I really wanted to go home right after work yesterday, but I knew that I also wanted to visit with Cody in the hospital. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t go visit him, so I went, and I was very glad.
When I first got there, neither his mom nor dad was in the room, so I felt a bit uncomfortable visiting while he was sleeping. I looked at his vitals on the screen which looked good from what I could tell, sat in a chair by his bed, and waited watching the cash cab show where people get money for answering trivia.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes, so I explained who I was the best I could, and then his dad came in telling me that some people from Kentucky were just on the cash cab show—and lost.
His dad and I talked to Cody, and his dad showed me his new progress of the day. Cody can wink his left eye now. And he yawns. It’s like seeing a baby grow up before your eyes in a teenager body. The small things he does are just as exciting. Because it’s one more step of him becoming the outgoing teenager that he was before surgery.
The rest of the time, Cody lies in his bed not moving or sleeping, and it’s made him pretty weak. He has a feeding tube in his nose, and a trach. He’s starting to have more and more time off the breathing machine, which is good. He is still fighting a bit of infection in his lungs.
His dad was talking about how he felt like they were soldiers through this. They’ve left their home, and now they’re fighting. So I looked at Cody and said, “Cody, you’re a soldier!” And his mouth frowned and he looked up with tears in his eyes. Thank God his dad was there and said, “Aw, come on, Cody!” Because if not, I would have felt really, really bad for making him cry, and I don’t think I would have been able to stop crying myself.
Cody had squeezed my hand super-tight, and he can point, so I asked him if he could make the sign language symbol “b” for my name with his hand, and he did it. Then, I showed him “a”, “b”, “c” for Cody, and “d” for Dad, and “m” for Mom, and he did them all. It was some small form of communication, but touched my heart so much. It’s comforting to know that he hears, and he knows. I prayed with him before I left, and he squeezed my hand super-tight again.
His dad said that Cody’s hope was that his experience would draw someone closer to Christ—that God would work through him in this situation. They’ve already heard from some of Cody’s friends from home that are praying for Cody, and actually praying for the first time in a long time. And let me tell you, this boy who had never spoken a word to me, has touched my heart in huge ways. God bless him. God heal him.
--Note: the pic above is Cody and his girlfriend, Jamey, not me. :) She has red hair, too.
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