05-31-08 Happy Birthday Mike...

Mike is doing great. He goes to therapy two to three days per week. He is able to walk about 100 feet. He gets really tired by the end of the day but we feel that is pretty normal. He is really glad to be home. He has seen a lot of his old friends lately. They hug and their eyes water. It is really touching. Mike is glad to be alive and he didn't realize how sick he was. Brenda is back at work three days a week. Mike's therapy is at the same place as Brenda's work. He sometimes rides in with her and then goes to his mom and dad's house. He has gotten rides from others and he appreciates that. He is not ready to start driving yet. He still cannot feel his feet and doesn't feel it would be safe to drive. He has lost his reflexes and the neurologist thinks that will not return. All and all, we are really grateful to our Heavenly Father for all our blessings. We thank everyone for their good thoughts and prayers in our behalf.

05-16-08 We went to the cabin yesterday...

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shinning. Our daughter, Kimberly, our son-in-law, Challis, and their baby, Athea, and Mike and Brenda went to the cabin. Challis loaded the four-wheeler in the back of the truck and he drove the truck with Athea in her carseat with him and Kimberly drove her car and Brenda and Mike road with her. Challis unloaded the four-wheeler at the cabin and helped Mike and Brenda onto the four-wheeler and Mike drove down the hill from the garage to the cabin door. Challis then gave Mike a piggy back ride up the stairs to the cabin and put him in a chair. We spent a few hours at the cabin relaxing.

This last week there have been a lot of firsts for Mike since his illness. He has been walking a little with a front-wheeled walker some at home. He walked along the walls at the cabin with Challis standing by to catch him if he needed to. When we got ready to go home, Challis walked in front of Mike down the stairs. Mike went very slowly down the stairs under his own power and then Challis and Kim helped him back to the four-wheeler. He was really tired. Brenda got on the back of the four-wheeler and Mike drove down to Cougar Mountain Lodge, where we had lunch and then Challis loaded the four-wheeler and we all came home. It was a great day.

05-07-08 Mike came home today...

Mike came home today and we are getting settled back in. Everything went well. He has a doctor appointment tomorrow and we will see how that goes, getting into and out of his parent's car and back again. Thanks to all for your good thoughts and prayers.

05-02-08 Outing tomorrow at Texas Roadhouse...

As part of Mike's therapy, he has to go on an outing and he has chosen the Texas roadhouse as the place he wants to go. We are going tomorrow. Should be fun! He is getting more feeling in his legs and a little in his feet. We have been really blessed. Thank you for all your well wishes and prayers.

04-28-08 Mike will be discharged from Elks on...

Mike's last day at Elks will be on May 10th. He will be home probably that afternoon. He is doing better everyday at transferring from the bed to the wheelchair. He is continually getting stronger all over but he still has a long way to go. We appreciate all your prayers and good thoughts for him and Brenda.

04-24-08 Update on Mike...

Mike is doing better everyday. He is able to help with transfers quite a bit now. His upper body is getting stronger. He is using his sense of humor on all of the nurses. Pretty soon I think he will be terrorizing everyone in his wheelchair, he has started pushing it himself. We are still working at keeping him in the Elks for a while longer so that he will get the best care. We should know in the next few days if we can work that out. We appreciate every ones well wishes and prayers.

04-19-08 Mike continues to make progress...

Mike's movements in his legs are improving, however, he still does not have much feeling in them. His trunk strength is improving and he can sit on the side of the bed for a longer period of time. Transfers are still difficult. Some of the people helping are really good at it but some are not trained well enough. It can be pretty scary at times. We are still waiting to hear concerning the health insurance issues, as far as we know the insurance runs out the end of April. We don't feel like he is quite ready to come home at this time. The physical therapist at Elk's would like to keep him until the 23rd of May. It will be better if Mike is able to transfer by himself before he comes home.

04-15-08 Fundraiser for Mike...

Linda (467-4106) is planning a fundraiser auction for Mike. If you are interested in helping her please give her a call. Mike is making some small gains each week but he is still very weak. The nerves have to repair and that is a slow process. His insurance runs out the end of April. We will either bring him home or have to pay for more therapy ourselves. We would like to have him stay at Elks. We feel they are doing a good job with him. It will be extremely hard to take good care of him at home. We appreciate all the offers to help us out and thank you for your prayers in our behalf.

04-11-08 Mike has been moved to acute rehab...

Elks have been great to us. They have decided to move Mike to acute rehab vs subacute rehab. Our insurance would only pay for subacute rehab but Elks have decided that they will take subacute pay for acute rehab in our case. The difference is subacute has 2 hours of rehab and not much on weekends to acute rehab at 3-4 hours rehab and they do some rehab on the weekends. We need all the rehab we can get because we only have 19 days left that the insurance will pay for. Thank you all for your prayers.

04-07-08 Mike had occupational therapy today...

Mike had occupational therapy today for 1 hour. It went pretty good. He will be at Elk's at least 20 more days. He is suppose to have two hours of therapy a day (occupational and physical). He has been watching the ballgames on TV with his dad every evening. His dad has sure been a faithful father to come stay with Mike every evening. Thank you for your prayers.

04-05-08 Saturday, will be less therapy over the weekend.

We have been told there is less therapy over the weekends. Mike is still really weak. He can move his feet and legs a little bit more each day. We've been told that with Guillain-Barre syndrome, he should not push himself beyond when he is fatigued. Because it involves the nerves, if he over does it, it sets him back the next day. So things are going pretty slow. We appreciate all your prayers.

04-03-08 Mike has been moved to the Elk's, Boise

Mike was moved to Elk's rehab in Boise today. We've heard good things about the Elk's. We believe Mike will get good care there. He starts Rehab boot camp tomorrow. He was able to move his legs a little bit more today. Thanks for your prayers.

04-02-08 Mike might be transferred to Elks...

Tomorrow the doctors will decide if Mike should be transferred to the Elks Rehab in Boise off Fort Street behind St. Lukes downtown. Mike is able to move his feet better and is able to help move his legs better with help from the physical therapists. He will be in acute care vs subacute care, which means more continuous and more on the spot care for Mike. Eventually he will get better enough to be in subacute care. We will leave a new blog tomorrow to confirm where Mike is at (either Elks rehab or St Lukes Meridian). Thank you again for all your prayers.

04-01-08 Mike is still at St Lukes Hospital Meridian

On the 3rd, Mike will have been in the hospital a month. I would like to say he is coming home but it would be an April fool's joke. It is just not that funny. He is doing about the same as yesterday. The occupational therapist and the physical therapist have been helping him to sit on the side of the bed but he gets tired really fast. He sat for 20 minutes today. They hope to increase that every day. He still cannot feel his feet, and his hands are pretty numb. We are still hopeful for a full recovery, it will just take some time. Thank you for your prayers.

03-30-08 Mike is improving...

We saw some improvement in Mike's movements today. We are encouraged. He still has a long road to recovery but things are looking up. It has been a very scary experience. We are looking forward to it being over. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers.

03-28-08 Today wasn't too good of a day...

Our doctor said we would have some days that seemed like two steps forward and one step back. Today was a step backward. Mike and Brenda are both afraid of the Guillain-Barre Syndrome progressing further. We know it is a possibility and even if it does progress further, the patient is still suppose to have a full recovery. We are anxious for the recovery to start now. Thank you so much for your prayers.

03-27-08 Mike is doing better...

Mike is doing better. Brenda went home early. Mike and his dad were watching a basketball game when Brenda left and all was almost well, not quite, but better. Mike will be in the hospital for at least another week and a half. He will have 3 more gamma globulin treatments and go from there. Thanks again for all your prayers.

03-27-08 Mike is doing better...

Mike is doing better. Today has been a good day. His spirits have been really good and we think he is showing some improvement. Today has been a month since this started. We have really received an education concerning the medical community. Brenda could give talks on this subject. She has kept notes and continues to keep more notes. She is going to have to start carrying a briefcase. The nurses from the fourth floor are coming up to the fifth floor to visit Mike. He has made quite an impression. We think the whole hospital is talking about him. One of the nurses from CCU ran into Brenda and Kimberly just outside the cafeteria and stopped us and said how wonderful she thought Mike was and the way he was handling his experience in the CCU. She had tears in her eyes as she talked to them. Mike's mom met a nurse outside in the hall another time and when she talked about visiting her son, Mike, the nurse said "That's your son? Everyone in the hospital is talking about him." Other amazing things have taken place with his hospital stay. We wish Mike did not have to have this experience but we feel that it has made a difference in the lives of others. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

03-25-08 Mike is back at St. Luke's Hospital...

His diagnosis now is Gullain-Barre Syndrome and Focal Global Glomerular Sclerosis. Both things are treatable and the prognosis is good for full recovery but it will take time. He will be in St. Luke's for at least one week. Then the doctor's will decide what to do next, but probably more rehab. We think we will have him at the Elk's Rehab this time. Their care is geared more for the type of problems he has been having. Thanks again for all your prayers.

Easter Sunday 03-23-08...

Today was a really slow day. The food at Aspen is really good though. Mike had an omelet for breakfast, ham for lunch, and BLT and clam chowder for dinner. Tomorrow starts rehab boot camp. Three hours of rehab per day for five days should really make a big difference. Aspen said he would be busy from 8 am until 1 pm. Brenda is going to cheer him on. He gets really tired by the end of the day but he is able to stay up in a wheelchair longer each day. He is making progress. Thank you for all your support and prayers.

03-22-08 Day 2 at Aspen Rehab...

Aspen doesn't do much on the weekends, but starting Monday, Mike will be busy from 8 am until at least 1 pm. Does anyone know of a chiropractor that does house calls (rehab calls?), Mike would like to have one come by. If you are reading this blog, please leave a comment. I'm lonely tonight. Thanks, Brenda.

03-21-08 Mike has been moved to Aspen rehab...

All of Mike's tests were negative, so even with all the medical knowledge that doctors' have, it has not been enough to know what made Mike sick. We are really glad he doesn't have any of those things the doctors tested him for. Some of the treatments are worse than the diseases. The doctors are just practicing medicine anyway. Now Mike's job is to get his strength back at physical therapy "boot camp". He will be having physical therapy 3 hours each day. He is very weak. Thank you everyone for all of your prayers. The Lord has blessed us so much. We are so grateful to still have Mike with us.

March 18, 2008 Mike is doing much better!!!

Day 3 in Telemetry, Mike is having physical therapy and getting stronger everyday. He's still very weak and his recovery will take some time. He is anxious to get better and get out. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers! The nurses have been great and caring. We don't know how long he will be in the hospital. We have been blog slackers the last few days, sorry. We will try to do better.

Last Day CCU Yeah! 03-15-08

They took Mike off the respirator yesterday and moved him to telemetry today. He is doing so much better. He is really weak but his breathing and his color are really good. He has been having respiratory therapists every 4-6 hours since he was admitted to the hospital. He now has physical therapists and occupational therapists working with him. All the nurses and doctors have been really good to both of us. His family practice doctor was practically clicking his heals together when he was moved from CCU. The rest of us have been jumping for joy as well.

Thank you all for praying for us. We truly feel that Mike is still with us due to a miracle.

Day 10 CCU - 03/14/08

Thanks to all for fasting and praying for Mike. The doctors are closer to a diagnosis and we feel like much of this is from the fasting and praying. Once they know a diagnosis, we feel it will get him closer to a speedy recovery.

They are hoping to take him off the respirator this afternoon. We continue to have faith that he will get soon and be back to the things he enjoys doing.

CCU - MARCH 12, 2008

There is a fast for Michael tomorrow (Thursday, March 13), sun up to sun down. Those who are able to fast, please do. Those who can't please keep praying!

The last two days were very difficult ones. Mike has been ventilated and he is sedated and has received a full night and day of rest so his body can recover. He is not out of the woods yet, no diagnosis has been discovered. We appreciate all your prayers and your get well wishes.

Day 6, Critical Care Unit 03-10-08

Today's has been really good. They have said that if Mike does as good as he has in the next three days as he has done in the last 24 hours, he could possibly be out of CCU in three days. We are shooting for that. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.

Day 4 Critical Care Unit 03-09-08

Today has been a really good day. The nurses feel that Mike has taken a turn around to getting better. His white cell count has been lowered by a third, which is good. His inflammation also is less by a third. They have lessened the amount of oxygen that they have him on. We are really hopeful that every day he will continue to get better. The doctors and nurses have been really great to Mike and Brenda. We know that Mike is getting the best care possible. Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes.

update on Michael Gallup Fri. March 7, 2008

Things started with a backache the last week of February and then a fever a few days later. On Monday March 3 he was tested for several things in St. Al's emergency room ( all negative) and sent home. By the next morning, he was worse and went to a doctor who immediately sent him to St. Luke's Meridian. More tests, and still no diagnosis. By Thursday, he was put in the Critical Care Unit with trouble breathing. After several rough days, he is looking and sounding a little better today. But the fever is still there and his white blood count indicates his body is still fighting something. Mike has lots of good doctors and nurses caring for him, but they are still searching for answers as to why he is so sick. They have also been very considerate to Brenda in allowing her to stay right with him day and night.

We know there are many people who are concerned about him and Brenda. The amount of phone calls and messages have been overwhelming, so we are setting this site up to give daily updates on his condition. We appreciate all your concern and love, and especially your prayers in his behalf.

This blog is set up to give updates on Mike Gallup

It will be updated shortly.