The doctor's appointment

I had a lot of nausea in the night so at 4am I turned my feeding tube off so that I could get some sleep. When I woke up at 7 I still didn't feel good and my side around my JP tube was really hurting. I got some pain meds in and took my other meds and re-hooked up my feeding tube even though I still didn't feel good, I knew I needed to. We left for the doctor's office and got there around 9am and got checked in. I was still having quite a bit of pain in my side and my vitals reflected it. My BP was in the 150's and my heart rate was 111. It didn't take too long for the resident to come in and examine me. He said they would take a sample of the drain fluid and call me later in the day with results. The nurse then came in and took some of the fluid and we waited to see the doctor. About 20 minutes later, the resident poked his head in and said they wanted too see what the results were before we left so they could take action if necessary, so we waited and waited. Over 2 hrs in the room we waited. Finally, the doctor came in. She said that it took the lab a while to get the level because it was so high it couldn't be measured. It was over 250,000 again. Tears started swelling up in my eyes. I asked how could that be? She said she didn't know so she talked to the head pancreatic surgeon of the university and he said it can happen and since it has now been a month since the surgery, he said to take the feeding tube out and let me eat and my body will heal itself. I kept asking are you serious? She was like, well do you want it out or not. Of course I wanted it out. YEAH!!! No more feeding tube, as long as I can eat and tolerate food, otherwise it goes back in and it wasn't pleasant coming out. So I am on a clear liquid diet for today and can start normal food slowly tomorrow. So far I have had a whole can of chicken broth and am feeling fine so hopefully things will go well. I am just super glad to have the feeding tube out. I still have to have the drain in my side but I can totally handle that much more than the feeding tube. Please pray that I am able to start eating normally again with no trouble so I don't have to have the feeding tube again and that my pancreas continues to heal like they said it would. I go back in another week for a check up again.

7/30/09 7:30 pm

Today was a litle bit of a better day. I started the day with nausea however that just wouldnt go away. Finally around noon I felt better and a nice shower helped me feel better. This afternoon I felt like I had a lot more energy. I was able to get a few minor things done around the house. I am having quite a bit of pain where they messed with my JP drain before I left the hospital that I just cant seem to shake off. I have my follow-up doctors appointment to test the amylase level tomorrow so I will ask them about the pain then. On a good note, I only had 1 anxiety attack today and I caught it early so it was minor. I have never had anxiety before so any of you that suffer from it, I totally feel for you. It is absolutely horrible if I let it get full blown. I will completely have sympathy for my patients in the future who say they suffer from anxiety. Please keep me in you prayers tonight that my amylase level will be down so that I am that much closer to getting this feeding tube out and back to eating normal food. I miss food.

My 1st post back home

Well this last week has been rough on me. A week ago today I woke up thought I was feeling fine. I got showered and got ready to take Landen to his 9 month appointment. I drank my protein shake and we headed out the door. The minute we started driving, I started not feeling good. I started getting hot flashes and my stomach started churning. We arrived at the hospital, I opened the door and got sick on the side walk. After that I did feel a little better. We made it through the appointment and back home and I was exhausted. I collapsed on the couch. Things just got worse from then. I didnt know what it was but I knew something wasn't right. I laid down in my bed and became entirely weak. I could barely keep my eyes open. Finally about 9pm that night, I made Tim take me to the ER. I didn't know if I just needed fluids or what but I knew I needed something.
They put me in a room and tested the fluid coming from my drain. The amylase level was over 200,000 and my white count was over 19,000. It was determined that I had a bad pancreatic leak and a possible infection. So they admitted me. They did a CT scan and saw a pocket of fluid around the pancreas, the same one the saw on the CT scan in Des Moines but decided that this time it needed to be drained and my pancreas needed to rest.
The nest day I was taken to interventional radiology and the placed a new drain that would drain that pocket of fluid. Then a feeding tube was placed through my nose, down the back of my throat through the stomach, through the 1st part of the small bowel and into the second part of the small bowel. This tube gives me nutrients with out making the pancreas work.
On Monday, they measured the amylase level in the drain again and this time it was down to 89,000. Much better but it has to be less than 1,000 before they will take the tube out of my nose. I have an appointment on Friday to remeasure the level. Please pray that my pancreas is healing and my level will be less than 1,000 so I may get this tube out. With it being down my throat, I get nauseas a lot and lately I have been struggling with a lot of anxiety. Pray that I make it through these next few days of my pancreas healing and that it may heal fast so I can get this tube out of my nose. Thanks for all your continued prayers throughout this struggle in my recovery. Will try to keep you updated with my progress.

Lindsay

She's Home

My mom went over this afternoon and took Lindsay home from the hospital. The feeding tube and the JP tube are still in. The levels from her JP tube were still high so they are testing her again on Friday to see if they can possibly remove it then.

I'm sure she still has a long road ahead of her but is probably thrilled to death to be back home and hopefully will be back to posting here soon!!

More News

The big news for today is that her wrist is awake. She took her brace off today and she was able to lift her wrist up. She has not been able to do that in the 3 1/2 weeks since the accident so to her this is huge.

Right now the JP tube is still in. They think there might be a blockage in it but they don't seem too concerned and may still take it out today or tomorrow.

Her hope is that if her X-rays and CT scan come back ok they will release her today or tomorrow. Her feeding tube will stay in for now but I think she is ok with that as long as she gets to go home.

Much of the Same

Lindsay had much of the same kind of day today. They took her for either and MRI or a CT scan (my mom wasn't sure and I didn't want to call since she didn't really want to talk to anyone) and it took two hours so she was pretty down after that.

They also took X-rays of her back and neck to try to make sure there were no additional injuries and determine when she can go without the brace.

The big news for today is that she was able to touch her thumb and her index finger together on her left hand so they are hopeful that part of that nerve is starting to wake up.

Sunday Recap

Today has been a REALLY tough day for Lindsay. She is mentally worn down and ready to just be done and go home. She has been sick to her stomach a lot even though the feeding tube is bypassing her stomach.

They had been trying to give her meds orally which I think was upsetting her stomach so they decided they would try to put those in her feeding tube.

She had a visit from the Neurosurgeon and he said he is pretty sure there is a fracture in one of her vertebrae so she had to continue to wear the turtle shell brace for another couple of weeks. They also looked at her arm today and said that the nerve will only heal about 1 mm per day and so it could take a couple months for it to heal and 3 - 6 months for her to regain full usage.


They took a sample of the fluid coming out of her JP Tube and are sending it off to test the levels. If they come back low they could possibly take the JP Tube out as early as tomorrow but they are not really giving her any answers as to how long the feeding tube will be in after they remove the JP tube. Best she could get from them was anywhere from 2 days to 6 weeks.

Overall, I think it was just a tough day for her. My mom said she broke down when Tim left and again when they left. She is tired of being in pain, tired of feeling sick and just wants to go home.

Any thoughts and prayers that you would have for her tonight I'm sure would be appreciated.

Saturday Update

Lindsay had kind of a rough day today. She was sick to her stomach and throwing up this morning and this afternoon. She finally called my parents about 4:00 or so and asked them to come and stay with her tonight.

They are still feeding her and they are unsure why she is getting sick at this time since the tube bypasses her stomach all together and goes straight into her intestines.

They were going to giver her some anti-nausea medicine in the hopes that would settle her stomach while they try to figure out why it is that she is feeling so ill.

Hopefully they can get this figured out as I'm sure it is discouraging to Lindsay to know she is getting fed but still feeling sick.

July 24th, 8:15 PM

I just got off the phone with Lindsay. I was amazed when I called to actually get to talk to my sister again. For so long it has sounded like it was so painful for her to speak and move about but tonight she sounded alert, alive and awake. Sort of like her old self.

Landen and Tim were there and she was laughing at Landen and seemed to be in very good spirits.

They stopped the tube feeding once after she got sick this morning and then started it again. Then had to stop it this afternoon when they found out it was pumping too much air in so according to Lindsay at the moment the main reason they are keeping her is to try to get the tube feedings regulated.

She seems to feel like once they get that done they will send her home, with the tube. Possibly by Sunday or Monday.

As much as she has resisted the tube I think it has done wonders for her mentally and physically. She's not stressed about eating enough because he knows she is getting it and her body has all the nutrients it needs to start really healing.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a continuation of this evenings good news and this setback will soon be behind her.

July 24th, 11:30 AM

I just spoke to Lindsay on the phone. She said that she was able to keep her counseling appointment for this morning that she fought so hard to get. They just wheeled her right over there and she felt like it helped. They wanted to give her some medicine but she said she doesn't want anything right now, just someone to talk to. So that's what she's doing, just going to talk to someone to help get through the next few weeks.

When I talked to her she said that she had just gotten sick so they had turned the feedings off for a bit to let her settle down. There is nothing in her stomach so I was confused as to how that could be making her ill but apparently even though the food is all going straight to her intestines it can still have some affect on making her feel ill.

Either way, she had to let me go because it was nap time. :-)

July 24th, 7:30 AM

Lindsay had a fairly decent night. She seems to be tolerating the feedings well although she said it still feels like she is hungry all the time. My mom said that she is down to 130 pounds which is about 15 - 20 lbs underweight for her.

They are now thinking that perhaps with her pancreas not working right even though she was eating she was not getting many if any nutrients from what she was eating. So, they are hoping with putting the tube feeding in she can get some strength back and that will help her tremendously in her recovery.

Other than that, there is not much to report she doesn't really have a definitive answer on how long she will be there or what things they are looking to have happen before they allow her to go home so she's just hanging out letting time take time.

July 23rd, 5:30 PM

All of the procedures are done for the day. They ended up removing her current JP tube and replacing/repositioning it meaning she still only has one in her stomach instead of two. They are comfortable that the repositioning has worked and that the fluid that was building up just above her JP tube will now drain out of the tube along with any pancreatic secretions.

The feeding tube is also in and they have begun feeding her a high calorie, high fiber liquid diet which should give her some of her strength back and also allow her pancreas some time to rest and heal it's self.

Thank you all for all of your well wishes and prayers. Hopefully Lindsay will be feeling much better in a couple of days!!

July 23rd, 1:00 PM

Just got a phone call from my mother. The verdict is two more tubes and several more days in the hospital.

They are going to put another drainage tube above her JP tube to drain out the fluid which they think is responsible for the infection and that just refuses to go away. They are leaving the JP tube in since it is still draining meaning the pancreas is still leaking.

Since the pancreas is still leaking and since she is having pain in that area they have decided it needs a time out to get it's act together. So, a feeding tube will be inserted past her stomach into her intestines. What I have been told is that this will allow her pancreas to rest since it will not be producing anything to help with digestion and it will also allow Lindsay to get some much needed calories and get her strength up to help with the healing process.

I have not talked to Lindsay but I'm sure that this has got to be hard for her. They are transferring her care to Iowa City so the doctors are in the process of transferring from her specialists here to her specialists there.

All of her therapists are also going to come to the hospital to see her so she doesn't have to be set back any days on that. Her first appointment starts at 8:00 tomorrow.

Hopefully these two tubes will do their job and she will be out of the hospital by this weekend or early next week and on the road to recovery once again. I will stick around to post until she is able to resume once again.

Thank you all for your prayers. Keep them coming, she is not through healing yet!!

July 23rd, 9:45 AM

Just spoke to my mom. She has arrived at the hospital but they still had no word. They are not feeding her right now because her JP tube is still draining indicating that her pancreas is still leaking so they are waiting for the attending doctor to make the call as to whether to feed her or insert a feeding tube.

They did start her on antibiotics to try to clear up the infection which they were able to avoid last week but apparently could not today.

Other than that, they are just waiting for the attending physician to come and see her and make the final calls.

Bump In The Road

I had hoped that I would not be back here again, unfortunately.... here I am.

When Lindsay was in the hospital they told us there would be bumps in the road. I think we were hoping for something along the lines of those little butt ticklers that they have before stop signs.

Instead we got a speed bump. A nice, large speed bump.

Last night Lindsay was admitted into the hospital. She threw up yesterday morning and then was having stomach pains last night. After Tim got home they went and got her and enema thinking that might be the problem but while it worked it did not take away the pain. Then she threw up again so off to the ER they went.

Her white count was elevated meaning some sort of infection and the text I got from her at 3:00 this morning was that they were admitting her and may have to drain the fluid. I'm assuming she is referring to the pocket of fluid above her JP tube that they were having troubles getting under control right before she left the hospital.

At this point any prayers would be appreciated. I'm sure she is scared and in pain and really not wanting to be back in the hospital. She is in Iowa City now, not in Des Moines so my mom is going to drive over this morning.

Another day, another step forward

Good news today is I think my pain is starting to lessen because I felt over medicated today. I take 3 Oxycotin tabs at 8 am and after that today I just felt like my head was floating all day. Since Oxycotin is long acting pain relief I unfortunately felt like that all day, but didnt have to take any Percocet today so tomorrow I am going to try to only take two and see how I feel and use the Percocet for breakthrough pain if I need it.

The one stressfull thing I am dealing with right now is trying to find a therapist just to talk about all this to since my memories of it are so vivid. I have called the office for 2 days now, trying to get an appointment and have left messages but nobody has called me back. You would think when you are dealing with someone's mental emotions you would call them back. Tomorrow Landen has his 9 month appointment at the hospital. I think I will find the psych clinic and just show up demanding an appointment. They can't ignore me then.

The one thing that made me really happy today was we put Landen in his walker on the kitchen floor for the first time and he learned how to push himself backwards in circles around the floor and the he would run into walls and keep pushing and whining until we would turn him around and he would get going again. It was so much fun just watching him go.

Today was a better day

I feel today was a better day I feel. I still woke up in the middle of the night with some pain and hunger so I ate one of my nutritional shakes and took some meds and went back to bed. I woke up again at 6 with some pain but it wasnt time for meds yet so I put my shell on and went to the living room, put an ice pack on my back and a heating pad on my stomach and was able to sleep again till 8. I am trying harder to eat more during the day so that I may stop waking up in hunger but I still have that feeling that the minute I start eating I feel absolutely stuffed and cant eat more than a couple of bites. I am able to get down my nutritional shakes so that I am trying to keep up my calories but I wish I could eat normal food. I feel like a gastric by-pass patient. Any suggestions on how to get myself to eat more would be great. I just don't know what to do but give it time. The pain has been decent today. The eyesight is much better, if not back to almost normal. Pray for a goodnight and another better day of healing tomorrow.

Thanks for the prayers from the previous post. He is out of ICU and in a normal room. He has a lot of pain still so please pray that they are able to get his pain under control.

Goodnight for now.

Update and Prayers needed for someone else.

Last night was a bad night for sleeping. I had a lot of pain and couldn't fall asleep. By 2am when it was time to take another pain med, I did what I shouldn't off and took 2. They had already cut me down from what I was taking in the hospital so taking 2 was not much more than what I was taking in the hospital, and I was in so much pain I didnt care. I know what you are all thinking, the doctor is not following doctors orders but I just needed the pain to go away for a little while. It worked wonders. I felt so great after that that I was able to fall fast asleep and sleep comfortable till almost 9 so I didnt take another pain pill till 10 so I took 2 in an 8 hr time period and I normally had been taking 1 every 4 hrs soI think my relief from pain by taking 2 was well worth it.

The visiting nurse showed up again and helped relieve some of my anxiety. She talked to someone about my high heart rate and they said it was normal reaction to all the trauma I have been through and will slowly go down. Today it was only between 98-102 so getting better. I also had her check by blood sugar since I had to have some insulin shots in the hospital, I have the anxiety that I will develop diabetes now. It was only 108 so more things to calm down about. I am glad that she is coming to help just reassure me that I am doing fine. Sometimes too much knowledge about things can make you go crazy.

My parents and Debbie brought up more of our furniture that we purchased at American awhile ago. Now we are just missing one chair and we will have everything here finally that we purchased. They moved in all our furniture and set it up, and really helped unpack a lot of boxes and also helped with the yard some. I of course laid on the couch but it was a relief see the house get unpacked knowing that I wouldn't be able to get at it anytime soon. They got a lot done today and the place looks more and more like our home now.

Landen's still running a small fever but he is being such a good boy with all this. He is truly the best baby. He is starting to army crawl every where so Tim is going to buy a baby gate tomorrow so he doesn't fall down the stairs. I really don't need that in the midst of all this.

Now for the extra prayers needed. A guy that works for my parents and has been since I was really little had another heart attack today. He had a minor one earlier this month and we hoped that would be it, Well he was racking hay in my parents field today and felt a small pain. It went away but then a stronger one came on and luckily he had his nitro on him and his cell phone and called 911. They got him to the cath lab early and he had 1 artery that was 100% blocked. They got it stented and he is now in the ICU. We are unsure of the amount of damage it has caused yet. I had my grandmother's gaurdian angel over my bed the whole time I was in hospital and it worked for me so mom is taking it to go hang above his bed. I have witnessed how much you guy's prayers can truly help so I am asking you all to pray for him tonight. May he make a quick, speedy, and complete recovery and that this be his last heart attack.

Well, I should head to bed for the night. Hopefully tonight will be better. God bless you all.

1st Trip to the ER

And I wasnt the patient.

Landen was fussy this AM and felt warm. 99.7, so we figured he was just teathing again. We gave him some Mortin and seemed to be doing better. Still a little fussier than normal but like I said, we just chalked it up teething. Tim and Landen went grocery shopping and when they got back, Tim put Landen down for a nap and went outside to do yard work. I fell asleep on the couch for a while and when I woke up, I realized Landen had been sleeping for a while so I decided to go check on him. I put my trutle shell on and opened his door and saw him stiring so I walked around his crib and the minute he saw me, he just started crying. I put my hand down on him to tell him he was okay and I was going to go get daddy to get him and he was burning up. Of ourse my high level of anxiety kicked in and I started panicing because I couldnt do anything about it. I started crying hysterically and couldn't stop. I walked outside and started yelling for Tim. I couldn't find him and of course in he mean time the cat gets outside the door. I tried to chase her in but she just ran off the deck. I left her and went to the front of the house and started yelling for Tim. Still couldn't find him and still crying hysterically. I went back inside going to try his phone when he finally appeared. Don't know where he came from. Luckily the cat let him walk right up to her and he got her in. Then he picked up Landen and took his temp. 103.0 and I start crying more. I said he needed to go to the ER, I wasnt going to take chances since he has been visiting me in the hospital, who knows what he could of picked up. I also knew if I didnt go with, my anxiety would be worse so I said I was going, I didnt know where any shoes were so I threw on my slippers that I left the hospital in yesturday. The whole way there I couldn't stop crying. I just felt this was all my fault that he picked up something from visiting me. By the time we got to the ER I had started to calm down but now I was in a lot of pain from all the anxiety. Found out he has an ear infection. Felt bad that they were having to wheel around the non-patient in the wheelchair. Picked up Landen's prescription and went home. Now I am on the couch trying to relax and be calm and Landen has gone to bed for the evening. Not something I really looked forward to dealing with on my 1st day home. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight.

1st night and day home

Well last night we made it home. It was so nice to be home in my own bed. The last few nights in the hospital, I really wasnt getting any sleep. I would either wake up every half hour to 45 mins in either pain or anxiety and not be able to fall back asleep. Last night was so much better. I slept staight till I either had to pee or take meds. Around 3, I woke up and just had to move so I put on my turtle shell and walked out to the kitchen for some water and a protein shake. I laid on the couch and watched some TV and fell right asleep. I woke up at 4:30 and went back to bed till Landen woke us up. I am still realy saddened by the fact that I cant hold him. When he was crawling around on the ground this morning, if he would start crying, I could do nothing for him. The visiting nurse came today to assess me. So far she thinks I am doing well but, like me is concerned with my high heart beat (120's). It has been like this since being in the hospital but nobody would tell me why they weren't concerned. She is going to try to call the doctor and find out. Other than that, the pain is undercontrol. I have occasional bouts of random crying which I guess is to be expected with all that I have gone through. Pray that each day gets better, that I slowly regain function of my left hand and someday soon I will get to hold my precious boy again.

Thank you all once again for everything you have done for me and all the prayers you have sent my way. God has truly given me a miricle and I cant even fathom where I am going to begin repaying you all

On the Road

Lindsay's room is packed, her appointments are made and in less than an hour she will be on the road back to her house. I can't believe how far she has come yet I'm so happy for her to be able to be going home.

I have a feeling there will be many trips to her house in my future.

For the time being I have shown her how to work the blog and given her administrator privileges to her own blog (go figure). So, I will be signing off. If she needs me to, I will gladly post on her behalf.

If she doesn't, thank you ALL for reading and for your thoughts and prayers for Lindsay. I shall be returning to my little corner of cyberspace:

www.hamiltonfamilycircus.com

Feel free to visit me there.

July 16th, 10:15 AM

The phone just rang. The caller ID said Lindsay. I had didn't realize till just that moment how much I missed seeing that. It surprised me a bit.

"Hello?"

"I'm going home....."

There are no words to describe what I'm feeling right now. Only tears of joy for my baby sister....

With Style and Grace....

If I could send one message to my sister this morning it would be this. She is so much stronger than even I realized when all of this started.

Kick Ass and Take Names Lindsay!! :-)

July 17th, 7:00 AM

Lindsay had a bit of a rough night but this has become common for her so she's kind of used to it. Her back and her stomach were bothering her quite a bit. My mom was concerned that perhaps with the pain she experiences at night she might not be ready to go home just yet. The doctor in her answered:

"We send people home with pain all of the time. It's normal. I'll be fine."

So now it's a waiting game. She was up this morning, did some walking, did a few stairs, sat in the lobby for awhile. Just trying to get up, get moving and get better. She is hopeful the doctors will be in sometime this morning to make the decision on where she will spend her weekend.

From what I understand, if the trauma surgeons sign off on her going home, she will be going home. If they say she can leave the hospital but should stay around here she will be going to my parents house. If they say she must say, she will obviously be staying. Either in that room or in Younkers.

So... now we wait....

Head to Toe with Lindsay Jo

I haven't done one of these in awhile and I feel like I am kind of missing some of the smaller updates since I am not with her all of the time so I'm going to just do a run down here so we have it for the record. (Anything in blue or purple depending on your computer screen is a link to explain that term. If you click on it, it will take you there.)

Head - She has a large bruise/scab on the back of her head from where she hit when she fell to the ground after the semi released her. She says it doesn't hurt all that badly and it seems to be healing well but is most likely still the cause of her double vision.

Eyes - She still suffers from mild double vision. The neurologist said that in trauma accidents the most common injury/complaint is double vision and left eye palsy. She appears to have had both. Her left eye is now tracking appropriately so at least that part has healed but she still has a bit of double vision. The part of her head that is injured is by the visual cortex of her brain so it is possible this is also causing some of the double vision. The neurologist was not concerned about it and seemed confident that it would eventually repair it's self.


Left Arm - Her arm was broken in three places. The Humerus just above the elbow and the Ulna & Radius just below the elbow. They fixed the bones with plates and screws so she has not needed a cast and just recently go the staples out from where they did the surgery. Her radial nerve was also damaged and this is the part that the orthopedic doctors are telling her will take the longest to heal. Yesterday occupational therapy came in and gave her some exorcises to start and also a brace (much like a carpal tunnel brace) to stabilize her wrist until she gets some of the movement back in it. The doctors seemed very confident that she would recover use of her arm but that it would just take time.


Diaphragm - Her diaphragm was ruptured in the accident. They sewed up the tear in it and she has not really had any problems to speak of. It was given a chance to sort of rest when she was on the ventilator and seems to be working appropriately as she is no longer requiring oxygen to breath.

Ribs - Several of the ribs on her left side were broken and several of the ribs on her right side were cracked. There is no surgery that they can do for this so it is just a matter of time for them to heal. A lot of the reason that she needed the chest tubes for so long was that there was bleeding and drainage from the ribs being damaged that they were trying to drain out of her chest cavity.

Lungs - Both lungs were bruised but seem to be recovering nicely

Stomach - Her stomach basically exploded and had to be sewn back up. This has caused her some problems with trying to eat enough. She didn't eat for several days and then when she started she has been having some stomach pains so she has to eat little bites at a time. She is slowly getting there but they are still somewhat worried about her calorie intake so they are monitoring her closely.

Kidney - Her left Kidney was pulled away from the attaching blood vessels and was essentially dead when the surgeons opened her up. It was removed but her right kidney seems to have picked up the slack and is functioning nicely.

Spleen - Her spleen had been transected (excuse me if that's not the right term) and had to be removed. From what I understand a person can live a normal life with out a spleen but her risk for infection and illness is somewhat higher so she will just have to be a bit more careful not to get sick and will have to take care of herself when she is sick.

Pancreas - Her Pancreas was also transected but was able to be saved. For awhile it appeared as if she might have trouble maintaining her blood sugar levels and they were giving her insulin shots. However, her pancreas has finally stepped up to the plate and appears to be doing it's job effectively as they stopped monitoring her blood sugar and she has not had to have another insulin shot.

Bowels - Her bowels were bruised and some of the blood vessels were torn away. There was some concern when all of this started that perhaps she might have to have some of them removed but all seems to be working in that area of her stomach so that is a good thing.

Vertebrae - 10 of her Vertebrae had the transverse Processes broken off and there may or may not be a hairline fracture between L6 & L7 (I believe that's right... I know it was lower back). So right now Lindsay wears a turtle shell brace anytime she is not in bed. It is not the most comfortable but it keeps her straight until her back can heal a bit.

Pelvis & Legs - Her pelvis and Legs seem to have been untouched by the accident. When she first got up and was walking she had some pain in one of her knees but that seems to have subsided and could just have been from being in bed for 10 days.

Listing it all out like that really makes it hit home just how lucky she is to be alive and not only alive but doing as well as she is doing. Keep the prayers coming that Lindsay will continue to do well and will eventually make a full recovery!!

July 16th, 8:17 PM

I just watched the clock roll over again. Two weeks ago today. Two weeks... has it really been that long?

Yet when I look at the progress that she has made, the fact that they might let her go home tomorrow I can't believe it hasn't been much longer.

A lot of bad things have happened to me and I have been in the emotional place Lindsay is. The flashbacks are hell and you are afraid to close your eyes. Tonight, on this two week anniversary, Lindsay... I wish you peace.

I hope that you know that the bad times won't last forever and that someday very soon you will laugh again. Stay strong. I'm here for you!!

July 16th, 7:00 PM

Yes, the text from Erica was accurate. Assuming her doctors sign off on it, tomorrow they will be kicking Lindsay to the curb.

Do not pass go.

Do not collect $200

Out

Back to her house and back to trying to put her life back together. The difference in her these last couple of days is amazing.

Unfortunately, you can also see the pain in her eyes now. She remembers the accident. She is having horrible flashbacks. Her anxiety is crippling at times. They have been trying to control it with the Atavian and once she gets home she will find a competent mental health professional to help her. I just hope she knows that we are all here for her and that if she needs to yell and scream and cry we will all be doing it with her.

As I was getting ready to leave she looked at the clock and exclaimed, I want Chicken Strips with Ranch Dressing. I only have two minutes to order them. So hopefully us getting her out and her seeing her son is helping her to relieve some of the stress.

Plus I'm sure she just wants to go home, sleep in her own bed and try to feel normal again. So for her sake, I hope the doctor recognizes that and she gets to leave tomorrow.

July 16th, 4:00 PM

The text from Erica reads:

She just did Stairs!! & therapist dsnt think she needs younkers! holy smokes

I'm not sure how many stairs she did but apparently enough that the therapist is now thinking that she may not need to go to Younkers after all. I think for Lindsay this would be huge because she really wants to get back home and start living her life again.

I'm going with Zack tonight to visit so I will be able to ask more questions then but AMAZING how far she has come!!

July 16th, 1:00 PM

First of all... I just have to mention here that this website is now the Number One Result if you Google Lindsay's Fight. So if you are trying to tell someone how to get here, that is now another way. Just make sure they spell her name with an A.

For those of you non-bloggy nerds out there, this is a HUGE achievement and a testament to just how many people visit her and check on her each day. It took me 3 years to get Hamilton Family Circus on the first page and Lindsay is already the #1 result. She has over 2,000 hits per day.

That's a lot of Love and Prayers and Support!! So thank you ALL!!

Moving on, Lindsay was doing well when I got there to check on her. She was sitting up in her chair eating. She is still having a hard time getting in very many calories as she feels full pretty quickly so she is still getting most of her calories from Enlives and Ensures.

I was there only about 15 - 20 minutes before she started to have more anxiety. She said she feels like she needs to cry but she can't because she's afraid it will hurt. I think she just needs to let it all out. She's been through so much she deserves a good cry!! :-)

So when I left Erica and my mom were going to push her down to the court yard to see if getting her out of the hospital would help her feel a bit better.

They are still talking like they will transfer her tonight or tomorrow so who knows, when I get there at 6:00 tonight she may already be in Younkers. I have seen how many gifts and plants she has in her room (I had to help move her the last two times) so I can't say as I will be too bummed if I miss out on this move!! :-)

July 16th, 7:00 AM

Lindsay had a fantastic night. She slept well, except for that small stretch around 11:00 PM where they had shift change and decided that she needed to wiggle her toes and fingers and all of that fun stuff while she was SLEEPING!!

After they left her to rest in peace she got quite a bit of sleep until about 5:30. At that point she had a mild panic attack so Tim and her went for a stroll around the 5th floor. She did a couple of laps and was feeling a bit better but not 100%.

So when my mom got there at 6:30 she told her she just needed to get out. So out they went. The hospital has a garden area with a playground and they went and sat out there for awhile. It seemed to really help with her anxiety to be able to get out of that hospital room so perhaps if you come to visit her and she is not in her room look outside her window to the garden and that's where she may be.

Speaking of visitors, she has given the green light for you all to start coming. Yesterday my friend Jess went and said she was sitting up in bed reading her e-mail so I think she is feeling pretty good. I would say if you are coming at night try to come before 8:00 because after that she is pretty well worn out.

Every day I am reminded of what a miracle she really is. The fact that they are talking about moving her to rehab today or tomorrow when just last week we were unsure if she would ever get out of bed is absolutely AMAZING!!

Keep all the prayers and good wishes coming. She is making amazing strides!!

July 15th, 8:00 PM

Lindsay has continued with her great run into this evening. She ate some dinner and they were trying to replace her IV. Even though she only receives one medicine through it they want her to have it in case they need it.

They were not having much luck as her veins are shot so we shall see whether they can get one in or if they give up.

Other than that her pain control seemed to be really good today and that meant that she was doing really well. She told a friend of mine that she planned to be home next Friday and back to work by August 1st. Maybe August 15th.... :-)

July 15th, 3:00 PM

The word from the hospital is that Lindsay ate ALL of her pasta that they brought her for lunch, took a one hour nap and has now done TWO laps of the 5th floor.

At this pace she will be in rehab in no time.

She credits keeping on top of her pain medications. She said something about the basal dose of Percocet and then getting a bolus dose also and yesterday she tried to go without the bolus dose and that wasn't a good idea or some such medical jargon!! :-)

Either way she seems to be feeling MUCH better and I just pray that the healing continues!!

July 15th, 1:00 PM

I just went to visit Lindsay. WOW!! That's all I have to say. The difference in how she looks is absolutely AMAZING!! She was sitting up in bed, coherent and looking very well.

She has opened the flood gates for visitors. Her only warning is that she can't guarantee when nap time is and she probably won't wake up if she is all medicated to the hilt so come at your own risk. You may want to see if you can track down one of the lovely people that is staying with her just to double check her consciousness. Especially if you are traveling any sort of distance.

We are hoping to recover her cell phone from Tim tonight so hopefully she will be able to have that in her room and it can be answered by whomever her "on-call" person is as they have yet to leave her for more than 10 mintues without one of us there.

Other than that, they are now talking like they will move her to rehab either tomorrow or Friday. This is a HUGE jump from where we were a week ago when they were just moving her out of ICU and a million years away from where we were almost two weeks ago.

July 15th, 11:00 AM

Lindsay had a fairly decent morning. They took the staples out of her stomach and they let her take a shower. We were originally told she could have one with the JP Tube still in but the doctor decided that it was ok.

I'm sure she has got to feel 100% better having had a full scrub down.

Dad said she was feeling much better pain wise this morning and laid down for a nap at 10:00.

July 15th, 7:00 AM

Last night was a tough night for Lindsay. All the moving and shaking she did yesterday sort of caught up with her and she wasn't able to get comfortable or really get any rest.

They ended up giving her two shots of morphine in the night, which she has been trying to avoid, and she finally got a few hours of sleep but was up again by the time my mom got there at 6:30.

I imagine it is a lot like when you go to the gym and exercise after not doing it for awhile. The next day you are really sore but you kind of have to push through it. My mom said she was ordering some Enlive this morning and and talking about getting up and walking some more so hopefully she will be able to push through this.

July 14th, 9:00 PM

Lindsay had a good evening tonight. She walked another full round of the 5th floor and has been given clearance to move around as much as she wants so tomorrow it might be two rounds before she take sa break.

She didn't eat much supper but she has been drinking her Enlive so that is at least something.

My parents said when they left she was really worn out and her pain was starting to come back. So they had talked about giving her another bath and then getting her pills and going to bed.

The staples came out of her arm today and the plan is for the staples to come out of her stomach tomorrow.

However, with the small collection of fluid just above her JP Tube they are planning to leave that in for another few days.

All in all, I think it was a very good evening for her and I hope that she gets some good rest tonight so she can start again tomorrow.

July 14th 6:00 PM

Well, Lindsay had an eventful afternoon after her magic soup. Erica informs me that her and Lindsay have bonded on a whole new level after today. She was there for Lindsay when she had some intestinal issues and also there to rescue her J.P. tube from between her legs a few times.

Good girl bonding I think!! :-)

Also, her friend Melissa visited her this afternoon. Lindsay was telling Melissa how she had just gotten the staples out of her arm. She then proceeded to inform her that she did still have staples in her stomach though and then she showed her.

Game.

Set.

Match.

First she didn't feel well, then she sat down, next thing they know she was lying on the floor about to pass out. For the first time in her hospital stay Lindsay had to use her hospital call button to call for help for someone other than her self.

The nurse came in and offered her a cold compress but Melissa declined and eventually was able to remove herself from the hospital floor. I hope she sanitizes those clothes when she gets home....

I guess the nurse came back after about a half an hour not to check on Lindsay but to check on Melissa. I'm pretty sure she may never live that one down. :-O

Other than that, Lindsay did a full lap around the 5th floor and when I got off the phone with Erica she was ordering her own meal for dinner. So I would say this is a HUGE improvement off of where she was yesterday and even this morning.

Hopefully this is her turning a corner and they can finally get her pain managed and she can get about the business of getting herself better.

July 14th, 3:00 PM

Well the word from the "day shift" is that the soup was a big hit. They said she got up around 1:00 ate about half the soup, went for a walk with physical therapy and then sat back down and ate some more of the soup.

Maybe it was magic soup??

July 14th, 1:00 PM

I just got back from visiting my Lindsay. She has had a very rough morning. She got up and walked quite a ways this morning but then got sick right after breakfast and has pretty much been in bed ever since.

When I got there about 11:45 I told her I would get her anything she wanted if she wanted to eat something. She told me Panera chicken noodle soup so off I went. There isn't one by the hospital so it took me a bit to get there and get back and when I got back she was sleeping.

She's very weak since she essentially hasn't eaten all day and so I am hopeful that she is, right at this moment, sitting up in her bed eating some soup and it will sit well with her stomach this afternoon.

She seemed to be getting around much better this morning, despite her not feeling well so even though I'm sure she doesn't feel like she's making progress she looks like she's making progress. Her oxygen is off and that is a huge step forward from a couple of days ago. Plus she is able to get her shell on with help and get to the bathroom which she couldn't do a few days ago.

I'll check back in a few hours and hopefully she will have had a much better afternoon. After all, soup makes everything better, right?

July 14th, 8:00 AM

Lindsay finally got some sleep last night and appears to be in a better more upbeat mood this morning. My dad said she got her sleeping pill at 9:00 and was able to rest comfortably until about 3:00. So while that is not a full nights rest it is still much better than she has been doing.

They are also trying to adjust her medications some more. They are trying to wean her off of her Percocet (Oxycodone) so they have increased her Oxycotton because they told my mom it is more time released.

When I called my dad to check in he said breakfast had just arrived and she was talking about going for a walk so I'm hopeful that a good nights sleep was what she needed to get her going again on her recovery.

July 13th, 9:00 PM

They got her up and walked her again tonight. Dad seems to think her mood was up a bit but not a ton.

She did manage to eat a couple bites of a soft shell taco and a few bites of potatoes & gravy along with her Enlive. While it's not much, at least it is something.

Tim is staying with her tonight and hopefully the sleeping pill will help her rest and by the time the "morning crew" arrives she will be back to her old self.

July 13th, 7:00 PM

Just talked to Mom, hunger strike 2.0 is now officially on again. Once they got back from their walk she was apparently "too tired" to even think about food. So when dinner came instead of eating she just sat there and looked at it. Mom said she tried to get her to eat but Lindsay refused.

So, the nurses brought in a scale for motivation. If she looses any more weight they are going to shove the tube down her nose. When I talked to Mom she said that Dad was now on duty and it was his job to try to get her to eat.

Right now she is not in a good place. She is anxious and tired and hurting and really angry at the world and everyone in it. She needs a good cry and a scream and maybe a hit of the pillow.

As a consolation prize they have ordered her a sleeping pill for this evening in the hopes that if she is able to get some good sleep she may arise on the other side of the bed tomorrow morning as a much happier person.

Prayers and good wishes would be greatly appreciated. She is having a REALLY bad day and I'm very hopeful that perhaps with a good nights sleep and a few healing prayers she can emerge through this dark cloud to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

July 13th, 6:00 PM

They were able to get Lindsay up and walking after the doctors were in. They told her if she didn't get to eating they were going to talk about putting the tube back in so she could get her strength up.

She was hopeful that walking would help her to get some of her appetite back as thus far she has only had very few solid foods and has mostly been living on Ensure and Enlive.

They got her to walk to the nurses station, take a wheel chair ride for awhile and then walk back from the nurses station. Not a terribly long walk but farther than we have been able to get her to go before.

July 13th, 5:00 PM

Just got done visiting Lindsay. She was very down and out today. She has been getting up to go to the bathroom but other than that she wanted no part of being up and around.

Her stomach was causing her quite a bit of pain and discomfort so they did a CT scan and found a small pocket of fluid above her pancreas tube but below her lung. The nurse thought perhaps they would aspirate it out but they decided against it as it is not very large and probably not what is causing her pain.

Her white count is elevated but not enough that they want to give her antibiotics. Right now they are just going to wait and see what her body can do on it's own. She had a slight fever but I think that broke while I was there as she went from cold to hot again.

Overall, she was just in a really bad mood and very anxious because she didn't sleep last night and she's afraid she may never be able to get comfortable to sleep again. She wanted some more pain meds but they told her they are trying to keep her off of too many of them so I think that is making her even more anxious about sleeping tonight.

July 13th, 11:30 PM

The most recent update is her arm was hurting quite a bit today so they took the cast off and have now got her more of a lightweight splint thing.

They also took some X-rays of all of her stomach to see if they can find a cause for her pain. They said it may just be some fluid buildup that they would have to drain off with a long needle. Which sounds INCREDIBLY awful to me but we are told it sounds worse than it is.

Other than that, her white count was up a bit so they took more blood to run some more testing. They have had her up most of the morning so she will probably be ready for a nap this afternoon if she can get one.

Again, as far as visitors go I would say if you can wait until tomorrow or Wednesday, wait. If you must see her today come prepared that she might be angry that you are there or she might just be angry in general. It is kind of an hour to hour thing right now with her pain and exhaustion level.

July 13th, 7:00 AM

The news from my mom this morning was that overall Lindsay is doing good but she had a rough night. She was having some stomach cramping and having a hard time getting comfortable.

She thought it might be gas pains but was uncomfortable using the restroom with the catheter in so they ended up pulling the catheter out in the middle of the night. This does require her to get up more now but that should help her to get her strength up.

She has no IV but they have left the line in so they can do blood draws and give her medicines. She's been on Ativan to help with some of her anxiety as she says it's very hard to just sit and wait on doctors, tests, etc. She's also still on Oxycotton and Oxycodone. She explained something to me about how they give them something about using one for a breakthrough but that's as much medical jargon as I understood.

Other than that, she is off the morphine so I'm hopeful that will help reduce some of her hallucinations.

They did get her up and sit her in a recliner last night to try to make her more comfortable but it didn't work very well. I imagine she will be very tired today and possibly grumpy so if you want to visit I would suggest only a couple at a time and bring your protective gear in case the TV remote comes at your head.

I'm at work today so I will call at lunch time and get another update and then try to visit this afternoon and see how everything is going.

July 12th, 6:30 PM

When I got there tonight Lindsay was just getting out of bed again after taking a couple hour nap. Her time out of bed was very short this time. She was very out of breath and couldn't get comfortable in her brace.

Deb and my friend Jess washed her hair with a no rinse soap and then she couldn't wait to get back into her bed. I'm guessing she will sleep really well tonight as she had such a busy day.

I think her spirits are up, even though she is exhausted, simply because she can get up and out of bed. She says the bathroom is too far away, which was as far as she walked earlier, but it gives her small goals to get to. Tomorrow the bathroom, the next day maybe out into the hall.

They took X-rays of her knee today and all looked normal so they said it will just take time for her to get her legs back to working normally.

Hopefully she continues with her excellent progress this coming week.

July 12th, 1:30 PM

Today is like a complete 180 from where Lindsay was yesterday. I just got an update from my dad.

The got her off the IV and she walked around a bit. If she is comfortable getting moving and able to get up when she needs to they will take the catheter out tomorrow.

She was having some left knee pain so they are going to look at that and see if she needs a brace.

She ordered a grilled cheese and macaroni for lunch and that was the first solid food she has tried to eat. My dad said she was nibbling on it so at least that is something.

There was a little leakage from the chest tube and so changed the dressings around that.

Overall it sounds like she is having a MUCH better day today.

July 12th, 10:45 AM

I just watched into Lindsay's room and was AMAZED to see her wearing her turtle shell and sitting up in a chair. She looks 1,000 time better than yesterday!!

She is still a very weak but up is up at this point. She said she never realized how much energy it took just to sit up. Overall she said the brace is not too terribly uncomfortable she just needs to get her strength back.

Her mood is also 1,000 times better than yesterday so I'm really hopeful that she has turned a corner.

She's not sure about visitors yet so she told me she would let me know tonight if she felt up to them coming tomorrow.

Overall, I think today is turning out to be a very positive day.

July 12th, 9:45 AM

Just got a call from Deb, she talked to Dad and they pulled Lindsay's chest tube. YAY!! That is now one more tube she has in her and probably one step closer to her being able to get up and out of bed.

Her turtle shell brace is in her room so perhaps by later today she will be able to get out of bed and up and around.

July 12th, 8:00 AM

Mom stopped by on her way home from the hospital and said that Lindsay had a much better night. She was able to go most of the night with out pushing her PCA. They were hopeful that the chest tube would come out this morning and then they would be able to get her up and moving today.

July 12th, 8:00 PM

Mom stopped by on her way home from the hospital and said that Lindsay had a much better night. She was able to go most of he night with out pushing her PCA. About 4:00 the came in and changed her sheets and her gown and got her bathed a little and then she did push it once then.

She had one more Enlive last night before bed and was getting ready to order breakfast when mom left. She said it seemed like her attitude was much better and they were hopeful the chest tube would come out today.

July 11th, 9:00 PM

Not much new to report. Lindsay hasn't eaten any more since this evening but she appeared to be in a better mood according to my dad. At least he wasn't fearing for his life tonight. :-)

Tim was taking Landen home tonight to put him to bed and stay with him so my mom is staying with her at the hospital. There were a couple of Ensures and Enlives at the nurse's station and my dad was hopeful that perhaps my mom could get her to try one more before she went to bed.

They were marking the drainage on the chest tube this evening so we are all hopeful that if the level looks good they will be able to take it out tomorrow and then perhaps we can go about the business of getting her grumpy ass up and moving.

Overall, I'm not sure we took any steps backwards today but we didn't really make any jumps forward either. They're putting the same limits on visitors for tomorrow, unless you want a TV remote thrown at your head, but I will update here as soon as her chest tube is out and she is up and walking as I think that will really be the point at which her spirits will start to lift a little.

July 11th, 6:15 PM

The doctor finally arrived to take a look at Lindsay. He said that her levels are not too terribly high and the drainage tube for her pancreas appears to be doing it's job so he wanted her to try to start eating again.

After he left she did have an Enlive shake/protein drink thing and some apple juice so I'm guessing that is a start.

Tim also brought Landen to see her tonight so that seemed to lighten her mood a bit. She is kind of upset that she can't hold him or sit up with him but all that will come with time.

July 11th, 3:00 PM

Doctor watch 2009 continues....

He was on the floor, they were moving Lindsay he said he would come back.

He was on the floor, there was a trauma he was called away.

Maybe we will see him by 5:00?? Or 6?? Or 7??

In the mean time she continues on food strike, getting grumpier by the minute.

July 11th, 1:00 PM

We are still waiting on the doctors to come down and tell her what they are going to do with her. They just moved her to a bigger room N555 which is now farther down the hall and farther away from the waiting room. Not so great for all of us but better for Tim and any one who is actually in her room.

Her self diagnosis is that she has pancreatitis and that she shouldn't eat so that her pancreas can heal. According to that website she is right about treatment but we are unsure if she is correct in her self diagnosis.

Dr. Google tells me there can be great complications with pancreatitus but it is also treatable. Before this is over I will have a medical degree from Google University. :-)

Right now she is getting settled into her new room and cussing out any of us who dares to suggest she eat or drink anything or perhaps even just look at her the wrong way.

Please keep the prayers coming for her continued healing through this rough period in her recovery.

July 11th, 10:45 AM

The chief resident came in and saw Lindsay. He said her levels are not bad enough that he thinks she will need surgery but they are still waiting on the surgeons to finish with the trauma and double check her.

As seems to be her normal at this point, she had another setback with the chest tube. The overnight nurses did not mark her drainage and they need to monitor it for 24 hours so they will not be able to take it out until sometime tomorrow. Which means she will not be able to get up until sometime tomorrow.

They are also restricting her feeding until they give her a definitive answer on her pancreas.

She's already having a pretty rough day so any prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated.

July 11th, 8:00 AM

Last night was not good for Lindsay. She was having some stomach cramping when I left at 5:00 but we all thought it was just gas pains. They gave her a suppository and we all figured nature would just take it's course. (This was the point at which I was like well... good to see you... going home now... :-)

Unfortunately about 8:00 or so it started to get much worse. I got the call at 11:30 that they thought her pancreas was leaking and they had brought in some surgeons to take a look and do some testing.

The first thing they discovered was that some how one of her suctions had been turned off. We believe on the chest tube so they got that back on. Then they took some blood work to try to figure out the pancreas problem.

While this was all going on her IV site blew and they couldn't get a new one in her. Finally they had to call in the life flight nurses to get another one in but the only site they could find was the crook of her arm so every time she scratches her nose the alarms go off.

At 11:30 last night they had one of her tests back and they said it looked ok but sometime early in the morning they got the others back and they indicated bad news. Right now it is a wait and see game.

They had a trauma come in this morning so they are dealing with that and Lindsay has been pushed back. In a way I guess this should be good because they don't think her problem is life or death but I know it is making her very uncomfortable.

As this point she is on food strike because the doctor in her is telling her if her pancreas is leaking it is bad to eat. Unfortunately this will set back her progress because she is getting no calories in since last night. We do know that her bowels work so at least that is one positive sign but now this is just another hurdle to cross.

I'm heading down there a little later and will update as I am able but I would guess at least until we know what they are doing that there will be no visitors today either.

Please pray that they are able to fix Lindsay's problem so she is not in any additional pain as from what I understand she had a pretty painful and miserable night.

July 10th, 8:00 PM

Lindsay had a pretty low key afternoon. She rested and spent some time with Landen. They did bring her back brace in towards the end of the evening so once her chest tube is out she will hopefully be able to just strap on the brace and get out of bed.

They couldn't guarantee her when that would happen but we are all hopeful she will be able to have it out tomorrow.

As for visitors, I'm unsure of her wishes for tomorrow. I know she would like to be able to get out of bed before she gets many visitors but if you would like to go see her I suggest you give Tim a call first.

Otherwise I will ask her tomorrow morning when I see her and post it here after I see how she is doing.

July 10th, 11:30 PM

Today has been a big day for Lindsay. When I got here this morning she told me they wouldn't let her get her hair washed but sister Heather had other things to say about that.

First thing I did was kick Dad and Tim out to go get some breakfast and Lindsay and I had some girl time. I read her all of the facebook comments and private emails I have received while she told me about the "little friends" that have been visiting her.

I asked the nurse about this and she said it is perfectly normal for the heavy amount of pain killers that she is one. The positive thing is that she KNOWS she's hallucinating. So at least she doesn't think they are real.

After I read her the e-mails and she drank her breakfast I talked to the nurse and told her if they didn't wash her hair I was going to do it so her and I devised a plan. They have a special hair washing board that they use and so they found that and her other nurse came in and washed her hair.

It took quite a while and a lot of shampoo (I brought some good stuff) but he got her hair washed and conditioned and then she got a sponge bath, new sheets and a new gown. Then she asked me to clean out her nails so I did that and got them clipped and filed.

After her bath I got her hair all brushed out and we found a blow dryer and got her hair blow dried out a bit.

The doctor came by and said that there is too much fluid still draining today so she will have to keep her chest tube for another day. This means that she will have to stay in bed again today because they can't put the back brace on her until the tube is out.

After we got her fully beautified Tim's mom brought Landen over and right now they are having some family time, just the three of them. I think having Landen here will really help her spirits.

Over all I think she is having a pretty busy, but good day so far. She will need a nap this afternoon. :-)

July 10th, 9:00 AM

Just a quick update. I stopped by this morning and kicked my dad and Tim out. Lindsay and I are having some girl bonding time and I'm trying to get them to get me a board to wash her hair. She's much better managed for pain this morning but as a result of all the narcotics she is having some hallucinations when she closes her eyes so that is a bit interesting to talk to her.

I will update more when I get a minute but I must get back to her and our reading of your lovely blog comments. She closes her eyes a lot but she seems to be listening to all of them. :-)

So Close Yet So Far

8:17 pm

As I watched the clock click over to those magic numbers this evening my breath sort of caught in my chest. One week ago today at 8:17 pm my phone rang and my life as I know it changed. One week ago my baby sister, the one who I vowed to hate for ever but really will always love for all eternity almost died.

Even now, saying that out loud sounds unreal. Almost died? Really? Was she that close?

Yes... yes she really was.

Today has been a rough day for her. She wants things to move more quickly. She wants to be up and moving and walking and recovering because she hasn't looked back yet to see just how far she has come.

For me, as I was telling one of my co-workers today, she is a medical miracle. I want to run into her room and tell her, don't you know you are alive!! You lived and that, in and of it's self is something we didn't know if would happen last week.

But I can't. I have to understand that she is grieving too. She has lost a lot and endured a lot and for her, it all just started yesterday. We have had a week, she has had two days.

Yet still, I hope she can feel it. My love for her. Every one's love for her. We all know how far she has come. We measure her progress by the strides she has made, not by the ones she has left.

The past is gone, the future is uncertain but today is a gift. That's why they call it the present.

Hold on to your good times Lindsay. You were given the present of today. You will get through this!!

July 9th, 7:00 PM

This afternoon was not much better on Lindsay. She was still angry and frustrated this afternoon and really in a lot of pain.

She has requested that there are no visitors again tomorrow as she is hoping they will take her chest tube out tomorrow and get her back brace on and get her up and walking. If that happens she will be really tired from all of the moving around.

She is doing as well as to be expected and in the grand scheme of things exceptionally well considering the accident happened just one week ago but I'm sure it is frustrating for her to feel like she is standing still in her recovery process.

Please keep the good thoughts and prayers coming that she will have a much better day tomorrow.

July 9th, 1:00 PM

Today is a rough day. They were supposed to get Lindsay up today but that has been postponed until tomorrow. The doctor noticed what he thinks MIGHT be a hairline fracture in one of her vertebrae. Because of this he said he would feel more comfortable if she was in a back brace before they sit her up.

To be fitted properly for a back brace they need to pull her chest tube out and that will not happen until tomorrow so she is not happy about either one of those things. She also indicated to me that she was angry because they took away her basal level of morphine so now she will just get comfortable and get to sleep and she will start to hurt again. They offered her percocet or oxycontin but those are not quite the same.

When I got back from lunch there was a sign on her door requesting that no one enter the room unless they checked in with the nurse first. Mom just peeked her head in and asked Lindsay if she needed any help with lunch and the answer she was given was no, she just wanted to be left alone and do it herself.

So, that's what we are doing. I'm guessing that this minor setback is just irritating to her because she wants so badly to just get up and get going so she can get better. This is the only the first or second day that she has really been awake enough to process the accident and all that is going on so it is possible she just needs some alone time to be angry and frustrated and then she will be able to continue her improvement.

Speaking of improvement, on the improvement front they heard great bowel sounds this morning so we know that her internal organs are starting to wake up.

They also did have to give her an insulin shot this morning and when they checked her before lunch her level was 111 so they indicated that was much better.

As I imagined this day has been very hard for her and she will continue to have a struggle for as well as I know my sister, I can tell you it has got to be killing her to be lying in that bed unable to do anything proactive to get herself better.

Please keep the prayers and good vibes coming.

July 9th, 8:00 AM

Lindsay had a really long night. She was up a lot with pain and was very tired when I got there to see her this morning. The goal for today is still to get her up and moving around so she was trying to rest and I didn't say long.

Today will be the first day I will be back to work since all of this happened so the updates will probably be more like two to three times per day instead of four to six.

Our progress for the day is that she was able to move all four fingers on her left hand and up until this point she has not been able to move that hand at all. So the healing is happening, even if it is slow.

When I was there they took her blood sugar and it was 183. They said that was kind of on the high side so they may have to give her another insulin shot. They are hoping once they get her up and moving this morning that all of her organs will sort of wake up and begin functioning properly again.

At this point, her biggest hurdle is still getting all of her organs including her pancreas and bowels to wake up and begin functioning again. She is moving forward but she is not 100% out of the woods yet.

July 8th, 7:15 PM

Lindsay is in her room and getting settled. The idea is to get her up and walking tomorrow. So, because of how hard tomorrow is sure to be on her she has requested no visitors tomorrow and no phone calls either.

She has a LOT of work ahead of her to try to get all of her insides and outsides working again and tomorrow is going to be one of her toughest days on her physical therapy road. She anticipates that she will be really tired, hence the request for no visitors and phone calls.

I will let you know as much as I know tomorrow and certainly let you know as soon as she give the thumbs up for people to come see her.

Please keep the prayers coming. Tomorrow looks like it will be a challenging day for her.

July 8th, 4:15 PM

She has been moved. She is in Room N564 at Methodist Medical Center. I would guess that she will need her rest for this evening and possibly part of tomorrow but should be ok for visitors by tomorrow afternoon or Friday.

You might want to give a call to my mom, my dad, her or Tim's phone just to make sure.

As for cards, we are still having them sent to my parents house just for the ease of everything.

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. She still has a long road ahead of her but this is definitely a major hurdle that we have crossed today!!

July 8th, 3:15 PM

They are moving her to a room!!

We are packing up and my next post will be made from where ever we manage to move all of this junk to.

Anyone want to come help us move?? We've been here 6 days... we've got a lot of crap!!

Sisterly Love

"I need to ask you one more favor."

"Sure what is it?"

"I need you to scratch the top of my butt"

"You need me to do what??"

"I can't reach it with the arm that I have free or I would do it myself."

"Alright... where am I going? Let me get my hand under there."

"Up... over... up... right there...."

"Ok... I need to wash my hands now."

"Thank you..."

"Just remember.... you owe me!!"

July 8th, 1:30 PM

The Neurosurgeon stuck his head in for all of 2.5 seconds and just told Tim and the nurses that her MRI looked fine. Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am. So they are now working on getting her ready for transfer.

They took out her arterial line in her hand and were going to take out her central line later this afternoon. She is one step closer to being tube free.

She still has the chest tube and they said that she would until tomorrow at the earliest but seemed to indicate that there was no problem with her transferring with it in.

Her lunch came and she had some lovely apple flavored protein shake thing called Alive. She didn't quite say that it tasted bad she just told my mom she wanted to get it over with and she drank it all down. Then she had a glass of tea and some of her broth. I think she was just happy to be able to eat something on her own.

After lunch she was pretty wiped out so she pushed her button and was taking a nap when I came back out to the waiting room.

Overall this has been a very positive day for Lindsay and every hour is one hour closer to her getting better.

July 8th, 10:45 AM

Just spent a little over an hour back there with Lindsay. They put an IV in her hand in preparation to remove her central line.

Her feeding tube is out and she is ordering me around already. She asked for water to drink and when I brought it to her she ordered me to get ice because it wasn't cold enough.

They cleaned around her cath and when they were wiping her mouth later she looked at the nurse and said that isn't the same rag is it? :-)

We are still waiting on the MRI results so they can get her up and sit her in a chair. Looking at her scar from her sternum all the way down to her pelvis I'm assuming that she has little to no abdominal muscles left so sitting will be a challenge but I'm sure one she is up to.

She asked me to read her the cards and comments she has gotten so I'm going to get everything together this afternoon and take it in to her. Little does she know that with all the support she's gotten here and on facebook it may take me most of the afternoon to read it all to her.

July 8th, 9:30 AM

Tim just came out with an update.

The feeding tube is supposed to come out today. She has been tolerating feedings well so they did a swallow test and she passed it. Therefore they are going to take the tube out and let her try drinking her food.

She should be pretty happy about this because the feeding tube has been making her uncomfortable.

They are also talking about getting her up and letting her walk around today once the MRI results come back.

If all goes well it may be sooner, rather than later, that they decide to move her out of ICU.

Hopefully all of this is very positive news and one step closer to her getting fully recovered.

July 8th, 9:00 AM

Lindsay had a really good night. My mom said they gave her another nebulizer treatment at midnight and they were in most of the night rolling her, moving her, changing dressings, etc.

She did sit up for about 5 minutes per her request because she didn't want bed sores. This morning she does not remember anything from Thursday night to yesterday but she does remember that I was there yesterday and back again today.

She looks good, she is awake, although groggy from the morphine. They were going to apply this moisturizer stuff to her mouth and she told the nurse she hated it and just wanted to have water on a sponge.

So she got said water and said sponge and Lindsay's next words were can't you get me some cold water?

Demanding little shit isn't she??

It is so great to have her personality coming back and now our next step is just for them to keep watching her and make sure all of her internal organs wake back up and start functioning properly.

Once that happens hopefully they will be able to move her out of ICU and she can begin more of her recovery.

How Did It Happen?

Well, the long and short of it is I kind of know but I can't tell you. Don't you feel like you're in kindergarten again? Actually, for insurance reasons they want to make sure before I post anything here they have all of the details sorted out. Right now Lindsay's story is still a bit fuzzy from the morphine and her story and the trucker's story have a few differences they would like to try to clarify.

Here's what I can tell you:

Landen was in the warehouse and was never in any danger. When the trucker went to check on Lindsay he saw Landen and that's why he got him and was holding him when my parents arrived. Landen is fine and is right at this moment being spoiled and loved by his Grandma Jane.

Lindsay was crushed. This part of the story does not vary but from her injuries we already knew this anyway. The semi pinned her between the back of the semi and the loading dock. She is lucky to be alive.

At this point, the important part is that God is not finished with her yet and he saw fit to work through the paramedics and doctors to keep her alive and let her finish what great things he has planned for her.

The rest, is just details.

July 7th, 9:00 PM

Lindsay has slowly regained consciousness throughout the afternoon and by this evening was pretty aware of everything that was going on. She was able to explain to my parents how the accident happened and I think that kind of helped them to just know and now be able to move on.

She had her MRI tonight and all went well. All she had to say about it was that it was boring. They should give her the results tomorrow some time and once they know if her spine needs a brace or not I believe they will begin planning her move out of ICU.

She was able to ask Tim about Landen and talk about being upset about missing his first tooth.

She is tolerating her feedings well and so far they have not indicated there is a problem with any of her organs.

They did have to give her a shot of insulin today but they said that could have just been the shock from the accident and her pancreas may pickup the slack here once it starts to heal.

Other than that she had pushed her morphine button when I talked to Tim and asked him to let her know when 10 minutes was up so she could push it again and go to sleep.

Hopefully she will have a peaceful night tonight and be able to begin the long road of healing tomorrow.

Afternoon Conversations

"Where is Tim?"

"He's in the waiting room. Do you want us to go and get him?"

"No. Don't..... Let..... Him...... Go....... To...... A...... Cub's..... Game!!"

**********************
We told Tim this story.

"Honey!! Honey!! I went to the cub's game. It was AWESOME!!"

"SHUT UP!!"

***********************
"You know you are more important than the Cub's game."

"Just Checking."

*********************
"I love you honey!!"

She nodded.

"Can I get an I love you back?"

"It's hard."

"Well you can say everything else...."

"I...... love..... you............................. BACK!!"

July 7th, 3:00 PM

The orthopedic doctor was in. He took of the dressing and showed her the wound and did some testing of her arm. She had a bit of feeling in an area that was controlled by the radial nerve and he did a few tests on her fingers.

He thought the arm felt soft and he didn't feel any compartmentalizing of her wound so he said that was good. He said it will be at least three weeks before the can do any nerve testing.

Overall he thinks she will eventually regain full function of her arm but it will take awhile. Between healing and rehab it could be up to three months before it really starts to be back to normal.

Twitter Updates

Our cousin Cameron set up a twitter account that is tied to this blog.

For as much as I LOVE blogging and as much as I am addicted to it I'm not much of a twitter goo roo and have never gotten into it. So, you will have to take his word for it on how this works.

Every time I update this blog, a twitter notification will be posted at http://twitter.com/butchsfight

You can use this follow Lindsay's status on your twitter account, or have updates sent directly to your phone.

If you don't have a twitter account, go to http://twitter.com/ to sign up.

Once you've signed up, go to the URL at the top and click 'Follow'.

How to set up mobile alerts.

1. Go to https://twitter.com/devices. It has instructions on how to set up your phone to receive twitter updates.

2. Once your phone has been paired with your twitter account, turn 'Device updates' to 'On' and click 'Save'.

3. Return to http://twitter.com/butchsfight. If it says 'Device updates ON', that means you are set up to receive text messages on your phone every time Heather updates the blog.

4. If not, click where it says 'Device updates OFF'. In the options, under 'Device updates', click 'On'. You're now set to be notified when the blog updates.

July 7th, 1:30 PM

Lindsay had another nebulizer treatment at 12:30 and she tolerated it well. Thus far the orthopedic doctor has not been back yet and she is pretty concerned about it and keeps asking when he will be there. We are hoping it is soon.

The MRI is scheduled for a little after 5:00 but we may not know the results until sometime tomorrow.

They have also started feeding her today. They left the tube in that goes down her nose and into her stomach and they started giving her some liquid nutrients. So hopefully that will help her to gain some strength and after the MRI comes back they will be able to sit her up.

She has been on quite a bit of morphine so far 21.6 mg since they started her at 9:30 this morning so she has been pretty out of it.

Please keep your prayers coming. She is getting better, slowly but surely.

July 5th, 11:30 AM

The chest tube is in. The fluid that came was mucousy and just slightly bloody. They doctor was encouraged by that because he said it was a good sign that there was not more blood. Right now they are thinking that maybe when they pulled the first tube out they ripped off a scab and that is where the fluid came from.

They said if this is the case then the fluid they drained off will be all of it and then there will be no more drainage and they will be able to take the tube out in the next day or two.

We are still waiting for the orthopedic doctor and the MRI.

A Challenge

A lot of people have been asking what they can do or how they can help. We have lots of help but if you want to do something one of the readers suggested that everyone donate blood as they are able in Lindsay's honor.

As you may remember Lindsay has received over 50 units of blood in the last 5 days and somewhere, someone donated that to help save her.

So if you are able to, I think donating in her honor would be a wonderful way to give back.

July 7th, 9:00 AM

Well, Lindsay had her first setback today. Her left chest cavity has filled back up with fluid so they are going to have to re-insert her left chest tube. (In the words of Lindsay... aww SHIT!... at least the doctor knew she was in there and understood.) Her doctor was a little concerned about this only because he doesn't know why it happened.

He did an ultrasound of her chest and there are no additional injuries that he could find so his only guess was that the arteries around the broken ribs were bleeding and that the blood/fluid was from those. He said if it stops they will just wait and see and then they will take out the tube in another day or two.

If it doesn't stop they will have to do surgery to possibly cauterize the blood flow. So right now they are prepping her for the tube and then it will just be wait and see. While he was in there he also explained to her all of her injuries so she now knows about all the organ damage and the broken bones and she seemed to handle it well.

Her breathing is back down to a normal rate 18 - 20 respirations per minute and her heart rate is down to 120 this morning. They have removed her fentynol drip and put her exclusively on morphine. (Probably much to her dismay)

She is on a basal level of 2.5 mg per hour of morphine (the doctor ordered 4 but the nurse said that their pumps don't go that high so they will have to see about that). She also has a PCA (patient controlled analgesia) that she can push every 10 minutes.

The neurosurgeon also stopped in to check on her. He said he would like to get the MRI done today or tomorrow but he was not too worried about the results. He thinks the breaking of the transverse processes was from muscles pulling them away and not from crushing. He said as long as there is no tendon damage or additional injuries she will only have a back brace for comfort.

If there are any additional injuries that are shown then there may be surgery in her future but he said they did not think that was going to be the case.

She is just now waiting on the orthopedic doctor as she is pretty concerned about her arm and not being able to squeeze or lift her fingers. So he should be there sometime this morning to speak with her.

Right now she is resting comfortable. The pastor just came to visit her and he is going to go back and offer up a prayer and hopefully some comfort to her before they insert the chest tube again.

Hopefully this is just a minor bump in the road and she will continue to move steadily forward from here.

July 7th, 7:00 AM

Lindsay had a really long night last night. She was in a lot of pain and spent most of her night coughing up phlegm. My mom said that it started around midnight with her calling out for her and then about one they did another nebulizer treatment on her.

My mom said she was a champ through the whole thing. They put the little mat underneath of her and it pounded away and the whole time she didn't make a sound. She is conscious enough now that her doctor training has started to kick in. She knows what they are doing is to help her and she is letting them do it even though she doesn't like it.

After the nebulizer treatment she was up every 30 - 60 minutes with phlegm and coughing. My mom said she is so much herself now that at 2:30 she asked my mom what time it was and when she told her Lindsay's response was "Jesus Christ!!" As in how the hell is it only 2:30 when I've already been up this much. That's my Lindsay!! :-)

Her one major concern at this point is the fact that she can't focus in one of her eyes. They said that the pressure of being squeezed could have caused some temporary or permanent issues. They are going to raise the concerns with her doctor this morning and it could be as simple as just getting her glasses or more time to heal.

She is also now telling the doctors which drugs to use on her. She is monitoring her own morphine intake and limiting it to one hour. They discussed increasing it this morning and she told them in NO uncertain terms do NOT increase my morphine.

So they are talking about increasing her fentynol just slightly and she was ok with that.

One more thing, she did look at my mom last night and ask if this was because of the semi and my mom said yes. That is all that was said but it is apparent that she may remember something, we are just not sure how much and we don't want to push her about it right now.

Please keep your prayers coming for her to be able to control her pain and continue to recover day by day!!