New Year, New Possibilities

Andrew has been home over a month and we feel grateful that we haven't done anything wrong in his care. It is complicated taking care of someone who has been through a trauma. Lately, Andrew was put on a pic line and tpn. They put him under for this and a wound vac change. This is an iv that he can be on during the night for 12 h0urs. The doctor decided that this would help him get 3,000 calories a day. It seems to be working because he has gained three pounds. For my part, it is a little scary. The pic line goes to the heart. You must keep things sterile. So every night we hook him up. It is a bit of a family affair. We do it before family prayer. The other night we had problems with the machine and air bubbles. The whole family was in on solving the problem. I looked at the faces of each of my children as they hovered over Andrew. I really appreciated how much they care about their brother. I suppose that we have done something right! They really love each other. In the morning, I guess I got up too quickly. I went to disconnect him from the line. I have to flush the line with saline and shoot some heparin into it. I sat down and began the procedure. I felt all the blood leave my head. Andrew told me that I looked weird. I was about to pass out. Luckily, Randall hadn't left for work yet. I ended up going to bed for a nap with Andrew napping too. While we were asleep the wonderful ladies, came and cleaned my house. (Leslie Clark, Julie Simmons and Karen Greenwell). I woke up to things in order. I can't tell you the relief that I felt. They are angels of mercy. I really need and appreciate the help. So things are progressing. The plastic surgeon is getting ready to skin graft Andrew's front and back. He will be able to sucture some of it. Andrew will have a five day stay at PCMC for this procedure. I also notice that I am running the "Andrew" business. Each day I have calls to make, appointments to schedule, supplies to order, and prescriptions to pick up. I had no idea that it would entail so much. You know when you see someone use a handicap parking spot and they walk out of their car just fine. You might feel a little annoyed. Now I understand why you don't need to feel annoyed. Caring for someone really takes time, effort, money and energy. I am so grateful to have the option to park in a handicap spot. I am so exhausted by the worry and all the work. It is a great help. The worry continues. Randall and I confessed to each other that we often check him when he's sleeping, so see if he's breathing. Just like a newborn. My knee decided to go out on me a couple weeks ago. It has been swollen, weak and very sore. We laugh because Andrew's walk has been stronger than mine. I think God wanted me to have some pain to help me be a little more understanding of Andrew. Andrew is doing well. Ariel and I took him to KJH to meet with Principal Stromberg, Mr. Brown and others. I have always thought KJH was an exceptional junior high. Now, I see how much they care about the kids. They are really interested in helping Andrew. There is a new program to do school on the computer. Andrew may be out the rest of the year so he can work from home. It is great because Andrew got a great computer screen for Christmas from the people at Randall's work and we went in on it. He also received a new processor from Prime Systems. Keith Duncan at Prime Systems is really great. We have been doing business there for years! Andrew can even lay in his bed and use his computer. This will be a big help for him to keep his school work going. Andrew enjoyed going to his locker and checking a book out. It felt weird to him to have people see him. He has lost a lot of weight. I know that people wish him well so he doesn't need to worry. Saturday, Andrew made it through Avatar, the never-ending movie. He really enjoyed it. I thought it was a little long! I look at the year ahead of us and hope and pray for things to go well for Andrew. It is my wish that he will be put back together so that he can start his sophmore year at Davis. Last night when I was up most of the night with him, I prayed for his continued healing. Andrew is a great kid and a big fighter.

The Best Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Andrew had a wonderful Christmas. We took him to the mall to pick up a present. He was able to attend our family parties. The first party was a lunch on Christmas Eve. His cousins, Nicole, Ryan and Eli were here from California. That night we went to the Spilker party. It is always great fun. Grandma Spilker feeds us a German buffet. It is the best meal of the year. Every family has to perform a talent. It gets pretty funny at times. Then we opened gifts. After that we picked up Grandma Martin to bring her home for a sleepover. Andrew was pretty wiped out Christmas morning. He wanted us to go ahead without him. But finally we were able to coax him out of bed. The gifts really didn't matter, we were content to just have the whole family together. Grandma put a bow on Andrew and called him the best gift of all! I cooked up a turkey and a ham. I don't know if Andrew is eating anymore food but, I seem to be cooking more food all the time. Half and half cream and bacon has become a staple at our home. The next day we took Andrew to his sister's home while we went to the show. Unfortunately, we found out that all movies were sold out! So we went back to Ashley's and watched a movie and had spagetti. Family time is the best part of the holidays. We are enjoying having Alex here from Washington. We are so thankful for all the kindness Andrew received for Christmas. He had carolers, treats, presents, and lots of visits. Andrew is thankful to the Tullis family, the Jenkins, the Spragues, Alice Henderson and Advanced Graphics for the gift. They found out that Andrew was feeling down when he learned that the money being rasied was for medical bills not for his fun money! They decided to gift him a bit of cash to brighten his spirit. It really did the trick. Thank you so much. Rick McGurk brought Andrew a really neat present. It is a sword made in Spain. It is really heavy, and it says "The Sword of Laban" on it. Thanks Rick! You have been great! Things are difficult for Andrew. He wrestles with pain all of the time. I think he is a bit anorexic from not eating for so long. He keeps his food down but eating doesn't sound good to him. I find myself worrying about this a lot. On Christmas Eve, Dr. Downey, called to check on Andrew. This is one of the surgeons who worked on Andrew. He talked to me for 1/2 hour. I continue to be impressed by this man. He wanted to know how Andrew is getting along. We will see him on Tuesday. Dr. Downey said that he feels an ownership in Andrew and that the hospital should too. He talks about him to associates all of the time. He mentioned that the muscle graft/skin graft surgery may be coming up. He feels that it will be a two year recovery for Andrew. On Christmas night, Andrew's wound vac failed. We tried to get a home health nurse out to change it, but no luck. So guess who got to change it? Luckily, I have seen it done a million times. Ariel helped me. It turned out ok, so we felt good about it. It has worked since! Finally, we have noticed that we are more aware of the people around us who are suffering. There are a lot of people who answer this suffering. Whether you are the server or the one being served, good comes from this interaction. January is coming. If you get the winter blues, find someone to help. You will end up helping yourself. I know this to be true. I have seen it from both sides.

Going to Church

Andrew is doing well. He is on normal food now. It is important that he gains weight so we try to fatten him up. Andrew went to our church for the first time since the accident. It was a great moment for us. I remembered a church meeting that we attended when he was in the PICU. I wondered then if he would ever attend with us again. Today, we came late and left early. That way he wouldn't be overwelmed by well- wishers. He is still having pain and he is quite weak. I fired his therapists last week. They told me that he is doing so well that he doesn't need them. So he continues to move forward. He is down to one wound vac on his back. The front just has a dressing over it. Andrew has been out a bit as he feels up to it. He likes pizza but still feels that eating is a burden. There are some ladies in our neighborhood who have done a great service for us. Leslie Clark has organized a cleaning effort that we can never repay. Once a week since September they have descended on our home and clean it up within an hour. At one point there were only teenagers living here so you can imagine! I am humbled with gratitude as I contemplate what great souls these ladies have. Thank you so much. I am so grateful for the Edward's family. They have put us in their back pocket and helped to carry us with their multiple kind deeds. My favorite deed was simply sitting and talking with them in a hospital waiting room. I have one more to share with you. We realized that it would be better if Andrew could sit up more during the day. Leslie got the idea to post that we needed a recliner. It only took a couple of days when Pierces called. Sure enough they had a recliner that they aren't using. Aren't people great! We know so. We continue to be so grateful that we have Andrew with us. We now belong to the "never take life for granted" club. We understand how fragile life is. It reminds us to cherish the moments that we have with our family. I went to my work party on saturday. It was great to see all my wonderful associates. I realize that so many people put their faith in Andrew's corner. That is a very powerful thing. Faith can move mountains. Faith moved a mountain for Andrew. We believe in miracles!!!

Thank You!!

Monday, Andrew's Benefit Puppet Show. The puppet show, put on by Alan Griffin, was wonderful. He really puts on a great show. There were so many people who helped to make the evening a success. We are incredibly grateful for the wonderful community and ward support. The money that was raised will help to keep our energy focused on Andrew. The concern that people have for Andrew is so amazing to us. Thank you so much! Andrew is happy to be home. It takes a lot of work to take care of him. Today I woke up to an ostomy that was leaking into his wound vac. So I had to change the entire dressing. The nurse had done is just yesterday. Luckily, I have watched it so many times that I can do it. Today Andrew had some friends from school drop by. Andrew showed them one of his scars and was telling them how he got it. It is good that he can talk about things. Later in the evening, he threw up his NJ tube. Now we will have to go to PCMC tomorrow to have it placed again. I have decided that it is kind of like having a newborn, except that he can verbalize his complaints! I had to take a nap today. He has me running back and forth for this and that. I don't mind really. It is just great to have him home and on the road to recovery. PCMC gave us the name of Kyle Korver's, of the Utah Jazz, Foundation. The representative came out to meet with us. They will install porch rails for us without cost. They do this as a service to families who need adjustments made to their homes to care for their children. He talked to Andrew and asked who his favorite player is. Andrew likes them all. He said that he will bring him a signed jersey from the players. Another example of the great people out there who care about others in their time for difficulty.

Home and Back to PCMC

Saturday started with a blood draw. It took four times to get it. What an awful thing to wake up to. Then Andrew had a shower. Randall and Ariel took Andrew to get a Big Mac and then to pick up a shirt at Kohls. Later we found out that his sodium levels were very low. Not good! They told us some things to do and to watch out for. He was fine until bedtime. He passed out on us and we were not sure if it was a result of the low sodium. So we had to call 911. Ariel took his vitals while we waited. He came to, but looked very pale. They took him back to PCMC. We felt so bad for him. It was hard. Our good neighbor, Rick, came over and helped Randall give him a blessing. Ariel rode with him in the ambulance and Randall went with the sheriff. I stayed with the kids. They were pretty upset so we all slept in my bedroom. Today, I talked to Randall. He said that they believe one of the meds is causing the sodium to drop. They have adjusted some things. We will have a stronger sodium saline to give him. They also redid his NJ tube because it was clogged. One of the meds is quite cakey so I think that I will have him swallow that one rather than pushing it down the tube. So we hope he will be home in a couple of hours. Very low sodium can be very dangerous so we will have to stay on this problem. This will be the new fun, making sure that he is doing well. We will also have to take it easy on the trips out.