Closing down

Well, at Dorothy's request, we're officially closing down this blog. However, I find myself missing the process, so I'm opening a blog of my own. I'll still post some generic family updates, and probably some of the frustrations of managing an opera company, but since Dorothy is soooo close to being done with all her medical stuff, I'll not be posting about it.

Once again, that you all for your support these last months.

My new blog is:

hushingkline.blogspot.com

Brighton update

Dorothy's biggest brother Brighton has a couple of job interviews coming up this week, and is requesting mucho prayer. Please pray for calm as well as success.

Changing of the guard

Well, after much soul searching, I've come to the conclusion that my control-freak gotta-fix-it nature just won't let me do what is needed for Dorothy's recovery. So Bob is going to be taking over Dorothy's medical appointments and school stuff. And since I doubt he'll ever post to the blog, I guess this is "adieu" - that is, goodbye for now.

Thank you all for your concern and excellent advice, and for your continued support. I don't think I could have done it without you.
-Mikele

Another milestone reached

Dorothy reported to me the other day that the "dream-like state" has finally passed! I'm so pleased for her. It means that she finds it easier to focus, and she says she's feeling more motivated about school. Big sigh of relief for me!

Looking forward

It looks like I'm going to be putting in more office hours starting this week. I guess the good news about that is that I can have a better separation between work and home, which I hope will help reduce my stress level. I know I shouldn't be anxious about things, but it's just so hard to know what is the right thing to do. If I go to work, I worry that I'm not helping Dorothy make forward progress. If I stay at home, I risk losing my job. And I'm not sure that I'm even doing any good staying home - I know in my head that Dorothy has to find her own way with schoolwork, but my heart just worries and worries that I'm not encouraging her the right way, that I'm just nagging (to which Dorothy would reply with a resounding "YES", I'm sure.) It's a puzzlement, that's for certain.

We'll be juggling my work hours with Dorothy's medical and therapy appointments, which should be interesting. She has quite a few this week.

On a positive note, we got to spend some quality time with Al & Heidi, who we're known since we were newlyweds. They live in the Valley, so we don't get to see them very often. It was nice just hanging out with them. Heidi and I went for a nice walk with the dogs around the lake while the guys hiked Cerro San Luis (Madonna). Then we watched a movie, which was fun too. Especially explaining things to Al. That was funny. :-)

Oh yeah, and we still only have one car, so when I work, Bob has no car. Hopefully we'll hear from the auto shop soon!

Have a great week, everyone. I have a funny feeling that I'm going to be too busy to post much this week.

Busy week

We've been keeping busy this last couple of days. I ended up with a pretty good headache from the accident, but that seems to be fading. I managed to forget about a therapy appointment the other day. It's really hard to remember everything, even when I keep a datebook! You still have to remember to look in the book. I've been working a few more office hours lately, and that has always been a problem for me, keeping more than one focus in my life. I will figure this out, though!

Dorothy gets a four day weekend this weekend! Lucky kid! I worked today and will work all day Monday as well. And back to the problem of trying to get all my housework done on the weekend. Shopping for chicken feed, people feed, doing laundry, dishes, yard work... you know the drill...

On a high note, some of our oldest and best friends from Visalia are in town for the weekend, so we get to spend some time with them. Yea, Al & Heidi!

Too much, too soon

Well, we have a real "Waaaahhhh". We had to take Jane back to the dog rescue place this morning. Yesterday afternoon on the way to Physical Therapy, Dorothy & I were in a car wreck. We are fine. Well, my back is weird, but the ER doc said it's probably strained ligaments. When we got home from the ER, Jane was missing. Bob, Dorothy & I spent the next two hours going door-to-door, putting up posters, making phone calls and stressing. Thankfully, a good Samaritan one block over had taken her in, even fed her dinner, so Jane was home in time for bed last night.

Dorothy pointed out that perhaps now isn't the right time to have a new dog, what with our lives already having so much stress just in getting through our days. We talked about it and all agreed that she is wise, so Jane went back. She is a lovely little lady, and I'm sure she'll find a home soon. So Dorothy & I are a little sad today, but wiser.

Dorothy's New Pal Jane

Here's a pic of Dorothy's new pal Jane. She's a rescued dog, a Dachschund Chihuahua mix, probably about 5 months old. She's already completely bonded with Dorothy.

Just for the record, here's the posting about her from the rescue shelter:

Jane is a 5 month old doxie/chi. She is playful, sweet and looking for love! We are guessing she will be between 12 and 15 pounds full grown. She is a bit shy on first meeting, and tends to be a bit quiet, but that could change once she knows she is loved & is in a permanant home!

This little darling has the look of a doxie, but the longer legs of a chihuahua... an adorable mix of two wonderful lap dogs that also have the energy to get out and do things with you!

If you are looking for a small puppy, please consider coming to check out Jane!

This great dog is all ready for a new home! The adoption donation of $250.00 pays for this dog's medical care & also contributes to the medical care needed by other dog's that come into our rescue. (some dogs need hundreds of dollars worth of care to make them adoptable) Why purchase a dog for hundreds of dollars (that still needs vaccinations & neutering & microchip) when you can get this darling dog that already has everything and help other dogs at the same time??? Every life is precious! Thank you for your support.

This pet is up to date with routine shots.
This pet has been altered.

Sunshine & bike rides

What fine weather we had this weekend! Sunny and warm with the sweetest smells... Dorothy enjoyed a couple of short bike rides - a first since we've been home. Not that I was really happy about it - the worst thing you can do when you have a head injury is to get a new one. So of course, I was paranoid she'd fall and hurt herself. But of course, she didn't. Yeah, it's a "Mom thing."
I had the joy of putting a few flowers in the front yard over the weekend. Something I can look at while I swing on the front porch swing... You know, life is really, really good.

A quiet day...

A quiet day has a whole different meaning now that we're so far into recovery! Dorothy has been sleeping a lot, something her neurologist is really encouraging. So sometimes the rest of life has to take a back seat to sleep. I wouldn't mind that myself...

Neuro report

The neurologist reports that Dorothy's EEG is for all intents and purposes NORMAL! Yippee! He also saw her in the hospital, so he was really pleased to see how well she's doing. He reminded us that Dorothy does in fact need to continue to take it slow and as stress free as possible during this healing process. That was reassuring in itself, knowing that even though she's mostly symptom free, she is still healing and will be for some time. Helps me to understand things, like why the pressure of doing school work is still a problem. He also said that she's doing well enough that I can work some more hours in the office. And while it's fun being a stay-at-home mom again, I do miss the challenge.

Life goes on

As Dorothy's speech therapist reminded us today, a head injury happens to the whole family. Wise words.

We have up days and not so up days - on the whole, the best analogy I can come up with is that getting through this process is like wandering through a maze, with blinders on my eyes and my feet tied together. Not only can I not see through to the end, sometimes I can't even negotiate the turns.

I am a driven person. When I see a problem, I fix all my attention on trying to fix it. So it's hard for me right now - this isn't something I can fix. I can't make everything better according to some plan or schedule. I can only watch ... and wait ... and pray.

Therapies

Well, today we received approval for more speech and physical therapy sessions. Dorothy's range of motion for her left shoulder is pretty good but needs work - and she's getting her balance back well.
We also have approval for a series of speech therapy sessions - so we're going to be really busy with all of those for the next four weeks. And now that all of Dorothy's mouth issues are gone, we're hearing a few more challenges in her actual speech, so that's just as well! Speech Therapy, as I think I've mentioned before, has been mostly about cognition (memory, reasoning ability, logic - things like that) and not so much about actual speech.
Dorothy tells me that she was yelling the other day (can't remember why) and now her voice has taken a couple of steps back - quieter, raspier. But it's just a little step back.

Final report on the jaw

Dorothy's oral surgeon has declared her jaw healed! Yea!

EEG -

Dorothy and Kelcie had fun staying up all night, and the EEG was a breeze. We probably won't get the results back till next week. She napped the rest of the morning while I worked.

Update

There's not a whole lot to report. I just received the evaluation from the Speech Therapist regarding Dorothy's cognitive status. No surprises there. And the EEG was approved for tomorrow morning. That means no sleep tonight! Hopefully Dorothy can have a friend stay up with her, because if I do it, I won't be able to drive in the morning!

Happy Easter!

At church this morning, Pastor Dave asked me to speak about our ordeal, which I did. We are so grateful for Dorothy's recovery that sometimes I just want to tell everyone.

Brighton headed home yesterday morning with an Easter basket full of goodies in hand. Dorothy had a joint birthday party with a bunch of her friends yesterday from noon till after 8 p.m. It was really fun having a houseful of teen energy again.

Tyler joined us after church today, as have two of Dorothy's friends, so it looks like we're going to have a lovely day.

Good Friday

Happy Good Friday to everyone... Without sounding clichéd, I want to wish everyone the joy and peace that our Lord has for us. He is the One who has strengthened me through all of this. He knows, better than I, the pain of watching your child suffer. And His sacrifice that we celebrate this weekend has given me the peace of knowing that no matter what happened through all of this, He is with us, holding us in His arms, loving and worrying with us.

And Dorothy was feeling much better last evening after the anesthetic finally wore off. I haven't seen that many smiles in so short a time for quite a while! She's even planning a joint birthday party with several friends for this weekend...

Out of surgery... again...

Dorothy is home already. Surgery went well, and she's sleeping it off right now. I took Brighton with me so he could keep me company in the waiting room, and so he could sit with Dorothy in the back seat on the way home. Yea Brighton! I'm so glad he could be there for the both of us.

Tomorrow's a big day

Tomorrow morning Dorothy gets her arch bars off. Please be in prayer for a quick procedure and a wonderful recovery!

Adding a class

Dorothy has added another in-school class today - Hospitality, which is a cooking and catering class. So now she's in class five days a week - very part time, of course, but at least she's there! Luckily, Hospitality is right before lunch, so she'll get to spend social time with her friends everyday.

This coming Thursday, Dorothy will go in to the oral surgeon to have the arch bars removed - these were the bars that looked like braces at first glance, but in fact are installed with wires that run through her gums, as I understand it. The first few days after the wires that attached top to bottom came out, her jaws were so sore from not moving for 6 weeks that we still had to grind her food up - not pureed anymore, but ground up. She's now moved to chewing soft foods, and she feels like she can open her jaws almost all the way - which, I believe, is the main criteria for getting the arch bars removed. She'll be unconscious for the procedure, which I'm sure will be uncomfortable. She's not looking forward to getting the IV, although she's handling it really well, I think.

The sound of laughter

We recently converted our "baby" videos to DVD. As I type this, I am listening to Kelcie, Dorothy and Bob laughing their heads off as they watch the baby videos. Some things you start to appreciate a lot more...

The ENT recheck

We weren't especially looking forward to the ENT appointment today, as we thought the Dr. might decide to scope her vocal chords. Well, one listen and the Dr. decided against it! Yea! She did a quick visual with a mirror and declared Dorothy's vocal chords healing properly. Yippee!

Dorothy's neuro check-up

Dorothy saw her neurosurgeon for the first time since we left Sierra Vista in January. He was very pleased with her progress, but has some concerns that she may be having temporal lobe seizures, and so is ordering a "sleep-deprived" EEG. Dorothy is excited about the prospect of staying up all night on Doctor's Orders.... She's thinking about making a party of it... What a kid.

Dorothy has what she calls "states" - a confused state (where things seem jumbled), a lost state (where she loses her sense of direction), a dizzy state (random dizzy spells not related to movement) and a shut down state (where she feels like her brain is shutting down like a computer). She feels like she can control the 'shut-down' state consciously, which is good. Dorothy feels like all of these things are getting better with time. But she says that she still feels like she is in a dream-like state all the time.

Wires Out

Mikele says that D got her jaws back on Wednesday! The wires holding her jaws together came out. The doc warned that she would probably be sore and not have much range of motion available at first.

Dorothy's account

Dorothy wrote the most amazing account of her awakening process - and submitted it for the High School writing contest. The story follows:

Freedom
I am in a place of blank, blinding brightness. Here, my life is appraised. I know not why, but I understand the reason for which I am being judged.
A finch flies down and perches beside me. The white feathers along his wings and back are lightly freckled with black spots, interrupted only by the red blossom of color on his chest. He stands erect beside me, remaining silent while the figures before me compose my verdict.
I feel a hollowness within me. I know why I would have to come here...when did I realize it was that time? I don’t remember...much of anything, really.
Two bright-faced individuals who evaluate my life spin to face me. I look away, down at the finch instead.
“We have decided,” says one, “but we’d like for you to converse with someone before we deliver the results.”
I attempt to look one of them in the face, but it proves folly, as I’m almost blinded. But another figure comes up behind me...this one is not too bright to look at. And I know her well.

Two girls tumbled out of the car, on an urgent mission. One held her backpack open for loading; the other had both hands free, but was poised for the upcoming work. They mumbled a sermon of patience to the driver before dashing to the house.
As the gate opened, the dogs, eager sentries, galloped forward, throats lined with furious snarls. Immediately they recognized the intruders. Barks turned to squeals of glee as they began sniffing, tongues darting out for the occasional lick. The one with the backpack ignored the dogs as she opened the door.
Inside, a man was busy at his computer, while his wife slept on the couch. The girls hurried into a back bedroom. They sifted through a basket on the floor, flinging clothes from it as needed. Before long, they were looking contentedly at the laden backpack. Well done.
They had decided to watch some baby videos later. The backpack carrier approached the man and requested that he hunt down the videos. He wearily complied.
A while later, he returned carrying the tapes. They gratefully pulled them from his hands. He commented, in a concerned voice, that the driver would be tired of waiting. When the girls brushed off the observation, he began offering cream puffs that he was trying to avoid eating. He was, however, courteously declined.
After saying their farewells, the girls left. The man waved as they scurried away. He grumbled to himself as he hobbled back.
Several minutes later, the phone rang. Answering it, he recognized a distressed voice which belonged to one of the girls.
“There was an accident...”

“It’s good to see you, but why are you here?”
The girl across from me is my friend. I know that. But what I really want to know is why she’d come to such a bright, empty place.
“Hey!” she calls to me, face alight with gladness. “I just came by to see you.”
I nod, looking back at the judges with fierce curiosity. No hints come from the stoic adjudicators, so I turn to my friend. Her words are hard to make out, as if she is speaking through a wall. I strain my ears to hear, but the finch lands on her shoulder and begins twittering noisily. I urge him to silence, but he continues to shrill. Finally, wanting to hear, I wave my hands to shoo the bird away. He continues to ignore me. Finally, when my friend has finished speaking, the bird hops off of her shoulder and lands on mine. I scold him with my disapproving glare, but he just begins preening.
After a long pause, my friend speaks. “I just wanted to say ‘hi’, and I hope you get better soon.”
I fix her with a puzzled gaze, but she is engrossed with an item in her hand.
“I brought you something.” She brings it into view. “I hope you like it.”
A white, furry seal. Its beady black eyes look upon me in a surreal state of mocking, as if it knows something I don’t. I reach out to take it.
My hand passes through the small stuffed animal. I look first at the seal, and then at my hand. Now that I think about it, I do seem have a certain transparency...
Another hand appears and takes the seal, thanking my friend. She smiles sorrowfully and nods gratefully.
When she looks back to me, I’m no longer in a land of white.

“Most of the teachers have been easy on me since the accident...”
Accident...?
“Everyone at the school misses you.”
Her face looks weary, as if she has not slept in days. I happen to know what she looks like after a day of sleeplessness, and this is far beyond that.
She smiles, again in that woeful way. “Well, I hope your surgery goes well.”
Surgery?
Everything she mentions seems far and foreign. I am not in a normal state, I realize. Something has pulled me into a dreamlike condition where everything is blurry and forgotten. I am unable to recall my past.
The seal appears again. The hand that had snatched it places it in my hand, trusting me to take care of the white creature. To my surprise, I can touch it now.
My friend waves as she exits the room. I want to wave back, but I find my arms unable to move.
I begin to drift away.

I blink as I re-enter the white land. The finch warbles in joy and settles down.
The judges have left. I look about worriedly, but they are nowhere to be seen. The finch lulls a grim, reassuring tune.
In a flash, they’ve returned! One carries a roll of parchment...
“We have the verdict.”
I breathlessly await it. I just...want to know.
“Are you sure you wish to know?” One of the judges asks me, his voice low and sympathetic. I nod.
He straightens up into the intimidating man I saw before, mirroring his bright counterpart, who unravels the scroll he holds.
“You have been found guilty. Your sentence takes effect immediately. You must not resist your fate.”
I shake my head with disbelief. Guilty? Me?! But I did nothing wrong!
“Your life has been evaluated. The result is not favorable.”
All I ever did was...nothing! Nothing wrong! Yet...this guilt is not something new. I was waiting to hear these words for many years...
I turn and flee, the finch still with me. I know that this is forbidden. The judges won’t forgive me if they see me again. Every bit of my will is put into escaping.
As I gallop away, my left shoulder rams into something. Something shatters. I stop, cringe, and grasp it with my right hand. This alerts the finch, who chirps angrily, urging me to go onward. I comply.
Something sharp object pierces my tongue. Blood pours into my mouth, but I let it dribble down my face so I won’t choke. The finch leaves my shoulder and begins to fly beside me, steering me.
Next, my jaw tears itself apart. I feel the bone halves pull apart from each other violently. I cry out, but only the finch who hears me.
I finally reach my destination. Here, I see a disappointing truth...

“There was an accident...”

...This wasn’t all a dream.
I stretch out my left arm, surprised to see it is nearly healed. As I ponder what has caused it to recover so quickly, the finch lands and sings again, much louder than usual. It’s almost as if...
I grab the delicate bird in my hand.
...it’s hiding something from me...
I begin squeezing. It struggles feebly against me, trying to escape.
...it doesn’t want me to realize the truth...
I come at it with my other hand, finding its neck.
...it doesn’t want me to get free.
The neck snaps, and the finch is dead.
I suppose I’m free now?
I come across something I lost long ago.
My consciousness.

The therapist leads me across the sidewalk carefully. If I were to lose my balance, it would be cataclysmic.
I’ve been walking and awake for over a week. Hearing the details of an accident I don’t remember disturbed me. I’m told many things, but none of them strike a note of familiarity. Everything in the world is blurred; dark and unfamiliar.
In the corner of my eye, I see a finch land in a tree. I pause to observe it.
White. Black spots. Red chest. Familiar. He reminds me of someone I knew.
“What’re you looking at?” the therapist hums. She smiles as she sees the creature that fills my vision. “Ah, a bird. How cute.”
I nod absently, aware that I’ve been watching the bird for a while.
She yawns. “Let’s go back to your room. It’s almost time for you to eat.”
The bird sings a short tune before flying off.

D's night out

Dorothy had her first night out with friends last night. I only bit my nails a little bit...

My sis - and friends & family all over

One of the nicest things about doing and reading this blog is that I've heard from so many of our friends all over the place. Google analytics lets me know which states have people checking the blog daily - so I can see everyone from my lobster lovin' cousin in New Hampshire to my wonderful sister in Arcata (Northern Cal) who are checking. For those of you who haven't been in touch with us personally, my sister Otamay is the one who kept the dogs, cats, chickens and US alive those first two weeks in ICU. She dropped her whole life and came down here with her two doggies to be by my side when I needed her. She and my dear friend Carolyn coordinated the meals that made it possible for Bob and I to spend all our time with our girl. Tam came and sat with Dorothy one afternoon so I could take care of some business, as did Carolyn. Tam even made sure we had clean clothes. I have been so blessed by seeing that people from so many states are still praying, still reading the blog to check on D's progress. I do have one question, though. We have a faithful blog-checker in Pennsylvania. Who are you? My curiosity has been so piqued, and I just can't figure out who we know in Pennsylvania. Please let me know who you are so I can thank you! Actually, we'd love to hear from all our friends... "hushingkline at charter dot net"

Love to all,
Mikele

Eye Exam

The eye doc says there's no physical reason why D sometimes reports dark or tunnel vision. So it's probably a brain thing, which isn't all that surprising. The good news is that all the brain related problems have been constantly improving since day 3, so it's not unreasonable to expect improvement here too.

Healed clavicle - check!

Today we saw the Orthopedic surgeon, who has declared her clavicle healed! Yea! And Dorothy reports that she has full range of motion too.

While we were waiting for the doctor today, we had a fun moment. Ever since Dorothy was a tiny little girl, we jokingly called her "Dorth Vader" (in reference to the Star Wars character "Darth Vader") - and she just told me that she and Kelcie used to call Kelcie's Volkswagen Jetta (the car they were traveling in at the time of the accident) "the Jedi"... well, Dorothy & I realized that it would have to have been just a matter of time before "Dorth Vader" and "the Jedi" would have it out. And this time, the Jedi lost, and Dorth Vader wins!

Fun Visit

I found some time to visit with the HK's while I was in CA on business this week. I was overjoyed to have Dorothy come out to the car to meet me, when I got to the house. I settled for less than the usual bear hug, in deference to her healing clavicle. It's so great that I can't tell the difference between this Dorothy, and the one before the accident, aside from the custom mouth grill and shorter hair. I stopped worrying quite so much about her night vision, after we walked around the lake Friday night, and she didn't even want the little flashlight that I offered her. We even tried walking hand in hand with her eyes closed, and she was able to balance pretty well. I also think she's really really really looking forward to getting her jaw unwired in two weeks. :-)

PT & ST

On Thursday and Friday, Dorothy saw her new Physical Therapist and Speech Therapist for the first time. It was so great so see how far she has come since she was last evaluated at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center on the 13th and 14th! We will continue to see both therapists for a while, I think, while we pinpoint those areas where Dorothy can still improve, and to find the best ways of helping that along. The next two weeks will be really busy, it looks like, with seven appointments scheduled in addition to our work/school schedule. Whee!

With Uncle Sumner visiting this weekend, we are hoping that both Brighton and Tyler will be here for a short family day or even dinner. By the way, Brighton feels pretty good about how his three-day Bar exam went. We won't know the results for a couple of months, but we are hoping and praying for the best!!

We are so grateful for all of you who are still caring and praying. May God bless you all as much as we are blessed by you!!

Jaw report

The oral surgeon said that if all continues to go well, the wires holding D's jaw shut will be removed at our next appointment in two weeks. He says that the braces won't be removed right away because it will take some time for her jaws to fully open again, and after they're moving right, we'll make the appointment for brace removal. At least she'll be able to open soon!

He did tighten her braces yesterday, and replaced a wire, which wasn't too bad.

Uncle Sumner comes for a visit!! and ENT update.

Uncle Sumner is visiting!! He had a business trip to Vandenberg - but he found out the launch was delayed after he was already on the plane (awwww, too bad!), so while he will be doing work during the day for the next two days, it looks like he can take Friday off, as well as having the weekend off to spend with us!! Yippee! Y'all may recall that my brother Sumner is the wonderful man who faithfully kept this blog together during those days when I couldn't even think past the end of my nose, much less get it together to compose blog posts.

Yesterday was a nice quiet day. Dorothy went to class from 11-3 and actually got some of her home-hospital work done - that's the academic stuff she has to catch up on. I went to the office and tried to not get in the way...

Monday we went to see the Ear Nose and Throat specialist about Dorothy's voice. While her voice is much improved since the accident, she still has nothing in the higher ranges, and her voice is very quiet. Dorothy wasn't ready to have her throat scoped after the horrible experience back in San Jose, but the doctor was able to tell us that it seems that, at least from listening to Dorothy speak, her voice appears to be recovering on it's own. Dorothy agreed that if her voice isn't much improved by the time her jaw is unwired, that we'll come back and have her vocal chords thoroughly checked out. Here's an interesting thing: on the way home we picked up a vanilla milkshake for D, and in the middle of enjoying that and chatting, suddenly D's voice was completely normal for about 5 minutes. It's as if her voice was saying "NO SCOPING, NO SCOPING!" So at least we know that the higher ranges and volume are still there. Coming back at their own rate.

Today we go see D's oral surgeon. We are hoping that her jaw is improved enough that he can set an actual date for the unwiring. Pray pray pray!! Dorothy's first order of business will be to start going to her Hospitality class - she says that although she could probably handle the class in a modified fashion now, the torture of creating all those great foods and not being able to eat them would just be too much!

Prayer for Brighton

Dorothy's oldest brother Brighton is on the final countdown to take his Bar exam. He's been studying like a maniac during this whole process - from Dorothy's accident right on through to today. Please pray that he will be able to focus clearly, and that he will be able to do well. He's been such a good brother - he's come to see Dorothy twice despite being in the middle of one of the most stressful periods of his own life and he's kept her company on IM.

We had a very quiet weekend. Dorothy had to miss her Youth Group's annual visit to Hume Lake this weekend, and I think she's been a little sad about it. I think she's saving energy for when she has to get serious about school again, too. So far, only her AP History teacher has been able to get the materials to us, but I expect that will change this week.

Today we got the first three medical referrals approved. Four more to go.

Residual effects

Dorothy has been reporting to me from time to time about various difficulties she's still having. Something about her vision isn't working quite right - she says it's "darker" - other times she says it's like tunnel vision, but not really. So I guess we're going to request a visit to an opthamologist too. Whee. Right now we're waiting for the insurance referrals to: Orthopedic surgeon, Neurosurgeon, Ear, Nose & Throat doctor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation doctor, and the Physical, Speech and Occupational therapists. Life is going to get very busy...

Dorothy also reports that she feels like she's in a 'dreamlike' state that sometimes leaves her confused - kind of like you feel right before you fall asleep, she says.

These make this mother's heart ache. I wish she could be perfectly healed today. Please pray for Dorothy's continued recovery. I find myself so reluctant to leave her anywhere, even where I know she'll be safe.

Back in class!

Today was Dorothy's first day of class. While she still has a lot of academic make-up to do, she has returned to her position of teaching assistant to Ms. Kingsbury's drama class, and to Study Hall. It allowed me to spend two hours in the office of the opera company where I work, which was a nice change of pace.

Yesterday Dorothy and I took the dogs for a walk around the lake (about 1.5 miles). I was very pleased to see that Dorothy is much more steady on her feet, as well as having increased endurance. I think that "old man" Sparky really enjoyed walking slower than our usual pace, too, although Scamp seemed frustrated - once on a leash, all he really wants to do is RUN.

Tomorrow we meet with our local primary care physician. It should be an interesting meeting, because we have never met him before, and we will be asking him for referrals to no less than 6 other specialists, as suggested by the rehab folks at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

-photo Dececember 2007

Dorothy's grill

Yesterday we met with Dorothy's Oral Surgeon. He checked the braces which connect her top jaw to her bottom jaw, and confirmed they didn't need to be tightened. Yea! He did an x-ray, so Dorothy and I got to see what it looks like in there. Yikes. Although she is healing well, it's easy to see where the main break is/was in her jaw. The doctor said that it will be another three weeks, with weekly appointments between now and then. Good thing we have an industrial strength blender!

A day of rest...

It is so nice to not have anything to report!

At this point, Dorothy is well enough that we can say it's just a matter of time until she is back to her old self. What research I've done on TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) says that people who recover as fully and quickly as Dorothy has, have the best chance of full recovery.

Dorothy will return to the High School for one or two classes every other day until she's had a chance to catch up on her academics. If that goes well, I'll be returning to work during the hours she is at class. One step at a time!

Looking back on this blog, it's hard to believe it hasn't even been a month. It seems like a lifetime.

Day 31. Pic from 2006.

Some new information - a question answered

The first policeman who arrived on the accident site came by the house last night. What a nice surprise! He brought a card for Dorothy, and we asked him in to visit. He gave us a report on what he saw at the scene, and was able to answer an important medical question for us. Who knew? He told us that when he and his partner arrived, Dorothy was not only pinned between the seats, but her throat was being choked by the seat back in front of her.

This effectively answers the question of why Dorothy's voice has been so long in coming back!! There were no marks on her throat after the accident, so it's been quite a puzzle understanding why it's taken so long. What a relief! Now we just need to get a confirmation from an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist locally, and find out the right way to encourage that part of her healing.

Thank you, Officer C!

With love and gratitude...

We had been home only a few minutes yesterday when we received a call from KSBY asking for a follow-up interview. Somebody has been watching the blog closely... (Ha ha! We know that so many of you have!)

Today we had an appointment with D's counselor about how quickly she can start attending a few classes, so we timed it so that she could have lunch with her buddies. They are the greatest group of kids! I knew I wouldn't have to worry about anyone giving her too big a hug, because her buddies would know to warn anyone about her broken clavicle. A teacher came trotting by the counseling office as I waited, asking if I knew where Dorothy was. I have to tell you guys, this community is just about the best in the world. So much love, so much support, so much prayer.

One of Dorothy's therapists in San Jose was a lovely Vietnamese lady who said we are lucky to have such a close community. In her home in Vietnam, her town was very close - and she has really missed that in the Bay Area, despite having lived there for 14 years. She said that she used to think that all of America was like that until she started meeting people from smaller towns like ours.

So let me take this moment to say something that has been in my heart and head every day. Thank you, friends and family. Thank you, strangers. Thank you to the life-saving doctors and nurses. Thank you all for your wonderful encouragement through the tough times, thank you for the yummy meals. Thank you for the house cleaning, the chicken babysitting, and the house-watching. Thank you for Dorothy's adorable haircut. Thank you for all those treats in the ICU waiting room. Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on, and for your hugs. Thank you for those lovely cards! We hung them all over her room in both hospitals. Thank you for the gifts - Dorothy's very first outing with rehab was to spend money at a Barnes & Noble! Thank you for the stuffed animals that now take up most of Dorothy's bed! There is so much more, and there aren't enough words to describe our gratitude. Thank you.

Pic from yesterday!

She's Home!

Day 29. Dorothy's home! Many of you in her local area probably already know that. :-) Mikele pointed out that D is back in the news on the local TV station KSBY. I've added some links to today's and yesterday's KSBY stories. Yay, Dorothy! I'm so glad you finally get to sleep in your own bed again!

On The Way Home

They're on their way home! Mikele just checked in using her bluetooth as they were driving through Morgan Hill. M said she mentioned to Dorothy's Technology Therapist, that D made amazing progress the past week, after she got access to Instant Messenger, and was able to communicate and receive help with her memory, and emotional support, from her friends online. The TT was so excited, she told two of the local TV stations, and they came out and interviewed her this morning! You can watch for the story on the 5pm news on Bay Area channels 7 and 11 this evening! D is so excited to be going home. M said she's never seen her eat lunch as fast as she did today, getting ready to go! I think the expectation is that D will be living at home, and getting help from a rehab facility in the local area during the daytime. What a great new development!

Day 28. Pic from 2007.

Coming Home Tomorrow!

Hey! Guess what? I'm coming home tomorrow! I'm so excited to be able to see my animals! Well, my friends will be a nice bonus, but the little ones like Mika will be so much more fun to see. The dogs, too, will be extremely excited. Man. So happy for this.

In general, I just can't wait to see everyone again. Kelcie, my borg-mate, will be quite a relief to make contact with. Alanna and Michelle, among others, will be awesome to see again. Man. I'm pretty glad about it.

I'll be trying my best to catch up with school so I can come back, but it seems that I've missed quite a bit. We'll see how it happens. I still need to remember the week before the accident, so that might take a while.

I'll try to post more later, but I'm too excited right now to type. That, and lunch is here.

Goodbye!

- Dorot_5

Tuesday

Day 26. Mikele called from the parking lot as she's walking in after picking up the car from Bob. She says it's a beautiful day - the sun is shining, and the birds are chirping. It took her 45 minutes to find a parking spot this afternoon - yikes! Now if she hurries, she'll get to go with Dorothy to McDonald's for a slurpy. Then Dorothy will walk with the PT and demonstrate her agility in navigating street lights and crosswalks. It sounds like Dorothy may get an earlier release date from rehab! Mikele told the Doc she's a quick study, and should be able to help D do a lot of this therapy stuff at home. The doc will be considering that. Now they're just crossing their fingers, and waiting for the docs and therapists to decide when they can go home. That's a pretty exciting thing to be waiting for!

Sunny Monday

D is making all kinds of progress! She's eating various liquid foods - slurping jello through her teeth because of the wired jaws! The nausea is a thing of the past, now that she's eating foods other than Ensure. Today she went with the OT to Barnes & Noble, walked around, and picked out three books she wanted. She's completely immersed in one of them now. She's totally mobile, except for her left arm, because of the broken clavicle. She's walking pretty well, a little heavier on her right foot. I asked her Mom to see if she remembered my visit in early January, and got a big nod yes. She talked to me over the phone today! Hoarse and weak, but very understandable. She whispered "Yes" when I asked if it was sunny out today. What a joy to hear that voice!

Sunday afternoon

We had the most marvelous day today. After breakfast (which can take quite a while, between Dorothy's normal snail's pace when eating and the fact that everything has to be liquid) the five of us went outside to the patio and played a nice Game of Life. We laughed and joked, and pretended to cheat, and in general just had a lovely family day.

After lunch, Bob & Mikele's old friends Doug and Lisa Webb came for a visit. We hadn't seen them in years, and Dorothy had never met them, so we enjoyed several hours of catching up. The boys had to leave for their respective homes this afternoon, but it sure was great while it lasted.

Tomorrow it's back to work with OT, PT and ST. And Mikele read a great article today about Physical Therapy using a Wii. They call it "Wiihab". Har har har. Still, it's a nice thought that Dorothy will HAVE to play Wii sports as part of therapy!

Family Day

This afternoon, all five of us got to hang out together. Mostly we played cards while Dorothy slept. Turns out that in all of yesterday's awful coughing fits, she's dislodged her collarbone again. So in addition to regular therapy, she had to go down for an X-ray today. No big deal. She's not in any additional pain, so she's resting nicely.

Saturday morning early

:-) Dorothy got her first visitors last night! After having a nice afternoon snooze yesterday, Bob brought his brother Tom and Tom's wife Marianne for a nice long visit. They even brought a nice big "goody bag"! They had a really nice visit, and Dorothy got to open about 20 more cards that came to the house this last week. It occurred to me, that this was the first time she felt well enough to open a bunch of cards by herself. She's been getting a couple of cards a day here, and has enjoyed those quite a bit. Then brother Brighton showed up! BIG HUGE smile. Although he came down to visit her in ICU at Sierra Vista, she of course has no ICU memories. She even starting talking to him! She hadn't been talking at all since the tube came out, because her throat was so sore, so that was really nice. Just like we hoped, Dorothy is bouncing back from yesterday's ordeal.

Our friend Sharon Rademacher, an angel in so many ways (as her friends will attest), drove up last night so that she can give Dorothy a hair cut today. Wow. Dorothy has been so looking forward to that this week... getting her hair closer to one length. Dorothy's therapists have been so kind about letting us do this - they scheduled all her therapies for later today so the family would have more time together. And brother Tyler is coming up today too! Today should be a very fun day!

Day 23. Pic from 2006.

A really, really bad day.

Last night, Dorothy was able to eat by mouth for the first time since the accident! Yay! Except... halfway through dinner, they said "Now that you can eat, it's time to take out the feeding tube!" - well, oops, something went wrong, and the tube got completely stuck: horribly, painfully stuck. Our strong, strong girl went through a horrible evening, and slept poorly. At least Mom was able to sleep in the room with her for comfort.

This morning was the start of a long, painful, icky day. First, her regular doctor tried once more to pull out the tube. Owie!! More than owie - on a pain scale of 10, this was about 20. The result caused a terrible coughing spasm. Try coughing hard with your teeth wired shut. Not the least bit fun. Then we gave her some pain killers and relaxants and took her down to the Ear Nose & throat specialist, who was also unable to get it out. That was 7 on a scale of 10. Way more pain than anyone should have to endure. Then we took her to X-ray to see if the X-ray would show anything. Nope. Then we took her to the Pediatric ICU - where FOUR doctors and FOUR nurses were able to put her under and then remove the tube. Thank God. At least they didn't have to unwire her jaw, which was our last option. And I have to say that they were very, very kind to both of us during this process.

She's resting now. Finally comfortable. I'm sure she'll be back raring to go tomorrow - our case worker gave us the wonderful news that they're moving her release date up! We'll get our new date next Wednesday.

Keep praying for our girl. Keep praying that we can all be strong for her.

Thursday afternoon

Yet another milestone reached! Dorothy is on her way for her "swallow test", which will track her ability to effectively swallow a variety of liquids. This is a big deal because if she's cleared, she can start taking some liquids by mouth! And the sooner she can get rid of the NG tube, the better. She just hates whatever it is they're giving her - gives her an upset stomach every time.

Today she also walked all over the hospital - and this is a BIG hospital! Her therapist walked beside her to steady her if she needed it, but she was on her own for the most part. Wow. The therapist gave her a map and told her to find about 15 different things - kind of like a treasure hunt! I followed behind with the wheelchair again... but she only needed to rest for a couple of minutes when she got dizzy, before she stood up again on her own to continue walking.

Go, Dorothy, Go!

Wednesday Night

Day 20. Dorothy walked today with the PT, with very little help. Mikele followed them down the hallway with the wheelchair, all the way to the elevators, but she didn't need it. She did so well in occupational therapy, that the OT ran out of things for her to do. She's still very weak with vocal stuff. Her technology therapist installed AIM today, and now her flying fingers are making up for her lack of voice. Seeing the smile on her face, as she IM'd her friends, made Mikele's day!

Ever so awake

Today is special because I've been awake since at least seven by the needy physical therapist (needs me awake early to practice my words!) and I need to stay up til eight. However, I have been up since early this morning thinking I about what has been going on at school. It would be great to know what I am missing.

With the entire therapist thing going on, days have been passing like minutes here. Friday through Monday have been filled with doctors who believe everything can cured by medicine or by therapy, both of which we all know I am quite against. They have me speaking through my braces at them, which ends up a trainwreck of noise. At least the TV in this room has things as interesting as late-night movies and political debates in the middle of the day, though I can only watch it after dinner when all visiting persons including my ever-attentive dad are gone (most of the time). All in all, therapy is quite good, though I quickly tire of it and begin to gain anemia from it. As a matter of fact, typing practice has become a part of speech therapy. Yaaay. More work.

Today I talked in depth with a minister's wife who works at this hosipital, who may have been the only person I enjoyed speaking to today. Her words were very encouraging and cut intt one of my nurses' speeches about the medicine she was injecting directly into my stomach. It's a needle-hater's dream here. I also enjoyed thinking about how I'm definitely going to miss out on Hume if I haven't already, and I actually think I'll be okay with it as long as I didn't pay for it yet (I don't remember doing so, but that means little in this day and age). I miss eating solids most of all, and hospitality is a class I wouldn't mind having back.

Oh, hey, my dad is gone until Friday, and he said he wouldn't mind bringing back a few people with him. They'd stay at the condo of course (maybe falling asleep in the hosipital room like him), indirectly talking with me for most of the day. My dad would be back by Sunday at the lastest, with work n' all finally calling him back. Those that would care to come visit may sign up here (3 slots open).

Hey, what's more disturbing than the thought of being injected early in the morning? The thought that I only have memories from New Years onwords left in my noggin. I don't remember a day past that one, which is a weird thing to think considering the date and time since then. The only thing that I have done since then that I remembered is Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, which I am about a chapter from beating.

Um, I miss video games. Needless to say. Probably the #1 thing since Rolf in here with me. I just sneezed, and it hurted quite a bit. It was probably more effective since it snuck up on me and ended up biting my glued-together even harder than usual.

The end?

Monday Afternoon

Day 18. Bob's on his way home. Mikele just called me from the car, on her way back from the San Jose train station. Mikele's moved from the hotel today - she gets to use the hospital condo for a small fee for 7 days, maybe longer if it's available.

The PT says Dorothy's legs are strong for a coma patient. Even though today's schedule got juggled all around, she passed another milestone today - she used her legs to motor her wheelchair down the hall to the "day room", and sat with Mikele and Bob for lunch! She saw several people in worse condition, which was encouraging for her. She put on her own shoes during OT. They're teaching Mikele how to get her in and out of the wheelchair and bed, so she can help out when Dorothy comes home. She played Trogdor online today. She's been suffering from an upset stomach, low energy, and dizziness. They have remedies to try in each case. Dorothy now has a tentative discharge date from rehab! It's 3 weeks from this coming Wednesday - February 27th.

I finally remembered to get the rehab mailing address from Mikele. For those who are interested in sending cards, letters, flowers (M says no teddy bears please), the address is:

Dorothy Hushing-Kline
c/o The Rehabilitation Center at SCVMC
751 S. Bascom Ave
Wing E, Room 25B
San Jose, CA 95128

Hmm Hm Hmmm...

You *definitely* want to read the comments on the previous post!

^_^

Waking up!

Today, Dorothy wrote Bob a letter! It said:

Hey Dad, I'm awake now, barely. My arms are active despite the usual waiting. We are looking for my hairbrush now, so to satisfy the nurse, I'm writing some. Life is such a blur right now. I'm just not sure any more. Give me a while please. Dorothy

The nurses at Sierra Vista said she won't remember anything from her time in the ICU when she wakes up. When Bob said today, "Do you remember anything about the ICU?", she replied, "No." Guess what? They were so right! Maybe she started to really wake up yesterday.

So... she's waking up! Bob's gone over the events of the last two weeks for her, day by day. He told her "Mom's sick, but she's nearby," and she seems ok with that.

Later today, she wrote Bob a three page letter, asking about how she got here, and what's going on with her friends, and then asked something cryptic about how things were going with a particular friend.

One of the nice things about rehab, is that we can bring our concerns to the case manager, who can work with the rest of the team, to come up with a plan that's right for Dorothy.

Pic from 2007.

Friday Afternoon

Dorothy is working very hard at her new rehab job! She's been on a rolling tour of the rehab facility. She's already made some progress. She sipped soup and water without coughing. She said several words, mostly whispers. Mikele is being good about taking care of her nasty cold, by staying in bed and drinking fluids. Pic from 2005.

Rehab Check-In/Eval

Day 15. Dorothy checked into the rehab facility yesterday, at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, which is actually in San Jose. The address is 751 S. Bascom, San Jose, CA 95128.

Bob stayed the night and had dinner there. Mikele left before dark last night, and checked into the Pruneyard Inn, also on S. Bascom, in Campbell, which is just 5 minutes down the street. She says it's a wonderful place to recuperate from her cold. There's even a Trader Joe's in the same complex.

Dorothy is settling in. They have a huge team assembled for her. She has 4 therapists, including physical, occupational, speech, and technical. There are 3 doctors assigned to her, and a primary nurse. They already had a laptop setup for her, and ready to use. Mikele says that D's therapists are "going to get us on a very good start, on the long road to recovery."

She passed a big milestone last night. She demonstrated that she can read, write, and answer simple questions with written words!

Bob gave her some of the letters that Michelle brought in last week, for the doctors and nurses to get to know her better, and she read them through. This is the first time she's had any interest in reading. She seemed much more aware yesterday. She was also reading the funnies and some other things.

Her primary nurse Lila said they get very involved in patients' lives, and to bring in teddy bears, cards, and other personal items. Her care team was very pleasantly surprised to see the collection of personal items that Mikele and Bob had already brought with them.

Mikele asks of her High School (and other) friends, that you please email "head shot" photos to Kelcie, who has Mikele's email address, and can forward them on (thanks in advance, Kelcie!). Mikele will find a place nearby to print them out, and they'll be used to help Dorothy exercise her memory.

They did her preliminary evaluation yesterday at 2pm, and will continue evaluating her through the weekend. On Monday, there'll be a conference with Bob and Mikele during which her short and long term goals will be established. This will help Mikele to know what she needs to do at home, to prepare for Dorothy's homecoming.

Enroute to Rehab

Day 14. I'm talking to Mikele who is calling from the car, on the way to rehab. Aren't cell phones amazing? She's essentially posting to the blog (through me) while enroute! Tyler and Bob saw Dorothy off in the ambulance this morning. Then Bob drove home and picked up Mikele, who decided to ride in the car, because of her cold. Bob told Dorth they were going to follow her in the car, and then she seemed OK going in the ambulance.

Head 'er up, move 'er out...

Well, we're packing up the suitcases, stuffed animals and DVD's for a trip to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose. Rolf the iPod is coming too, and Tyler has loaned us his iPod port for easy listening. Thuley has been found, and is sitting in his station - watching over the D from the tray next to her bed. Dorothy will travel by special ambulance with a nurse for the trip. Mikele will ride up front, and Bob will drive. Aunt Tam is watching the house for us. Bob will take the train or fly home on Sunday.

Thanks to the ministrations of so many caring people, our freezers are filling up nicely with leftovers. Bob has the additional challenge of having tax season come upon us - so these meals are an absolute God-send. We are so very grateful.

We'll keep you posted from San Jose. We just heard today that they might have a laptop she can use, and there's Wi-Fi at the hospital! Yippee! I wonder if they use Wii in physical therapy...

Rehab Approved

Dorothy walked today, with some assistance! She's been officially approved to go to the rehab center in Santa Clara tomorrow. Mikele will ride with her in the ambulance. She'll still have an IV and a feeding tube to deal with. I keep reminding her to think about taking advantage of the offers for help from people living nearby. She's overwhelmed with the near-term logistics, but be forewarned, she may be calling on you folks!

Wednesday Noon

Bob says the plan is to transport Dorothy to the rehab center in Santa Clara tomorrow. Mikele plans to go with her, and stay someplace nearby. M's cold has progressed to the point where she has completely lost her voice.

Wednesday Morning

Day 13. Yesterday, Mikele told the nurses the nickname that Dorothy's brothers gave her when she was little - "Dorth Vader". She was a little terror - she ran the household with a tiny but iron fist. Of course now she's put on the velvet gloves. The nurses got a big laugh out of that. Bob's been spending nights with D, now that she's awake. He says nights are uneventful. They're getting ready to try weaning her off the feeding tube sometime soon.

Tuesday Evening

Dorothy had a good day today. The speech therapist was very respectful of her, and didn't talk down to her, and Dorothy responded well to that. She progressed two levels in the cognizance testing! She tried to make a few sounds, but she's frustrated by a lack of vocal control. She really tried to say something today, but without the wind behind it, she couldn't quite make enough sound for them to understand her. She definitely tried to say "Mom". Then the occupational therapist came, and Dorothy was able to copy shapes using a marker pen. On her own, she drew some emoticons: smiley :-) sad :-( bored :-| heart <3 and wrote her name. With the physical therapist, she learned more muscle control. She was able to sit up for awhile. She finds it very, very, frustrating, that her body doesn't respond the way she wants it to. While she progressed a tremendous amount today, she was very frustrated and sad, which is actually pretty appropriate, showing a good emotional health. The rehab center in Santa Clara now has all her reports, and they say she looks like a great candidate for their program. So now we're waiting for a final OK from their doctor, and a medical release from her doctor. We're hoping both of these will happen in the next few days.

Tuesday Morning

Day 12. Bob called Mikele this morning, and told her that Dorothy gave him his first hug since the accident. A lot of her motor control has been suppressed by the brain injury and swelling, so this is a big milestone, especially emotionally.

Monday Evening

It's been a tough day.

Mikele asks this, "of her blog-reading friends: Does anyone know where bun-bun and thulley are? She's holding on tight to the little seal that Kelcie brought her, and an old dragon I got for her when she was small. But I think she'd really like to see bun-bun and thulley.

She was resting well when I left her. Bob is staying the night, and I'll head back in the morning. The nurses remind me that we are on the on-ramp, with a really long, winding road ahead of us.

Good night, everyone. Pray for endurance and strength for all of us."

Pic from 2001.

Monday Noon

Day 11. Bob says: The surgery yesterday went well. It lasted about 2 hours. The oral surgeon says she lost very little blood. The respirator came right out, but she still has a feeding tube in her nose. Last night, she tried to pull it out twice. I stayed with her Sunday night, because she was a little freaked out by having her mouth wired shut. At one point she looked at me with a panicked look and pointed to her teeth. It broke my heart. When I went to leave last night, I said “good-night,” and with her eyes open wide, she shook her head "NO!" When I asked if she wanted me to stay, she nodded her head, “YES!” So I did. Her pulse is up high again, around 120 beats per minute. Her normal heart beat before the accident was around 70. She is doing a triathlon in healing, and her heart is showing it. Even when she sleeps, her little heart is going at 100-110. Last night she had trouble sleeping, and laid there in bed for a long time with her eyes open. The nurse came in and gave her a back rub, and she finally fell asleep. Thank you nurse Sarah.

Sunday Evening

Mikele says: Dorothy was moved from the recovery room back to her regular room. She woke up very well after surgery, and seems quite content. She has ice applied to both sides of her face to keep the swelling down, and a big bruise, but otherwise seems just fine. She was watching Fantastic Four with Bob, but now she's sleeping. Rest well, little angel.

Out of Surgery...

Dorothy is out of a successful surgery. The oral surgeon did not have to remove any teeth, and she is in the recovery room. Praise God!

In Surgery

Bob sent the following info this morning:

I am in the waiting room now, Dorothy went into surgery today at 8 AM to have her jaw wired so it can heal. What they will do is wire the top of her teeth to the bottom so it will take pressure off the mandible. No invasive surgery, but they may have to remove a tooth if necessary. It will be that way for 4 - 6 weeks. She will not be able to eat (liquid diet only).

I wanted to share the progress Dorothy has made so it can be posted to her blog. Her temperature is now down to 98 degrees, her pulse this morning was below 100. Her oxygen is good (above 90). We tend to watch her numbers a lot while we are here. What was amazing to watch was the assessment that the nurse did at the shift change yesterday. It went like this:

"Show me two fingers with your right hand." (she does it) "Good!"
"Show me two fingers with your left hand." (she does it) "Good!"
"Look to your right." (she does it) "Good!"
"Look to your left." (she does it) "Good!"
"Say AHHHHH". (she does it, weakly) "Good!"
"Wiggle your left toes." (she does it) "Good"
"Now wiggle your right toes." (she continues to wiggle her left toes)
"We will have to work on that later."

She is awake and she communicates via nods and hand squeezes. She looks very tired all the time. She likes to watch TV (last night we watched "Batman Begins").

They are prepared to release her to go to rehab, 12 hours after today's surgery. That means we will either be leaving for Santa Clara on Monday or Tuesday. The nurse thinks it will be Tuesday. Both Mikele and I will go at first, but I will return and she will stay there with her.

You can always tell when a crisis passes, when Mikele allows herself to be sick. It happened yesterday. I replaced her around 2 PM yesterday. And I am here by myself this morning. Since Mikele will be staying with Dorothy during her rehab this week, we need her to get better; so I will be taking her watch today.

Pic from 2006.

Sunday morning

Day 10. Dorothy goes into surgery to fix her jaw in just a few minutes (8 a.m.). The doctors decided to do the least invasive one. Please pray that she is able to tolerate the anesthesia well and that her throat doesn't swell after she has to be on the respirator during surgery. They promised that she would be back off the respirator before she wakes up.

Bob is down at the hospital now, wishing her well, but Mikele is home sick with a bad cold and doesn't want to take a chance that she will give Dorothy her cold. Please pray for Mikele, who is having a really hard time staying away.

Dorothy really loves all the comments everyone is sending in. Mikele reads them to her every day.

The doctors are saying that they believe Dorothy will be well enough to be transferred to the rehab facility very soon. We will let you know when we know.

A quiet night...

A post from Mikele:

Dorothy is enjoying a quiet night with her Dad and Tyler. She's watching Batman, Bob says, and enjoying it. The guys are playing cribbage.

Bob tells me that we are going to have to involve Tyler in rehab, because today when Dorothy's doctor asked her to do one of the neuro tests: "Can you raise two fingers?" she wouldn't do anything. Then Tyler said, "Dorothy, raise two fingers." And she did. She always would do whatever Tyler told her to!!

A personal note: I don't know the words to express how comforting these posts are - to know how much everyone is praying and caring, and to be able to see the smiles on Dorothy's face when we read them to her. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!!!

Friday Evening

Mikele says Dorothy was tired - pretty much wiped out - all day today. The jaw surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. It should take about six weeks for the jaw to recover, and yes it will be wired. The operative phrase is, "Liquid diet". I asked about the two-finger test she had trouble with much earlier, and Mikele says she can do that no problem now. She can also lift her arms. Mikele asks that everyone keep their prayers going.

Saturday Morning

Day 9. Mikele called on her way into the hospital this morning. We got the results of the CAT scan last night, and it's a good-news bad-news thing. The orbital bone isn't cracked. Both sides of her jaw are fractured. One fracture is non-displaced, which means the bones are in alignment. The other side is a minor displacement fracture - no chips, but a slight offset between the bones (28,29).

Friday Night - Minor Setback

Mikele just learned of a "tiny little setback". The oral surgeon came to check her tongue, and discovered that she has a minor jaw fracture. She may also have a broken orbital bone, which is beside her nose. They're getting her into a CAT scan tonight, and if the neuro surgeon clears her, they'll do surgery tomorrow, and her jaw will be wired shut for awhile.

Mikele says this answers some questions, about why her damaged lip didn't seem to hurt (it was numb from the jaw damage), and why she's been moving her jaw funny, side to side lately, experimenting with why it felt weird. You can't tell to look at her from the outside, but the oral surgeon noticed a lot of swelling on the inside, and when he touched her nose, she really winced.

It sounds like these complications will probably cause a delay in the move to rehab.

Mikele says: Fire up your prayer chains!

Friday Evening

It seems like Dorothy is getting a little better every time we get an update (and that's the way we LIKE it!). Mikele says she seems to wake up around 4-430 every afternoon. She's been more alert today, than ever. Her breathing has quieted down so much, that they were able to take the Oxygen cannula off her nose. Mikele says, "Her O2 number is fine, except that she keeps flicking the oxygen sensor off her finger. We keep putting it back. Then she waits until we're not looking, and flicks it off again." Her tongue is so sore, she can't even deal with an ice chip yet. It hurts to just move it. They've replaced the feeding tube that was in her mouth, with one that goes in her nose, which is much smaller and less uncomfortable.

She's sleeping really peacefully right now.

She'll be evaluated by a rehab specialist over the weekend, and they plan to begin the process of moving her to a rehabilitation facility early next week. This will likely be a move to somewhere else in the State. Santa Clara has been discussed.

Her brother Brighton drove down last night from Davis for just a quick visit today. He walked into the room, and her face lit up so much.

In Atascadero today, a friend of Mikele's said she stopped in at the beauty parlor. Their big screen TV was tuned to this blog. (HI GUYS! :-) It is so comforting to know that so many people care so much about Dorothy, and are pulling for her to recover.

Friday Afternoon

They pulled out Dorothy's ventilator and feeding tubes today. Yet another small step for Dorothy-kind! Her throat is very swollen, which makes breathing difficult, but she's toughing it out. Since her eyes are open, I asked if she's seeing much with them, and Mikele says, "Sure, she makes eye contact, and she's watching TV now!"

Friday Morning Later

More good news. The swelling has come way down in Dorothy's tongue - it's almost down to normal. Mikele and Bob expected Dorothy to be kind of sleepy as usual, when they got there this morning, but she was wide awake. Later on, they were listening to VH1, and Mikele asked if Dorth wanted her to turn off the music. NO - shakes her head! Hey, a new way to communicate! Would you like me to read you the letter that Michelle brought yesterday? YES - nods her head! Mikele reads the letter. Toward the end, Michelle says, "And now it's time for an anecdote." It's a cute story about the girls hanging out in a corner of the school for lunch. Dorothy finds strategic places in the shadows to place some fruit. Then she waits. At this point in the story, Dorothy smiles, hugely, around her ventilator tube. She knows what's coming... The story continues. After waiting awhile, there is the sound of a fruit squishing, a pause, and then... "Oh, [expletive deleted]..."

Friday Morning Early

Day 8. This just in from Mikele this morning: Bob slept at home last night for the first time since the accident. We're both looking pretty ragged - I have dark circles under my eyes for the first time since Dorothy was a baby!! But I slept like a baby last night - not one bad dream, not one wakeup. Bob said the procedure to remove the bolt went really well, and Dorothy stayed awake with him for a while afterwards. As he read to her, she squeezed his hand. I think she's really happy to be back from wherever she's been. We're heading down to the hospital in a few minutes and if there's any more good progress, we'll update. Something of interest to note: both of the last two days, we've seen the most activity starting at 7 p.m. Tam reminded me that Dorth has always been a night owl! And before I forget yet again...

THANK YOU to everyone, for your cards, your visits, your love and your prayers. They have really helped to sustain us these last days.

Woo Hoo! She Blinks!

Mikele just called, with the words, "I've got the most amazing post yet, for the blog!"

Dorothy's been drifting in and out of consciousness all day, as you read earlier. The Doctor came by at 5pm, when Mikele happened to be elsewhere. He said "I'd like to remove the pressure sensor bolt from her head, but I don't think she's awake enough." The Nurse said, "Oh yes, she is! Watch this!" She said, "Dorothy, open your eyes, real wide" ... and Dorothy opened her eyes, really wide. Then she said, "OK! Now, close your eyes tight" ... and Dorothy scrunched her eyes shut, really tight. She didn't just close them. She *scrunched* them closed!

Needless to say, the pressure sensor bolt isn't in her head any more.

Later on, the Nurse and Mikele were doing some things with Dorothy. The nurse said, "Now I want *you* to see it. OK Dorothy, open your eyes wide." Dorothy opened her eyes wide. "Now scrunch them shut" and she scrunched them shut. I suspect it was impossible to move Mikele from her spot by Dorothy, for the rest of the day.

Later, Mikele was talking to Dorothy, and said "Your friend Michelle was here." Dorothy's eyebrows were moving, as if to say, "Oh really? I know her!"

This is great progress! Mikele says she was supposed to expect that Dorothy wouldn't be able to think any more clearly than a 3-year old at this point in her recovery. Recovery. What a wonderful word!

Mikele was chatting on, and asked, "Would you like me to read from the blog?" and started reading from the pages of comments she'd printed out. Eventually, Dorothy's eyes started drifting shut. Mikele asked "Do you want me to read more? Blink twice if you do." ... and Dorothy blinked twice! Mikele read some more, and Dorothy's eyes started drifting closed again. Mikele asked again. Dorothy blinked twice again. Mikele read some more. That went on for awhile. When she read one of Dorothy's girlfriends' names, her eyebrows went up - "I know her! That's my friend!"

It appears that our Dorothy is just itching to bust out! Unfortunately, we won't know if she can talk, until the ventilator comes out, and that won't happen for awhile. Her tongue is so swollen, the Doctor is afraid she'd choke on it.

So now, she has to wait for her tongue to thtop clogging up her mouth, before thhee can finally athk for thum thocolate pudding! :-)

Woo hoo! She's awake and communicating! Now I think Mikele needs to teach her the Morse code. Kidding... :D

Pic from 2005.

Thursday Noon

Day 7. Mikele called with the noon update. Dorothy's still doing OK. She's come in and out of a low level of consciousness many times today. Mikele's staying close to the bed, since she never knows when those eyes will open again. She recognizes Mom's voice - her eyes open and move around, trying to follow, though we're not sure what she might be seeing. She spiked a 103 degree fever this morning, but that may just be the hypothalamus being not fully up to speed. She has some pneumonia, but that's not unexpected for a ventilator patient. She's still "breathing over" the ventilator - i.e. she's setting the pace now, instead of letting the machine do it. They're talking about reducing the sedation even more, and reducing the blood pressure medications, since she's doing so well in that area too. It seems like so much good news in a 24 hour period, I can hardly stand it! :D

Hallelujah!

Yet another magical report! Mikele related so much information so quickly (I think she was excited - duh!), that I'm sure I missed a lot. The gist of it, was that Dorothy passed some more big milestones, at least from Mikele's perspective.

This just in, from Mikele:
First of all, at 4 p.m., the nurse let me stay for Dorothy's regular evaluation, which she had never done before. She said "I'm going to let you watch her "dance". Meaning that the nurse expected that Dorothy would be randomly moving her arms and legs. Surprise! Dorothy opened her eyes, and when I talked to her, she worked really hard to find my voice. I said "Hi, wiggleworm" and she started to move her arms and legs! Then I said, "No, honey, we want you to rest" and she stopped! Then the nurse had to put an ice pack under her left arm because she's running a tiny fever, and she reached over with her right hand VERY purposefully, and tried to reach RIGHT where the ice pack was. I took that hand and told her no, we had to bring her fever down, but of course she didn't stop trying until ... the nurse said, it's okay she's had some tylenol we'll see how she does with that. THEN she laid her hand back down!!! Then I talked to her about where she was, and the nurse talked to her, and the nurse noticed she's trying to breathe over the respirator. I talked her into calming down, and letting the respirator help her heal, and then told her to go to sleep, which she did.

Then at 7 p.m....Tam had driven Bob to the hospital, so he could take over the night shift. Bob and Tam were in the room, and I had stepped out for a second - they were talking, and when I looked back, Dorothy's eyes were WIDE open. I ran to her side and grabbed her hand and said "Hi honey!" and she SQUEEZED my hand. Hard! Then her eyebrows went up to the sky, causing a very furrowed brow, like "What the heck???" I reassured her that she was in a safe place, and being taken care of. Dorothy started trying to breathe on her own, fighting with the ventilator again, and I encouraged her to relax, and let the ventilator do its work to help her heal, and Dorothy eventually stopped fighting the ventilator.

And that's not all! Bob started talking about her kitten Mika, and she SMILED!!! Around all those tubes and everything, she smiled. I ran out of the room to get the nurse. She was as excited as I was. The nurse said "Dorey, can you raise two fingers?" and Dorothy did nothing. I said "She doesn't like to be called Dorey" and the nurse said, "Oh, right. DOROT, CAN YOU RAISE TWO FINGERS?", and she raised her hand! Then she told her again, to raise two fingers, and she made a fist. So while she knows that she was supposed to do something with her hand, she wasn't quite wide awake enough to really understand. But MAN, not BAD for the first day!! It was clear she was hearing all of our voices, and she was trying to tell us how confusing it is inside her head. We just keep telling her not to worry, she's going to recover.

So everyone who is praying... keep it up! We have a long way to go with this. We know there's no guarantee that anything in particular will happen next, but these all seem like very clear signs that our Dorothy is inside there, and wanting to come out. A very magical day indeed. Bob probably has a very interesting night ahead of him!

Pic from 2006.

Wednesday's Magical News

Mikele called after lunch, to say she had some magical news. Dorothy hadn't moved all day. Then after lunch, Bob got up to leave, leaned over, and whispered, "Goodbye Dorothy, this is Dad, I'll see you later. I'll be back tonight." Dorothy stretched - moved her arms and legs a little bit - moved her head, and relaxed. OK, I'll admit that just brought tears to my eyes, as it did to Mikele and Bob when it happened.

Wednesday Morning

Day 6. Dorothy had a reasonably quiet night last night. No major crises.

Mikele says she went into the cupboard to get something, ran across the chocolate pudding (something Dorothy likes a lot), and had a little meltdown. Rather than going completely nuts, she called out to her big Sister, who's in town to help: "Tam... Hide the chocolate pudding!" and that helped a lot.

These first four days are the really critical ones for a coma patient.
Dorothy has met all the important milestones during this period.
So again, now it's sort of just a waiting game, to see how she does.

Tuesday Night

One last comment from Mikele tonight: I was just reminded of something that happened when I talked to Tam just now. Dorothy's nurses have all of these little goals for her - being able to tolerate being turned over without too much change in her pressures, things like that. One of her goals was met today. They needed to be able to feed her a certain amount through her tube, and have her stomach digest it properly. So when Terrie (today's nurse) told me that Dorothy made goal, I told her that this might be the first time in 10 years that she actually ate everything someone wanted her to eat!

Someone asked about favorite flowers -- thank you so much for the thought, but please, no flowers yet, they're not allowed in the ICU. But cards are always welcome!

Tuesday Evening

Mikele just checked in with the results of the CAT scan. She said they saw no evidence of bleeding under the brain, no severe hematomas, no brain shear, no brain stem involvement. So the current diagnosis is "acute brain injury". Now it's a waiting game, until the swelling goes down, before they can let her wake her up. The medications are doing well at keeping her brain pressure down. Once they can keep her brain pressure down without drugs, they can try to wake her up. Pic from 2006.