Howdy all. Once again it has been a while since my last update, and I have a feeling that this one will be my last. Over the course of the past couple months I feel like Jon and Allison's story is no longer mine to tell -- it has become their own as they move on with their life.
I don't mean to get all sappy and wax nostaligc, but it is pretty amazing to look back on what has happened since the accident. Six months ago Jon was recovering from major surgery and Allison was fighting for her life. Today, Jon and Allison are on a well-deserved vacation to Banff, Canada, and the wheelchair ramp was just removed. Here's some of the other stuff that has been happening.
Jon got approval to go back to work, starting next week. He has physical limitations to what they are allowing him to do, but I know he can't wait. He helped plan and build a large deck in the backyard for himself as well. Thanks to the Zav's, Jon V, Kyle, Dad, and anyone else that helped. Jon was so happy to be working again that we had to pull him off the job at the end of the day once we were all done - he was ready to outwork all of us. The extra weeks he was in his boot after the most recent surgery were pretty miserable, but he's happy to be out again and walking unassisted. He continues to have therapy on both his elbow and his foot and who knows how much he'll be getting back with those in the end, but I think he tries to not let it bother him. He'll have probably at least one more surgery to remove a plate in his elbow later on.
Allison is back to the hospital once a week for her continuing education classes. She's also driving short distances to and from the hospital and the store. She's back running and competed in the Danish Festival 4mi race in her hometown in Greenville last weekend. She said she wasn't trying to compete, but still managed to get 5th out of her age group - I think her being able to finish at all is just amazing. She's working on her balance and vision right now and getting all of her brain function back to where it needs to be. I know she's chomping at the bit to get back to being a full working doctor and hopefully that transition continues forward smoothly.
Obviously things are looking good compared to six months ago, and even good compared to two months ago or two weeks ago. I want to thank once again all of the friends and family, and even those of you I don't know that were such a great support. The endless thoughts and prayers, the nurses, doctors, and professional staff we enountered -- the State Farm staff, therapists, neighbors, and everyone that was involved in any way. I know that Jon and Allison will probably have to deal with the physical and emotional stresses of this accident for the rest of their lives, but I know that they are happy to try to get some of their own life back together and couldn't have done it without the support they have been given.
Ok, that's enough!
Dave
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
6/26/09
Well, it has been a while since my last update. I've been pretty busy and was focused on surviving a crazy bachelor trip party there for a while.
Jon did have his surgery two days ago, on June 24th. It was an outpatient surgery that took about an hour and a half. His orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jones, wasn't too sure what he would need to do to fix his troublesome tendon until he had his ankle opened up. It turned out that the tendon is actually in pretty good shape, nice and healthy, but that it was quite a bit out of place. From what I gathered, he had to remove the sheath around the tendon, split Jon's bone just above his ankle and carve out a groove for the tendon, move the tendon back over into that groove, and then re-wrap the tendon in its sheath. This will eventually make the tendon heal into that grooved bone and solve the problem of the tendon flopping back and forth over his ankle bone. Its pretty amazing, but after about 6 weeks I guess that the sheath will heal in place, forming scar tissue and attaching itself to the notched out bone. Also during the surgery Jon had his achilles lengthened. Dr. Jones made another incision higher up on his calf for this, and while he didn't go into it too much, from what I gathered I think what is done is some small holes are cut into the tendon and then stretched out. Once the holes heal, the tendon will be longer. I may be wrong on the actual procedure, but whatever the case, he said that Jon will have another 5-8 degrees of motion in his ankle with his upward flexion. This doesn't sound like a whole lot to me, but I guess it will help reduce some of the stress on his ankle, hopefully reducing some pain and helping his stride.
Jon's recovery this time seems to be going well. Obviously he is in pain with such an invasive surgery, but it is nothing like right after the accident. He is back in his wheelchair and back to sleeping on our main floor, but being able to use his arm and not having the pain in so many areas like last time definitely helps. He is in pain at the two areas of surgery in his leg when he points out where it hurts, which makes sense. He has accidentally flexed his calf muscle a couple times in the cast which causes him a ton of pain as well. However, he is not on nearly as many pain meds as last time and seems to be doing pretty well. Despite a bit of nausea right after surgery, he had his appetite back that night, and in my opinion has looked and felt better than he did for at least the first 6 or more weeks after the accident. We have both said that things seem to be going pretty well after this surgery and we both thought he'd be down longer and feeling worse than he does. He still wants to continue therapy on his elbow, and I'm planning on taking him later today to do so. Its good that he's feeling well enough to get out a bit and allow the therapist to cause him more pain hah.
For recovery, he is in a hard cast for two weeks, then back into his soft boot for 4 more. It sounds like keeping his ankle immobile so the tendon can heal in the correct place is the important thing, more important than keeping weight off of it like last time. He can put his foot down a little bit now while in the cast, and will be full weight bearing (depending on the pain) while he's in the boot. It sounds like he'll only be back in the wheelchair for the two weeks and after will at least be able to walk around short distances with his walker or cane. He's not excited to be in the hot sweaty boot for the whole month of July, but I'm sure he can tough it out.
Prior to this surgery, Jon had been doing quite well. He was walking without a cane and almost no visible limp. His range of motion on his elbow is improving, but slowly. He is able to cross his arms casually and comfortably, which is a big improvement over a couple of months ago. On the bachelor party he was a trooper, able to climb rocky hills, jump off the top of the houseboat, go down the water slide, and even climb up the rocks and go cliff jumping with us. Since he was back he has been swimming for some exercise (it is hard to pull underwater with his right arm so he always swims towards that one side which I find funny), has gone rock climbing, and has even played racquetball (which he regretted for a couple days). He has tried biking but putting the weight into his handlebars hurts his arm too much, so he tried out some recumbent bikes. A recumbent bike is one where you're sitting upright in almost a chair with your feet out in front of you, and your handlebars up higher so you're not leaning on them. Here's a picture for an example - http://img.alibaba.com/photo/10798856/Recumbent_Bike.jpg . He loved the bikes and is excited to get his own but obviously needs to get past this recovery for now. Its pretty cool because I wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to do some of those things again after the accident, and I'm sure he'll be back into it all again after this recovery.
I'm sure most if not all of you know, but Allison is back living at home, which is great. She came home about a week ago and really enjoyed being able to sleep in until noon or later for a few days, but is now back into therapy mode. She has outpatient therapies at Sojourners almost every day. She is seeing her physical therapist and speech therapist 3 times a week, recreational therapist 1-2 times a week, and her psychologist for keeping track of her mental progress about once a week. She has surgery to remove a cyst on her vocal cords towards the end of July that was formed due to the intubation tube. Once removed, it should fix her scratchy voice after 5 days of no talking at all. The cyst on her vocal cords is around the size of a blueberry, which apparently is quite big and is displacing her vocal cords completely. Her therapist was surprised she could talk at all right now, but its not causing her any pain or anything. In fact, I think Allison is not really in pain at all right now. She is up to running on a treadmill for 15 minutes, with warm up and cool down totaling around 2 miles. She is studying some of her medical board material with her speech therapist as part of her therapy and is thrilled to be doing so again (I don't know what's wrong with her, excited to study?!). At her release on Thursday, her psychologist said she is testing average or above on every measure of her brain right now, but that it still needs to improve before thinking about work again. Some of the measures, while average for her age group, need to be well above average to succeed in a high stress medical environment. The good news is that her mental recovery is still on the upward trend and they expect that to continue. The game plan now is to keep with her current therapy schedule and let her recover from her surgery in a few weeks, then take the full day-long battery of neurological tests again to get a clear picture where she's at and what is next.
Oh I almost forgot, but on Wednesday while Jon was in surgery Allison and I went up to the 4th floor where both Jon and she stayed in Spectrum. I pointed out Jon's room and then we moved on to the ICU. Allison has no memory of Spectrum at all, but she brought some thank you cards for the people who cared for her there. She had worked in the surgical ICU for a while so she had some contacts there already, and she spent time talking to different nurses and doctors. We had a visit from Dr. Hogeboom (sp?) who was her primary doctor, and from several nurses which either worked with her as a doctor or worked on her as a patient. Everyone was amazed at how well she was doing and how good she looked, especially when she told them that she got out of residential care just last week and that she was non weight bearing for 14 weeks. It was good for Allison to visit with some old friends and coworkers, and for them to see their patient up and walking and in good spirits.
Well, that's it for now, thanks for reading.
Jon did have his surgery two days ago, on June 24th. It was an outpatient surgery that took about an hour and a half. His orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jones, wasn't too sure what he would need to do to fix his troublesome tendon until he had his ankle opened up. It turned out that the tendon is actually in pretty good shape, nice and healthy, but that it was quite a bit out of place. From what I gathered, he had to remove the sheath around the tendon, split Jon's bone just above his ankle and carve out a groove for the tendon, move the tendon back over into that groove, and then re-wrap the tendon in its sheath. This will eventually make the tendon heal into that grooved bone and solve the problem of the tendon flopping back and forth over his ankle bone. Its pretty amazing, but after about 6 weeks I guess that the sheath will heal in place, forming scar tissue and attaching itself to the notched out bone. Also during the surgery Jon had his achilles lengthened. Dr. Jones made another incision higher up on his calf for this, and while he didn't go into it too much, from what I gathered I think what is done is some small holes are cut into the tendon and then stretched out. Once the holes heal, the tendon will be longer. I may be wrong on the actual procedure, but whatever the case, he said that Jon will have another 5-8 degrees of motion in his ankle with his upward flexion. This doesn't sound like a whole lot to me, but I guess it will help reduce some of the stress on his ankle, hopefully reducing some pain and helping his stride.
Jon's recovery this time seems to be going well. Obviously he is in pain with such an invasive surgery, but it is nothing like right after the accident. He is back in his wheelchair and back to sleeping on our main floor, but being able to use his arm and not having the pain in so many areas like last time definitely helps. He is in pain at the two areas of surgery in his leg when he points out where it hurts, which makes sense. He has accidentally flexed his calf muscle a couple times in the cast which causes him a ton of pain as well. However, he is not on nearly as many pain meds as last time and seems to be doing pretty well. Despite a bit of nausea right after surgery, he had his appetite back that night, and in my opinion has looked and felt better than he did for at least the first 6 or more weeks after the accident. We have both said that things seem to be going pretty well after this surgery and we both thought he'd be down longer and feeling worse than he does. He still wants to continue therapy on his elbow, and I'm planning on taking him later today to do so. Its good that he's feeling well enough to get out a bit and allow the therapist to cause him more pain hah.
For recovery, he is in a hard cast for two weeks, then back into his soft boot for 4 more. It sounds like keeping his ankle immobile so the tendon can heal in the correct place is the important thing, more important than keeping weight off of it like last time. He can put his foot down a little bit now while in the cast, and will be full weight bearing (depending on the pain) while he's in the boot. It sounds like he'll only be back in the wheelchair for the two weeks and after will at least be able to walk around short distances with his walker or cane. He's not excited to be in the hot sweaty boot for the whole month of July, but I'm sure he can tough it out.
Prior to this surgery, Jon had been doing quite well. He was walking without a cane and almost no visible limp. His range of motion on his elbow is improving, but slowly. He is able to cross his arms casually and comfortably, which is a big improvement over a couple of months ago. On the bachelor party he was a trooper, able to climb rocky hills, jump off the top of the houseboat, go down the water slide, and even climb up the rocks and go cliff jumping with us. Since he was back he has been swimming for some exercise (it is hard to pull underwater with his right arm so he always swims towards that one side which I find funny), has gone rock climbing, and has even played racquetball (which he regretted for a couple days). He has tried biking but putting the weight into his handlebars hurts his arm too much, so he tried out some recumbent bikes. A recumbent bike is one where you're sitting upright in almost a chair with your feet out in front of you, and your handlebars up higher so you're not leaning on them. Here's a picture for an example - http://img.alibaba.com/photo/10798856/Recumbent_Bike.jpg . He loved the bikes and is excited to get his own but obviously needs to get past this recovery for now. Its pretty cool because I wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to do some of those things again after the accident, and I'm sure he'll be back into it all again after this recovery.
I'm sure most if not all of you know, but Allison is back living at home, which is great. She came home about a week ago and really enjoyed being able to sleep in until noon or later for a few days, but is now back into therapy mode. She has outpatient therapies at Sojourners almost every day. She is seeing her physical therapist and speech therapist 3 times a week, recreational therapist 1-2 times a week, and her psychologist for keeping track of her mental progress about once a week. She has surgery to remove a cyst on her vocal cords towards the end of July that was formed due to the intubation tube. Once removed, it should fix her scratchy voice after 5 days of no talking at all. The cyst on her vocal cords is around the size of a blueberry, which apparently is quite big and is displacing her vocal cords completely. Her therapist was surprised she could talk at all right now, but its not causing her any pain or anything. In fact, I think Allison is not really in pain at all right now. She is up to running on a treadmill for 15 minutes, with warm up and cool down totaling around 2 miles. She is studying some of her medical board material with her speech therapist as part of her therapy and is thrilled to be doing so again (I don't know what's wrong with her, excited to study?!). At her release on Thursday, her psychologist said she is testing average or above on every measure of her brain right now, but that it still needs to improve before thinking about work again. Some of the measures, while average for her age group, need to be well above average to succeed in a high stress medical environment. The good news is that her mental recovery is still on the upward trend and they expect that to continue. The game plan now is to keep with her current therapy schedule and let her recover from her surgery in a few weeks, then take the full day-long battery of neurological tests again to get a clear picture where she's at and what is next.
Oh I almost forgot, but on Wednesday while Jon was in surgery Allison and I went up to the 4th floor where both Jon and she stayed in Spectrum. I pointed out Jon's room and then we moved on to the ICU. Allison has no memory of Spectrum at all, but she brought some thank you cards for the people who cared for her there. She had worked in the surgical ICU for a while so she had some contacts there already, and she spent time talking to different nurses and doctors. We had a visit from Dr. Hogeboom (sp?) who was her primary doctor, and from several nurses which either worked with her as a doctor or worked on her as a patient. Everyone was amazed at how well she was doing and how good she looked, especially when she told them that she got out of residential care just last week and that she was non weight bearing for 14 weeks. It was good for Allison to visit with some old friends and coworkers, and for them to see their patient up and walking and in good spirits.
Well, that's it for now, thanks for reading.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
5/19/09
I'm still on vacation, just passing on some secondhand news by way of my Mom who talked to Jon yesterday.
The tendon that is loose and flopping over his ankle does need to have surgery, and pretty soon. He is scheduled for an outpatient surgery on June 24 but is on a cancellation list to get him in sooner if possible. He can keep walking and doing what he's doing for now, but after the surgery will be in a cast again and non weight bearing for 2 weeks. My mom said he didn't seem too sad about it, but I'll bet he's glad that it is after our bachelor party houseboat trip next month.
The tendon that is loose and flopping over his ankle does need to have surgery, and pretty soon. He is scheduled for an outpatient surgery on June 24 but is on a cancellation list to get him in sooner if possible. He can keep walking and doing what he's doing for now, but after the surgery will be in a cast again and non weight bearing for 2 weeks. My mom said he didn't seem too sad about it, but I'll bet he's glad that it is after our bachelor party houseboat trip next month.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
5/14/09
Today was Allison's family meeting at Sojourner's.
Things went quite well, once again everyone is happy with her hard work and determination. Jon is now approved to transport her by himself. They also are allowing overnight passes (one night per weekend). Jon will be picking Allison up after her therapies tomorrow and is taking her home to spend the night together for the first time in 11 weeks. They are both thrilled to get some real time together, and Jon is trying to plan a date night with different activities.
All of her therapists are happy with her progress. She is always pushing herself to get better, taking on new challenges and telling them to make things harder if she thinks they are too easy. They still have things they will be working on with her and will be giving her a list of what she needs work on yet. Her Psychologist went over her neruo-psych test results from 2 weeks ago that I mentioned in a previous entry. He said that even that testing from 2 weeks ago has since been outdated, since she is doing so well and improving rapidly. He said she has shown 'remarkable improvement given her injury', but cautions that she is not there yet. There still needs to be more healing for her to return to her regular life. She has some deficiencies in certain areas, including divided attention, alternating attention, memory, and some hands-on tasks like hand-eye coordination. In all areas, however, she is still showing great improvements. Everyone is real encouraged. Some areas where she is testing really well at are her verbal skills, like her use of vocabulary and her comprehension and judgement.
One thing we and especially Jon has noticed is her somewhat flat affect. Jon described it best once when he said that before the accident that if he were to paint Allison it would be an active painting with jagged edges and bright colors. Now, he would be using more neutral and gray tones - almost subdued. Her Psychologist said that this is due to her brain injury and that it will fade with time as she continues to improve. Granted, Allison is definitely herself and generally happy and determined, just not as vibrant as before at times. I'm talking about this as if Allie is a zombie or something and she definitely is not. Its hard to describe, but its great to see her in a setting with family and friends where she can laugh and tell stories and truly be herself. One example Jon gave to illustrate what I mean is when they took her swimsuit shopping last week for her pool therapy. Before the accident, she would have wanted to try on every suit her size and in every possible color before she made her choice. This time, she tried on two and then asked Jon to choose. Jon joked that he could deal with that -- it sure would make shopping for jeans easier.
Given all this, they want Allison to stay at Sojourner's for another 30 day block. They will continue to work on improving what needs improvements. They want to push her stimulation and try to get her in more high activity and high stress situations. She has a meeting with her Orthopedic surgeon that worked on her pelvis, foot, and arm, Dr. Endres, on May 27 and expect more of her weight restrictions lifted so they can start more physical therapy as well. We have a family meeting on June 18 to discuss again how she is doing. Allison didn't really like the decision to stay another full 30 day block, but her being able to spend more time at home will help, and if she can get through these hardships now for the better chance at having a full recovery, I think she will be able to look back and know it was the right decision.
Jon is still doing well, getting more and more independent. He's in a lot of pain in his foot and it swells up pretty big when he's walking on it, but the therapists say that he should keep pushing it so it will strengthen and heal. He's got one tendon that flops back and forth over his ankle bone when he bends his foot which isn't good and will need to be looked at - I think that's primarily what gives him pain. He says that it feels like he's walking on a bad sprain, but he's getting through it ok. He's practially given up on the wheelchair and is only using his cane -- so much for being on crutches for 6 months.
His elbow is healing as well, although he's describing a new pain in it that feels hot, like its burning. When he bends it now its making some really funky and loud grinding/popping noises. However, he was able to have his elbow bent the farthest it has been yesterday, all the way to 135 degrees which is almost full range on the bending. This was done with his therapist putting all her weight into it and him nearly passing out from the pain so its not there yet, but it is improving. His regular everyday range of motion is not nearly that far and I know they are working on his extension as well.
I'm going to be out of town for a week and a half so I won't be having any updates in that time. Take care all.
Things went quite well, once again everyone is happy with her hard work and determination. Jon is now approved to transport her by himself. They also are allowing overnight passes (one night per weekend). Jon will be picking Allison up after her therapies tomorrow and is taking her home to spend the night together for the first time in 11 weeks. They are both thrilled to get some real time together, and Jon is trying to plan a date night with different activities.
All of her therapists are happy with her progress. She is always pushing herself to get better, taking on new challenges and telling them to make things harder if she thinks they are too easy. They still have things they will be working on with her and will be giving her a list of what she needs work on yet. Her Psychologist went over her neruo-psych test results from 2 weeks ago that I mentioned in a previous entry. He said that even that testing from 2 weeks ago has since been outdated, since she is doing so well and improving rapidly. He said she has shown 'remarkable improvement given her injury', but cautions that she is not there yet. There still needs to be more healing for her to return to her regular life. She has some deficiencies in certain areas, including divided attention, alternating attention, memory, and some hands-on tasks like hand-eye coordination. In all areas, however, she is still showing great improvements. Everyone is real encouraged. Some areas where she is testing really well at are her verbal skills, like her use of vocabulary and her comprehension and judgement.
One thing we and especially Jon has noticed is her somewhat flat affect. Jon described it best once when he said that before the accident that if he were to paint Allison it would be an active painting with jagged edges and bright colors. Now, he would be using more neutral and gray tones - almost subdued. Her Psychologist said that this is due to her brain injury and that it will fade with time as she continues to improve. Granted, Allison is definitely herself and generally happy and determined, just not as vibrant as before at times. I'm talking about this as if Allie is a zombie or something and she definitely is not. Its hard to describe, but its great to see her in a setting with family and friends where she can laugh and tell stories and truly be herself. One example Jon gave to illustrate what I mean is when they took her swimsuit shopping last week for her pool therapy. Before the accident, she would have wanted to try on every suit her size and in every possible color before she made her choice. This time, she tried on two and then asked Jon to choose. Jon joked that he could deal with that -- it sure would make shopping for jeans easier.
Given all this, they want Allison to stay at Sojourner's for another 30 day block. They will continue to work on improving what needs improvements. They want to push her stimulation and try to get her in more high activity and high stress situations. She has a meeting with her Orthopedic surgeon that worked on her pelvis, foot, and arm, Dr. Endres, on May 27 and expect more of her weight restrictions lifted so they can start more physical therapy as well. We have a family meeting on June 18 to discuss again how she is doing. Allison didn't really like the decision to stay another full 30 day block, but her being able to spend more time at home will help, and if she can get through these hardships now for the better chance at having a full recovery, I think she will be able to look back and know it was the right decision.
Jon is still doing well, getting more and more independent. He's in a lot of pain in his foot and it swells up pretty big when he's walking on it, but the therapists say that he should keep pushing it so it will strengthen and heal. He's got one tendon that flops back and forth over his ankle bone when he bends his foot which isn't good and will need to be looked at - I think that's primarily what gives him pain. He says that it feels like he's walking on a bad sprain, but he's getting through it ok. He's practially given up on the wheelchair and is only using his cane -- so much for being on crutches for 6 months.
His elbow is healing as well, although he's describing a new pain in it that feels hot, like its burning. When he bends it now its making some really funky and loud grinding/popping noises. However, he was able to have his elbow bent the farthest it has been yesterday, all the way to 135 degrees which is almost full range on the bending. This was done with his therapist putting all her weight into it and him nearly passing out from the pain so its not there yet, but it is improving. His regular everyday range of motion is not nearly that far and I know they are working on his extension as well.
I'm going to be out of town for a week and a half so I won't be having any updates in that time. Take care all.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
5/7/09
Jon is doing really well.
He got approved to walk without his boot on. Its surprising how fast things get approved without him being tested on it, but they said it was fine to not wear the boot. He still wears it around while walking any major distance because it keeps the pain down not bending it so much, but I think he especially likes not wearing the boot while he sleeps.
Jon was mostly asleep when I came home late tonight, but he had his foot propped way with pillows up while asleep which was the first time he has had to elevate that foot since about week 2. I think its hurting with all this action and movement and weight on it. He needs to not overdo things and I think he's realizing that.
The new anti-inflammatory medication seems to be working well for his elbow. Either that, or he's just turned a corner and it happens to coincide with with medication change. He was able to go to 131 degrees passive range (someone cranking on it), and 122 degrees active (him moving it under his own muscle power). For reference, I think his good arm can go up to 145 degrees. He was only able to make it to around 120 last week with the hardest of pushes from a therapist to the limit of his pain. Being able to bend to his old ultimate limit on his own after a week or two is great. He's still working on his extension.
Night!
He got approved to walk without his boot on. Its surprising how fast things get approved without him being tested on it, but they said it was fine to not wear the boot. He still wears it around while walking any major distance because it keeps the pain down not bending it so much, but I think he especially likes not wearing the boot while he sleeps.
Jon was mostly asleep when I came home late tonight, but he had his foot propped way with pillows up while asleep which was the first time he has had to elevate that foot since about week 2. I think its hurting with all this action and movement and weight on it. He needs to not overdo things and I think he's realizing that.
The new anti-inflammatory medication seems to be working well for his elbow. Either that, or he's just turned a corner and it happens to coincide with with medication change. He was able to go to 131 degrees passive range (someone cranking on it), and 122 degrees active (him moving it under his own muscle power). For reference, I think his good arm can go up to 145 degrees. He was only able to make it to around 120 last week with the hardest of pushes from a therapist to the limit of his pain. Being able to bend to his old ultimate limit on his own after a week or two is great. He's still working on his extension.
Night!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
5/5/09
Jon was able to stand up in the shower today for the whole duration for the first time today. It looks like we may be able to get rid of the shower chair and put the bathroom doors back on their hinges soon (they were off so he could get his wheelchair in). Pretty cool.
Monday, May 4, 2009
5/4/09, PM
Jon walks like a champ.
He went in and his physical therapist had a student trainer in with him. Jon started off real slow, bracing himself with some parallel bars, and taking some hesitant steps. By the time he got to the end of the bars, he was taking full strides. The therapist said to his student, with a smile on his face, "See, I told you he'd just take off on his own". Once again, holding him back will be the only problem.
He's got a cane now, as well as his old walker. For anything more than getting around the house he still has his wheelchair. When walking he still has to wear his boot, although in therapy they are working on walking with an air cast which allows for more movement.
Great day.
Oh yeah, and he bent his elbow today more than he ever has been able to before, both with someone cranking on it and with him moving it on his own. With his new anti-inflamitory meds he's in more pain, but able to get more range so he's happy.
Sleep tight.
He went in and his physical therapist had a student trainer in with him. Jon started off real slow, bracing himself with some parallel bars, and taking some hesitant steps. By the time he got to the end of the bars, he was taking full strides. The therapist said to his student, with a smile on his face, "See, I told you he'd just take off on his own". Once again, holding him back will be the only problem.
He's got a cane now, as well as his old walker. For anything more than getting around the house he still has his wheelchair. When walking he still has to wear his boot, although in therapy they are working on walking with an air cast which allows for more movement.
Great day.
Oh yeah, and he bent his elbow today more than he ever has been able to before, both with someone cranking on it and with him moving it on his own. With his new anti-inflamitory meds he's in more pain, but able to get more range so he's happy.
Sleep tight.
5/4/09, AM
Hey folks.
Today is a big day because Jon's weight restriction is being (partially) lifted on his left leg. He is heading off to therapy a little later this morning to try to re-learn how to walk. He is super excited to get to work on his foot and leg, and to get more mobility back. All he has been able to do for the past 10 weeks is just to take his boot off and rotate his ankle around for therapy. To get around without his wheelchair he has only been able to hop on one foot so using both feet will be a great change. I'm sure it will take a while for him to truly walk normally and that it will be a very slow process, but he's looking forward to doing more and more.
His elbow is progressing slowly. He's getting more range of motion week by week, but I know its frustrating for him because he wants to be able to do more. It seems like the speed at which he's able to get his elbow past 90 and to its max is picking up but that the max angle isn't coming along very fast. The big plate in his elbow he feels is hindering his movement, especially his extension, and can't wait for it to come out (which will be in 6ish months?).
Allison is doing very well. For those of you not keeping up with her CarePage, she went through a day-long battery of neurological tests last Thursday to really determine where her brain function level is at. She did better than anyone expected. For her age and education level she tested at an overall 'average' level, while her verbal tests were 'above average'. Anyone who knows Allison knows that she was far from average before the accident, so she still has some hard work ahead. On some of the tests she is testing quite low while others she is functioning quite well. I don't remember specifically the measure, but in one level that she tested very low at a few weeks ago she did see pretty dramatic improvements. The doctors at Sojourners were amazed at how well she is doing. We're very happy that she's at the place where she has seen these improvements, and hope that they continue. Jon said that on Friday when he was in with her while the results were being given that it was tied for the happiest day of his life, the other being their wedding day. We're all remaining optimistic that she will continue to work hard and improve.
When I went to see her last week I found it funny, but classic Allison, that she was studying for her neuro test. Its not something that you can really study for, but she was doing it anyway. She had made an alphabetical list of all the animals that she knew. The list was over two pages long, single spaced, 3 columns of animals per page. She then went about trying to memorize the whole thing, and was planning on moving on to vegetables after that (which I don't think she had time for). She did this because in a lot of her speech therapy and neuro testing, I guess they ask her to name as many (whatever) that start with the letter (whatever). So, to prepare in case they asked name as many animals that start with the letter C, she could rattle off a ton of them. I'm not sure that this ended up helping her test taking ability, but she didn't care - she wanted to do whatever she could.
Also last week both Jon and Allison had a doctor's appointment with their doctor from Mary Free Bed, Dr. Bloom. For those of you that have visited and talked with Allison since the accident, you will have noticed that her voice has become very raspy and hoarse. Dr. Bloom thought that this was due to the insertion of her breathing tube and how long it was in. He said that it probably caused some damage which then formed scar tissue around her vocal cords, which is causing the voice change. She will eventually go to a throat specialist and have a camera sent down to take a look. There's a possibility that she would have surgery to fix some of that problem, but there's also a possibility that she could have a raspy voice for the rest of her life. They won't do anything for it until her neck collar is off.
A very pressing issue for Allison and for all of us has been her ability to try to get back to work. Allison was pretty set on trying to get back to work in June. That was great for her rehab work ethic to have a lofty goal, but we have been trying to help her think realistically as well. June was big for her because then she wouldn't have to repeat her internship year. She expressed this to Dr. Bloom and he told her flat out that she will not be back in June and that she needs to focus only on her recovery for now. Her ultimate goal should be to get back to work, for sure, but to put any time frame on it is very difficult at this point. She can only go back to work when she's fully ready for such a high-pace, high-stress situation and that time is not in the near future. Once again, she has a lot of work to do, but I'm sure she is up for the challenge.
Today is a big day because Jon's weight restriction is being (partially) lifted on his left leg. He is heading off to therapy a little later this morning to try to re-learn how to walk. He is super excited to get to work on his foot and leg, and to get more mobility back. All he has been able to do for the past 10 weeks is just to take his boot off and rotate his ankle around for therapy. To get around without his wheelchair he has only been able to hop on one foot so using both feet will be a great change. I'm sure it will take a while for him to truly walk normally and that it will be a very slow process, but he's looking forward to doing more and more.
His elbow is progressing slowly. He's getting more range of motion week by week, but I know its frustrating for him because he wants to be able to do more. It seems like the speed at which he's able to get his elbow past 90 and to its max is picking up but that the max angle isn't coming along very fast. The big plate in his elbow he feels is hindering his movement, especially his extension, and can't wait for it to come out (which will be in 6ish months?).
Allison is doing very well. For those of you not keeping up with her CarePage, she went through a day-long battery of neurological tests last Thursday to really determine where her brain function level is at. She did better than anyone expected. For her age and education level she tested at an overall 'average' level, while her verbal tests were 'above average'. Anyone who knows Allison knows that she was far from average before the accident, so she still has some hard work ahead. On some of the tests she is testing quite low while others she is functioning quite well. I don't remember specifically the measure, but in one level that she tested very low at a few weeks ago she did see pretty dramatic improvements. The doctors at Sojourners were amazed at how well she is doing. We're very happy that she's at the place where she has seen these improvements, and hope that they continue. Jon said that on Friday when he was in with her while the results were being given that it was tied for the happiest day of his life, the other being their wedding day. We're all remaining optimistic that she will continue to work hard and improve.
When I went to see her last week I found it funny, but classic Allison, that she was studying for her neuro test. Its not something that you can really study for, but she was doing it anyway. She had made an alphabetical list of all the animals that she knew. The list was over two pages long, single spaced, 3 columns of animals per page. She then went about trying to memorize the whole thing, and was planning on moving on to vegetables after that (which I don't think she had time for). She did this because in a lot of her speech therapy and neuro testing, I guess they ask her to name as many (whatever) that start with the letter (whatever). So, to prepare in case they asked name as many animals that start with the letter C, she could rattle off a ton of them. I'm not sure that this ended up helping her test taking ability, but she didn't care - she wanted to do whatever she could.
Also last week both Jon and Allison had a doctor's appointment with their doctor from Mary Free Bed, Dr. Bloom. For those of you that have visited and talked with Allison since the accident, you will have noticed that her voice has become very raspy and hoarse. Dr. Bloom thought that this was due to the insertion of her breathing tube and how long it was in. He said that it probably caused some damage which then formed scar tissue around her vocal cords, which is causing the voice change. She will eventually go to a throat specialist and have a camera sent down to take a look. There's a possibility that she would have surgery to fix some of that problem, but there's also a possibility that she could have a raspy voice for the rest of her life. They won't do anything for it until her neck collar is off.
A very pressing issue for Allison and for all of us has been her ability to try to get back to work. Allison was pretty set on trying to get back to work in June. That was great for her rehab work ethic to have a lofty goal, but we have been trying to help her think realistically as well. June was big for her because then she wouldn't have to repeat her internship year. She expressed this to Dr. Bloom and he told her flat out that she will not be back in June and that she needs to focus only on her recovery for now. Her ultimate goal should be to get back to work, for sure, but to put any time frame on it is very difficult at this point. She can only go back to work when she's fully ready for such a high-pace, high-stress situation and that time is not in the near future. Once again, she has a lot of work to do, but I'm sure she is up for the challenge.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
4/22/09
I figured I better write an update since it has been a while.
Things are sill going well, progression for both Jon and Allison.
Allison was able to come home on Saturday for a while and she seemed to be doing well while Jen and Jon visited. I grilled some steaks and hot dogs.
Allison had a visit with Dr. Jones, the orthopedic surgeon who did surgery on Jon and who also saw Allison about her spinal fractures. He said that she is healing well but still will need to keep her collar on most times. She can take it off to eat and to shower. Naturally, Allison decided to take 2 hour showers and to extend her eating times as much as possible, but I think Jon was able to talk her into listening to the doctor and not doing that. So, she's healing, but it will be a bit until the neck brace is off totally.
Jon continues to improve and seems to kick ass at therapy. The other day I was hanging out while he was showering and he yelled "Dave!! I'm washing my head with my right arm!!!!!". It seems like we aren't progressing very fast in the movement of the arm until we look at what he can do now compared to what couldn't be done earlier. Today in therapy he bent his arm to 120 degrees, the most that it has ever been bent. He even did it on his own, bending the right arm with the left while sitting upright, he was very proud of that.
Still more therapy for both, and still gradual gains, but still all positive.
BTW from the message before, I hear that Ian's heart surgery went fine and he's recovering well.
Things are sill going well, progression for both Jon and Allison.
Allison was able to come home on Saturday for a while and she seemed to be doing well while Jen and Jon visited. I grilled some steaks and hot dogs.
Allison had a visit with Dr. Jones, the orthopedic surgeon who did surgery on Jon and who also saw Allison about her spinal fractures. He said that she is healing well but still will need to keep her collar on most times. She can take it off to eat and to shower. Naturally, Allison decided to take 2 hour showers and to extend her eating times as much as possible, but I think Jon was able to talk her into listening to the doctor and not doing that. So, she's healing, but it will be a bit until the neck brace is off totally.
Jon continues to improve and seems to kick ass at therapy. The other day I was hanging out while he was showering and he yelled "Dave!! I'm washing my head with my right arm!!!!!". It seems like we aren't progressing very fast in the movement of the arm until we look at what he can do now compared to what couldn't be done earlier. Today in therapy he bent his arm to 120 degrees, the most that it has ever been bent. He even did it on his own, bending the right arm with the left while sitting upright, he was very proud of that.
Still more therapy for both, and still gradual gains, but still all positive.
BTW from the message before, I hear that Ian's heart surgery went fine and he's recovering well.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
4/15/09
Today went really well.
The family meeting today at Sojourner's went fine, nothing too surprising. They are going to have her there still for at least one more month, we will have another similar meeting at that time. We heard from her Recreational, Physical, and Occupational therapists, as well as her Social Worker and her Psychologist. One common theme amongst them all is how hard she is working and how much of a willing participant she is in all of her therapies. They are all very pleased with her progress so far. They even commented on how much a positive influence she is on the other residents there in that program, due to her attitude and determination. She is at the best place for her recovery right now and they all have the goal of getting her back as much as possible, with the ultimate goal of getting her back to work as a Doctor.
Everyone was very optimistic about her progress so far and we didn't have any bad news, but we do realize that she has a long way to go. Her Psychologist especially had some interesting information to share. He talked about a lot of the tests she is going through and I don't recall it all, but she is testing quite low in certain areas and higher in others. She can solve some very complex puzzles and has good strategies in place for her memory retention, but in other areas will need a lot of help to get her full functioning back and re-develop what she is missing. They will continue to work with her for a month then see where she is at at that point. They are talking about getting her out into the community more and will be doing a full battery of neurological tests sometime next week. The physical and occupational therapists were waiting for some of her physical restrictions to be lifted to do more things with her, which leads me to....
Allison's orthopedic appointment went great today! She is now approved to be full weight bearing on her broken right arm. They will be working with her now to regain more strength in that arm and to help with her pronate/supenate range of motion. She is also now full weight bearing on her right leg. Given, these restrictions are limited by range of motion and pain. The right leg is actually the one with the broken ankle, but it has been healing well. She is not weight bearing yet on her left leg due to her pelvis - most of her pelvic injuries were on her left side and that will take a while yet to heal. Because of all this, she will work on not having to use a slide board for transfers, and will be graduating to a regular wheelchair or walker soon (she had a handle-driven wheelchair that was very exhausting for her left arm, her only way to both propel and steer).
Her orthopedic surgeon is very pleased with her healing. Allison does not need to take the blood thinning Lovenox shot now anymore since she will be much more active, which she is elated to hear. She's been approved to start some aqua therapy now in the pool. I think her Physical and Occupational therapists will be happy to hear that they have a lot to work on with her now. Her pelvic pain the Doctor said was pretty normal and a sign of healing. We were worried about her pain in her pelvis, but it sounds like it is pretty normal and somewhat expected. There's nothing wrong with her healing at any of her sites. She will be in some decent pain now, but will be making good progress we hope.
As far as her neck goes, that is being referred to Dr. Jones, who saw her about that initially. She has an appointment with him next Tuesday so we'll know more then, but she still may need to keep her neck collar on for a while, I'm sure that's not something they want to mess with.
Jon is very happy with this news. Once again its a waiting game, but they are both healing and getting better by the day. We all hope that it continues.
One last quick note. Allison's brother, Ian, is going in for surgery on his heart tomorrow. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Dave
The family meeting today at Sojourner's went fine, nothing too surprising. They are going to have her there still for at least one more month, we will have another similar meeting at that time. We heard from her Recreational, Physical, and Occupational therapists, as well as her Social Worker and her Psychologist. One common theme amongst them all is how hard she is working and how much of a willing participant she is in all of her therapies. They are all very pleased with her progress so far. They even commented on how much a positive influence she is on the other residents there in that program, due to her attitude and determination. She is at the best place for her recovery right now and they all have the goal of getting her back as much as possible, with the ultimate goal of getting her back to work as a Doctor.
Everyone was very optimistic about her progress so far and we didn't have any bad news, but we do realize that she has a long way to go. Her Psychologist especially had some interesting information to share. He talked about a lot of the tests she is going through and I don't recall it all, but she is testing quite low in certain areas and higher in others. She can solve some very complex puzzles and has good strategies in place for her memory retention, but in other areas will need a lot of help to get her full functioning back and re-develop what she is missing. They will continue to work with her for a month then see where she is at at that point. They are talking about getting her out into the community more and will be doing a full battery of neurological tests sometime next week. The physical and occupational therapists were waiting for some of her physical restrictions to be lifted to do more things with her, which leads me to....
Allison's orthopedic appointment went great today! She is now approved to be full weight bearing on her broken right arm. They will be working with her now to regain more strength in that arm and to help with her pronate/supenate range of motion. She is also now full weight bearing on her right leg. Given, these restrictions are limited by range of motion and pain. The right leg is actually the one with the broken ankle, but it has been healing well. She is not weight bearing yet on her left leg due to her pelvis - most of her pelvic injuries were on her left side and that will take a while yet to heal. Because of all this, she will work on not having to use a slide board for transfers, and will be graduating to a regular wheelchair or walker soon (she had a handle-driven wheelchair that was very exhausting for her left arm, her only way to both propel and steer).
Her orthopedic surgeon is very pleased with her healing. Allison does not need to take the blood thinning Lovenox shot now anymore since she will be much more active, which she is elated to hear. She's been approved to start some aqua therapy now in the pool. I think her Physical and Occupational therapists will be happy to hear that they have a lot to work on with her now. Her pelvic pain the Doctor said was pretty normal and a sign of healing. We were worried about her pain in her pelvis, but it sounds like it is pretty normal and somewhat expected. There's nothing wrong with her healing at any of her sites. She will be in some decent pain now, but will be making good progress we hope.
As far as her neck goes, that is being referred to Dr. Jones, who saw her about that initially. She has an appointment with him next Tuesday so we'll know more then, but she still may need to keep her neck collar on for a while, I'm sure that's not something they want to mess with.
Jon is very happy with this news. Once again its a waiting game, but they are both healing and getting better by the day. We all hope that it continues.
One last quick note. Allison's brother, Ian, is going in for surgery on his heart tomorrow. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Dave
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
4/14/09
Easter went really well, it was great having Allison and all of the Turnbulls over for a nice lunch/dinner on a great day. I think both Jon and Allison were a little tired, but they got to spend some good time with each other and with the whole family.
Yesterday Jon was once again able to range his elbow more than he had before. Now that he has active movement on that arm he seems to be progressing well. He was shouting with joy yesterday after I stretched his arm because he was able to touch his own face with his right hand while laying down. He says every time he touches something new its like a whole new experience, the touch of his whiskers yesterday he said felt really weird.
Jon has been cleared to drive, which was surprising because of how easy it was. We assumed that they would have to test him on his reflexes and range of motion, but all that was needed was a simple phone call. MFB checked with his doctor(s) and they cleared him for 'light driving'. They suggested that we take him to an empty parking lot so he can get used to it first, and that he really practice getting his wheelchair in and out of the car. Yesterday he and I went out and practiced these things and we ended up going to dinner, to the store, and got gas. He had no problems getting the wheelchair in and out of the trunk (its not really light, but he mostly uses his left arm) and hopping to the front of the car to get in. He was driving without difficulty and was able to turn the steering wheel fine with both arms in use. He drove himself to therapy today and is happy to not rely on the sometimes sketchy taxi service anymore.
His therapy is going pretty well, they are pleased with his progress. It wasn't clear through the doctor's orders what is cleared or not for him to do in therapy, but Jon is pushing it along as much as he can. They weren't sure about using exercise machines but he went for it, using some light weights, an arm bike, and other different machines for exercise. Jon also did get the modified walker I mentioned earlier. It was fitted with a little platform for him to rest his right forearm on, but he really didn't like it at all. Not only did the platform dig in right where his surgery site and plates were in his elbow, but whenever he hopped forward it would cause his elbow to bend to painful levels. He got the OK to take the platform off yesterday and has much more success using it as just a regular walker. He still uses the wheelchair for almost everything though, the walker is exhausting.
Allison seemed to be doing great on Sunday. She's been having some pain in her pelvis which she was not feeling before, so the doctors will try to keep a close eye on that. We have a family meeting with the people at Sojourners tomorrow (Wednesday, 4/15) to learn about their evaluations. We hope to hear about how long she might stay at Sojourners, what will happen next, how well she has been doing, and what they expect for some of her recovery.
Yesterday Jon was once again able to range his elbow more than he had before. Now that he has active movement on that arm he seems to be progressing well. He was shouting with joy yesterday after I stretched his arm because he was able to touch his own face with his right hand while laying down. He says every time he touches something new its like a whole new experience, the touch of his whiskers yesterday he said felt really weird.
Jon has been cleared to drive, which was surprising because of how easy it was. We assumed that they would have to test him on his reflexes and range of motion, but all that was needed was a simple phone call. MFB checked with his doctor(s) and they cleared him for 'light driving'. They suggested that we take him to an empty parking lot so he can get used to it first, and that he really practice getting his wheelchair in and out of the car. Yesterday he and I went out and practiced these things and we ended up going to dinner, to the store, and got gas. He had no problems getting the wheelchair in and out of the trunk (its not really light, but he mostly uses his left arm) and hopping to the front of the car to get in. He was driving without difficulty and was able to turn the steering wheel fine with both arms in use. He drove himself to therapy today and is happy to not rely on the sometimes sketchy taxi service anymore.
His therapy is going pretty well, they are pleased with his progress. It wasn't clear through the doctor's orders what is cleared or not for him to do in therapy, but Jon is pushing it along as much as he can. They weren't sure about using exercise machines but he went for it, using some light weights, an arm bike, and other different machines for exercise. Jon also did get the modified walker I mentioned earlier. It was fitted with a little platform for him to rest his right forearm on, but he really didn't like it at all. Not only did the platform dig in right where his surgery site and plates were in his elbow, but whenever he hopped forward it would cause his elbow to bend to painful levels. He got the OK to take the platform off yesterday and has much more success using it as just a regular walker. He still uses the wheelchair for almost everything though, the walker is exhausting.
Allison seemed to be doing great on Sunday. She's been having some pain in her pelvis which she was not feeling before, so the doctors will try to keep a close eye on that. We have a family meeting with the people at Sojourners tomorrow (Wednesday, 4/15) to learn about their evaluations. We hope to hear about how long she might stay at Sojourners, what will happen next, how well she has been doing, and what they expect for some of her recovery.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
4/10/09 PM
Allison's visit to the house went well. There was worry about her transferring into the bathroom because it is so small on our main floor, but it was worked out and she's cleared to come home on a pass. Jon said she was doing great today - realizing how lucky she has been and how far she has come.
It looks like we'll have a nice family Easter.
I'm not usually very religious, but thank God for the progress that has been made and that we can all spend the holiday together.
It looks like we'll have a nice family Easter.
I'm not usually very religious, but thank God for the progress that has been made and that we can all spend the holiday together.
Friday, April 10, 2009
4/10/09 AM
Allison is scheduled to visit home today for the first time since the accident. She will be coming here with Physical and Occupational therapy in the afternoon to visit and look at the house. They will try to see how well Allison can move around the house and what she needs here. If everything goes as planned, she will then be able to get passes to come visit home. It sounds like we are planning on having Easter dinner here at the house with both families, including Allison. That would be the first time Allie will have gone out without assistance from hospital staff (I believe). I have to work, but on Saturday my Mom and Jon are going to go visit Allison at Soujourners and are bringing Easter Eggs to color with her. It is a yearly tradition that she always loves. Its nice to feel like we are able to get a bit of normalcy back in our lives.
Jon had a terrific day yesterday. His outpatient therapy put him in a good mood, just being able to get out of the house more really helps. He was able to range his elbow further than he had been able to before. He was also able to work with some light weights (3lb) on that arm - the therapist was very happy. When he got back he was able to go sit outside on a beautiful day and hang out with the neighbors while all the neighborhood kids were running around playing hide and seek (the wheelchair ramp makes a good hiding spot, I guess). Mom, don't read this -- but Jon went up and showered on his own yesterday while I was at work. I was expecting him to do this soon, and it didn't surprise me that it was yesterday. I usually help bring his wheelchair up to make transfers easier in the bathroom and so he can sit after he's done to get dressed and shave and such. He said it wasn't a problem at all, he just scooted up like he normally does then scooted into the bathroom, transferred to toilet then shower chair. Afterward he was able to stand at the sink on his one leg and do what he needed to. I told him that if I'm around I should still help him and he agrees, but just wanted to try it out to know he could do it.
Real quick I just wanted to thank our neighbors, Jim and Nichole and their daughters Kira and Regan. Your support has been amazing. Thanks for helping with the house and the cats while we were at the hospital. Thanks for all the visits and for the food and movies you've brought Jon. Kira and Regan your drawings for both Jon and Allison were great, they really appreciate the hard work. Thanks for the cupcakes and the cookies.
Jon had a terrific day yesterday. His outpatient therapy put him in a good mood, just being able to get out of the house more really helps. He was able to range his elbow further than he had been able to before. He was also able to work with some light weights (3lb) on that arm - the therapist was very happy. When he got back he was able to go sit outside on a beautiful day and hang out with the neighbors while all the neighborhood kids were running around playing hide and seek (the wheelchair ramp makes a good hiding spot, I guess). Mom, don't read this -- but Jon went up and showered on his own yesterday while I was at work. I was expecting him to do this soon, and it didn't surprise me that it was yesterday. I usually help bring his wheelchair up to make transfers easier in the bathroom and so he can sit after he's done to get dressed and shave and such. He said it wasn't a problem at all, he just scooted up like he normally does then scooted into the bathroom, transferred to toilet then shower chair. Afterward he was able to stand at the sink on his one leg and do what he needed to. I told him that if I'm around I should still help him and he agrees, but just wanted to try it out to know he could do it.
Real quick I just wanted to thank our neighbors, Jim and Nichole and their daughters Kira and Regan. Your support has been amazing. Thanks for helping with the house and the cats while we were at the hospital. Thanks for all the visits and for the food and movies you've brought Jon. Kira and Regan your drawings for both Jon and Allison were great, they really appreciate the hard work. Thanks for the cupcakes and the cookies.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
4/9/09
Howdy folks. I feel bad I haven't been keeping my messages updated. I don't have a lot of time now so I'll keep this short, but I thought I should at least let people know a bit about what has been going on.
If any of you haven't been following Allison's CarePage, you'll be happy to know that she has graduated from Mary Free Bed and is now at the Sojourner's facility of the Hope Network, located on the East Beltline by Calvin College. This is more of a residential facility - it doesn't have the hospital 'feel' to it. They all seem very nice there and will cater Allison's program to her own needs. They work with only people with brain injuries and are focusing primarily on that aspect of her injury, although she still has physical limitations as well, mostly due to her broken pelvis. She will have been there for 2 weeks next Wednesday and we will meet to learn how she has been doing and what to expect. She will be there for at least a month but it could be several months, they will be helping her to recover as much as possible.
I went and visited her on Saturday with Jon. We spent about 4 hours there and she was doing great. We had at times up to 8 visitors in the room and Allison was able to track and follow conversation all around the room, laughing and telling stories and being engaging. In the whole time I was there, she didn't repeat herself once. Previously, she sometimes would ask the same questions or tell the same stories, but she seems to have grown out of that. Once again, she is doing absolutely incredible.
Jon also has some good news, he can use his right arm again. Previously he could only move it passively and it just hung like a dead limb. He had a meeting with his Orthopedic surgeon on Monday and his healing is going great. He got the go ahead to start moving his arm actively as often and as much as he is able to. He has no real weight restriction, but instead is using pain and weakness as his guide. He's still got quite a bit of limited movement, especially in his elbow, but is really happy to be able to do more and more things. Things like putting on a sock, eating (he can cut his own food now!), and putting on clothes has become a lot lot easier for him. A little inappropriate humor, but one of his big accomplishements this week was that he was able to pee standing up, haha. He's still in some pain, especially after I and his occupational therapist move his elbow to the pain limit, but his spirits have seemed to really raise up this week. He's also getting some Physical Therapy and massage on his neck and back to relieve all of that muscle pain and tightness that was causing him problems before.'
His orthopedic surgeon was very happy with his progress so far. His extension especially he was pleasantly surprised about. Jon can actively move it mostly straight, and with someone cranking on it can straighten it all the way out. His flexion has gotten to where after its warmed up and stretched, Jon can actively move it to a 90 degree angle, and with help can move it past that -- his record so far is 110 degrees (on the outside angle, so his bicep and forearm make a 70). He still can't touch his face with he right arm, which he is looking forward to. It was funny at Panera Bread the other day when he forgot about that and tried to pick up his sandwich with his right hand and take a bite, it didn't quite make it there. His pronation and supenation has full range with active movement, but I'm still helping him stretch that more (pronation and supenation are the movements of rotation in the forearm -- think of holding your elbow close to your side and then rotating your forearm to be palm up and then palm down). The surgeon was happy that there was no 'collapsing' or 'migrating screws' at his surgery points. Its scary that those were even an issue, but it didn't happen so that's good I guess. We learned that all the screws and plates in his body are actually Stainless Steel and not Titanium, I'm not sure where we were getting Titanium from.
Jon is going to be fitted for a modified walker to get around the house and should have it by this weekend. It will probably be a platform walker where he can lean on his right forearm instead of his hand, but they will do whatever is most comfortable for him. He will still need his wheelchair for anything longer than just getting up to the bathroom or kitchen. His ankle is healing well the doctor said, but still has 4 weeks of total non weight bearing. That puts it at 10 weeks, right in the middle of the his prediction of 8-12 weeks. It will start off very slow, and they said Jon will eventually move on to crutches but have to be in crutches for up to 6 months. We're not sure if that's 6 months post surgery, or 6 months once he's weight bearing, but it will be a long time nontheless. They are still talking about surgery again in about 9 months to remove one of his plates in his elbow, and to lengthen some of his tendons in his leg(s) to get more movement. During his appointment he also got an MRI on his right knee, which is his 'good' leg. He's still got some pain there and they are checking it out, we haven't gotten the results on that yet but Jon thinks it will be nothing, just the strain of using that leg so much.
Jon will be doing outpatient therapy now at Mary Free Bed and is looking forward to getting out of the house more and more. The outpatient therapy starts today and will include both Physical and Occupational therapy. They have arranged transportation to and from, by taxi. He will likely be gone in the afternoons, so if anyone was thinking of stopping by you may need to call Jon to see if he is here first.
Well, I need to get going but I uploaded the best of Jon's x-rays so everyone can see them if you want. The hardware is pretty impressive. I'm not going to attach it because when I did that before the files were too large. Instead, here are the links. Let me know if you have issues seeing them, I'm not sure if I'm doing this right.
Right Clavcle Before: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightclaviclebefore.jpg
Right Clavicle After: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightclavicleafter.jpg
Left Ankle Before: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=leftanklebefore.jpg
Left Ankle After: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=leftankleafter.jpg
Left Ankle After, view 2: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=leftankleafterview2.jpg
Right Elbow Before: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightelbowbefore.jpg
Right Elbow After: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightelbowafter.jpg
Dave
If any of you haven't been following Allison's CarePage, you'll be happy to know that she has graduated from Mary Free Bed and is now at the Sojourner's facility of the Hope Network, located on the East Beltline by Calvin College. This is more of a residential facility - it doesn't have the hospital 'feel' to it. They all seem very nice there and will cater Allison's program to her own needs. They work with only people with brain injuries and are focusing primarily on that aspect of her injury, although she still has physical limitations as well, mostly due to her broken pelvis. She will have been there for 2 weeks next Wednesday and we will meet to learn how she has been doing and what to expect. She will be there for at least a month but it could be several months, they will be helping her to recover as much as possible.
I went and visited her on Saturday with Jon. We spent about 4 hours there and she was doing great. We had at times up to 8 visitors in the room and Allison was able to track and follow conversation all around the room, laughing and telling stories and being engaging. In the whole time I was there, she didn't repeat herself once. Previously, she sometimes would ask the same questions or tell the same stories, but she seems to have grown out of that. Once again, she is doing absolutely incredible.
Jon also has some good news, he can use his right arm again. Previously he could only move it passively and it just hung like a dead limb. He had a meeting with his Orthopedic surgeon on Monday and his healing is going great. He got the go ahead to start moving his arm actively as often and as much as he is able to. He has no real weight restriction, but instead is using pain and weakness as his guide. He's still got quite a bit of limited movement, especially in his elbow, but is really happy to be able to do more and more things. Things like putting on a sock, eating (he can cut his own food now!), and putting on clothes has become a lot lot easier for him. A little inappropriate humor, but one of his big accomplishements this week was that he was able to pee standing up, haha. He's still in some pain, especially after I and his occupational therapist move his elbow to the pain limit, but his spirits have seemed to really raise up this week. He's also getting some Physical Therapy and massage on his neck and back to relieve all of that muscle pain and tightness that was causing him problems before.'
His orthopedic surgeon was very happy with his progress so far. His extension especially he was pleasantly surprised about. Jon can actively move it mostly straight, and with someone cranking on it can straighten it all the way out. His flexion has gotten to where after its warmed up and stretched, Jon can actively move it to a 90 degree angle, and with help can move it past that -- his record so far is 110 degrees (on the outside angle, so his bicep and forearm make a 70). He still can't touch his face with he right arm, which he is looking forward to. It was funny at Panera Bread the other day when he forgot about that and tried to pick up his sandwich with his right hand and take a bite, it didn't quite make it there. His pronation and supenation has full range with active movement, but I'm still helping him stretch that more (pronation and supenation are the movements of rotation in the forearm -- think of holding your elbow close to your side and then rotating your forearm to be palm up and then palm down). The surgeon was happy that there was no 'collapsing' or 'migrating screws' at his surgery points. Its scary that those were even an issue, but it didn't happen so that's good I guess. We learned that all the screws and plates in his body are actually Stainless Steel and not Titanium, I'm not sure where we were getting Titanium from.
Jon is going to be fitted for a modified walker to get around the house and should have it by this weekend. It will probably be a platform walker where he can lean on his right forearm instead of his hand, but they will do whatever is most comfortable for him. He will still need his wheelchair for anything longer than just getting up to the bathroom or kitchen. His ankle is healing well the doctor said, but still has 4 weeks of total non weight bearing. That puts it at 10 weeks, right in the middle of the his prediction of 8-12 weeks. It will start off very slow, and they said Jon will eventually move on to crutches but have to be in crutches for up to 6 months. We're not sure if that's 6 months post surgery, or 6 months once he's weight bearing, but it will be a long time nontheless. They are still talking about surgery again in about 9 months to remove one of his plates in his elbow, and to lengthen some of his tendons in his leg(s) to get more movement. During his appointment he also got an MRI on his right knee, which is his 'good' leg. He's still got some pain there and they are checking it out, we haven't gotten the results on that yet but Jon thinks it will be nothing, just the strain of using that leg so much.
Jon will be doing outpatient therapy now at Mary Free Bed and is looking forward to getting out of the house more and more. The outpatient therapy starts today and will include both Physical and Occupational therapy. They have arranged transportation to and from, by taxi. He will likely be gone in the afternoons, so if anyone was thinking of stopping by you may need to call Jon to see if he is here first.
Well, I need to get going but I uploaded the best of Jon's x-rays so everyone can see them if you want. The hardware is pretty impressive. I'm not going to attach it because when I did that before the files were too large. Instead, here are the links. Let me know if you have issues seeing them, I'm not sure if I'm doing this right.
Right Clavcle Before: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightclaviclebefore.jpg
Right Clavicle After: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightclavicleafter.jpg
Left Ankle Before: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=leftanklebefore.jpg
Left Ankle After: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=leftankleafter.jpg
Left Ankle After, view 2: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=leftankleafterview2.jpg
Right Elbow Before: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightelbowbefore.jpg
Right Elbow After: http://s704.photobucket.com/albums/ww46/daveturner/?action=view¤t=rightelbowafter.jpg
Dave
Friday, March 13, 2009
3/13/09, 10:30AM
Hey all again. A quick morning update here.
Jon got a call yesterday from Rob, the social worker from Mary Free Bed that is taking care of both Jon and Allison's cases. Thursdays are a big day at MFB because they have an all-staff meeting in the morning. The doctors, social workers, and all the therapists (physical, occupational, speech) come together to talk about each patient. They talk about how that patient is progressing and what they expect for the following week(s). We were hoping for some news about Allison and unfortunately didn't get much. Because of the nature of her head injury, they are not willing to say anything about how long she will need to remain at MFB, or what to expect for a recovery. They did say, however, that she is making incredible progress every day and they are very encouraged by what she has shown them so far. So, its not bad news, but its another case of 'wait and see' which is sometimes hard to have the patience for. Jon is OK with this decision and isn't pressing for any sort of time-frame, he just wants whatever is best for her to get better. I think that MFB is her best option right now and that she is getting the care she needs to be able to focus on healing, but I'm sure she wants to come home.
I haven't seen Allison since my last update so I don't have any specific news about her (this is all secondhand here now) but I know she is still continuing to improve. Her short term memory is improving and she is able to participate in her therapies more actively. She loves playing air hockey. Here's a little blurb from my Dad, where he was writing to keep my Grandmother informed.
"Jon went to have his foot splint adjusted yesterday. Then they stopped to visit Allison at the hospital. Jon said she looked tired, but that he had a good visit. Connie, Allison’s Mom, said that Allison’s short term memory is improving. She was able to recall a name from a conversation the day before. Allison can’t put any weight on her legs yet, but she is being moved around in a wheel chair just fine. She slides onto the wheelchair from her bed by using a board. She has multiple sessions of therapy each day including speech, physical and occupational therapy sessions. These take place in a central area so she is out of bed quite a bit. Her eyes are still giving her trouble. She closes one eye all the time because she is seeing double. Plus the bright lights still seem to bother her. The doctors have told Connie that things will return to normal and that glasses or an operation aren’t necessary. During therapy she sometimes wears a patch on one eye."
Jon had a visit from one of the first Policemen on the scene yesterday, and like anyone involved in seeing the wreckage, he is amazed at how well both Jon and Allison are doing. He said that it was the impact that tore the engine from the frame and sent it flying in the opposite direction, and that they were lucky that no other cars were nearby because the engine was a flying projectile that could have easily killed someone. He said that the impact broke Jon's seat and threw his body up towards the car's ceiling and backwards, behind the driver's seat where he ended up resting (well, his torso anyway). The impact was what turned the car up on the passenger side, where it slid without rolling a few rotations, hit a guardrail, and came to rest. Allison's injuries were actually primarily due to her hitting the passenger side door (which ended up mostly in the middle of the car, by the center console). It's amazing that the impact threw them in opposite directions and that it was pretty much the front of the other car that threw Jon across the Focus. Allison moving towards and hitting the passenger side of the car makes sense with most of her injuries being on her right side. Pretty wild, we're soooo lucky they are alive.
I don't remember if I put this in any of my writings yet, but I want to pass on some information the police officer said to help clear up an issue we have talked to a few people about, and that is the other driver. There was some confusion about what happened after the accident. The police officer assured us that he was not seriously hurt, and that he did stick around the scene of the accident and was cooperative and was very concerned for both Jon and Allison's well-being. He has since followed up with the police station to try to track their progress to make sure they are doing ok. There was some talk about him literally walking away from the accident, which now turns out didn't happen, so that's good. He did not leave without first being cleared to do so.
I guess the cop that came to visit Jon was talking to another officer that was asking about a ticket for either driver. The officer said he just laughed, that there's no way they were going to ticket anyone for this kind of wreck. I guess they agreed with my initial statement that this is no one's fault but that of bad weather and winter roads.
Jon is doing OK, getting into a routine of home visits. Today is pretty empty, although they did squeeze in an unscheduled physical therapy appointment this morning. His PT appointments leave him very sore, but he's looking forward to taking it easy a little bit today now. He's not sleeping well, mostly due to muscle pain in his neck and back. His neck is a pre-existing injury which I'm sure was tweaked during the crash, and his back is something new. It hurts on the left side and could either be due to the crash or due to the way he is having to move his body around and using different muscles. They are going to watch it and take him in to get it checked out unless it gets better soon. I have said this before, but on both Jon and Allison, anything not broken is pretty banged up anyway.
Once again we all appreciate all the support we've recieved.
Dave
Jon got a call yesterday from Rob, the social worker from Mary Free Bed that is taking care of both Jon and Allison's cases. Thursdays are a big day at MFB because they have an all-staff meeting in the morning. The doctors, social workers, and all the therapists (physical, occupational, speech) come together to talk about each patient. They talk about how that patient is progressing and what they expect for the following week(s). We were hoping for some news about Allison and unfortunately didn't get much. Because of the nature of her head injury, they are not willing to say anything about how long she will need to remain at MFB, or what to expect for a recovery. They did say, however, that she is making incredible progress every day and they are very encouraged by what she has shown them so far. So, its not bad news, but its another case of 'wait and see' which is sometimes hard to have the patience for. Jon is OK with this decision and isn't pressing for any sort of time-frame, he just wants whatever is best for her to get better. I think that MFB is her best option right now and that she is getting the care she needs to be able to focus on healing, but I'm sure she wants to come home.
I haven't seen Allison since my last update so I don't have any specific news about her (this is all secondhand here now) but I know she is still continuing to improve. Her short term memory is improving and she is able to participate in her therapies more actively. She loves playing air hockey. Here's a little blurb from my Dad, where he was writing to keep my Grandmother informed.
"Jon went to have his foot splint adjusted yesterday. Then they stopped to visit Allison at the hospital. Jon said she looked tired, but that he had a good visit. Connie, Allison’s Mom, said that Allison’s short term memory is improving. She was able to recall a name from a conversation the day before. Allison can’t put any weight on her legs yet, but she is being moved around in a wheel chair just fine. She slides onto the wheelchair from her bed by using a board. She has multiple sessions of therapy each day including speech, physical and occupational therapy sessions. These take place in a central area so she is out of bed quite a bit. Her eyes are still giving her trouble. She closes one eye all the time because she is seeing double. Plus the bright lights still seem to bother her. The doctors have told Connie that things will return to normal and that glasses or an operation aren’t necessary. During therapy she sometimes wears a patch on one eye."
Jon had a visit from one of the first Policemen on the scene yesterday, and like anyone involved in seeing the wreckage, he is amazed at how well both Jon and Allison are doing. He said that it was the impact that tore the engine from the frame and sent it flying in the opposite direction, and that they were lucky that no other cars were nearby because the engine was a flying projectile that could have easily killed someone. He said that the impact broke Jon's seat and threw his body up towards the car's ceiling and backwards, behind the driver's seat where he ended up resting (well, his torso anyway). The impact was what turned the car up on the passenger side, where it slid without rolling a few rotations, hit a guardrail, and came to rest. Allison's injuries were actually primarily due to her hitting the passenger side door (which ended up mostly in the middle of the car, by the center console). It's amazing that the impact threw them in opposite directions and that it was pretty much the front of the other car that threw Jon across the Focus. Allison moving towards and hitting the passenger side of the car makes sense with most of her injuries being on her right side. Pretty wild, we're soooo lucky they are alive.
I don't remember if I put this in any of my writings yet, but I want to pass on some information the police officer said to help clear up an issue we have talked to a few people about, and that is the other driver. There was some confusion about what happened after the accident. The police officer assured us that he was not seriously hurt, and that he did stick around the scene of the accident and was cooperative and was very concerned for both Jon and Allison's well-being. He has since followed up with the police station to try to track their progress to make sure they are doing ok. There was some talk about him literally walking away from the accident, which now turns out didn't happen, so that's good. He did not leave without first being cleared to do so.
I guess the cop that came to visit Jon was talking to another officer that was asking about a ticket for either driver. The officer said he just laughed, that there's no way they were going to ticket anyone for this kind of wreck. I guess they agreed with my initial statement that this is no one's fault but that of bad weather and winter roads.
Jon is doing OK, getting into a routine of home visits. Today is pretty empty, although they did squeeze in an unscheduled physical therapy appointment this morning. His PT appointments leave him very sore, but he's looking forward to taking it easy a little bit today now. He's not sleeping well, mostly due to muscle pain in his neck and back. His neck is a pre-existing injury which I'm sure was tweaked during the crash, and his back is something new. It hurts on the left side and could either be due to the crash or due to the way he is having to move his body around and using different muscles. They are going to watch it and take him in to get it checked out unless it gets better soon. I have said this before, but on both Jon and Allison, anything not broken is pretty banged up anyway.
Once again we all appreciate all the support we've recieved.
Dave
Monday, March 9, 2009
Monday, 3/9/09, 11:30 PM
Hey all.
I apologize, I haven't updated in quite a while. I hope that anyone interested has been checking Allison's CarePage (http://www.carepages.com/ search for DrAllison) . Connie has been doing a great job keeping that updated.
Real quick for those who have been counting on my correspondence only. Jon is home, he came home Thursday, March 5th. Allison is at Mary Free Bed rehabilation hospital, she went there on Wednesday, March 4th. Allison was moved into Jon's room and they were able to spend a (restless) night together, which was nice. Both Jon and Allison are doing better daily.
More specifically--
Jon. We have a huuuugggeee ass ramp in front of our house now. He came home Thursday and we've been staying with him since then. It took a bit of work to make a 2 story house into a 1 story studio apartment. With help, I helped move his bed, computer, dresser, desk, clothes, and anything else he needs down to the main floor. With a little re-arrangement of the living room furniture, everything is pretty neat here.
Jon is trying to do everything on his own. Like I said before, the only problem with his rehab is him trying to do too much. He's figured out that he can wheel up the ramp going backwards in his wheelchair (his good right foot has more power pushing away from his body). He wants to do everything on his own, but I think he's finally realizing that his rehab will take a long time and that he can't do everything and that he needs to take it easy sometimes (who would know opening a mouthwash bottle would be so hard with only one hand). The only thing not on the main floor for him right now is the shower, and he has taken two showers since he has gotten here. He wheels his chair up to the stairs, does a transfer onto the stairs, and then scoots up backwards (using his good left arm and right leg) one step at a time. I get him back into his chair, wheel him into the bathroom, then he transfers from chair, to toilet, to shower chair. He has a specifically designed shower chair that hangs over the side of the tub so he can get into it easy. It takes a while for him to shower completely, but I think its one of his favorite things to do.
When he was released, he had a meeting with a nurse on the orthopedic team that did his surgery. They were looking at his x-rays and counting plates and screws. It was surprising to learn that the surgeon didn't keep track of the hardware during surgery - I guess it was too much to count. The final count from some high-res x-rays are: Clavicle - 1 plate, 9 screws. Ankle - 2 plates (very rare apparently, according to the nurse), 9 screws. Elbow - 3 plates, (and at least) 13 screws. Grand total: 6 plates, 31+ screws.Even though Jon is now home, he still has very full days. He has appointments with in-home Occupational and Physical therapists, along with Speech therapists. He also has an assistant that comes in during the afternoon to help him out. I help him get up and ready in the morning, make breakfast, take his medication and shot, do his physical therapy, and make sure of his schedule and set-up for the day. He's taken care of for the day, then I come back to help hopefully with dinner. Definitely with his evening meds and shots and therapy. Jon is taking a long release Oxycontin, one in the morning and two at night. He takes a shot at 8am and 8pm of Lovenox, which is a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots due to his injuries (I pinch the skin, he shoots the shot. We are both not used to this yet). He also takes a stool softener, a multi-vitamin, and has both Valium and and instant release Oxycontin if he needs it (which he usually takes at night, he's still in a lot of pain, especially after we tweak his injuries in PT).
Despite the busy days, he's sometimes feeling lonely and bored. I think he'd love visitors or letters.
Jon Turner
5555 Quest Dr. SW
Wyoming, MI 49418
You can call him at (616) 204 3450
Even if he doesn't answer (he's busy a lot with rehab) he's able to check the messages. You can also email him at jonjturner@yahoo.com He has not been able to check that email since the accident, but now that I have set him up with internet access he is at least able to read messages. It will be hard for him to write back with only one hand but I told him I can help him type any of the longer responses he wants to make. If you don't get an immediate response though, he appreciates the messages.
Allison. WOW. She is amazing. I don't have a lot to say because I haven't been with her every day like I have been with Jon, but I can't believe the progess that she has made. For those not following the carepage, I'll start from the beginning.
Allison was transfered to Mary Free Bed on Wednesday, March 4th. Jon was still in MFB and Allison was put into his room. It was great to see them back together again. I was there that night, and I won't go into too many details but Allison was not herself. It was disturbing to see her talking about things in her fantasies and speaking in vulgarities (while Jon and I swear every now and then, Allison never does), but she was responding to us being there at times and wanted to be part of our conversation. We had a visit from a Nun from Aquinas, Sister Alice. She was amazing, and such a comfort to be there. I think we're all glad though that Allison was asleep at the time so she wouldn't have to hear Allie's mouth.
So, that was my impression of Allie until yesterday. I went to see her on Sunday, March 8th and WOW is she doing amazing. She can sit up in her wheelchair, eat on her own (although needs some privacy while eating, so she can concentrate on swallowing), and interact with everyone around her. She is having a much better time with both her long term and short term memory. She knows everyone, by name, that comes to visit her. Even though it may be a bit confusing, she now usually remembers the month, day, year, and even the nurses that come to see her (I know Connie said this in her blog, but that's better than I can do.)
I said this in a comment on the CarePage, but some of the most powerful things happened in my visit to Allison last night. She was sitting up with us and part of our conversation (Rene, Amanda (from Metro), Tim, Millie, thanks!) and it was great to see her with us. Sometimes she was a bit out-there, but it was always based in reality and she was trying to take part in the conversation, from what I could see. Anyway, it was amazing that toward the end of our pow-wow that someone told a joke and we were all laughing. Allison was smiling and laughing just as loud as the rest of us, it was great to see her happy and being the Allie I know. Also, when we were leaving, Jon and Allison gave one of the most tender and powerful embraces I have ever seen, despite all of their injuries. It was both heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time -- very emotional. It will be a long road, but everything is positive.
I'm typing on the main floor with Jon passed out on Valium, I should go so I don't wake him up. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
Dave
I apologize, I haven't updated in quite a while. I hope that anyone interested has been checking Allison's CarePage (http://www.carepages.com/ search for DrAllison) . Connie has been doing a great job keeping that updated.
Real quick for those who have been counting on my correspondence only. Jon is home, he came home Thursday, March 5th. Allison is at Mary Free Bed rehabilation hospital, she went there on Wednesday, March 4th. Allison was moved into Jon's room and they were able to spend a (restless) night together, which was nice. Both Jon and Allison are doing better daily.
More specifically--
Jon. We have a huuuugggeee ass ramp in front of our house now. He came home Thursday and we've been staying with him since then. It took a bit of work to make a 2 story house into a 1 story studio apartment. With help, I helped move his bed, computer, dresser, desk, clothes, and anything else he needs down to the main floor. With a little re-arrangement of the living room furniture, everything is pretty neat here.
Jon is trying to do everything on his own. Like I said before, the only problem with his rehab is him trying to do too much. He's figured out that he can wheel up the ramp going backwards in his wheelchair (his good right foot has more power pushing away from his body). He wants to do everything on his own, but I think he's finally realizing that his rehab will take a long time and that he can't do everything and that he needs to take it easy sometimes (who would know opening a mouthwash bottle would be so hard with only one hand). The only thing not on the main floor for him right now is the shower, and he has taken two showers since he has gotten here. He wheels his chair up to the stairs, does a transfer onto the stairs, and then scoots up backwards (using his good left arm and right leg) one step at a time. I get him back into his chair, wheel him into the bathroom, then he transfers from chair, to toilet, to shower chair. He has a specifically designed shower chair that hangs over the side of the tub so he can get into it easy. It takes a while for him to shower completely, but I think its one of his favorite things to do.
When he was released, he had a meeting with a nurse on the orthopedic team that did his surgery. They were looking at his x-rays and counting plates and screws. It was surprising to learn that the surgeon didn't keep track of the hardware during surgery - I guess it was too much to count. The final count from some high-res x-rays are: Clavicle - 1 plate, 9 screws. Ankle - 2 plates (very rare apparently, according to the nurse), 9 screws. Elbow - 3 plates, (and at least) 13 screws. Grand total: 6 plates, 31+ screws.Even though Jon is now home, he still has very full days. He has appointments with in-home Occupational and Physical therapists, along with Speech therapists. He also has an assistant that comes in during the afternoon to help him out. I help him get up and ready in the morning, make breakfast, take his medication and shot, do his physical therapy, and make sure of his schedule and set-up for the day. He's taken care of for the day, then I come back to help hopefully with dinner. Definitely with his evening meds and shots and therapy. Jon is taking a long release Oxycontin, one in the morning and two at night. He takes a shot at 8am and 8pm of Lovenox, which is a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots due to his injuries (I pinch the skin, he shoots the shot. We are both not used to this yet). He also takes a stool softener, a multi-vitamin, and has both Valium and and instant release Oxycontin if he needs it (which he usually takes at night, he's still in a lot of pain, especially after we tweak his injuries in PT).
Despite the busy days, he's sometimes feeling lonely and bored. I think he'd love visitors or letters.
Jon Turner
5555 Quest Dr. SW
Wyoming, MI 49418
You can call him at (616) 204 3450
Even if he doesn't answer (he's busy a lot with rehab) he's able to check the messages. You can also email him at jonjturner@yahoo.com He has not been able to check that email since the accident, but now that I have set him up with internet access he is at least able to read messages. It will be hard for him to write back with only one hand but I told him I can help him type any of the longer responses he wants to make. If you don't get an immediate response though, he appreciates the messages.
Allison. WOW. She is amazing. I don't have a lot to say because I haven't been with her every day like I have been with Jon, but I can't believe the progess that she has made. For those not following the carepage, I'll start from the beginning.
Allison was transfered to Mary Free Bed on Wednesday, March 4th. Jon was still in MFB and Allison was put into his room. It was great to see them back together again. I was there that night, and I won't go into too many details but Allison was not herself. It was disturbing to see her talking about things in her fantasies and speaking in vulgarities (while Jon and I swear every now and then, Allison never does), but she was responding to us being there at times and wanted to be part of our conversation. We had a visit from a Nun from Aquinas, Sister Alice. She was amazing, and such a comfort to be there. I think we're all glad though that Allison was asleep at the time so she wouldn't have to hear Allie's mouth.
So, that was my impression of Allie until yesterday. I went to see her on Sunday, March 8th and WOW is she doing amazing. She can sit up in her wheelchair, eat on her own (although needs some privacy while eating, so she can concentrate on swallowing), and interact with everyone around her. She is having a much better time with both her long term and short term memory. She knows everyone, by name, that comes to visit her. Even though it may be a bit confusing, she now usually remembers the month, day, year, and even the nurses that come to see her (I know Connie said this in her blog, but that's better than I can do.)
I said this in a comment on the CarePage, but some of the most powerful things happened in my visit to Allison last night. She was sitting up with us and part of our conversation (Rene, Amanda (from Metro), Tim, Millie, thanks!) and it was great to see her with us. Sometimes she was a bit out-there, but it was always based in reality and she was trying to take part in the conversation, from what I could see. Anyway, it was amazing that toward the end of our pow-wow that someone told a joke and we were all laughing. Allison was smiling and laughing just as loud as the rest of us, it was great to see her happy and being the Allie I know. Also, when we were leaving, Jon and Allison gave one of the most tender and powerful embraces I have ever seen, despite all of their injuries. It was both heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time -- very emotional. It will be a long road, but everything is positive.
I'm typing on the main floor with Jon passed out on Valium, I should go so I don't wake him up. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
Dave
Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday, 3/2/09, 9PM
Hey all.
Once again, mostly news about Jon. I think I'm catching Allison at the wrong times. She did open her eyes and recognize me and say my name today though, which was great. Shortly after, she had a visit by Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, moving her around and getting her into her chair. She's talking and joking and part of conversations, but you need to include her. My dad asked her if she liked his head with hair or completely bald (he recently shaved it bare). She said bald -- I think he's going to keep it shaved for the rest of his life now haha. There were a few great interactions with her today that give us hope.
Jon is looking to be released to go home on Wednesday. This is way ahead of schedule, but not surprising to me in the least. I think the only thing holding him back from going home right now is getting the ramp to the house built. He had a physical therapist today that was straightforward with him and he appreciated it. She commented that his shower would be upstairs once he got home and asked what he would do about that. He said something to the extent that he should answer 'get sponge baths for a while', but that he was planning on dragging his ass up backwards up the stairs. She said she thought he'd say that and she wish he wouldnt, but then worked with him on some exercises to help. He worked on going from couch to floor then back to couch. He also did some more exciting exercises today, and wasn't totally bummed about what his day entailed. He's been denying pain meds again because they make him groggy. He's on a long release Oxycontin once every 12 hours, then a short release Oxycontin every 4 hours or as he needs it. He only took the short release once today. He's not been sleeping well though so they are doubling up his nightly long release dose.
He's making a field trip tomorrow which might effect visitors. They asked if he wanted to go out to get anything done tomorrow, and he had a couple requests. So, he'll be leaving tomorrow after all his therapy (around 4ish) to go get his haircut. After that, he will visit Allison (gotta look spiffy for the lady!). If he still has energy, he will then go out to eat. It sounds like tomorrow (Tues, 3/3/09) will be the last night to visit him in the hospital and that the hours will be limited due to his trip out, I'm not sure when he'll be back but I'm guessing sometime after 6PM, especially if he goes out to eat. I'm sure he'll accept visitors whenever at his house though, once he's back here. He's also been answering his phone, or at least getting messages you might leave. Here's the contact info after Wednesday.
Jon Turner
5555 Quest St. SW
Wyoming, MI 49418
cell: 616 204 3450
Very short update tonight, I have some things to get ready in the house to make it wheelchair-ready.
Once again, mostly news about Jon. I think I'm catching Allison at the wrong times. She did open her eyes and recognize me and say my name today though, which was great. Shortly after, she had a visit by Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, moving her around and getting her into her chair. She's talking and joking and part of conversations, but you need to include her. My dad asked her if she liked his head with hair or completely bald (he recently shaved it bare). She said bald -- I think he's going to keep it shaved for the rest of his life now haha. There were a few great interactions with her today that give us hope.
Jon is looking to be released to go home on Wednesday. This is way ahead of schedule, but not surprising to me in the least. I think the only thing holding him back from going home right now is getting the ramp to the house built. He had a physical therapist today that was straightforward with him and he appreciated it. She commented that his shower would be upstairs once he got home and asked what he would do about that. He said something to the extent that he should answer 'get sponge baths for a while', but that he was planning on dragging his ass up backwards up the stairs. She said she thought he'd say that and she wish he wouldnt, but then worked with him on some exercises to help. He worked on going from couch to floor then back to couch. He also did some more exciting exercises today, and wasn't totally bummed about what his day entailed. He's been denying pain meds again because they make him groggy. He's on a long release Oxycontin once every 12 hours, then a short release Oxycontin every 4 hours or as he needs it. He only took the short release once today. He's not been sleeping well though so they are doubling up his nightly long release dose.
He's making a field trip tomorrow which might effect visitors. They asked if he wanted to go out to get anything done tomorrow, and he had a couple requests. So, he'll be leaving tomorrow after all his therapy (around 4ish) to go get his haircut. After that, he will visit Allison (gotta look spiffy for the lady!). If he still has energy, he will then go out to eat. It sounds like tomorrow (Tues, 3/3/09) will be the last night to visit him in the hospital and that the hours will be limited due to his trip out, I'm not sure when he'll be back but I'm guessing sometime after 6PM, especially if he goes out to eat. I'm sure he'll accept visitors whenever at his house though, once he's back here. He's also been answering his phone, or at least getting messages you might leave. Here's the contact info after Wednesday.
Jon Turner
5555 Quest St. SW
Wyoming, MI 49418
cell: 616 204 3450
Very short update tonight, I have some things to get ready in the house to make it wheelchair-ready.
Monday, 3/2/09, 9AM
Hey all. Pretty quick update this morning. I went in to Spectrum yesterday but Allison was resting up before Jon got there so we let her rest. I haven't seen her (awake) since she's been talking.
Connie (Allie's mom) said she was quite the handful on Saturday night. She pulled out her feeding tube once, tried to pull out her main line IV, and was squirming all over. Her hands are in a loose restraint but she figured out how to scooch down the bed so she could get her hands up to her face. She peeled all the tape off her nose and almost got her feeding tube out again, and has learned that if she does is reeeaaallll slow she can try to work at the velcro holding her neck brace without anyone hearing.
I guess she has moments of clarity where she's answering questions real well, and also moments where she is in 'la la land' as Connie puts it. She hasn't gotten the current date right yet, but has answered her birthdate right, her cat's names, how many legs her cats have (the nurses were a bit confused when she answered 3 legs for my cat, Drake - but he does only have three legs), and a bunch of other questions. The moments where she's confused seem almost like she's talking about a dream -- and I'll bet she's having a bunch of crazy dreams with all the sleep she's been getting and the medicine she's on. Her parents say that when she's in 'la la land' she talks a lot softer and acts differently. When she's herself she's much more alert. I guess she was cracking some jokes yesterday, Connie and Mike said they were all (including Allison) laughing pretty hard. Her parents are going to have a sit-down with one of the neurologists today so they can figure out what to expect next. With some of the stuff going on with her fantasies they were a bit worried, but I guess it's normal for someone just trying to connect the mental dots and doesn't mean a whole lot. Hopefully they can get some more answers today.
I spent some time with Jon last night. He's not enjoying his rehab too much, but mostly because its too elementary for him. The occupational therapist came in the morning to help him get ready for the day but he was up early and had done it all by himself already (with help from the nurse to get into his chair). She was impressed so she took him down for the exciting activity of making soup and hot chocolate - Jon was not happy to have someone holding his hand to help make soup. Later, the physical therapist came in and was doing some exercises with his good left arm. He was just doing different curls and extensions, then she asked if he had ever lifted weights before. He was happy to say yes and wanted a real workout, but instead she took out a hot pink rubber-coated weight, all of three pounds. She was explaining every single little movement but Jon already knew it all so he just started doing it. She was surprised and said "wow, you've done this before huh? what kind of weight do you use?" Jon said usually around 35lb, and I think that shut her up a bit. I do want to make it clear though that the treatement at Mary Free Bed so far has been great. Jon just wants to do more. I think the weekend therapy is just kind of a holding pattern and that the regular workers during the week will do a better job with him. We're expecting some news from his surgeon today about what he can and cannot do, especially regarding his broken right elbow. It's been out of its cast for several days now but he has not done any PT on it. He's done a bit with his hand mostly to keep the swelling down, but I think he is ready to start moving that arm (even though he says when he moves it it hurts like a bitch).
Jon gets bored and lonely and likes visitors, so if anyone was holding off on seeing him or wants to see him again I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I said before his visiting hours were 5:30 to 8, but in reality if it works better for your schedule you could come as early as 4. He's done with therapy at 4 and is usually pretty tired, then dinner is at 5 -- that's why I was saying 5:30. The past two days he was off to see Allison, so I know at least yesterday he wasn't even at Mary Free Bed until after 5. Anyway, visitors are definitely welcome and once again thanks for all the kind words and cards and emails to Jon and Allison.
Jon gets bored and lonely and likes visitors, so if anyone was holding off on seeing him or wants to see him again I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I said before his visiting hours were 5:30 to 8, but in reality if it works better for your schedule you could come as early as 4. He's done with therapy at 4 and is usually pretty tired, then dinner is at 5 -- that's why I was saying 5:30. The past two days he was off to see Allison, so I know at least yesterday he wasn't even at Mary Free Bed until after 5. Anyway, visitors are definitely welcome and once again thanks for all the kind words and cards and emails to Jon and Allison.
Allison's visitors were immediate family only all day yesterday. I'm not sure about today but you may want to assume its staying the same unless you hear differently.
Dave
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday, March 1. 11AM
Here's an update my Dad wrote last night about yesterday's events. I was at the Winter Beer Fest and then went to Founders after with some friends, it was a nice break. Besides, I think Jon would have killed me if I had missed it. I am planning on going to see Allison and Jon later today.
----------
Since Dave went to the Winter Brew Fest today, I thought I would give you all a quick note about today's developments as I saw them. By the way, Dave has really stepped up and has done an absolutely great job in helping Jon. He also has been doing great writing his blog and e-mail. Jon calls Dave his best (guy) friend. he has been a friend to Jon indeed.
First Jon.
On Friday night Jon had several friends in the room. It was good for Jon and the mood was mostly light and fun.
Rozanne and I slept at home Friday. We got to the Mary Free Bed hospital to see Jon a little before he was scheduled for therapy on Saturday.
We learned that State Farm wouldn't pay for wheel chair transport to Spectrum hospital, so the people at the rehab hospital moved Jon's schedule around so he could see if he could handle getting into a car. They taught him how to get in and out (they actually have a car body without and engine inside the building) and Jon did it without any trouble.
He went to occupational therapy and physical therapy in the area they call the gym. Each lasted about 1/2 hour. He was able to do everything he was asked to. At one point she (the occupational therapist) stood him up to see how long he could stand on one foot. While he was just standing there with his wrapped foot in the air, I thought maybe she would quit looking at her watch and get out a calendar. When he started the exercise, she actually had to tell him to hold onto something. He had just been standing balancing on one foot. It was pretty funny because Jon looked very bored. I think he could have gone on for a really long time but she stopped it after 5 minutes.
They have an apartment inside the therapy area, and they had Jon get in and out of bed, in and out of a living room chair, on and off of the toilet, and had him do other things like opening doors and wheeling himself around in the wheelchair. She told Jon he wouldn't be at Mary Free Bed very long based on how well he was doing with her.
The physical therapist focused on his swollen hand and Jon received exercises he could do by himself. While he was in PT, one of the Nuns from Aquinas College came to see Jon. It was just great and really appreciated. She went to see Allison too.
After PT Jon ate. He continues to be picky with what he eats and we needed to take the main course out of the room because he didn't like the smell. Oh well. The nutritionist has added protein shakes to his meals, and he is eating enough. Jon took about a 45 minute nap before loading into our car to go see Allison.
Allison
We got over to see Allison about 3:15. Her friends Christy and Mike were visiting from Chicago. Allison told us "That is my friend Christy" Wow. Powerful.
Jon was able to spend about 1-1/2 hours with her before asking to go back, and much of the time was private. When I saw Allison, she was at times saying complete sentences. She looked at people as she talked to them and as they talked to her. At times she slept, and at times she mumbled. She is on morphine so the naps are understandable. The morphine made her say that she was the "drunk one". She greeted some of her friends by name as they greeted her. She answers questions with simple answers and she makes comments appropriate to what is being said. So it isn't perfect, but whoo hooo it makes up happy! A couple of co workers / friends from Metro stopped by and they said that she acts just like someone recovering from a bad concussion. I am taking that as something good.
Last night, Allison pulled her feeding tube out and she tried it again today a couple times. The nurse put a restraint on her because otherwise she would have gotten it again for sure. When you ask if anything hurts, she sometimes says "my nose" (that is where the feeding tube goes in)
I continue to hope that Allison will keep improving and that she will see a complete recovery. There has been some mention that she may be able to go from Spectrum to Mary Free bed - which would be wonderful. Just yesterday they were talking about an additional care center between Spectrum and Mary Free Bed.
For everyone who is praying for Jon and Allison - and that includes me - I think its helping! For everyone who is keeping them in their thoughts, I think that is working too! Right now, things are looking good for Jon and Allison.
I hope you don't mind this, but I attached a picture of Jon and Allison's car. We are thankful they both survived this terrible wreck.
Tomorrow will be much like today and Jon will be going over to see Allison again.
Jerel
(Jon's dad)
----------
Since Dave went to the Winter Brew Fest today, I thought I would give you all a quick note about today's developments as I saw them. By the way, Dave has really stepped up and has done an absolutely great job in helping Jon. He also has been doing great writing his blog and e-mail. Jon calls Dave his best (guy) friend. he has been a friend to Jon indeed.
First Jon.
On Friday night Jon had several friends in the room. It was good for Jon and the mood was mostly light and fun.
Rozanne and I slept at home Friday. We got to the Mary Free Bed hospital to see Jon a little before he was scheduled for therapy on Saturday.
We learned that State Farm wouldn't pay for wheel chair transport to Spectrum hospital, so the people at the rehab hospital moved Jon's schedule around so he could see if he could handle getting into a car. They taught him how to get in and out (they actually have a car body without and engine inside the building) and Jon did it without any trouble.
He went to occupational therapy and physical therapy in the area they call the gym. Each lasted about 1/2 hour. He was able to do everything he was asked to. At one point she (the occupational therapist) stood him up to see how long he could stand on one foot. While he was just standing there with his wrapped foot in the air, I thought maybe she would quit looking at her watch and get out a calendar. When he started the exercise, she actually had to tell him to hold onto something. He had just been standing balancing on one foot. It was pretty funny because Jon looked very bored. I think he could have gone on for a really long time but she stopped it after 5 minutes.
They have an apartment inside the therapy area, and they had Jon get in and out of bed, in and out of a living room chair, on and off of the toilet, and had him do other things like opening doors and wheeling himself around in the wheelchair. She told Jon he wouldn't be at Mary Free Bed very long based on how well he was doing with her.
The physical therapist focused on his swollen hand and Jon received exercises he could do by himself. While he was in PT, one of the Nuns from Aquinas College came to see Jon. It was just great and really appreciated. She went to see Allison too.
After PT Jon ate. He continues to be picky with what he eats and we needed to take the main course out of the room because he didn't like the smell. Oh well. The nutritionist has added protein shakes to his meals, and he is eating enough. Jon took about a 45 minute nap before loading into our car to go see Allison.
Allison
We got over to see Allison about 3:15. Her friends Christy and Mike were visiting from Chicago. Allison told us "That is my friend Christy" Wow. Powerful.
Jon was able to spend about 1-1/2 hours with her before asking to go back, and much of the time was private. When I saw Allison, she was at times saying complete sentences. She looked at people as she talked to them and as they talked to her. At times she slept, and at times she mumbled. She is on morphine so the naps are understandable. The morphine made her say that she was the "drunk one". She greeted some of her friends by name as they greeted her. She answers questions with simple answers and she makes comments appropriate to what is being said. So it isn't perfect, but whoo hooo it makes up happy! A couple of co workers / friends from Metro stopped by and they said that she acts just like someone recovering from a bad concussion. I am taking that as something good.
Last night, Allison pulled her feeding tube out and she tried it again today a couple times. The nurse put a restraint on her because otherwise she would have gotten it again for sure. When you ask if anything hurts, she sometimes says "my nose" (that is where the feeding tube goes in)
I continue to hope that Allison will keep improving and that she will see a complete recovery. There has been some mention that she may be able to go from Spectrum to Mary Free bed - which would be wonderful. Just yesterday they were talking about an additional care center between Spectrum and Mary Free Bed.
For everyone who is praying for Jon and Allison - and that includes me - I think its helping! For everyone who is keeping them in their thoughts, I think that is working too! Right now, things are looking good for Jon and Allison.
I hope you don't mind this, but I attached a picture of Jon and Allison's car. We are thankful they both survived this terrible wreck.
Tomorrow will be much like today and Jon will be going over to see Allison again.
Jerel
(Jon's dad)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday 2/28, 8:45AM
I saw Jon and Allison again last night. Allison had a big day of visitors and was having some pain before I got there so she was sleeping off some meds. We let her rest. My parents were in earlier in the day and as they were leaving my mom said "I love you" and Allison said "I love you" back. They they were leaving and she gave them a great big wave goodbye. We're waiting for her to heal some so her pain goes down and she can wake up more fully.
I think I said this, but Jon doesn't like where he's at at all. That's only because he wants to be done with it already. I think they are already impressed with his progress. He's going to be moving around in a wheelchair for a while, and they brought one in for him and were going to go through a long training about how to use it. He just got into it and starting moving around on his own though. He pushes the wheel with his left arm and pushes the ground with his right foot. It sounds hard but I tried it and it isn't bad. The PT lady was impressed and he challenged her to a wheelchair race - she kinda laughed and said OK. Jon was disappointed she didn't actually take him up on it though -- he was serious. Being up and moving in his chair makes him tired. They are also changing his meds around a lot, trying to find just one single drug that will work. That's making him quite painful.
He has a hard time opening doors, big heavy like fire doors especially. He got in through one and it closed on his chair, pinning him in the doorway. The therapist was alarmed and came to help but jon told him to go away, he needed to figure it out on his own.
He's not supposed to stand up and move around on his own, but he certainly can. Someone needs to be with him just in case anything happens. I guess he was done in the bathroom one time and he put on his call light. He was sitting there for a while and no one came, so he got up to his chair, wheeled to his bed, and got into bed on his own. The nurses weren't happy about that at all, but he was snappy at them back because they weren't coming fast enough. We've told him over and over not to do that and he knows not to, but he's stubborn (he tried something similar like one day after surgery). Like I said before, his only problems in rehab I think will be holding him back.
We had been trying to figure out how to get him out and to see Allison though different transport options. Jon solved that problem though, he requested to learn to transfer to a regular car for that very purpose (to see Allie). They weren't planning on doing that with him until next week. My mom was with him so she could learn how to help him do it, but he did it all on his own. Now we can get passes to take him out on our own. They have cleared some of his rehab schedule both today and tomorrow so he can go see Allison.
It was a bit emotional (but good emotional) with all the news about Allison yesterday. He's always asking about her and is very very excited about her progress. He can't wait to go see her today.
I think I said this, but Jon doesn't like where he's at at all. That's only because he wants to be done with it already. I think they are already impressed with his progress. He's going to be moving around in a wheelchair for a while, and they brought one in for him and were going to go through a long training about how to use it. He just got into it and starting moving around on his own though. He pushes the wheel with his left arm and pushes the ground with his right foot. It sounds hard but I tried it and it isn't bad. The PT lady was impressed and he challenged her to a wheelchair race - she kinda laughed and said OK. Jon was disappointed she didn't actually take him up on it though -- he was serious. Being up and moving in his chair makes him tired. They are also changing his meds around a lot, trying to find just one single drug that will work. That's making him quite painful.
He has a hard time opening doors, big heavy like fire doors especially. He got in through one and it closed on his chair, pinning him in the doorway. The therapist was alarmed and came to help but jon told him to go away, he needed to figure it out on his own.
He's not supposed to stand up and move around on his own, but he certainly can. Someone needs to be with him just in case anything happens. I guess he was done in the bathroom one time and he put on his call light. He was sitting there for a while and no one came, so he got up to his chair, wheeled to his bed, and got into bed on his own. The nurses weren't happy about that at all, but he was snappy at them back because they weren't coming fast enough. We've told him over and over not to do that and he knows not to, but he's stubborn (he tried something similar like one day after surgery). Like I said before, his only problems in rehab I think will be holding him back.
We had been trying to figure out how to get him out and to see Allison though different transport options. Jon solved that problem though, he requested to learn to transfer to a regular car for that very purpose (to see Allie). They weren't planning on doing that with him until next week. My mom was with him so she could learn how to help him do it, but he did it all on his own. Now we can get passes to take him out on our own. They have cleared some of his rehab schedule both today and tomorrow so he can go see Allison.
It was a bit emotional (but good emotional) with all the news about Allison yesterday. He's always asking about her and is very very excited about her progress. He can't wait to go see her today.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday 2/27/09, 11AM
I have no news myself but I wanted to pass on some amazing things about Allison that her mom wrote in her CarePage this morning for those of you who don't have access to it. I'll just quote:
"Good Morning A & J fans. Allie had a long night. Her brain was racing and she had many questions. I do not know how much she will remember from the night conversation. Her voice is very weak. Her main concern was Jon. As she was becoming more aware mentally she also became aware of her pain. She toughed it out but we did resort to pain medication about 4 am. Thus...she is currently living up to her nickname "The Blue Slug". Her man doctor was disappointed that she would open her eyes to everyone but him (Mike thinks she did this on purpose). We are not sure of the next few days. The bone doctor has cleared her (once she wakes up again) to be moved from the bed to a chair! Of course she can not have any weight on her legs (broken pelvis). Her main doctor said she may be moved for PT (he didn't say a date)...but he did say he would put the call into Mary Freebed for them to visit with us. Mary Freebed has standards the patient must meet before they will accept them. So if she is not strong enough she may be sent to Metro Rehab or Kent Community first. She seems to continue to improve by the hour. A funny thing happened during the night. Their was an Emergency Code on the ICU just down the hall from Allie's room and she said "I have to go" it was all I could do to hold her down in bed. We do not know too much about her mental state as she "continues to sleep off the pain meds". I will update this site again this afternoon so we will be able to determine if she will be up to visitors (but at this point I would say yes) Unless she has to have more pain meds...then you would see "Sleeping Beauty" aka "The Blue Slug". Jon if you are reading this "SHE LOVES YOU". I expressed to Allison last night how much love and support everyone has been sending to her and Jon (tears flowed from us both). More later"
I called my parents and they interrupted his Occupational Therapy appointment to tell him. They had quite the moment together I think, tears of joy are great. Jon is not happy to be where he is at but I think knows he needs to be there.
"Good Morning A & J fans. Allie had a long night. Her brain was racing and she had many questions. I do not know how much she will remember from the night conversation. Her voice is very weak. Her main concern was Jon. As she was becoming more aware mentally she also became aware of her pain. She toughed it out but we did resort to pain medication about 4 am. Thus...she is currently living up to her nickname "The Blue Slug". Her man doctor was disappointed that she would open her eyes to everyone but him (Mike thinks she did this on purpose). We are not sure of the next few days. The bone doctor has cleared her (once she wakes up again) to be moved from the bed to a chair! Of course she can not have any weight on her legs (broken pelvis). Her main doctor said she may be moved for PT (he didn't say a date)...but he did say he would put the call into Mary Freebed for them to visit with us. Mary Freebed has standards the patient must meet before they will accept them. So if she is not strong enough she may be sent to Metro Rehab or Kent Community first. She seems to continue to improve by the hour. A funny thing happened during the night. Their was an Emergency Code on the ICU just down the hall from Allie's room and she said "I have to go" it was all I could do to hold her down in bed. We do not know too much about her mental state as she "continues to sleep off the pain meds". I will update this site again this afternoon so we will be able to determine if she will be up to visitors (but at this point I would say yes) Unless she has to have more pain meds...then you would see "Sleeping Beauty" aka "The Blue Slug". Jon if you are reading this "SHE LOVES YOU". I expressed to Allison last night how much love and support everyone has been sending to her and Jon (tears flowed from us both). More later"
I called my parents and they interrupted his Occupational Therapy appointment to tell him. They had quite the moment together I think, tears of joy are great. Jon is not happy to be where he is at but I think knows he needs to be there.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, 4:30PM
Ok. Man, what a day so far. Allison is amazing, she really looked great without all those tubes, what a difference. My dad said he thought she looked like she was both pouting and smiling at the same time, hah.
I left the hospital right after I wrote my last update so I don't have much else on Allison. Its really important for her to be able to cough without being told to do so and my dad also said he saw her do that once as well. They are monitoring her breathing and want her to take some big breaths on her own. She's going to be getting better all the time now, but it will be a long journey for her.
Jon is at Mary Free Bed Hospital.
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
235 Wealthy SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA) 49503
Phone: 800.528.8989
He's in room 306. If you want to contact him you can email patient@maryfreebed.com In the subject line write "Jon Turner". They will print it out and bring it to him.
It seems like a really nice place here and that he will be well cared for. His day (starting tomorrow, letting him rest today) will be very structured and tiring for him - his visiting hours will be limited. He'll be able to have visitors between 5:30PM and 8PM every day. He will also at times have his cell phone, and he has a room phone. I think no calls tonight, it was a big day and he slept very poorly last night. Close family can come 8AM to 8PM but know that he will be busy for most of that time. He has 3 hours of PT every day plus meals and rest and checkups and such.
The goal for him now is to get him strong enough and get the tools for him to function mostly on his own. They expect him to be here somewhere around a week, but it could be as long as two. We'll know more early next week about his progress and what will be happening in the next few weeks/months. He's not going to be able to do a whole lot for a while, but he's anxious to start and is telling everyone that they will be impressed. I think the only problems that they will have with him in rehab is holding him back from doing too much too fast.
As we were leaving we got a CD with all his xrays on it, its pretty wild. We counted one plate and 8 screws in his Clavicle. In his ankle we saw two plates and I think around 12-15ish screws? His elbow was definitely 2 plates but we think probably 3, and we couldn't really count the screws. There were 2 large anchor screws and we could count some around the outside of the break, but right on the elbow it was so thick with screws that it pretty much looked like a solid mass of metal without being able to see it in 3d space.
When I talk about his injuries, obviously his elbow is a pretty impressive. However, due to the nature of the break he should have fast progress with it, bending it and doing PT with his arm will start almost immediately I think. It will still be non weight bearing for 6 weeks but I think it will be healing fast. His ankle is going to take a lot longer. The doctor said that how it was broken was not very good for recovery speed. His ankle is immobile in his cast for 2 weeks and non weight bearing for 6 or more. He'll also probably need to have surgery on it again at some point.
Updates on Jon will be more infrequent now, I'm not going to be with him as much anymore. I'll try to keep up to date on both he and Allison and let you know what I can. Thanks again to everyone for everything.
Dave
I left the hospital right after I wrote my last update so I don't have much else on Allison. Its really important for her to be able to cough without being told to do so and my dad also said he saw her do that once as well. They are monitoring her breathing and want her to take some big breaths on her own. She's going to be getting better all the time now, but it will be a long journey for her.
Jon is at Mary Free Bed Hospital.
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
235 Wealthy SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA) 49503
Phone: 800.528.8989
He's in room 306. If you want to contact him you can email patient@maryfreebed.com In the subject line write "Jon Turner". They will print it out and bring it to him.
It seems like a really nice place here and that he will be well cared for. His day (starting tomorrow, letting him rest today) will be very structured and tiring for him - his visiting hours will be limited. He'll be able to have visitors between 5:30PM and 8PM every day. He will also at times have his cell phone, and he has a room phone. I think no calls tonight, it was a big day and he slept very poorly last night. Close family can come 8AM to 8PM but know that he will be busy for most of that time. He has 3 hours of PT every day plus meals and rest and checkups and such.
The goal for him now is to get him strong enough and get the tools for him to function mostly on his own. They expect him to be here somewhere around a week, but it could be as long as two. We'll know more early next week about his progress and what will be happening in the next few weeks/months. He's not going to be able to do a whole lot for a while, but he's anxious to start and is telling everyone that they will be impressed. I think the only problems that they will have with him in rehab is holding him back from doing too much too fast.
As we were leaving we got a CD with all his xrays on it, its pretty wild. We counted one plate and 8 screws in his Clavicle. In his ankle we saw two plates and I think around 12-15ish screws? His elbow was definitely 2 plates but we think probably 3, and we couldn't really count the screws. There were 2 large anchor screws and we could count some around the outside of the break, but right on the elbow it was so thick with screws that it pretty much looked like a solid mass of metal without being able to see it in 3d space.
When I talk about his injuries, obviously his elbow is a pretty impressive. However, due to the nature of the break he should have fast progress with it, bending it and doing PT with his arm will start almost immediately I think. It will still be non weight bearing for 6 weeks but I think it will be healing fast. His ankle is going to take a lot longer. The doctor said that how it was broken was not very good for recovery speed. His ankle is immobile in his cast for 2 weeks and non weight bearing for 6 or more. He'll also probably need to have surgery on it again at some point.
Updates on Jon will be more infrequent now, I'm not going to be with him as much anymore. I'll try to keep up to date on both he and Allison and let you know what I can. Thanks again to everyone for everything.
Dave
Thursday, 9:30AM
I don't have a lot of time. Allison got her breathing tube out right now and she's looking great.
The MRI showed nothing unexpected but I'm not sure what that means completely.
Jon is in there right now and transport is waiting to get him to Mary Free Bed this morning. A little hectic.
The MRI showed nothing unexpected but I'm not sure what that means completely.
Jon is in there right now and transport is waiting to get him to Mary Free Bed this morning. A little hectic.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, 11PM
Allison went in for her MRI tonight around 8PM. They thought it would take about 2 hours, so she should be back in her room by now. We don't expect any results until tomorrow morning. I'll let you know when I can, we're hoping everything turns out.
My mom is staying with Jon. Sorry if anyone came to visit and wasn't let in, it was a big day and long night for him. We're thinking they are going to transfer him to Mary Free Bed tomorrow sometime, but we told him that he needs to make his own schedule. It may wait for Friday, we'll have orthopedics in very early, then someone from Mary Free Bed and a social worker in all trying to figure it out. We (and he) are insisting that he's able to see Allison again before he leaves because he won't be able to see her for a while.
Visiting hours for Jon once he's transferred will be limited. He'll have a full schedule of activities and therapy while he's there. I think visiting, other than close family, is limited to 1-2 hours in the afternoon and 1-2 hours in the evening. I'm not sure but I'll let you guys know when I can.
Allison's visiting is currently immediate family only.
My mom is staying with Jon. Sorry if anyone came to visit and wasn't let in, it was a big day and long night for him. We're thinking they are going to transfer him to Mary Free Bed tomorrow sometime, but we told him that he needs to make his own schedule. It may wait for Friday, we'll have orthopedics in very early, then someone from Mary Free Bed and a social worker in all trying to figure it out. We (and he) are insisting that he's able to see Allison again before he leaves because he won't be able to see her for a while.
Visiting hours for Jon once he's transferred will be limited. He'll have a full schedule of activities and therapy while he's there. I think visiting, other than close family, is limited to 1-2 hours in the afternoon and 1-2 hours in the evening. I'm not sure but I'll let you guys know when I can.
Allison's visiting is currently immediate family only.
Wednesday, 7PM
Real quick. I forgot to mention but Jon's good hand isn't broken. He ate solid food for dinner which was good.
He's asleep now, probably no visitors tonight but we'll see when he wakes up. I don't think Allison is taking visitors.
He's asleep now, probably no visitors tonight but we'll see when he wakes up. I don't think Allison is taking visitors.
Wednesday, 5:45PM
Allison is still largely the same. She hasn't had her MRI yet, I think that is happening tonight.
Jon was able to go see Allie today. When her parents told Allison that he was coming she got really excited and was kind of flailing about, which is good. Unfortunately, that meant they had to sedate her some so I don't think she was very responsive when Jon was there. They had quite a bit of time alone together then one of Allison's nurses went in and was able to answer a lot of Jon's questions.
Jon had PT today and was able to hop all the way to the hallway and back (maybe about 20 feet?) but afterwards he was absolutely exhausted and sore. They gave him some leg exercises to do while in bed. He's been able to eat a bit more solid food, soup and crackers and such but he still doesn't have a big appetite. He's been getting some good rest today.
We had a visit from one of the responders at the scene today, I wasn't there for it and I won't go into details but needless to say we are *very* fortunate that they are both alive. My dad went to see the wreck today and took some pictures. I haven't seen them yet and I don't think I want to right now but he said it was absolutely unbelievable. Short update for now, I'll let you all know if there's more news.
Jon was able to go see Allie today. When her parents told Allison that he was coming she got really excited and was kind of flailing about, which is good. Unfortunately, that meant they had to sedate her some so I don't think she was very responsive when Jon was there. They had quite a bit of time alone together then one of Allison's nurses went in and was able to answer a lot of Jon's questions.
Jon had PT today and was able to hop all the way to the hallway and back (maybe about 20 feet?) but afterwards he was absolutely exhausted and sore. They gave him some leg exercises to do while in bed. He's been able to eat a bit more solid food, soup and crackers and such but he still doesn't have a big appetite. He's been getting some good rest today.
We had a visit from one of the responders at the scene today, I wasn't there for it and I won't go into details but needless to say we are *very* fortunate that they are both alive. My dad went to see the wreck today and took some pictures. I haven't seen them yet and I don't think I want to right now but he said it was absolutely unbelievable. Short update for now, I'll let you all know if there's more news.
Wednesday, 12:45PM
Hey all.
No major status updates on Allison. Her tube is still in and she's still at about the same response level. She was down for a cat scan on her ankle and her arm and she was causing trouble! They finished looking at her leg and then were looking at her arm when she lifted her right leg straight up, cast and all, and kicked one of the techs with her. They were shocked but she's a frisky one. They had to put some more drugs in her to make her behave and now she's more sleepy again. We're not sure the result of those scans yet but they just wanted to check out yesterday's surgeries.
They are going to take her in for an MRI today to get a good look at her head.
Jon had a very long and restless night. He had a lot of pain in his clavicle especially. They took him off his IV completely, which also means they took him off one of his pain medications, Dilaudid (i think). He didn't think that one was doing much for him until they took it away. Now he's on oral medications of Vicodin, Valium, and Oxycontin. This morning, though, he was able to get up to a chair then to a bathroom. He shaved (and nicked himself a few times, joking he's got to graduate to a college shaving level again), washed his hair, put on deodorant, brushed his teeth. He was able to get some shorts and a button-down shirt on with help. Afterward, he wanted to stay sitting for a while which was surprising. Sitting made him real tired and now he's sleeping heavily which is good. This morning I noticed that yesterday was Fat Tuesday and he said "Oh sweet, I ate the hell out of some ice last night." He's still not finding any solid foods appealing, mostly just ice but also some juice and fruit. There's talk of transfering him to Mary Free Bed (rehab hospital) tomorrow or friday. He wants to go see Allison again today. Oh, he was complaining of some pain in his good left hand and they took him for an xray on that this morning. We're waiting to hear on that but hope its not broken because he kinda needs that to get around. He's been using it and moving it well so I'm guessing it won't be a major problem -- not too sure.
We're all just hanging in there, thanks for the support.
I have the ability now to update the CarePage that Allison's family has been maintaining. I'll be posting updates now on my new blog (jonandallisonupdates.blogspot.com) on the CarePage (www.carepages.com search for "DrAllison"), and sending my emails.
No major status updates on Allison. Her tube is still in and she's still at about the same response level. She was down for a cat scan on her ankle and her arm and she was causing trouble! They finished looking at her leg and then were looking at her arm when she lifted her right leg straight up, cast and all, and kicked one of the techs with her. They were shocked but she's a frisky one. They had to put some more drugs in her to make her behave and now she's more sleepy again. We're not sure the result of those scans yet but they just wanted to check out yesterday's surgeries.
They are going to take her in for an MRI today to get a good look at her head.
Jon had a very long and restless night. He had a lot of pain in his clavicle especially. They took him off his IV completely, which also means they took him off one of his pain medications, Dilaudid (i think). He didn't think that one was doing much for him until they took it away. Now he's on oral medications of Vicodin, Valium, and Oxycontin. This morning, though, he was able to get up to a chair then to a bathroom. He shaved (and nicked himself a few times, joking he's got to graduate to a college shaving level again), washed his hair, put on deodorant, brushed his teeth. He was able to get some shorts and a button-down shirt on with help. Afterward, he wanted to stay sitting for a while which was surprising. Sitting made him real tired and now he's sleeping heavily which is good. This morning I noticed that yesterday was Fat Tuesday and he said "Oh sweet, I ate the hell out of some ice last night." He's still not finding any solid foods appealing, mostly just ice but also some juice and fruit. There's talk of transfering him to Mary Free Bed (rehab hospital) tomorrow or friday. He wants to go see Allison again today. Oh, he was complaining of some pain in his good left hand and they took him for an xray on that this morning. We're waiting to hear on that but hope its not broken because he kinda needs that to get around. He's been using it and moving it well so I'm guessing it won't be a major problem -- not too sure.
We're all just hanging in there, thanks for the support.
I have the ability now to update the CarePage that Allison's family has been maintaining. I'll be posting updates now on my new blog (jonandallisonupdates.blogspot.com) on the CarePage (www.carepages.com search for "DrAllison"), and sending my emails.
Wednesday, 1AM
I couldn't sleep so I made this blog. It consists so far of just copy and paste of the emails I've previously sent out. I'll continue to blast my email list with new information, as well as update this blog each time. For those of you that have been getting my emails, there's no new information right now.
For some reason all this writing and information-sharing is somewhat therapeutic to me. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to give such detailed and frequent reports but I'll do what I can.
One disclaimer. I report what I hear as I hear it, under my own personal interpretation. I'm not a medical person and I've heard a lot of things in the past few days. Everything jumbles together and I may get things wrong. I'm just trying to report what I know as I know it, as well as some personal opinion and emotions at that time. Please don't take what I'm saying as medical fact.
EDIT -- To start at the beginning of this email chain/blog, you'll have to go in reverse order. I'm not sure why they put this text in such narrow columns, but you'll have to scroll down to the bottom of this page and go to the "older posts" section(s) to start at the beginning and work your way backwards, if you want.
For some reason all this writing and information-sharing is somewhat therapeutic to me. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to give such detailed and frequent reports but I'll do what I can.
One disclaimer. I report what I hear as I hear it, under my own personal interpretation. I'm not a medical person and I've heard a lot of things in the past few days. Everything jumbles together and I may get things wrong. I'm just trying to report what I know as I know it, as well as some personal opinion and emotions at that time. Please don't take what I'm saying as medical fact.
EDIT -- To start at the beginning of this email chain/blog, you'll have to go in reverse order. I'm not sure why they put this text in such narrow columns, but you'll have to scroll down to the bottom of this page and go to the "older posts" section(s) to start at the beginning and work your way backwards, if you want.
Tuesday, 10:30PM
When I've been saying Allison is breathing on her own, I've been meaning that the machine is on standby for support only if she needs it. However, they were able to do a couple tests tonight with the machine turned completely off. She was good for both a 3 minute and then a full 30 minute test with no machine at all which was a very good sign. Now to remove the tube they want her more alert and responsive. I'm not sure everything she needs to do for a doctor, but she's not quite there yet. She can open her eyes and wiggle her toes and blink on command and squeeze hands. She's not doing this long enough or doing quite enough at one time I guess, so they are still letting her rest with the breathing tube in. The doctor is very hopeful that she's getting better and that she might be able to get the tube out soon which would be a major step. Once again, we just have to be patient.
Jon was complaining about his clavicle for the first time tonight and it was hurting quite a bit. He's been moving around that bad arm quite a bit though, using the hand on that arm, lifting the whole arm with no support, plus getting up and having it hang down. Its all good stuff for rehab, but its causing pain. It was a pretty exhausting day for Jon and for all of us.
My mom and I are at Jon and Allison's house tonight, my Dad is with Jon. No more updates for a while, I'll check in tomorrow.
Jon was complaining about his clavicle for the first time tonight and it was hurting quite a bit. He's been moving around that bad arm quite a bit though, using the hand on that arm, lifting the whole arm with no support, plus getting up and having it hang down. Its all good stuff for rehab, but its causing pain. It was a pretty exhausting day for Jon and for all of us.
My mom and I are at Jon and Allison's house tonight, my Dad is with Jon. No more updates for a while, I'll check in tomorrow.
Tuesday, 7:30PM
Allison is breathing on her own (and has been for a while now I guess), but still has the tube in just in case. They are getting some reactions out of her again, including squeezing people's hands and opening her eyes. Not enough to remove the tube yet but its progress.
Here's another place for information, a blog from Allison's side of things so you may be able to get some different and more accurate news on that side. It looks like you need to sign up for it but then you can access it whenever.
If that page doesn't work go to www.carepages.com and search for "DrAllison".
Tuesday, 5:50PM
No real new news just shooting out a quick email. Allison is still in her room and still in recovery. I was up with her a bit and she responded some to my voice and to my touch. Once again we're just being patient to let her come around. It sounds like they are letting the stimulus in her room come up a bit (lights on, talking to her, etc) to see how she responds. I'm not sure yet about her breathing on her own or anything, but the tube is still in.
Tuesday, 1:45PM
Allison is out of surgery now. I hope everyone got the surgery update earlier (below) but I was having a bit of email difficulty at the time.
Her right ankle was operated on and needed to have some screws in it. Her right arm had a plate in it and some screws. Her left arm was ok, no operation. Looking at her pelvis, they decided to add one screw in the back and one screw in the front to help it align and heal better. She's recovering in her room right now. Her doctor, Dr. Endres, said everything came together well. They expect 90-100% usage, but I'm not sure if that's referring to any specific operation or as a whole. I'll let you guys know more when I can.
Jon is exhausted from this morning but doing fine.
Tuesday, 11AM
Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you, we had a lot of activity this morning.
Allison is currently in surgery. They are going to operate on her ankle and her wrist, both on the right side. I'm not sure what it all entails but screws and/or pins will be involved. I didn't hear mention of any plates but I'm not sure. The wrist sounded like it may not have been needed but that since she's down there they are going to do it just to make sure everything is good there too.
While she's in the OR they are also going to take an x-ray of her left hand/wrist as well. She has some bruising there and they want to check for breaks there too. They are also going to do an x-ray on her pelvis. They've checked it out before and thought it wouldn't need surgery but they want to check again, they already know it was broken. It sounds like they want to make absolutely sure everything is in order while they have her in there already so they can get it all done at once.
The surgery was planned for 11am but surprisingly it was ahead of schedule. She went down there maybe 15-20 minutes ago and I think they said it would be something around 2 hours but that it depends on all the other things they look at, like her other wrist and her pelvis. I'll try to let you know how it goes when I can.
Allison's doctors were all saying they are planning on letting her come out of surgery today then try to get her breathing on her own again then take out the breathing tube today. We're all hoping this happens and that everything turns out. It sounded like all the doctors were optimistic.
It was real active there for a bit because Jon had the physical therapy people in and he was sitting up and real insistent on seeing Allison. We thought we had time but then the surgery got pushed ahead of time and they were already prepping her. They did wheel Jon down and let him in and Jon and Allison had some alone time which was nice, it was the first time Jon had seen her since the accident so it was tough. Jon was talking to her doctors and he was talking to Allison. Her eyes were wide open when he was in there and he said he asked her to blink and she blinked for him.
Jon is back in bed now and resting after being up.
Allison is currently in surgery. They are going to operate on her ankle and her wrist, both on the right side. I'm not sure what it all entails but screws and/or pins will be involved. I didn't hear mention of any plates but I'm not sure. The wrist sounded like it may not have been needed but that since she's down there they are going to do it just to make sure everything is good there too.
While she's in the OR they are also going to take an x-ray of her left hand/wrist as well. She has some bruising there and they want to check for breaks there too. They are also going to do an x-ray on her pelvis. They've checked it out before and thought it wouldn't need surgery but they want to check again, they already know it was broken. It sounds like they want to make absolutely sure everything is in order while they have her in there already so they can get it all done at once.
The surgery was planned for 11am but surprisingly it was ahead of schedule. She went down there maybe 15-20 minutes ago and I think they said it would be something around 2 hours but that it depends on all the other things they look at, like her other wrist and her pelvis. I'll try to let you know how it goes when I can.
Allison's doctors were all saying they are planning on letting her come out of surgery today then try to get her breathing on her own again then take out the breathing tube today. We're all hoping this happens and that everything turns out. It sounded like all the doctors were optimistic.
It was real active there for a bit because Jon had the physical therapy people in and he was sitting up and real insistent on seeing Allison. We thought we had time but then the surgery got pushed ahead of time and they were already prepping her. They did wheel Jon down and let him in and Jon and Allison had some alone time which was nice, it was the first time Jon had seen her since the accident so it was tough. Jon was talking to her doctors and he was talking to Allison. Her eyes were wide open when he was in there and he said he asked her to blink and she blinked for him.
Jon is back in bed now and resting after being up.
Monday, 11:50PM
Hey all. This message is tough because I feel like I've been a bit misleading in previous messages but I assure you it was not on purpose. There's no real information except that I have been misinterpreting some information in terms of Allison.
With her cat scans, we have been getting reports of the scan being "negative". However, it turns out that in this case negative simply means that it does not require surgery. It doesn't mean that Allison is completely in the clear with her brain right now as I have led you all to believe.
It was weird from the start because they mentioned the pinpoint of bleeding in her brain but at the same time were saying the scan was negative, which was confusing to me. My mother picked up on this and obviously we were all wondering why she has been out for so long as well. I'm not sure the extent of what is going on and I don't think the doctors do either until she can wake up for a real assessment.
I don't mean to scare you with this news but I also didn't want to mislead anyone with these emails since they migh be your only source of information right now. So, nothing really to report that I haven't already except that we just wait and see.
I'm writing this because a resident critical care doctor of Allison's just came over to talk to Jon and I. He didn't really share any new information, but was definitely direct in the way he was saying it. To paraphrase, he said that Allison had a head injury and that she had some sub-arachnoid blood (blood in brain). All today she was following orders but agitated. They put her back into anastesia so they could rest her brain and not be so agitated so she could heal better. She'll eventually need to be in rehab for a while (but I think we all knew that). She doesn't have any chest or abdomen injuries and her spinal cord is fine despite her spinal fractures in her neck and lower back. They are looking forward to being able to take the breathing tube out and hope to do so sometime after tomorrow's surgery. Right now the big thing for her is her brain function. I took a couple notes while he was talking, mostly directed toward Jon, so hopefully I got the gist of the message alright.
The good news for me is that she was understanding commands today and I gathered that she was understanding and reacting more today than previously. Also it seemed like she was trying hard to come out of it -- so I still remain very hopeful. Another resident that came to visit from Metro told my mom earlier today when asked about all this that we can still remain hopeful for an eventual 100% recovery, but its just hard to tell right now. She's showing lots of good signs and I'll keep you all in the loop as I can. At the very least, her scan today was unchanged from yesterday so I don't think she's getting worse. Once again, I'm sorry that I gave everyone a false impression from my previous emails. I also hope I don't offend anyone by sharing this info since everything really is all up in the air right now and its all pretty sensitive information to share.
I don't think I mentioned this but they ended up putting in a feeding tube for Allison today. She apparently didn't like that at all as it was going in, but it will be good for her to stay nourished to hopefully help keep healing.
We're not sure when the surgery on her leg tomorrow will be until the morning when they figure out the surgery schedule. The doctor did mention that he thought the operation on her arm would also be happening, but he wasn't in orthopedics so he wasn't sure.
Monday, 6:30PM
Surgery on Allison's leg will be tomorrow. CAT scan tonight to figure out exactly on what. Its her lower leg but I'm not sure if its the ankle or tibia/fibula, we'll know after the scan.
Monday, 5:30 PM
Allison is doing about the same right now. They ended up putting her back on anaestesia to help keep her calm. While being responsive was great, they could tell that she was quite uncomfortable when she was up due to the tube in her throat. I guess they didn't feel like it was time to take the tube out so instead they made her more sleepy.
I was in today while she was tossng around and I saw her open her eyes for the first time (she's done it several times now, but only once when I was there). She looked right at me and was trying to figure me out. When she's up they try to give her response tests so her mother Connie and I were telling her to hold a "thumbs up" on both of her hands. We got a solid thumbs up with her left hand, but she was then not happy about the tube and only did that one hand. It was great to see her coming around and understanding what was going on if only at least somewhat.
Jon has been getting some decent rest in today, especally after each dose of Vicodin and Valium. Valium especially seems to be helping. He had his first visit with the phsical therapy department today which consisted of helping him sit up and transfer over to a rolling chair. He was able to sit there for a while and get a little comfortable, then had to go back to bed. They are still planning on taking the elbow splint off tomorrow so we'll see what sort of PT will happen then. I'm not sure but it looks like it is going to wait until tomorrow for him to go see Allison.
Right now the plan is still release from this hospital probably on Wednesday. However, the only way he will be able to get around for a while will be to lean on a 4-legged cane for support on his good left arm, while hopping around on his good right foot. He's kinda been bumped around all over, including some decent bruising on his right foot, so this is obviously going to be pretty painful. The jarring motion of the acual hop I'm sure will not be fun. Right now with help he's just standing up, pivoting, and sitting down again. By his release they think he'll only manage to hop a couple times before it gets to be too much. Because of this, it sounds like he'll be going to an acute rehab hospital like Mary Free Bed after here so he can get some help gaining his strength back before he has to figure it out at home.
Monday, 11:45 AM
Things are looking up right now. Allison is doing much better than she has before. She is still mostly sleeping, but she is responding much more than before. She's moving her limbs around more. She has opened her eyes twice more today, the first time they went quite wide and then most recently she was quite alert to her surroundings I hear. I wasn't there for either of these. They needed to draw blood and she responded and didn't like them doing that. Same with a shot she needed in her stomach. I was there for that one, she moved her arms and legs and squirmed and tried to make them stop, and she wrinkled up her brow like she was pissed. She would sometimes do these things before, but now its happening a lot more.
The best news though is that she's now breathing on her own. The tube is still in and the machine is still on but its in more of an 'assistance' mode. They are being very careful just in case something happens so they are keeping the tube in for now, but she's in control of her own breathing and the machine hasn't had to work at all for a while now, from what I understand. She doesn't seem to like it in, but who would. They want to make sure she can clear her throat and is doing really well before they remove it.
The neuro doctors were in and they said that it was not unusual for her to be down like this for so long given all of her injuries. They said it was pretty normal. We were all getting pretty anxious to have her wake up but hearing this made us feel better about the whole thing. We still hope she wakes up fully soon, but we realize that she just may need some time and that its good to be patient.
She had another CAT scan today and it showed no problems, and nothing different from yesterday. They still think she's in the clear in the brain damage department and she's not getting any worse from yesterday which is also great news. Just looking at her I noticed that her swelling seems to have gone down some around her eyes, although they are still quite purple.
Jon is also doing OK. One thing I forgot to mention last time was that they took his collar off sometime early this morning. They aren't worried about his neck/spine now and it made him a little more comfortable. He's complaining about lots of pain in his ankle and elbow and they are keeping him well medicated. The blood flow to extremeties is good and there's no numbness in his foot or hand, although he's complaining that his hand gets real cold. He's drinking lots of fluids right now, mostly water. They can clear him for some more solid foods now but he doesn't seem to want them. The physical therapy team will be in with him shortly I hope and they are going to start working with him today. He wants to go see Allison today and one of the goals I think is to get him into a chair so they don't have to wheel him over in his bed.
I'll keep in touch, thanks again for the support.
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