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.