Tuesday, October 18, 2011

He's awake

This photo was taken right after my dad woke up from his surgery. He wanted to say "Thank You" to all of the people that have been praying for him and supporting him but couldn't talk yet, because of the tracheotomy, so this was his creative solution. My mom had just told him the good news about how well his surgery went. He was so happy to hear about how well it went and wrote on the board that it was a miracle!

His facial nerves were all swollen from surgery, so his facial muscle function was not good, but that is him trying to smile. He'll be back to smiling normally pretty soon here.

He also had a great surprise on top of the miraculous surgery. Seth surprised us all by flying in from China (where he is in school studying for year) to be here with him. Seth called my mom and I around 7 pm to ask about the surgery and then nonchalantly asked if anyone could come and pick him up from the airport. We were so surprised and of course I ran up to the airport to go get him. My dad was extremely surprised and thrilled to see him, and kept asking if he was hallucinating. (he was on a lot of medications so hallucinations were a distinct possibility.) It is great to have Seth here.

He is doing very well and seems to be recovering quickly. He has figured out how to talk a little bit with his tracheotomy tube in so we have been able to talk to him a bit today. He also got up and walked around a bit with a walker this afternoon - after they spent 15 minutes unhooking lots of tubes, and drains and machines. He will be back to running in no time at this rate. Minus all the equipment, he should be pretty fast!

He is so grateful to everyone, but most grateful to Heavenly Father for watching over him and is looking forward to coming home in a a couple of weeks.

16 comments:

  1. Tears of JOY! So glad Seth could be there too. Wonderful to see you Eric.
    Kelly

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  2. ditto kelly ditto. I am so happy that seth could be there and that everything is still going great you will still be in all of our prayers. MUCH LOVE FROM THE LOVELESS'

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  3. Your family is in our prayers!! It is amazing to see the modern day miracles. We continue to pray for the best.
    Love,
    Justin and Larie B

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  4. Yay! I am so happy for all of you. We have been so worried about you all and especially you Eric! We have been keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers. BIG HUGS your way!!!!! Love you all

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  5. All good news Vogel's! So glad to hear all is going so well Eric; all said this new look is an improvement to your overall aesthetic. Just kidding. Truly happy to hear that things are looking up already. Oh and Seth looks just like he did when he was eight or so teaching me his trick for polynomial multiplication...

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  6. He looks amazing!! And bless Seth for the surprise visit! God speed.

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  7. yes!!!!!!!!! Glad to see the good Dr. Hulk looking so sweet!
    Could we get an address to send something out to you in Minnesota?

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  8. umm, it looks like I'm the kerm...

    steve mciff

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  9. Me and Gretchen are so happy to hear it went well! I had a dream last night with a smiling Dr. Vogel hanging out with me at a food court. Go figure. Kind of a random dream but it was cool to wake up this morning and get the good news.

    We have been thinking of you often.

    Abe and Gretchen Knell

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  10. We are happy to have this most excellent news.

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  11. Fabulous! Thanks for keeping the pictures family friendly! I like the idea of having a pirate dentist, too . . . Seriously, we're so happy to hear that we can probably keep Dr. Vogel around for a while yet. (I've already told him that he can never retire.) Love and prayers to all of you. Greg & Nila B.

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  12. I am so glad everything went so well! Thank you for keeping us all updated. This is wonderful news, and I am so happy for you!

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  13. Wow--double doses of fasting and prayer works....God bless our favorite dentist

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  14. Dear Vogel family, We have been praying and fasting for you. So grateful to know things are going well for you. Much love to you and high hopes for sweet comfort and healing in your lives.

    Rob and Nancy(Carson)Dyer and family

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