February 22, 2011

Mom's philosophy on life: "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit," at least this is the mantra that her  and her grandchildren have come to live by. She has obviously taken this to heart and will be running with it any day now. She took her first step yesterday afternoon and followed it by walking all the way across HealthSouth. Her doctors better be efficient about this surgery on Thursday or they will have to go chase her down!

Day One with the new footsie!
Go Mommy GO!!!!!

February 18, 2011

Simply Amazing....The end of the tunnel is near! Mom is scheduled for surgery to repair the cartilage that has grown through her trach next Thursday. She will be in the burn unit recovering for a few days (exactly how many we can never tell in advance) and then FINALLY on the road home. With help of the wonderful technicians, nurses,  physical therapists, doctors, and most of all Dad, she is walking, crawling, scooting, riding stationary bikes, eating on her own and is incredibly self sufficient considering the time-frame that she has been there.

In the past week she did emergency training in the event that she would fall. She was able to get down to the ground, crawl, get back up on her knees, and in to her wheel chair without assistance. Thanks so weeks of help from the HealthSouth team (all of the Katie's of the world) Mom and several other people have regained the ability to walk and care for themselves once again. One of several patients that Mom has grown close to over the past few weeks was finally allowed to have his halo removed and was able to walk the length of the room despite having been told otherwise after a severe car accident. The patients and staff of HealthSouth are incredibly inspiring with all that they accomplish and we cannot thank them enough for helping Mom, literally, get back on her foot.Her regular Wednesday check-up went very well this past week. Her hand specialist Dr. Z was very impressed (which is not an easy accomplishment) with the range of motion that she has gained. They are very happy with her health, improvements, and the functionality of her entire body as a whole. 

We still have quite a long road of physical therapy and revision surgeries ahead but are looking beyond that on to the time we will have together. We spent Valentines weekend eating far too much cake and chocolate, playing cards, and racing wheel chairs. Saturday afternoon we were also where lucky enough to spend some time with fellow burn survivors Mr. and Mrs. Nielson (http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/) who have both been incredibly supportive to our family and also this blog.  Mom is quite the socialite throughout HealthSouth. She competes with fellow patients and is a constant source of motivation for all of us. Though this seems completely backward, she is the reason that we have all gotten through the last five months. Both of my parents have determination that reaches far beyond the boundaries of most humans. We have been to hell and back together and we're still running. Our lives will be altered by everything that has happened, but I have complete confidence in the fact that the changes will be for the better.

Arizona Children's Burn Camp Night!!!!

In honor of all of the people and especially children in your lives that have suffered a burn of any kind, I would like you all to seriously consider contributing to this amazing opportunity for the Foundation for Burns and Trauma. These wonderful people save lives and reunite families on a daily basis while also taking the time to consider the after effects of such life-altering events. As it states in the flyer, you can also buy tickets for children of the Arizona Burn Camp if you are not able to attend yourself.

The people dedicated to the growth of this foundation are hugely responsible for saving my Mom's life. If we can band together and help them to win this grant, they will be able to help others through the journey that we are taking. Our support and will alone might also encourage more people to join the field and possibly save many other loving families.

Arizona Children's Burn Camp 

Matthew Audibert Group Sales Account Executive 623-772-3225 Matthew.Audibert@phoenixcoyotes.com

February 5, 2011

If physical therapy continues the way it has, I foresee Mom walking around with a shapely set of abs. She is absolutely inspiring and loves to give support to everyone around her. Savannah, Dad, and I went to physical therapy together and rooted for her through a stationary bike ride, ball exercises and a walk from the the therapy room all the way back to her bedroom. She has her mind set on getting home as soon as she possibly can. 

The doctors have seen the area that they were concerned about on her leg and agree that it is beginning to heal on its own. They will have to take her into surgery to fix the trach so that it will heal correctly which leads to the discussion of working a bit more on some other areas to increase her range of motion. They are currently under debate as to when the surgery will be and what exactly they plan to do. 

All technical blabber aside, today was a fun day for all of us. We played with makeup and at some point I even managed to snuggle my way into bed with her and we both ended up snoozing for a bit. As I am sure everyone would agree, Mom is an incredibly special person and we have all known that from the moment that we met her. She has struggled and been through the deepest and darkest caverns of life over the past few months and is still the most beautiful person that I am ever likely to meet. Her strength and vibrance radiates from every square inch of her body and, though we had an idea of how amazing she was before all of this, we are now acutely aware of the angel that continues to hold as all together. 

From everyone who follows this blog, I would like to say that we love you so very much and will never be able to show how proud and touched we are by your heart. 

Three cheeses later...Savannah finally stops sticking her tongue out!

On the Road Again!

Poised Shot (after three sets of 5min on the bicycle!)