Headed in the right direction!

HI everyone first of all let me say I'm sorry for leaving you all in the dark about Joey. Last night I was able to spend some quality time with my brother for a couple of hours. He is looking really good and as handsome as ever and very youthful. He wasn't awake too much while I was there but several times while he was asleep he lifted up his leg, this was the first time I have witnessed such a strong movement from him. Even though it was a reflex kind of move during his sleep, I feel this is a good sign. Later in the night while he was awake he lifted his shoulders and head about an inch and 1/2 off of the pillow, I jumped up by his side feeling in my heart he was trying to get up. I know it is a matter of time and believe with all my heart for a complete healing and restoration for Joey! He also moved his head side to side looking around. I thank you all so much for the continued prayers and support! I'm excited to have each and everyone of you by his side following his progress so that you can be a witness to God's glory and his everlasting mercy that endures forever and ever! Continue to hold our family up in your prayers and walk with us on this journey of faith for a complete healing for Joey Nava, whom we all love so much!
I also wanted to mention to those of you that recall an earlier post asking for prayer for a dear friend of the family Hirum Catrett, (He had got into a motor cycle accident and went into cardiac arrest, and experienced many of the same things my brother has) last Saturday he was released from the hospital and he walked out, against everything the doctors had said.
He is a walking miracle, and through his life many people in that hospital became believers of Christ! Praise God for the healing in his life and for using Hirum and his family to touch many peoples lives!
I know that God is doing something in and through my brother and it is just a matter of time before he comes out of this.
It is not the doctor's who will make my brother well but the almighty Physician above! With all that said I know we are headed in the right direction in Jesus mighty name! AMEN! I know in my heart God has a purpose through all of this and remember to praise him in and through the storm, I leave you with this scripture:
So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men,but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2: 5

P.U.S.H Pray until something happens

How big is our God? He is the ALMIGHTY even through the toughest of situations we have to push through. As you can imagine this has been a very difficult journey. Today I went to see my brother 3 times, the first time I went in and he looked at me when I asked him to, I again encouraged him that the healing is his and God is doing something in and through him. My brother was making some noises but then they suctioned him and he stopped, I really feel he is trying to communicate with me. A lot of people might say we are having some wish-full thinking but that's not it at all. We know how big our God truly is. He is the lord that healeth thee, he is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all our expectations. Now I ask you this..... are you believing with us? If you are then let's all choose to P.U.S.H together.
Pray Until Something Happens!
We love him dearly now let's all choose to push him through. Also please keep his wife and mom in your deepest and sincerest prayers, they have been by his side every step of the way pushing him through, they need our love, support and prayers as well. Let's pray that God gives them the strength that can only come from above.
( Just a quick note of encouragement I wanted to pass on.)

The Lord is our strength

Today was a tough day, I can see in my brother's eyes that he is getting tired and just wants to be out of the hospital and better already. I asked him a few different times to look at me and he did, I then began to encourage him telling him it's ok to be tired but not to give up, I began to remind him that there are literally thousands and thousands of people praying for him. I love him dearly and this journey comes with a whole set of emotions for everyone who loves him (trust me, that is a lot of people) Please continue to pray for peace and comfort for him. Not much has changed since the last post, but here are a few things I thought I would share:

*His temp. was mostly stable
*His Blood pressure was up a bit today, he was given pain meds to help keep it stable
*His Oxygen levels are good
*He has a feeding peg in place
*He made a little less eye contact than prior days

Again please continue to hold him up in your prayers as well as his family. We thank you so much for all the love and support you have been sending our way. The Lord is our strength
God Bless

it is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken. ]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak Corinthians 4: 13 (We declare God's Healing power over Joey In JESUS NAME!)

You can also follow Joey on FB I created a FB Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joey-Navas-Healing/142228919131104

What Faith can do

*Joey is in Stable condition
*Temp is normal most days with the occasional temp over 100.00
*Joey is awake a lot of the time and he is able to track with his eyes
*He also responds to noise which means he is able hear
*He sits in his cardiac chair a couple of hours a day with the assistance of the nursing staff
*He spoke his first word last week "MOM" Twice
*He responded to the nurse when she asked him to open his mouth
* He has a peg in place for his feeding


We are still continuing to press forward and trust in God for a complete restoration in Joey. Without faith it is impossible to please God, please stand in faith for us on this Journey with Joey and his family. We feel Joey is coming back to us real soon. Joey has been moved to the seventh floor which is a step down unit, they are planning to transition him out of the hospital and home pretty soon. The Doctor's still have their medical conclusions to give to us but we are believing for nothing short of a miracle and we are asking that you continue to believe with us.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

Still pressing on

Joey's Status:
* His white cell count is down to 13,000.
* Hist stomach infection is gone but he still has 2 more days of antibiotics.
* His temp hasn't reached 100 for the past 2 days.
* He has been moved out of ICU.
* They have been trying to insert a bite block into his mouth in order to do the peg procedure, however its been creating some complications because his teeth are loose from biting the previous bite block too hard.

Fundraising effort:
* Chevys fundraiser raised $5,600. Joey's family will get a check back for $1,250.
* $824 was made for the carwash fund raising effort.
* Thank you to all for showing your support.

Joey's physical status continues to improve, however we continue to pray for complete restoration of his perception, and self awareness.

We continue to see hints that he is only getting better, and are waiting patiently for him to wake up.

His wife has been by his side daily, and this picture reflects the love that she has for him. (Her friend took this while they were sleeping. :-))

Please continue to pray for his wife (Tamra), and mom for strength, and peace knowing that God is in control of the situation.

Hebrews 13:5,6

...For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear....

Joey,

God has not left you. He is still working on you, and your life was spared for a purpose. You will do what God has called you to do, being a living testimony to his goodness and healing power!


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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Endurance Test

Joey's Status:
* Still breathing on is own.
* Fever has gone done.
* Coughs periodically.
* Still has the tracheal tube in place.
* May move out of ICU within the next week.
* Not speaking yet.

Progress is slow, but we do see progress week to week with different things. It could be something as small as a slight facial expression, or as big as a sound coming from his vocal cords. One family member mentioned he did make some moaning noises at one point.

We are still in this waiting game. It is a very surreal experience. Just a month ago we were able to talk, joke, and hug. It is a painful thing to ponder on what we could have done more of before this incident. The flip side of this is that we know by faith he will be ok, and we will have plenty of time to make up for those things that we wish we would have done.

All I can say is, don't take you loved ones for granted. Tell them you love them everyday, and put as much effort as you can into appreciating them, and making sure they feel special. Don't wait for a hospital call to realize what you value most in life.

We will continue to rely on God through this situation no matter what. He will be the source of our strength, and provide an outlet where we can direct our burdens. We know upon Joey's return the end result will be:

* Closer family and friends.
* A greater reliance on God.
* A greater faith.

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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Baby Steps

Joey's Status:
* Off of life support. He is breathing on his own now.
* Still has the feeding tube
* Is coughing alot.
* Eyes seem to respond to verbal queues.
* He hates when they suction his lungs. His face turns red.
* Wakes up off and on.
* Not talking yet.
* Slight fever.

Joey continues to make progress physically. We see progress, but the wait is painful. In God's timing he will snap out of it, and we will be able to start talking with him again. As of now, we just take it one day at a time.

Special thanks to all those who have time to sit with him during the time slots that were setup. The time slots were setup so we can have another pair of eyes watching him to make sure he was ok, and who can watch him better than those who care about him.

Continue to keep Joey, and the family in prayer.

Thank you....

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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Thank you for everyone who came out!!!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the fund-raiser at Chevy's. It's awesome to know he has so much support from his family and friends.

Please continue to please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Feels like progress

Joey's Status:
* Still has a slight fever. (hit 103 today)
* They found the infection (finally). C. diff. Looks like this is caused from antibiotics, and/or being in the hospital.
* White blood cell count is back down.. this is a good thing. Means infection is subsiding again.
* Joey was able to breathe on his own for 3.5 hours today.
* They tried to take him off of Tylenol today to see if his fever would go away, however his fever spiked up, so he has to stay on the Tylenol. They believe the fever is related to the brain injury.
* He had a bite block in his mouth, and this was recently removed. He actually was biting the block so hard a couple of his teeth were pushed deeper into his gums. Dentist will be seeing him to help take care of this.

Today was a good day for Joey. It appears he is starting to respond. Here is a synopsis of some things that have started to take place:

* Nurse asked Joey to move his foot, and it appears he moved his foot on queue. Nurse validated it was a response.
* Nurse stated that it appeared he was responding to a friends Dad. Need to find out what exactly the response was. I think it might have been eye movement, but will find out, and update the blog again.
* Some family members were talking with Joey, and it looks like he attempted to respond verbally. This is something we are trying to get him to repeat.

Family and friends continue to pray. There will be a fund raiser tomorrow at Chevy's on Almaden from 4-8PM. There will be a concert as well. Please get a flyer at the door, and state you are there for the Joey Nava fund raiser. A portion of the money paid for your meal will be directed toward the Nava family.

Also, please hold Hiram C. in prayer. Him, and his wife/family have been faithfully praying, and supporting Joey. Hiram is the father of one of Joey's childhood friends. He got into a serious motorcycle accident yesterday. Please lift him up in your prayers as well. here is his blog (updated July 22) http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hiramcatrett

God is continuing to draw more people closer to him through this situation. He is continuing to do wonderful things, and we see, and realize progress everyday. Even though it seems to happen in baby steps, we will take progress in any shape of form until Joey walks out of the hospital.

Thank you to those who have donated, and to the many people who continue to pray for him.

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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Making progress

Joey's Status:
* White blood cell count is lower.. (Infection is subsiding)
* Was able to breathe 2 hours without life support. Next is to try 4 hours.
* Vitals look good.

Interesting tidbits:
* He doesn't like when you rub his facial hair.. It creates a reaction. :-)
* Appears his eyes might be starting to move based on verbal queues.
* Responds with little movement when his feet are tickled.

Word of Joey's status is starting to circulate. Yesterday, an EMT arrived at Kaiser who was not familiar with Joey, his family, or friends. He informed us that many people were praying for Joey. This is a huge blessing. We know without a doubt we have God's attention, and he is listening to the many people who continue to pray for Joey.

With subtle hints we know that God is in control, and he is continuing to do his work. We continue to hear stories of people who were in similar situations to Joey, and who have successfully pulled through. More recently, there are many circumstances that seem coincidental, but these are the silent signals that make us aware that God is intervening.

We have started to move beyond the worry state, and now visualize the reality of Joey talking, walking, and sharing his testimony.

Isaiah 41:10 -
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Still pressing in.

Joey's status -
* Tracheal tube still in place.
* Eyes still open half way.
* His eyes appear to move from left to right sporadically.
* Slight fever.
* Taking medicine to regulate blood sugar.
* Continuing to take antibiotic.


Went to visit Joey today, and his eyes were half way open. It seems like his eye move from left to right, but just not sure if its controlled at this point. His breathing seems good, however seems like he still has an infection somewhere, but doctors aren't 100% sure where it is. They have been drawing a lot of blood for testing, so he had to get a transfusion.

Still believing, still pressing on.

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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Who cares what the doctor says?

Joey's Status -
* Slight fever.
* Lungs are improving.
* Not talking.... yet.
* Not moving... yet
* They removed 1.5 gallons of fluid from around his lung.
* His eyes open half way.

Yesterday was another hard day. We met with the neurologist, and he had nothing good to say. Much of what he said in not so many words was prepare for this to be permanent, and you should decide if you want to remove him off of life support, and his feeding tube.

Silent Response: Thank you doctor. I ask you to just provide only the scientific facts, I don't care much for your opinion. If it was your wife, child, or mom, would you be so quick to pull the plug. Especially since it has been less than two weeks?

We are pro life, and as long as he has a beating heart, and air in his lungs, the opportunity is always there for God to intervene. Every visitation just affirms that God is continuing to do something, and nothing in me tells me he is permanently going to remain this way.

We are in a waiting game. God will come through at the right time, and we will continue to stand on his word.

I know we can't go back in time, but there is still questions about why:

* Why didn't the nurse respond sooner when family members were telling the nurse he was having a hard time breathing?
* Why did they have to sedate him during his painful episode? If they didn't medically sedate him, this might not have happened.
* Why didn't they put him in a hypothermic coma like other hospitals do during this situation? That might have prevented further brain damage, and swelling.

Still hard to fathom how someone goes into a hospital for an infection, and comes out with brain damage.

In any event, our focus is on the future, and we EXPECT him to walk out of the hospital. We are expecting nothing short of a miracle for Joey!

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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Keep Praying

Joeys current status:

* Fever is below 100.
* His blood infection is subsiding.
* He started to get fluid in his lungs, but the fluid is now starting to go away. One lung looks great.
* He now has a tracheal tube.
* He has a feeding tube through his nose.
* Has been asleep since the tracheal tube.

Bad News:
Today was a hard day. Met with the Doctor, Social Worker, and Head Nurse. The news they gave us was primarily negative. They said his vegetative state may be permanent. Initially they said only two parts of his brain were impacted, now they are saying more of his brain suffered damage. Occipital Lobe, and Parietal Lobe. They are also stating since his Cerebral Cortex was damaged, if he did awake, he may have a personality change, and may lose perceptual awareness. There is no surgery, no medication, nothing that can be done to help regenerate, or repair his brain. Now we are just in a waiting game

Good News:
We continue to rely on God, and know he will be healed. There are some fundamental questions we are asking ourselves.
One - Does God Exist? We know this is a big yes.
Two - Would God want Joey to remain in this state? Answer is no. If Joey is to be a testimony, and tell people about God's healing power, how can Joey do this in his current state.

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Three - Why would God allow Joey to come back if there was not a purpose? Joey's heart stopped for 6 minutes. As of now, there have been total transformations in family members, friends, and faith. We know that if we press in, and hold fast on God's promises, Joey will be 100% restored.

Even though he is unable to move, or talk physically, he is still speaking to us. Sometimes doubt sets in, and the reality that he may be like this forever hits us, but this is quickly dismissed because we know that with God all things are possible. And there is no way we can ever accept this. With every fiber of our soul we know he will be healed. Some word to stand on:

Isaiah 53:5 - by his wounds we are healed.
Luke 1:37 - For nothing is impossible with God.
Ps. 103:3 - Who heals all your diseases.
Acts 9:34 - ..Jesus Christ heals you. Arise.. .


An answer for the doctors, and nurses that are full of bad news:
Luke 18:27 - Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."


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We ask your support:
* To assist Joey's family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can. (Please use the paypal link below.) We want to continue to help Joey's wife until Joey is able to return to work. To those who have donated thank you so so much.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Baby Love

Today is Monday June 28th.

My name is Raquel and I started this blog on behalf of my brother Joey and sister-in-law Tamra.

Last Sunday (June 20th), my brother was admitted into ER with severe chest pain, and other ailments. It was identified he had a blood infection known as Sepsis. What started as a lung infection moved and spread into his blood stream.

The hospital chose to to sedate him and put him in a medically induced comatose like state. The following day his airway became blocked. As a result, his heart stopped, and it took six minutes to revive him.

By the Grace of God the doctors were able to bring him back, but based on the MRI it appears he suffered damage to his brain due to lack of oxygen. We know his movement has been severely impacted, and we are not sure if he is able to speak yet. We will know the full extent in the days to come.

This has been very difficult for his wife, mom, and entire family. Due to the nurses not keeping a close watch his wife Tamra refuses to leave his side even when others are here watching Joey, which leaves her unable to work.

Now without her income and my brother in the current state that he is in, we are asking for help. As a family we are doing what we can to contribute, and we will continue to help, but the hope is we can raise enough money to help Joey and Tamra until Joey is fully recovered and can work again.

We know that with God all things are possible, and we know that miracles are not out of reach. We are believing for a full recovery, and know in our heart of hearts that he will pull through this.

We will use this blog for several purposes:

* To share with you my brothers progress.
* Bare witness to Joey's full recovery, and be a testament to God's divine healing.

We ask your support:
* To assist the family financially. Any donation is welcome. No amount is to small. We just ask that you help anyway you can.
* Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We continue to petition God for a full restoration.

Currently Joey isn't fully responsive. When he is awake, his eyes are about half way open, and have slight movement.

Tomorrow they plan on putting a tracheal tube in his throat, and a feeding tube in his stomach. We will know within the next coming days if he will be able to speak. He is also receiving antibiotic, insulin, blood pressure medicine, pain medication, and anxiety medicine. His white blood count is also high, but with each day of antibiotic, this seems to come back a little lower. There is a mix of negative, and positive information coming from various Doctors, but we are fully reliant on our Faith in God to pull him through.

We will be updating this blog as much as possible. We ask you from the bottom of our heart to keep him in your sincerest and deepest prayers. His Wife, Mom, Dad, Pop, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, In-laws, Friends, and his Sister (Me) have been here nearly every day and are praying for him constantly. There are many many people that love him so much, and if that includes you we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you can please bless them in the form of a donation, please click on the donate button below, that will go directly to Joey, and his wife. In July his wife's work will be holding a fund-raiser on their behalf as well. We will keep you updated on the date/location. Thank you again for your prayers & support. My deepest regard Raquel. (Joey's Sister).

Here is some information on Joey:
* He is 27 years old.
* Is a very giving person, and has a warm heart.
* Is a faithful husband, wonderful son, loving brother, excellent uncle, Loyal friend and many wonderful things to many people .
* Hard worker, and loyal.
* Currently @ Kaiser ICU - Santa Teresa