago today – May 22 – Brian came home from his 13-week hospital stay.

Many of you have asked how Brian is and we are immensely grateful for your continued prayers and concern.

As you’ve read, heard and probably guessed, the recovery from COVID is not an easy one. Even those who never entered the hospital or had to go on life support can feel the setbacks for months on end.

At some point during each day, something happens that reminds me of how far we’ve come – and how close we were – and fills my eyes with tears and my heart with praise and gratitude to God. 

Every. Single. Day.

So how is Brian?

I had someone say to me recently, “always start with the good news” and I like that! So here goes:

He is, by every measure, a God-given miracle. 

He never had a cough, still doesn’t, and did not need oxygen when he was discharged from the hospital, which, when you’ve had ARDS, COVID, and double pneumonia (among others), is absolutely astounding.

He barely needs his cane for most of the day, only using it for a bit of confidence and balance.

His blood clot in his lower right calf resolved – praise God! And he is off of his blood thinners.

He completed his physical therapy and continues with exercises at home to stay active and build endurance.

He is driving, working from home a bit, and has even had a couple of meetings with clients on job sites (outside, distanced, with masks on).

His trach scar is barely noticeable and his ECMO scar on his neck continues to be my ‘miracle kissing spot’ every chance I get.

He is fully vaccinated, as am I; you don’t go through what we went through without using the tools of medical science to help prevent it from happening again.

He makes us laugh on a daily basis and is, in every way, my rock that he’s always been.

He has climbed mountains to get to where he is today and I could not be more proud of all he’s achieved.

But there are mountains still to climb – and a few specific prayer requests to help get him there.

Due to all of the massive packings that had to be used to stop his nose bleeds while on life support, the left side of his nose essentially ‘collapsed,’ which is impacting his breathing in addition to the damage from COVID. So he is scheduled to have surgery to repair that damage on November 4 and your prayers are greatly appreciated. The surgeon is wonderful and also very straightforward saying this procedure may or may not work and there may be a second one needed. After all Brian’s been through, I fervently pray one surgery will do the trick! And I thank you in advance for joining me in that prayer.

His stamina, strength and breathing are still lagging. Yes, he can and does get up and do many things (often more than I wish he would) but walking from room to room makes his breathing more labored and takes its toll mentally and physically.

Nerve pain. This might be the worst of all for him. As the feeling in his arms and legs began to return in the hospital, nerve pain set in. Thankfully, it has resolved in most areas that were hurting, but not in his lower back and left leg – all the way to his toes. He doesn’t have much movement in his toes on his left foot and when he walks, his left foot drops despite his many efforts to control it. Mornings are when the nerve pain is at its least but around dinner time, it begins to set in every night and I can see his legs and feet jumping from compulsive pain ‘contractions’ (for lack of a better medical term). He does stretches and percussion massage every night to get enough relief to get to sleep but on some level – at all times of the day – he is in pain.

Which brings me to my second specific prayer request: we have secured an appointment with the Post-Covid Clinic at Emory. They have been researching, treating and helping patients with post-covid symptoms for over a year now and we are hopeful that their specific knowledge in all things post-covid may help Brian move closer to the full recovery we know God has in store. 

For those of you who may not know Brian personally, it’s important to remember that before COVID, Brian didn’t even have a regular doctor. He took no medicines. Zero. He was an active 47-year-old who worked hard, wrestled and did races in the yard with his kids. He could lift, move or open anything I needed him to. And though even he would admit, like most of us, he could have been a few pounds lighter – otherwise, he was a healthy, typical male. COVID hit him – hard -  but it won’t define him.

Covid is a beast. It just is. I don’t know why it does what it does – who it chooses to pass by – who it chooses to impact very little – or who it chooses to devastate, or worse, take their last breath. Admittedly, those unknowns paired with all Brian’s been through have me battling fear on a daily basis. Then I stop. I breathe. I ask God to let me feel His presence and thank Him for guiding our steps - He always has and I know, with full faith and confidence, He always will.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! We pray you all are staying safe as you continue to shine the light of God for all the world to see.