1 Year Later...

Note: This is a long post and may contain some rambling!! :)

Isn't it amazing how fast time flies!? I can not believe it has been a whole year since Mom got the phone call from Robert (Cody's boss) saying Cody had been electrocuted. I really don't know where to start here. There is so much that I want to say but alot of it is memories and you can go back and read the blog and see how far Cody has come. It is nothing short of a miracle. I guess first I should tell you who I am. I am Cody's oldest sister, Jennifer. I am the one who was updating the blog throughout Cody's Journey. We now know that journey was hand in hand with God. Mom, Alicia, made a few posts during Cody's stay. The blog was our way of keeping all of our friends and family updated on Cody. We know everyone wanted to be there but couldn't. It also became a way for us to express what we were going through, what we were seeing, and a way to document. This day and the next probably 6 were the worst ever that I have gone through. But looking back they are a huge blessing. Only a family with faith that knows how Cody is still here is able to look back on this situation and see the positive. I get so tired of hearing people say "Why me?" "Why did God do this?" Pray about it and watch what happens. You will soon find out "Why you"! We have never prayed so hard. Everytime I made a blog post it was almost instantly that we would feel your prayers. You are some of the most faithful readers! We as a family honestly believe that without your prayers this would be a whole different post. People in the hospital would joke and say that we had the red line to God! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You contributed to our miracle. This accident has made our eyes more open to God. I always thought I had a strong relationship with the Lord and that I had strong faith. Boy was I wrong! It is by far a whole lot stronger. Without Him there is no way Cody would have made it through this. We could see God working in Cody and it was one thing at a time and one step at a time. Which was very hard for us to grasp. We wanted it done NOW!!! It was so hard to sit back and let go and let God. So glad that we did though! Thursday, April 15 when the neurologist came and told us that Cody was in an Alpha Coma and had very slim chances of waking up was heart wrenching. I can remember the nurses let us all in his room, we held hands and prayed over Cody. The chaplain they sent in is a whole different story!!!! She was oriental and we could not understand a single word she said. We laughed about it afterwards. And looking back God sent her in specifically to give us something light on our heart and to give us a good laugh! I remember praying over Cody that Satan was knocking on the door and we were NOT going to let him in. We weren't giving up, only going to pray harder! I have posted some pictures that I took in the hospital. I have never posted some of these before and I have gone back and forth whether I was going to or not for about 2 weeks. I didn't want to because actually seeing him like this is hard. It brings back tons of emotions that are hard to deal with. And I didn't know how Mom would handle it! This morning as I was uploading pictures. I was still unsure. I had my phone in my hand to call her and talk to her about it when something (or should I say someone, and we all know who that was!!) told me to post them. When you see him like this it hurts. But the next thing that comes to my heart is joy. He is no longer like this. God saved him!

This picture was right after they got Cody up to 901. Which was the cardiac ICU. The ER nurse was wonderful. She was so caring and made sure we had a moment to spend with Cody before they sent him upstairs. They didn't think he was going to make it. She especially wanted Mom to come in and talk to him. They let mom and dad ride in the elevator with them to take Cody upstairs. This picture has Karla (on right) in it. She was Cody's day nurse until she left to get married! We absolutely loved her and so did Cody. She was also a God Send! Cody's night nurse Leida was also wonderful. Cody had the best care while in 901 and we developed close bonds with them. This picture, I believe, was taken Saturday, April 17. Cody opened his eyes for the first time Friday night April 16. He responded to Chad Smith talking to him. Saturday, Cody started to make huge steps! You can see that he is very out of it. He couldn't see. His breathing tube was just removed so he couldn't talk. He did give lots of hugs though! One of the best I've ever gotten. And he'd pucker his lips to give kisses. Mom and Nessa talking to Cody. He was very scared and beginning to get aggitated. In these pictures he was just moved from 901 to 9 West I think. It could have been East! It was on the same cardiac floor just not in ICU. This is Cody's first meal. Notice the blood around his nose. He pulled out his feeding tube! He still couldn't see very well and his motor skills were not good at all. So feeding himself was quite hard. Mom helped him here and a few more times and after that he tried himself and progressively got better. I remember he LOVED the chocolate pudding, not so much the peas! Here he is going for a walk. I wish I could have gotten a picture of his first time to walk. But we were all so excited I never once thought to get my camera out. He was so proud and excited though. I remember him walking up to us and giving the biggest hugs. He still couldn't talk very well. He'd whisper some things, but you couldn't understand alot of it. Notice how skinny his legs are! Cody's a tall skinny guy anyways and he lost between 40 and 50 pounds. You can see Ady's little head at bottom of picture. She was never far from him when we were with him in the hospital. She loves her Uncle Bubba! This picture is priceless. She wanted to get up there so bad and read him this book. It's 10 Little Monkey's. All she was reading to him was "bumped their head" and Cody would say "All right Ady, I get it!" He had absolutely NO patience!

And here he is leaving the rehab floor! He was not happy about being in the wheelchair!

Such a happy day!!This is Cody and Travis. Travis was the man who did CPR on Cody until the ambulance arrived. Which they say was 15-20 minutes.

Everything that I have brought up in these pictures was written on the blog when it happened. Please go back through and read and reassure your faith. You'll be glad you did.

These pictures are some that been taken since Cody's accident. This is what we would have missed out on had our faith not been so strong and God not been there.

I had to post this picture because this is the Cody we know and love. Summertimes are spent in the swimming pool and at the lake. We all love the summertime! Cody, Jessi, and Ryan being silly in Mike and I's pool. We love the time we spend together in the backyard grilling out, and swimming til we can't swim anymore!

This picture also cracks me up. Mike, Cody, and Ryan decided they were going to all grow their mustaches! We got together and went bowling. Jessi and Ryan had recently went on a cruise and brought Mike and Cody these shirts back. We show up at the bowling alley and they all have the same shirt on!

Cody and his adorable family. Nessa, his girlfriend, and Jax, their little boy. Jax is now 10 months!

Cody and Jax! Such a sweet picture.

Cody has had a consult with an ENT to have a procedure done on his vocal cords. His left cord is still paralyzed from the electricity. There is a procedure where they clip a tiny device to the cords and the vibration of the right cord will stimulate the left cord. They are waiting on paperwork to be able to schedule the procedure. If successful Cody will have his voice back.

Sorry this was so random, long, and sporadic! I just wrote what came to mind. Thank you so much for your prayers and please continue to pray for Cody and for those that are hurting and need God's love. God is so great!!!

Back to Work

Note: Blog posts are from Cody's older sister, Jennifer.

Cody has been released and returned to work last Tuesday. He has been waiting for this day for the lsat 6 months!! It was a very emotional day for us as a family. It was so hard to see him leave. He's not to far, he's staying in Salina, Ks. But still he's just not right around the corner and he won't be coming in through my kitchen door without notice!! He's a grown up now and needs to provide for his family. It's just very bittersweet! A couple bible verses really help me through this hard time.

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you".

When I start to worry about all that could happen again this verse pops in my head and I am reminded to cast my worries to the Lord. Pray about them. They are not for me to stress about.

This holiday season will be so special for us. We have SO much to be thankful for. God has given us the greatest gift of all, he performed a miracle that is only spoken about in the Bible.

Another verse that I just love and speaks wonders on how much are family is grateful for what the Lord has done.

Psalm 126:3 "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy"

Better words can't be spoken!

The weekend before Cody left we got together once again as a family and ate lots of yummy food and had game night! It was such a blessing to be able to spend time together once again. We all to often take it for granted. The Sunday before Cody left we had Adylyn's (Cody's niece) birthday party. So everyone in the family (grandma's, grandpa's, Aunts, and Uncles) got the chance to hug Cody and see him before he returned to work. Cody comes home when he has a few days off so he can see his little boy Jax and girlfriend Vanessa. But it's getting that time of year again where he could be off in the Northern states working an ice storm. It's just a phone call away.

It's so surreal that it's getting back to normal. I have definitely learned to praise God in the good times so much more than I did before. We can't just lean on God and only go to Him when we are in need. I find myself praising God in my prayers for things just as much as I'm lifting my prayer requests to Him. I encourage you all to work in more praises and to always let God be in control. Not just in the hard times.

Again we thank each and every one of you for your prayers and everything that was done for our family during this time. It has been my biggest nightmare and at the same time a huge blessing.

God Bless You All,

Jennifer Hammons

Update on our Miracle!!

Cody went and had a follow up with his cardiologist. She has released him! It just blows my mind that someone who was shocked with 12000 volts of electricity and then shocked an additional 3 times by medical personnel to keep his heart beating has no damage. There is only one explanation for this. Cody is a miracle only from God. Dr. Gibson (Cody's cardiologist) still wants him to take his Coreg because his heart is in a constant "fight or flight" response. Basically his heart is beating faster than it should because it thinks it's under stress. She wants to see him back in 9 months for a check-up. He will be back to work by then and she wants to do another EKG and see what his heart looks like after being back in his regular activities. But she has released him for work.

Cody has another appt October 14th with Dr. Dilling (ear, nose, and throat) to determine what the next step is with his vocal cords. He also goes October 19th to see Dr. Fraley (doctor from Jim Thorpe Rehab floor). She will go over his neuro evaluation. She is the last doctor that needs to release Cody in order for him to return to work.

I can't believe that he could be returning to work so soon. We've enjoyed having him so close for so long. I don't want to let him go! I thank God everyday for giving us this gift. So much has come from Cody's accident. Family means so much more and we take every opportunity to be with one another. God has shed so many different lights in our lives and we will be eternally greatful for that. God is amazing and will continue to do amazing things with Faith. We never lost faith and neither should anybody else. Thank each of you for following and praying and I'll update after Cody's next appointments.

Thank You Lord!

Cody has been to a few doctor appointments in the last few weeks. First he went to Dr. Dilling an Ear, Nose, Throat specialist. His doctor from Jim Thorpe Rehab wanted him to see one before his next visit. Cody's speech therapist wasn't seeing an improvement so they went ahead and make the appointment. Dr. Dilling made the conclusion that Cody's left vocal cord is paralyzed, which is why his voice is the way it is. He wants him to come back in October. Dr. Dilling is going to give it a little more time so see if it'll start to work. If not there are a few options, surgery, botox injections, and a few more. Or if it doesn't bother Cody that his voice is the way it is then that'll be it. I think it's absolutely amazing that after all Cody has been through that his voice is the only thing we are dealing with! PRAISE GOD!

Cody has also gone back and seen Dr. Fraley from Jim Thorpe Rehab. She wants him to attend a driving school to check and make sure his reaction time and awareness are still good. She also wants him to visit a neuropsychologist to check and make sure everything is clicking and firing upstairs. She wants him to be as safe as possible for himself and those around him when he goes back to work. This is a 7 1/2 hour ordeal! Dr. Fraley would not release Cody at that visit. He goes back to see her in September and she hopes to release him then.

Cody went July 6th to see Dr. Gibson his cardiologist and Dr. Huff his pulmonologist. These are 2 amazing doctors and play a huge part in Cody's life. He saw Dr. Huff first. They performed a whole plethera of breathing tests and Cody passed. Dr. Huff released him. Which is another miracle. When the ER doctor came and talked to the family about Cody's condition it was his lungs that were a huge concern. They didn't think he would make it because his lungs were burnt and were full of fluid. PRAISE GOD! He then went straight over and saw Dr. Gibson. She performed an EKG on Cody and found no defects or imperfections. How could this be? He was shocked 4 times total and at one point only had 10% of his heart working. We can't deny God here! His blood pressure was elevated at the time of his appointment though. Dr. Gibson was a little concerned based on Cody's history. It could have been due to Cody coming immediately from his breathing tests or the fact that he was in a doctor's office!! Dr. Gibson wants him to check his blood pressure everyday for 12-14 days and at different times each day. Matt Miller from Miller EMS has agreed to help us out on this. Cody checked his BP at Evan's yesterday and it was already back down to normal levels. Hopefully it'll stay that way. High blood pressure runs on mom's side of the family so this is something that has to be watched.

God has definitely had his hand on Cody. Please pray that God continues to heal Cody the way he has been. Cody's recovery can only be explained by God. We are forever grateful for God's grace and mercy. Family means so much more to us. We cherish every single moment we have together. I urge you all to Thank God for your family and your health it could be gone in a heartbeat. Thank you so very much for the continued prayers. They have worked. The power of prayer is unbelievable!

Mike, Cody, and Ryan. Bowling for Father's Day and Cody and Jessi's birthday.

Jax Joe Johnson!

Cody and Vanessa welcomed their precious bundle of joy Sunday, June 6, 2010 at 10:25 am. Jax Joe Johnson weighed 6 lbs 14.2 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Both baby and momma are doing great. Jax is such a good baby. He sleeps all the time and is doing great nursing.

Here is Cody Joe meeting his new baby boy for the first time. This was amazing to see! Seeing our miracle hold his miracle for the first time was awesome. Meeting Jax for the first time!

Jax Joe Johnson! Isn't he just the cutest thing!

First picture of Jax!

Our Family returning to normal

Hello prayer warriors, it's Alicia, I told you awhile back that I would get on here and post about our amazing journey with Cody, so here I am. I'm really not sure where to start. Cody is home with me and is doing amazing. He was released from physical therapy yesterday but still needs to do speech therapy to work on his vocal cords, still don't know about permanent damage to them yet so please pray that they heal, but if they are damaged we are so fortunate that that is the worst we are dealing with. Praise be toGod!!! Please remember to always give thanks when you pray, even God likes to hear once in awhile that HE is doing a great job!!!! We as a family are trying to return to a normal lifestyle , not sure what that is anymore, but we are trying. Still have this overwhelming feeling of uneasyness all the time. They say that it will a long time before that will go away, if ever. I know God has blessed us with Cody's survival but am so scared most of the time, I can't look at him or touch him enough. I can't imagine him not being here. We watched a some dr show the other night and it had one of the casts dying and had to leave the room , was too close to the heart, I try not to let Cody know how my heart still aches with fear, because we are trying to act " normal" but I don't know what that is anymore. I know God has a plan for our family and I also know that WAITING is the hardest thing to do but am so afraid to let my guard down it's like i'm waiting for the next thing to happen. Does any of this make since??? Sounds like rambling doesn't it? I have been given the GREASTEST gift from GOD , My son and yet I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop as the saying goes, Dr's say you go thru a crazy emotional roller coaster after a tragedy, had no idea it would be this crazy. I just start crying for no reason and can't seem to stop, my tear factory should be dry by now. I would like to thank each of you for what you have done for Cody, all the prayers and posts helped us more then i can express.God heard you . I have talked to the two families that we have become close to while at the hospital and both their loved ones are doing better, Debbie Huggins has started breathing on her own, Dr.'s said it would take a miracle to save her, Aleshia Fadley is still waiting for 2nd liver but she is holding on . You have been heard again keep them in your prayers , they , the families, think Cody's prayer warriors has the red line phone to God , HA HA we know it's just God using us to reach them. Just another of the amazing things we have had the privilage to witness thru all of this. Jax is due any time , we are anxious to meet the special guy. we will post pics as soon as he arrives so keep checking the blog, I know we went fro hourly post to random postings but this is good, Cody's healing is at a point were he needs time to heal and get stronger but we will update as soon anything changes. Thank you again for all that each of you has done for us, you may say I really didn't do anything but you did you said a prayer, made a phone call, posted encouragment, those things gave us strength to keep going, as a mom I was so afraid God wouldn't hear our 15 or 20 prayers to save Cody then Jen would say mom we have this many people looking at the blog and saying a prayer and it gave me hope that with that many prayers being said at the same time it must be a roar in God's ears, Thank you seems so small but it's all I have. We serve an awesome God, always remember that, Give thanks for the small things , fall on God for the big things, HE IS ALWAYS THERE, WE JUST NEED TO BE PATIENT!!!!!! heard a very good saying suday God's delay is not God's denial , something to think about!!! If you have never heard the song and even if you have , Thats what faith can do by kutless listen to it, but close your eyes and really listen, it says everything !! We are so lucky to have you to share our miracle, some we will never meet, but know we think of you everyday you have touched our hearts, We love you all . Praise be to God

Cody and Vanessa's Maternity Pics