8/6/2006 Sunday 14 Days Past Accident

            You tried to get out of bed after we left last night so they had to put the posey vest back on you.  Regardless you had a fairly restful night. 

            This morning you were pretty groggy and tired.  You slept most of the morning.  For the afternoon visitation you had been placed in the Neuro chair.  Both Coach Whites (Robert & George) came to see you.  They were with you for about 45 minutes.  You communicated with them by writing responses to them.  They kept the paper you wrote on and were going to take it back to Dyersburg and frame it so that when you came to visit them they can show you what you did.  They were very impressed with your recovery to this point.

            After being in the Neuro chair for approximately 4 hours you were asking to be put back in bed.

            You were given a bath when the nurse noticed some drainage from your incision on your abdominal plus your wound was slightly gapping.  The Trauma Attending came to assess your incision and thought maybe they could keep it clean with dressing changes and just keep an eye on it.  Your white count in your blood was slightly elevated from 12 to 15.

The attending also said they were not going to remove your C-Collar today.  They want to get another MRI of your neck on Tuesday to see if the swelling has gone down.  They are still concerned about a ligamentous injury.

Air-Conditioning Video
Third time telling the same story Video
Caleb

8/6/2006 Day’s End Report

            Today was another good day despite your incision opening/drainage.  You got more good rest during the day/evening and had a great visitation with your coaches from Dyersburg.

            Going into the night you were having problems with your secretions.  They were getting thick and difficult for you to cough up.  You had a slight fever and were sweating terribly.  You took off your tube to your Trach Collar that was providing humidified air and was holding it to your face to cool yourself off.  Very ingenious!  The respiratory therapist gave you a breathing treatment to loosen and breakup your secretions.  I hope that helps you through the night.

            With cold compresses and the humidified air you were not as warm and stopped sweating by the time we left.  You at one point wrote to me that the “heat is unbearable right now.”

            You have come such a long way from where you were 14 days ago.  I am so proud of you!  Dad has captured some of your actions on video.  He has you holding the tube up to your face to cool yourself and he captured you smiling when he told you the story of Caanan chewing Aunt Kathy’s shoes to bits.

            Dad and I spoke with Dr. Tressler today.  Dr. Tressler is the orthopedic surgeon who is going to do your ankle/heel on Tuesday.  We were very impressed with the detail he went into to tell us what he planned on doing to repair and fix your ankle.  He was very optimistic about the potential of pinning your ankle instead of fusing it, if he can locate a piece of the ankle bone that is missing.  He believes/hopes the piece he needs is imbedded in your ankle.  He has studied your case and the multitude of CT scans of your left ankle to prepare for the surgery.  He has booked the OR for early Tuesday 8/8/06 for 4 hours but is mentally prepared for 8 hours.  Our prayers will go out to you and also to him for that day.

            I pray tonight you have an uneventful night and for more rest for recovery and healing.  We love you