Thank You For All Your Love ,Prayers and Support From John Chapman


Well where do I start, Oct 26th, 2009 changed my life, my families and your life. What a rocky road we all went down, but together we all came through it. Most of you have heard the story but basically I contracted a virus that they are still learning about and it almost took my life. At one point I was on 4 different types of life support systems which included Kidney Failure, Low Blood Pressure, Failed Digestive System and Collapsed Lung. There were so many other serious issues that occurred including my heart stopping on a couple of occasions. I have lots of little scares from where the doctors and nurses brought me back to survival..a reminder for years to come of how lucky I was to have such professional people looking after me. Of course the best news is I overcame the odds and have been blessed with life. 35 days in ICU, 65 days in total in a hospital bed is more than i would ever wish on any one. But..... the out going support and prayers from all of you truly was a god send and helped me pull through this. Words can not explain how grateful my family are to each and everyone of you who took whatever time to be thoughtful of my condition..so I simply say this ..I love you all..thank you.
The fund raisers have been received with huge thanks , it truly has taken the pressure off of recovery.. Thank you again. The road ahead is one of healing and learning. Especially my wife Karen, who was a rock through this whole thing and continues to be so, faith and trust in Gods work really did make my existence a miracle. I believe we have all learned something, the value of friendship, quality of life not only for ourselves but also for each other and we need each other ..which is unbelievable power.
I have a slow recovery road ahead so please keep your prayers and thoughts coming. Please note there is some changes that's have been made if you making or have made a donation at Sterling Savings Bank, the account is now under the name "John Chapman Account". We are pleased to say that from the support of the Providence family and our extended family here locally and from around the world we should be able to cover our expenses incurred..Thank you again. At this point if your considering making a donation please feel free to contact Karen and I before you do, you can reach us at home at 503-738-5590 or email me at johnchapman@qwestoffice.net
I do want to send out a special thanks to Deb, Cal, Robin and Kathy for keeping my updates and progress as current as possible. Words don't express the gratitude to Neil and Stacey Dundas and Karen and Eric Nelson ..and to all of you in time I will thank you personally because I plan on being here for a long long time to come

John and Karen Chapman xxxxx

Happy New Year! John goes Home!

John has been released from the hospital to continue his rehab at home. This is the best news we've had yet.



Thank you to everyone who has kept John and Karen and the whole family in their thoughts and prayers over the past nine weeks. We couldn't have made it without you.

He's coming to Seaside!

Cal spoke with John Monday night and here's his report.

JC gets out of St. Vincent's in Beaverton and off dialysis as of TODAY.
Later in the day he'll be transfering to Seaside Providence for a period of rehabilitation- the length of which is unknown. BUT, he'll be a mile away from his home for Christmas.
Yesterday he talked with two of his ICU docs. A Resident at St. Vincent's said when John came in, he was the sickest patient he'd ever treated. The other doctor said JC was most certainly in the top 10% of the most ill he has ever treated. Today , JC comes back , closer to home turf, not bad for a patient that was at one time, "the sickest person in the entire hospital". Let's give JC and his family some privacy over the Holidays and then we'll update Blog readers when we see some light at the end of the tunnel for his Seaside-based rehab.

Medical Update and more...

We have good news. John's kidney's are starting to work again. This means that he may be removed from Dialysis by the first part of next week. Also, the doctors are talking about moving John out of St. Vincents. If they do move him, he'll either go to Providence East Side or come back to Seaside. This could happen as early as Tuesday, the 22nd.

Also, we'd like to wish John and Karen's daughter Erin a safe trip back to Thailand. As you may recall, she was in Thailand on a Rotary exchange when her dad became ill.

Seaside Signal Story

John and Karen gave an interview to the Seaside Signal this week. You can find the story in the Dec. 17-23rd issue.

E-mails

It's time to get caught up on e-mails that have been sent to chappysteam@yahoo.com

BIG FUNDRAISER...BIG SUCCESS

Deb here.. I haven't been on the BLOG much lately, as I've had my own two-week battle with H1N1. Couldn't make it to the big fundraiser tonight, but just got off the phone with Robin and he said it was great. Estimate at this time is 400-500 people attended...don't know about funds raised, etc. yet. I understand that the highlight was a "live feed" to John in his hospital room. The audience could see John and John could see all his supporters! How cool. It is reported that John gave a big "thumbs up" to the crowd. I'm sure there will be more posted on the blog about the fundraiser, but for now you will have to be satisfied with these pictures of TEAM CHAPPY - making preparations for the "big event" a couple of weeks ago. Stay warm and get your flu vaccine(s)! Deb

Dinner and Auction Friday

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Dinner and Auction this Friday Dec. 11. The place will be the Seaside Civic and Convention Center 415 first Ave. at 5:30 pm. For a minimum donation of just $10 you will get a bar-b-que chicken dinner along with all the trimmings. We will also have a silent auction going on during dinner. After dinner at about 7:30 will be the live auction. Some of the items include a $750 pendant, fishing trips, and also week long stays at Worldmark by Wyndham condos, signed books, quilts and much more.

So, mark you calendars and plan on coming to the Seaside Civic and Convention Center on Friday for lots of fun.
See you there!

MEDIA ALERT!!

John was interviewed by both KOIN-TV and FOX KPTV today. They are planing to air on KOIN ch. 6 on the 5pm news and maybe again in the morning. And on FOX ch 12 at 10pm tonight.
Please pass this on.

John has started physical therapy

This week John has started his physical therapy. They have been working on having him sit up and they even had him standing. He is still to weak to take any steps, but this is still a big step to getting him out of the hospital and back home.

He Speaks!

On Friday the doctors took John's trach tube out. This is a giant step forward. With the tube out, he is able to talk a little. And the doctors are thinking about removing his feeding tube this weekend. All this means that JC is moving in the right direction. With him out of the ICU, the nurses are allowing a few visitors. But hospital regulations only allow for two at a time. We want JC back in Seaside as quickly as possible, but he does need lots of rest still. Please keep this in mind.
On a lighter note, Val Perry stopped in to see JC on his way to the games tonight. John was talking so much that Val asked a doctor if they could put the tube back in to shut him up.

Cal is making a trip up to see JC on Saturday. He will be giving us his observations after he returns.

OUT OF THE ICU!

Yesterday JC was moved to a regular hospital room. He is OUT OF THE ICU. He may be off the portable ventilator as well in a few days. We've been through several days of good news in a row. While a long recovery may lie ahead, things look very much better than they did 3 weeks ago or even 1 week ago. JC was in the ICU over 5 weeks. As he is now in a regular room, visitation may be far more practical. At Team Chappy we will wait to see the family's wishes in this regard and ask for your patience as well.

JC "TALKS" on the phone

As of Saturday Night.

Cal "talked" with John tonight. John conveyed to Karen he wanted to call me. I told him that I loved him and if he repeated that I'd have to kill him. Via Karen he waved bye bye.

Neil also visited Saturday night. He knows JC is very concerned about the direct and fallout costs of this illness and the effect on his family. This makes what we do and achieve at Team Chappy, especially on the Dec. 11th fundraiser, all the more important. JC has a lot of us working on those issues and concerns right now. I pray there might be some light at the end of the tunnel there as well.

We are preparing a CD to play for John with some of his show, some classic spots he did with Neil, and some personal messages from many of us in Seaside. I'd like to assemble Team Chappy to record this after our Monday Fundraiser meeting.

Cal suggested if John is unable to talk, one way to show him what's been going on for the last 5 weeks or so is to hand him a laptop and let him look at the BLOG, it is after all a quasi-documentary of what happened to JC. Neil and Karen are considering this.

JC is still in the ICU, on a small portable respirator that he is controlling with his own breathing, not the other way around. The ICU is still a lousy place for visitors but Neil feels JC will be going into a regular hospital room soon.Will keep Blog readers advised.

I think it accurate to say the nurses and doctors are astounded at JC's progress with this nasty bit of business. Will he be home in time for Christmas ? Don't know the answer to that. He WILL be alive and on the way to recovery and that's a long way from where this was headed weeks ago.

Black Friday? Not for us!

They have changed John’s ventilator to a smaller one and have reduced the pressure to zero and he currently has NO O2 assist. His blood oxygen level is 97%. All this is good news to the point that the doctors are talking about moving him out of the ICU. He still has a chest tube in and can’t talk, but is aware of his surroundings.
This is the best news that we've had in over four weeks.

We at Team Chappy know that many of you would like to go visit him, but he is still in the ICU. We will let everyone know just as soon as the doctors and Karen say that John is strong enough to receive visitors. We at Team Chappy also want to go visit, but we have to wait along with you. So, please hang in there with us.

From the mail bag

More e-mails from chappysteam@yahoo.com

Who needs turkey for a great Thanksgiving

There are plans over the next couple of days to remove John's chest tube , from the deflated lung issue. He is awake much of the time, no longer in medically induced coma..
He is in considerable pain and on a pain killer many times stronger than Morphine. He can see and recognise his surroundings. He can communicate with hand and eye gestures.

If his peep stays at 5 or less (it's been as low and 4) and his O2 assist stays below 40 ( it has been raised periodically above this), he may also soon be on room O2 and the trac tube and ventilator gone as well. Doctors are waiting and hoping for John's kidney functions to return as well.

In the mean time, he's in an ICU. While every one's sentiments and the new developments are very encouraging, the ICU is not a good place to receive well-wishers. That, unless we at Team Chappy hear otherwise from the family, should wait till John is moved to a regular hospital room and/or discharged. John has been battling a life threatening illness and in a deep sleep for over 3 weeks to awaken to some frightening circumstances. Please, time is one of the biggest healers here..Let's give John and his family all the time they need. At Team Chappy, we are of the optimistic opinion that as Thanksgiving arrives, John may well be on the mend. Right now that beats a turkey dinner any day.

Big step forward!

John's peep (ventalator presure) is now at 5 and the oxygen assist level is 40%. Under normal situations this would mean that he would be taken off the ventalator. However, with the ARDS, they are keeping him on it just a little longer. He is completely offf the heavy sedation but he is on pain killers. The sedation medicine that he was on was DIPRIVAN which is the same medicine that Michael Jackson was using. Things are moving in the right direction.

This weeks e-mails

Here are some more e-mails from John's friends and well wishers sent to chappysteam@yahoo.com

Slowly waking up.

John is slowly being taken off the heavy medically induced coma.
Hopefully, soon, he'll be awake and able to respond and converse.
He has come out of the the medically induced coma from time time to time recently, to interact with us. Hang in there and pray for a short recovery period.

Tiny Steps

John's right lung collapsed on Monday, but they were able to put a tube in to re inflate it and get him stabilized.

In the last couple of days, he has made some tiny steps for the good...but this is going to be a slow process.

As any of us would tend to do when someone we love is in John's condition, Karen's natural, loving response is to want to hold John's hand. But the doctors had asked her not to do this today as it takes...I guess you would say "John's spirit" and his attention away from his core and trying to heal that area and pulls it towards his hand and Karen. How helpless she must feel and yet she is a trooper and seems to be holding up very well considering all she is trying to do to keep things as normal as possible for the kids. John really picked a good one, eh?