I went to see my dad Wednesday night after teaching the new members class. He's still in ICU and in critical condition. I was hoping that he'd open his eyes (I haven't seen his eyes in 10 days) but he didn't. His nurse told me that if all goes well he'd be able to leave ICU in about two weeks. She also told me that he is, by far, the most complex patient they have in ICU right now. Therefore, they are monitoring him very, very closely around the clock. 

I want to thank so many of you for praying for him and our family during this difficult time. Don't stop. He's not out of the woods yet, but he's inching closer and closer.

Here is the official status report on my dad as of Thursday morning:

Stephan is in much better shape today. The nurse who took care of Stephan the first night he came out of surgery and is taking care of him tonight said that a "Higher Power" must be involved in his recovery because of how much progress he has made these past couple of days. Stephan is still in very critical but stable condition. Yesterday (9/16) the Doctor's put a trach in Stephan's throat and removed the oral breathing tube in order for Stephan's healing progress to begin at a much faster pace. With a tracheotomy it is easier for the patients to sit up in a chair position and they are also able to mouth words and communicate more effectively. The procedure went very smoothly and the trach will remain in place for a week or so. Stephan is also able to receive nutrition through a nasogastric tube they placed in his nose and it travels all the way down to his stomach. They have him on a kind of liquid "food" that his kidneys will like. Come to find out Stephan's kidneys are bouncing back at a much faster rate than was previously expected. He remains on continuous dialysis in order to help his kidneys heal, and heal is exactly what they are doing. In fact, today he began to make his own urine again (That is such a blessing and was not expected to occur yet!!). Stephan's blood pressure is now more stable than ever…it has ranged anywhere from 115-130's and he continues to not need any type of intravenous medications that help him control his blood pressure, which ultimately means that his heart is pumping blood out more effectively to his vital organs (i.e. the kidneys) which explains the progress we are seeing right now with his health.