1. Greeted by raised left arm and hug & kisses!
2. Seen by osteopath responded well, will visit again on Sunday
3. Very active, moving around bed.
4. Enjoyed sitting upright with bed back-up.
5. Both eyes open, tracking and alert
6. Giving a thumbs up as an appropriate response to questions (2 times).......
He assisted well with changing, indicating when he needed to use the urinal. He nodded appropriately to the nurse's questions.
Kevin took the electric tooth brush off me and intiated brushing himself, then turned it off when he finished - this is the first time Kevin has used an electric toothbrush in his life! This brought great excitement with other nurses coming to watch!..
He attempted some words after this brushing episode. The day before, a nurse, passing, had said to Kevin, "Are you trying to get out of bed, Kev?" He promptly and clearly answered, "No, I'm not"! She did a double take!
Meanwhile 15 minutes away other amazing stunts were reported to be happening as it appears a group of fairies emptied a horse truck full of furniture, purchased some goodies and turned a unit into a home for all to enjoy.
This was not without mishap as the Chief fairy (Dad) fell from the back of the truck handling the big clothes washer. He said he landed on his wallet so now has a wallet size bruise on his backside! Pictures from this event will be posted soon.
Many thanks for all the wonderful, wonderful help and support.
Read more!
Saturday, 28 July 2007
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Ups and Downs With Kev's Progress
Two lots of surgery, responding nods, wriggling around and a clonic tonic seizure to top it off!!
Thursday saw Kev off to theatre and had a cranioplasty (third of skull replaced). Early hours after surgery went well, however Kevin's CAT scan showed hydocephaly (fluid build up around brain).
After deterioration early hours of Saturday morning it was decided to take Kev back to theatre to re-remove the skull. We were understandably very upset, this happens to only 5-10% of clients. So the waiting and watching started again, this really takes the toll on us.
It has been great to have Jay, Masami, Aska, Zoe, Dad and Margaret with us to support and provide some distraction for us.
Sunday was a day of Kev being heavily sedated until around 4pm. He then became alert and was moving both legs and was attempting to pull himself up off the bed!! This was great movement and thought all was very impressive until we saw what the next day was to bring.
Monday was started as an amazing day with Kev indicating the need to go to the loo, the "obeying commands" to grab hold of the bedside and roll to the right with very little assistance. That afternoon Kev was moved from the trauma room to a "normal" room. This means we can visit at 8am instead of 10am.
Kevin surprised me by looking me in the eye and responding appropriately with a nod to two questions!! He also continued to roll and move heaps around the bed. He is able to scratch his head and face with precision and shows good fine motor skills. I went home happy after giving Kev a wash, massage, toothbrush and settled him into the room. After the upset and set back I felt a little happier.
A phone call was received at 11:30 to inform me that Kevin had had a seizure which required a medical emergency call. He settled after a while and eventually regained his GCS of 10-11. Unfortunately he reacted with a rash to the anti-seizure medication; this has now been stopped and he has been sedated until the neurologist decides what to do.
We wait to see if the hydrocephalus will subside naturally or if he will need to have a permanent shunt put in place to drain the fluid.
Finishing on a good not,e the speech therapist is willing to commence some oral food soon and the trachy has been de-cuffed for a week and a half!
Love to all. Read more!
Thursday saw Kev off to theatre and had a cranioplasty (third of skull replaced). Early hours after surgery went well, however Kevin's CAT scan showed hydocephaly (fluid build up around brain).
After deterioration early hours of Saturday morning it was decided to take Kev back to theatre to re-remove the skull. We were understandably very upset, this happens to only 5-10% of clients. So the waiting and watching started again, this really takes the toll on us.
It has been great to have Jay, Masami, Aska, Zoe, Dad and Margaret with us to support and provide some distraction for us.
Sunday was a day of Kev being heavily sedated until around 4pm. He then became alert and was moving both legs and was attempting to pull himself up off the bed!! This was great movement and thought all was very impressive until we saw what the next day was to bring.
Monday was started as an amazing day with Kev indicating the need to go to the loo, the "obeying commands" to grab hold of the bedside and roll to the right with very little assistance. That afternoon Kev was moved from the trauma room to a "normal" room. This means we can visit at 8am instead of 10am.
Kevin surprised me by looking me in the eye and responding appropriately with a nod to two questions!! He also continued to roll and move heaps around the bed. He is able to scratch his head and face with precision and shows good fine motor skills. I went home happy after giving Kev a wash, massage, toothbrush and settled him into the room. After the upset and set back I felt a little happier.
A phone call was received at 11:30 to inform me that Kevin had had a seizure which required a medical emergency call. He settled after a while and eventually regained his GCS of 10-11. Unfortunately he reacted with a rash to the anti-seizure medication; this has now been stopped and he has been sedated until the neurologist decides what to do.
We wait to see if the hydrocephalus will subside naturally or if he will need to have a permanent shunt put in place to drain the fluid.
Finishing on a good not,e the speech therapist is willing to commence some oral food soon and the trachy has been de-cuffed for a week and a half!
Love to all. Read more!
Friday, 20 July 2007
A Country Man in a Mystery Crash
An anonymous letter left in the letter box has lead the police to further investigations. Along with this, an investigation initiated privately has lead to the Major Crash Unit and forensics from Perth taking on an investigation of the accident Kevin was in.
At the request of the police, a public plea has and is being put forward via the media. The above title was used in this evening's Golden West Network news as the feature news item. Jay will put this news item ASAP for all to veiw as soon as we recieve the DVD recording. Kendie and Elaine have said the report was both thorough and tastefully done. Hopefully information will come forward to enable us to get 3rd party insurance, so Kevin can get the optimum care he is entititled to.
We have the great pleasure of having Jay, Masami, Aska and Zoe to stay. Kev has responded to the family by opening his eyes and some interaction with them. It has been a great lift to our spirits to have their company and we really look forward to the next couple of weeks with them.
Saturday will see the arrival of Dad and Margret, who are currently on board the Indian Pacific to visit Kev and the family here, so lots of exciting family times ahead!
A team meeting was held on Monday where OT, physio, speech therapist and charge nurse are going to investigate the possibility of transferring Kev to Bunbury if rehab will be awhile off. The next meeting will be held the week of 6/7/07, if any family wish to attend or contribute they are welcome to do so.
Kev continues to take tiny steps forward, however has appeared flat and more unresponsive the last few days. We will continue to introduce alternative therapies and remedies to assist Kev in his recovery.
As this is being written Kev is in theatre have a cranioplasty (skull being replaced and screwed and plated in 4 places. The first cranioplasty will replace left side of skull, approx a third of his skull.
Plan:
1) Left craniectomy
2) Right craniectomy
3) Removal of trachyotomy
4) Transfer to rehab if ready, approx 4 weeks, or possible transfer to Bunbury Regional Hospital Read more!
Sunday, 15 July 2007
Pucker up Kev!
I spoke with Alison again on Thursday and she had yet more exciting news! She went in to see Kevin on Wednesday and said, ‘Hi, Kev. Give me smile.’ – and he did! When she went to shift him on his bed, someone said ‘Owwwww!’ Thinking it was one of the children, she continued to move him and someone said ‘Owwww!’ twice more – she then realised it was Kevin, and the nurse heard him too.* Wow! As if this wasn’t enough excitement for one day, when Alison and the girls went to say goodbye they said ‘Give us a kiss’, and … he pushed his lips onto their cheeks.
Further developments … Kevin was able to move his left shoulder substantially on Thursday,** and when Alison and the girls went to leave him this evening at the end of visiting, he became distressed, moving and reaching out, and was emotional, breathing rapidly – they were allowed to stay with him for a further twenty minutes and were able to reassure him. For the first time he moved his leg – a significant development. All of this shows that Kevin is gaining an increased awareness of what is going on around him – great news!
Alison is waiting to be able to have some communication directly with the doctors (I believe they do their rounds before visiting time). Much of what has happened this week may well be related to the osteopathy session he had last Sunday, as since then he seems to have come along considerably. Kevin’s brother Peter and sister Sharon visited him on Wednesday too and took him for a jaunt in his wheelchair, and I believe he was awake for quite some time.
Overall, it looks like Kevin is coming out of his coma. This is never an overnight process (despite what the telly shows us!), and it will be a difficult time for Kevin on a level different from that of the ordeals he has so far faced. Happily he has some very caring people around him, and I know that they will be doing their very best to make it easier for him, but they will continue to need support from all the rest of us too on both the practical and the emotional levels. Please remember to leave at least a brief comment to say that you have visited the site to read up on Kevin’s progress.
* It’s important that the medical staff witness things as they won’t necessarily believe the word of hopeful family.
** For more on this, see Renae’s comment under the last article on Kevin. Read more!
Further developments … Kevin was able to move his left shoulder substantially on Thursday,** and when Alison and the girls went to leave him this evening at the end of visiting, he became distressed, moving and reaching out, and was emotional, breathing rapidly – they were allowed to stay with him for a further twenty minutes and were able to reassure him. For the first time he moved his leg – a significant development. All of this shows that Kevin is gaining an increased awareness of what is going on around him – great news!
Alison is waiting to be able to have some communication directly with the doctors (I believe they do their rounds before visiting time). Much of what has happened this week may well be related to the osteopathy session he had last Sunday, as since then he seems to have come along considerably. Kevin’s brother Peter and sister Sharon visited him on Wednesday too and took him for a jaunt in his wheelchair, and I believe he was awake for quite some time.
Overall, it looks like Kevin is coming out of his coma. This is never an overnight process (despite what the telly shows us!), and it will be a difficult time for Kevin on a level different from that of the ordeals he has so far faced. Happily he has some very caring people around him, and I know that they will be doing their very best to make it easier for him, but they will continue to need support from all the rest of us too on both the practical and the emotional levels. Please remember to leave at least a brief comment to say that you have visited the site to read up on Kevin’s progress.
* It’s important that the medical staff witness things as they won’t necessarily believe the word of hopeful family.
** For more on this, see Renae’s comment under the last article on Kevin. Read more!
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
The latest news on Kevin
Given the extent of his injuries, these are still very early days in Kevin’s healing, but he is doing well and has come a long way. He is still in a coma most of the time, but he has achieved some major milestones over the last week... He has been outdoors in his new wheelchair (complete with helmet), is having some longer periods of wakefulness and, on Monday, had a PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube inserted through his abdomen to his stomach so that he can be fed via that route rather than the gastric tube that had become so annoying that he chewed through it and then worked it out of his mouth with his tongue! He will have to be weaned from the tracheostomy tube, but this is going well.
Meanwhile, he is still enjoying daily massage, and has now had three osteopathy sessions. Whereas he still wasn’t moving his right arm a couple of weeks ago, he now has lots of movement in it. He can scratch and rub his face, legs, eyes, nose, belly and opposite hand, can put his hands together, and will remove someone’s hand or arm if they are overstimulating him. The other day, on his own accord, he felt where he has had the craniectomy – now that must have felt odd! He can reach out a hand if he hears a loved one’s voice, and at times he also responds to voices with a smile.
Most encouragingly, last Wednesday Kevin spontaneously felt all around Alison’s face and then slipped his hand around the back of her head and gave it a good scratch just the way he used to do whenever he gave her a cuddle! She is now enjoying good scratches on a regular basis (we knew she wasn't 'Alicat' for nothing!), and he appears to get a lot of pleasure from this too as he smiles happily when doing it! Then, last Saturday Alison put some of Kevin’s favourite perfume on his moustache and he was awake for two hours afterwards! He responded very well, opening his eyes and smiling. He is showing some signs of recognition and ‘connection’ with Alison and people who phone him, and has been grinning a lot at appropriate times.
Kevin has undergone tests to see when his cranium can be replaced, and the indications are that this might be soon. The cranial swelling has subsided enormously, and when one considers that this can takes some months, this is very encouraging as he seems to be healing well. Alison should have some more news later this week about what the next stage in Kevin’s care will be.
Kevin is working really hard, and so are Alison and the girls. Well done to all of them! Today (Tuesday) the nurse said that there was a lot of improvement in his neck and visual tracking. However, there is still a long way to go of course, and at this stage he does not yet show enough appropriate responses to be moved to the rehabilitation ward. Please keep up all the support to help Kevin on this arduous journey! Read more!
Meanwhile, he is still enjoying daily massage, and has now had three osteopathy sessions. Whereas he still wasn’t moving his right arm a couple of weeks ago, he now has lots of movement in it. He can scratch and rub his face, legs, eyes, nose, belly and opposite hand, can put his hands together, and will remove someone’s hand or arm if they are overstimulating him. The other day, on his own accord, he felt where he has had the craniectomy – now that must have felt odd! He can reach out a hand if he hears a loved one’s voice, and at times he also responds to voices with a smile.
Most encouragingly, last Wednesday Kevin spontaneously felt all around Alison’s face and then slipped his hand around the back of her head and gave it a good scratch just the way he used to do whenever he gave her a cuddle! She is now enjoying good scratches on a regular basis (we knew she wasn't 'Alicat' for nothing!), and he appears to get a lot of pleasure from this too as he smiles happily when doing it! Then, last Saturday Alison put some of Kevin’s favourite perfume on his moustache and he was awake for two hours afterwards! He responded very well, opening his eyes and smiling. He is showing some signs of recognition and ‘connection’ with Alison and people who phone him, and has been grinning a lot at appropriate times.
Kevin has undergone tests to see when his cranium can be replaced, and the indications are that this might be soon. The cranial swelling has subsided enormously, and when one considers that this can takes some months, this is very encouraging as he seems to be healing well. Alison should have some more news later this week about what the next stage in Kevin’s care will be.
Kevin is working really hard, and so are Alison and the girls. Well done to all of them! Today (Tuesday) the nurse said that there was a lot of improvement in his neck and visual tracking. However, there is still a long way to go of course, and at this stage he does not yet show enough appropriate responses to be moved to the rehabilitation ward. Please keep up all the support to help Kevin on this arduous journey! Read more!
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