In my wildest dreams I would never have imagined that I would be writing what I will write today. I thought Kelsi would eventually get there. I know Kelsi was blessed to make a complete recovery and much faith and prayer has gone into making this happen, but I keep thinking it's been extremely fast. It can't already be so close to done. Complete healing of the brain is supposed to take much longer. I am not the only one saying this. We just returned from our meeting with Dr. Jensen at the Univerity Hospital Neurology clinic. He reviewed the most recent CAT scans of Kelsi's brain and indicated that it shows no sign of any remaining damange to Kelsi's brain. The way he put it: "Her brain has completely healed". The rate at which Kelsi recovered is a surprise even to the experts. She has been off any medication for 3 weeks. She is cleared to do any normal activities, including drivers education. That one makes me nervous because I have already driven with my first 5 kids while they learned. That is nerve racking under any circumstances.
She still gets tired quicker than she normally did, but even that isn't far from where it was. Her eyes still have some small alignment problems. The doctors will give that more time since it still seems to be improving. The problem with her eyes can be corrected through surgery, but why do that if the problem will completely heal in a matter of months.
Kelsi is attending school part time now and she takes all but one of the remaining classes through home schooling. The school tested her learning level and indicated that she is learning at the 10th grade level - just where she is supposed to be. In January she is expected to return to school full time. She will have some make-up work to do to get full credit for her sophomore year, but that should all be completed before she starts her junior year.
If you met Kelsi today, unless you knew her before, you would find it pretty hard to tell that she suffered a recent brain injury. She is functioning almost at 100%. She even cried with real tears for the first time since the accident. The things that will still continue to improve over the next months are: body coordination, balance, stamina, eye coordination and fatigue.
Our family has witnessed a great miracle. The power of God has been manifested to us through this. So many peoples faith and prayers contributed to this. We thank you all.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday October 23, 2007
It has been some time since any entries have been made. When Kelsi first started to come out of her coma, huge changes happened every day. Now the changes are occurring much more slowly. In the last posting, 6 areas of incomplete recovery were listed. All of those areas have improved measurably:
1) The double vision is pretty much entirely healed. When Kelsi is very tired she still has some difficultly with vision, but she no longer calls it double vision. It is more of a blurred or tired vision that we all experience when very tired.
2) Small motor skills. Writing and walking are still the best measures of the small motor skills. When the last update was made, Kelsi was barely able to write anything that could be read. When she did write, it was limited to a few words. After that she was too tired to go on. Kelsi's father had an interesting answer to prayer a few weeks ago. He asked if he could be allowed to know how completely her handwriting would be healed over time. Seconds before waking he had a dream in which he saw Kelsi writing as he watched from behind. Her writing speed appeared to be as fast as anything she had ever done before. He was also able to see the quality of the writing where he noted that it was very good. He looked at samples of her handwriting from her journal and found that the quality and style of the writing in the dream was comparable to the journal entries written prior to the fall. That dream was several weeks ago. Since that time her writing has improved to nearly match her writing before the fall and the style matches her old handwriting. The quality is not quite as good. The small motor skills still need some more development, but they are getting close to where they used to be.
3) Muscles: Compared to the amount of exercise she gets, Kelsi's strength is progressing at the rate one would expect for the amount of degradation that occurred. Her physical recovery doesn't seem to be directly limited by brain control. Her exercise is limited more by fatigue. See the next item.
4) Tired: Kelsi seems to feel tired all day every day. She is awake nearly as many hours as she was before the fall, but she tires quickly whenever she tries to do physical or mental exercises. She is constantly improving, but this seems to be the area of slowest recovery and affects everything else she does.
5) Missing data: Still no notable loss of memory for things she knew before the fall. This is not likely to be a problem.
6) School: Kelsi is attending seminary at school and at home. Difficulties with scheduling have not allowed her to be able to do much home schooling through the high school. The teacher who is supposed to do the home schooling has had difficulties with her mother recovering from a heart attack. So far there has been only one visit and it was too late at night for Kelsi to do much.
Last fast Sunday Kelsi surprised us all as she stood and bore her testimony. She thanked everyone who has fasted and prayed for her and she bore her testimony of the healing she has experienced and of other gospel principles. It was a very emotional time for those who were in attendance.
Please feel free to comment on these postings if they are of value to you. As always, we thank you for your faith and prayers for Kelsi and other in need.
1) The double vision is pretty much entirely healed. When Kelsi is very tired she still has some difficultly with vision, but she no longer calls it double vision. It is more of a blurred or tired vision that we all experience when very tired.
2) Small motor skills. Writing and walking are still the best measures of the small motor skills. When the last update was made, Kelsi was barely able to write anything that could be read. When she did write, it was limited to a few words. After that she was too tired to go on. Kelsi's father had an interesting answer to prayer a few weeks ago. He asked if he could be allowed to know how completely her handwriting would be healed over time. Seconds before waking he had a dream in which he saw Kelsi writing as he watched from behind. Her writing speed appeared to be as fast as anything she had ever done before. He was also able to see the quality of the writing where he noted that it was very good. He looked at samples of her handwriting from her journal and found that the quality and style of the writing in the dream was comparable to the journal entries written prior to the fall. That dream was several weeks ago. Since that time her writing has improved to nearly match her writing before the fall and the style matches her old handwriting. The quality is not quite as good. The small motor skills still need some more development, but they are getting close to where they used to be.
3) Muscles: Compared to the amount of exercise she gets, Kelsi's strength is progressing at the rate one would expect for the amount of degradation that occurred. Her physical recovery doesn't seem to be directly limited by brain control. Her exercise is limited more by fatigue. See the next item.
4) Tired: Kelsi seems to feel tired all day every day. She is awake nearly as many hours as she was before the fall, but she tires quickly whenever she tries to do physical or mental exercises. She is constantly improving, but this seems to be the area of slowest recovery and affects everything else she does.
5) Missing data: Still no notable loss of memory for things she knew before the fall. This is not likely to be a problem.
6) School: Kelsi is attending seminary at school and at home. Difficulties with scheduling have not allowed her to be able to do much home schooling through the high school. The teacher who is supposed to do the home schooling has had difficulties with her mother recovering from a heart attack. So far there has been only one visit and it was too late at night for Kelsi to do much.
Last fast Sunday Kelsi surprised us all as she stood and bore her testimony. She thanked everyone who has fasted and prayed for her and she bore her testimony of the healing she has experienced and of other gospel principles. It was a very emotional time for those who were in attendance.
Please feel free to comment on these postings if they are of value to you. As always, we thank you for your faith and prayers for Kelsi and other in need.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Sunday September 30, 2007
It has been a whole week since the last posting. Progress has been great. Each day Kelsi progresses toward resuming where she left off before the accident.
The last posting listed 6 areas where recovery was incomplete. Progress has been made in all areas:
1) Double Vision: Last week Kelsi had double vision nearly all day everyday. Now she is seeing normal each day and for increasing amounts of time. We expect that this problem will be completely gone in just a few weeks except possibly when she gets excessively tired.
2) Small motor skills: Kelsi's writing and walking both continue to improve. We expect it will be many months before the recovery is complete.
3) Muscles: Yesterday Kelsi walked for 15 minutes in 5 sets of 3 minutes on the elliptical. This is an improvement of her previous best of about 12 minutes. She also had a chance to lift weights this week. Full recovery will take many months.
4) Tired: Kelsi's days are now getting to be 12~14 hours of time awake with much of that time still being very tired. Again months to recover.
5) Missing data: There are no known large missing memories. Much of the small stuff that seemed to be missing now seems to have been due more to fatigue. This area may already be okay and just waiting for the "tired" to go away.
6) School: Kelsi will start with home-bound schooling where she will receive the same assignments as her class at school, but only start out with 2 classes: math and English. She will be graded pass/fail until she can compete at her grade level, then she will change back to letter grades. The school will work with Kelsi to help her to catch up with the time that is lost in an attempt to allow her to catch up with her classmates over time. The current goal is to have Kelsi attend 1 to 2 classes at school starting in about 6 weeks.
We strongly believe that as you continue to pray with us for Kelsi, she will continue to make progress at an accelerated rate. We thank you for yours faith and prayers.
The last posting listed 6 areas where recovery was incomplete. Progress has been made in all areas:
1) Double Vision: Last week Kelsi had double vision nearly all day everyday. Now she is seeing normal each day and for increasing amounts of time. We expect that this problem will be completely gone in just a few weeks except possibly when she gets excessively tired.
2) Small motor skills: Kelsi's writing and walking both continue to improve. We expect it will be many months before the recovery is complete.
3) Muscles: Yesterday Kelsi walked for 15 minutes in 5 sets of 3 minutes on the elliptical. This is an improvement of her previous best of about 12 minutes. She also had a chance to lift weights this week. Full recovery will take many months.
4) Tired: Kelsi's days are now getting to be 12~14 hours of time awake with much of that time still being very tired. Again months to recover.
5) Missing data: There are no known large missing memories. Much of the small stuff that seemed to be missing now seems to have been due more to fatigue. This area may already be okay and just waiting for the "tired" to go away.
6) School: Kelsi will start with home-bound schooling where she will receive the same assignments as her class at school, but only start out with 2 classes: math and English. She will be graded pass/fail until she can compete at her grade level, then she will change back to letter grades. The school will work with Kelsi to help her to catch up with the time that is lost in an attempt to allow her to catch up with her classmates over time. The current goal is to have Kelsi attend 1 to 2 classes at school starting in about 6 weeks.
We strongly believe that as you continue to pray with us for Kelsi, she will continue to make progress at an accelerated rate. We thank you for yours faith and prayers.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Saturday September 22, 2007
Kelsi completed her first full 24 hour day at home yesterday. She is very happy to be back with family and friends and even happier to be out of the limited world of living in a hospital room. She went to her sister's track meet, celebrated her youngest brother's birthday, visited with friends that dropped by, played some games and did some therapeutic exercises designed to overcome the challenges she still faces.
Kelsi's parents have discussed the continuation of daily updates to this blog and have determined that trying to keep daily updates of her progress is not really useful or practical since the remaining recovery will take months. Updates will be done as significant events occur or milestones are met, rather than on a daily basis. In general, the following is a summary of what needs to happen before Kelsi has completely recovered:
1) Double Vision must go away. This already goes away at times. This affects her walking, reading and generally anything else that you use your eyes for. The doctor indicated that this problem should go away on its own, but that it could be surgically repaired if is doesn't.
2) Small motor skills must be refined. This affects her walking, writing and anything that takes small muscle movements. This has rapidly improved and should continue to do so.
3) Muscles must get stronger. Living in a hospital room for 51 days causes the muscles to become weak. It will take weeks or months for them to return to full strength.
4) Kelsi's days will become longer. Right now her brain requires more sleep to continue to recover. She will gradually recover to the point that she needs the same amount of sleep as everyone else. Until then, when she gets tired, she will need to take a nap.
5) Kelsi must relearn some of the things that were forgotten as a result of the brain injury. These don't appear to be big blocks of data, just small things that are observed as she goes about her regular day.
6) Kelsi will be integrated back into the school system. This will not happen all at once. She will start out slowly and build up until she is attending the regular school day.
Kelsi's story is like a really good book. A tragedy happened, conflicts occurred and the the good guys won. Unlike fiction, the real live miracle happened and it doesn't just end with "and they all lived happily ever after".
This blog was started to help all who have fasted and prayed for Kelsi to have a place to track her progress and to share in the miracle of her recovery. Where Kelsi is home and can meet with those closest to her, this blog is probably not as useful as it was when she was in the hospital. Those who are more distant, who are following her progress, praying for her and are interested in the progress of the milestones listed above, are invited to comment on this blog so that we know how useful it is and can determine how best to proceed.
Thanks again for your prayers of faith.
Kelsi's parents have discussed the continuation of daily updates to this blog and have determined that trying to keep daily updates of her progress is not really useful or practical since the remaining recovery will take months. Updates will be done as significant events occur or milestones are met, rather than on a daily basis. In general, the following is a summary of what needs to happen before Kelsi has completely recovered:
1) Double Vision must go away. This already goes away at times. This affects her walking, reading and generally anything else that you use your eyes for. The doctor indicated that this problem should go away on its own, but that it could be surgically repaired if is doesn't.
2) Small motor skills must be refined. This affects her walking, writing and anything that takes small muscle movements. This has rapidly improved and should continue to do so.
3) Muscles must get stronger. Living in a hospital room for 51 days causes the muscles to become weak. It will take weeks or months for them to return to full strength.
4) Kelsi's days will become longer. Right now her brain requires more sleep to continue to recover. She will gradually recover to the point that she needs the same amount of sleep as everyone else. Until then, when she gets tired, she will need to take a nap.
5) Kelsi must relearn some of the things that were forgotten as a result of the brain injury. These don't appear to be big blocks of data, just small things that are observed as she goes about her regular day.
6) Kelsi will be integrated back into the school system. This will not happen all at once. She will start out slowly and build up until she is attending the regular school day.
Kelsi's story is like a really good book. A tragedy happened, conflicts occurred and the the good guys won. Unlike fiction, the real live miracle happened and it doesn't just end with "and they all lived happily ever after".
This blog was started to help all who have fasted and prayed for Kelsi to have a place to track her progress and to share in the miracle of her recovery. Where Kelsi is home and can meet with those closest to her, this blog is probably not as useful as it was when she was in the hospital. Those who are more distant, who are following her progress, praying for her and are interested in the progress of the milestones listed above, are invited to comment on this blog so that we know how useful it is and can determine how best to proceed.
Thanks again for your prayers of faith.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Thursday September 20, 2007
This evening Kelsi wanted to go on a walk with her Dad. Dad asked her if she wanted to go outside. She did. As they walked toward the setting sun, Kelsi found the light extremely bright for her still dialated eyes. She closed her eyes as she walked and said, "Dad, you need to pretend you are walking with a blind person." Dad guided her past any troublespots as they walked completely around the west side of the hospital as well as through the Moran Eye Center, an adjacent hospital. The walk was long and they had to stop, sit and rest periodically. Kelsi became aware of how weak her legs felt after laying on her back in bed for most of the past 7 weeks. Physical therapy has done a great deal of help, but to get all of her strength back will take much more time and effort. She commented a couple of times on how she walks funny. She also commented that her voice sounds funny too. Dad told her that the fact that she can hear and feel the differences from her past abilities are helping her brain to restore them. Kelsi called her Mom a couple times just to be sure she got home safe. The concern she has always shown for others has returned. Dad was able to explain to Kelsi that prior to her accident she was a very righteous and faithful person and that our Heavenly Father has blessed her faithfulness by quickly healing her. Conversations with Kelsi have been very close to the conversations of the past as a big part of her ability to understand is now returning. Throughout the day Kelsi has wanted to know all of the details about what those who were surrounding her did as they waited for Life Flight.
Tomorrow evening Kelsi will come home. Those who know her will note many things that still need a lot of time to get better. She will be very tired. The time that people can visit her will need to be limited so she continues to get the rest she needs. It will be some time before she can attend school, but she will slowly be able to get back. No one who hasn't had a similar experience can fully understand the level of effort Kelsi has put out to get better. Anyone who really knows Kelsi, knows how hard she will continue to work to fully recover. All who have faithfully fasted and prayed for Kelsi should be able to see the hand of the Lord in healing her. Many have prayed for Kelsi. We thank you for that. Please continue your prayers as she re-enters the real world.
Tomorrow evening Kelsi will come home. Those who know her will note many things that still need a lot of time to get better. She will be very tired. The time that people can visit her will need to be limited so she continues to get the rest she needs. It will be some time before she can attend school, but she will slowly be able to get back. No one who hasn't had a similar experience can fully understand the level of effort Kelsi has put out to get better. Anyone who really knows Kelsi, knows how hard she will continue to work to fully recover. All who have faithfully fasted and prayed for Kelsi should be able to see the hand of the Lord in healing her. Many have prayed for Kelsi. We thank you for that. Please continue your prayers as she re-enters the real world.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
September 19, 2007
Today Kelsi had her dream lunch! Several weeks ago her therapists told her that they would take her to Cafe Rio when she could talk loud enough for them to hear her order. Today we went! She was so excited! We were a little concerned whether the noise and crowd would be too much stimulation but she did great!
She used scissors for the first time today, since her fall. It is amazing to us as her parents to see her struggle at things we all take for granted.
When Mom got home tonight she was very surprised when she answered her cell phone to find Kelsi on the other end. She was bored and wanted to talk. She called all by herself without any help from the nurses.
Whenever anyone asks her what she is most excited about as far as going home goes, she says, "My little brothers." That made them feel special. She always has had a great love for those little guys! Of course, her answer may vary depending on what she is thinking about at the time.
Today was a very long, long day. She is definitely getting hospitalitis. (we all are) She was in and out of her bed constantly. She would just walk around her room bored out of her mind!
We sure appreciate all of you who have kept up on Kelsi's progress each day! There are so many people who love her! She (and us) is so grateful to each of you and all you have done for her.
She used scissors for the first time today, since her fall. It is amazing to us as her parents to see her struggle at things we all take for granted.
When Mom got home tonight she was very surprised when she answered her cell phone to find Kelsi on the other end. She was bored and wanted to talk. She called all by herself without any help from the nurses.
Whenever anyone asks her what she is most excited about as far as going home goes, she says, "My little brothers." That made them feel special. She always has had a great love for those little guys! Of course, her answer may vary depending on what she is thinking about at the time.
Today was a very long, long day. She is definitely getting hospitalitis. (we all are) She was in and out of her bed constantly. She would just walk around her room bored out of her mind!
We sure appreciate all of you who have kept up on Kelsi's progress each day! There are so many people who love her! She (and us) is so grateful to each of you and all you have done for her.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Tuesday September 18, 2007
The doctors and therapists met today and decided that although Kelsi may be ready to go home this week, they felt that because she was still making such tremendous progress, it would be best to give her another week of therapy in the hospital. They discussed their ideas with Kelsi's parents, strongly advising that another week of therapy would be good for Kelsi, but gave them the choice to make the final decision. Kelsi seemed to be sleeping during the conversation, but when the medical staff left, she sat up in bed and gave her opinion on the decision to be made. Her parents weren't quite sure if she had really understood what went on in the conversation. She made it clear that she had by repeating key parts. She said that she wants to go home this Friday. On September 11 the medical staff made a poster with 12 goals that they felt Kelsi should meet before she was ready to go home. Kelsi and the medical staff agreed that the goals would be the criteria for going home. Kelsi's parents considered those goals. She has met them all. She worked very hard to accomplish each of them. Now, after she had already done her part, they wanted to raise the bar! Kelsi's parents decided that the 12 goals were a contract with Kelsi. To change that now was not fair or honest. They quickly decided that Kelsi goes home on Friday. Certainly Kelsi could make a lot of progress if left in the hospital for many more weeks, but what would that teach her about setting and achieving worthy goals?
Kelsi is doing awesome in her progress. One could not pray for much better success on her part. Once the decision was made for her to go this week, the medical staff invited her to a small celebration for all those who are returning home this week. The first to leave was a 7 year old that had been seriously hurt in a car accident. Another that was hurt on a 4-wheeler leaves tomorrow. This is an incredible week for many of the patients who have suffered under similar circumstances. The child that was mentioned previously in this blog series, and that some of you may be praying for, leaves tomorrow too. Your faith and prayers have been heard and answered. Thanks for all the love and faith you have given to Kelsi. Please continue to pray for her. She may be home soon, but the road to a complete recovery and the integration back into school is long. She will need all the help she can get.
For those of you who are anxiously awaiting her return - get ready - she's coming home!
Kelsi is doing awesome in her progress. One could not pray for much better success on her part. Once the decision was made for her to go this week, the medical staff invited her to a small celebration for all those who are returning home this week. The first to leave was a 7 year old that had been seriously hurt in a car accident. Another that was hurt on a 4-wheeler leaves tomorrow. This is an incredible week for many of the patients who have suffered under similar circumstances. The child that was mentioned previously in this blog series, and that some of you may be praying for, leaves tomorrow too. Your faith and prayers have been heard and answered. Thanks for all the love and faith you have given to Kelsi. Please continue to pray for her. She may be home soon, but the road to a complete recovery and the integration back into school is long. She will need all the help she can get.
For those of you who are anxiously awaiting her return - get ready - she's coming home!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Monday September 17, 2007
Kelsi's handwriting is getting better. You can actually read it. That may not sound like much, but it used to be hard for her to even hold the marker. She went 2 MPH on the treadmill for 11 to 12 minutes. She has improved even more in all areas of her therapy. She had a visit from her 6th grade teacher today. Her teacher just found out about her accident today. She was so concerned that she was in tears. She was so happy to see her.
Kelsi wants to say something now ...
Hey kids, I haved been in the hospital for way too long. I want to go home soon. Thanks for all of your prayers. Thanks for coming to see me. Speech therapy is boring. If you tell my speech therapist I said that - you are in trouble. My favorite is occupational therapy and physical therapy. I better go.
I love you,
Kelsi
Kelsi wants to say something now ...
Hey kids, I haved been in the hospital for way too long. I want to go home soon. Thanks for all of your prayers. Thanks for coming to see me. Speech therapy is boring. If you tell my speech therapist I said that - you are in trouble. My favorite is occupational therapy and physical therapy. I better go.
I love you,
Kelsi
Sunday, September 16, 2007
September 16, 2007
Kelsi had a blast spending the day at home today. She attended young women and sacrament meeting. She had a total of 22 visitors come to the house after church before she headed back to the hospital. She was very sad to have to go back, but she also understands that she must do this for now.
She has been walking all over the place. Her wheelchair never left the car. She loves being home and can't wait until she can stay.
Last night we were told that on Tuesday the team of doctors, therapists and nurses will choose a discharge date for her to look forward to. They will make her a countdown calendar to mark the days. We can hardly wait to hear what day it will be.
While reading from the Book of Mormon tonight as a family, we were reading from Moroni chapter 7. We really enjoyed the part where Mormon was talking about faith and miracles. If you haven't read this lately, read it. We have personally seen the miracles brought forth by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only the faith of Kelsi and our family, but also the faith of so many friends and family around the world. Thank you so much for joining us in prayer and fasting and faith over the last 46 days. You have all been part of this miracle! We realize that she still has a long road ahead before she is fully recovered but the progress she has made is overwhelming! Thank you!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Saturday September 15, 2007
Today started out pretty good for Kelsi. She went about her usual morning routine, but when the speech therapist came to get her, a scary mishaps occurred. She started to move from her bed to the wheel chair and her foot slipped on the floor. Her Dad was on the wrong side of the wheel chair to get to her and she fell, striking the right cheek of her face on the floor. Although she fell only a short distance and mostly caught herself on her hands, the floor is very hard and the impact gave her a small headache and a red spot on the part of her face that covers her cheek bone. Needless to say it scared everyone a great deal. Dad feels really bad because he had gotten a little slack in his job of watching over her. He had seen so much success that this little slip came as a real surprise. Kelsi is the one that is supposed to be overconfident. Dad is happy that she was over it fairly quick. A couple hours later the red mark on the cheek had faded away as had the headache.
Speech therapy went the best it has ever gone today (immediately after her fall). She did reading, writing and problem solving so much better than previous days. We even remarked that the little bump on the face may have woke up some still sleepy parts of her brain. Everything she did in therapy session was a step forward.
Her spirits were up because today she had a ride pass to go home and to go see the Harry Potter movie at the theater.
Once home she joined in with the family enjoying every moment of her evening stay. The movie went fairly good. She did need to doze a few times to get through it. She still has a ways to go before she can sit through a full length movie. Yeah for the DVD/VCR. When she gets home she can stop the movie when she is tired.
After the movie the family went home and enjoyed her company. She caught a few well deserved Z's and then it was time to go back to the hospital. She was a little sad that she had to go back, but it is only for the night. She gets to return in the morning to attend church, have dinner with the family and rest at home before returning to the hospital.
Speech therapy went the best it has ever gone today (immediately after her fall). She did reading, writing and problem solving so much better than previous days. We even remarked that the little bump on the face may have woke up some still sleepy parts of her brain. Everything she did in therapy session was a step forward.
Her spirits were up because today she had a ride pass to go home and to go see the Harry Potter movie at the theater.
Once home she joined in with the family enjoying every moment of her evening stay. The movie went fairly good. She did need to doze a few times to get through it. She still has a ways to go before she can sit through a full length movie. Yeah for the DVD/VCR. When she gets home she can stop the movie when she is tired.
After the movie the family went home and enjoyed her company. She caught a few well deserved Z's and then it was time to go back to the hospital. She was a little sad that she had to go back, but it is only for the night. She gets to return in the morning to attend church, have dinner with the family and rest at home before returning to the hospital.
Friday, September 14, 2007
September 14, 2007
Today was a frustrating day for Kelsi at times. In speech therapy she was working on handwriting. After awhile she said, "this is crap!" (I'm not used to that coming out of her) I said, "what is?" She told me how crappy her writing was. We then went on to discuss what her handwriting was like before the accident compared to now. She was very discouraged. We had to keep reminding her that with lots of practice and more time she will be able to be back to where she was before the accident.
She had to change rooms today also because they are closing the hall she was in to do some construction. She was moved to "B" pod. This was confusing to her because it wasn't "her" hospital room. Within a day or two she should be used to the new room.
We took her over to the University Hospital hoping to catch some of the doctors and nurses from Neuro Critical Care. We were in luck. When we walked in the door the head neurosurgeon spotted us and came running out of the room she was in. She was so excited to see Kelsi. She hadn't seen her since she left ICU. Kelsi couldn't even lift her head off the pillow then. Kelsi stood up out of her wheelchair and took some steps toward the doctor. She also spoke to her. Some of the other doctors and nurses who helped Kelsi through her most critical time were also there. They were so excited to see the progress she is making. They were so appreciative that we brought her over there. They said they don't get to see that very often. Kelsi was able to verbally tell them thank you and it made their day.
Each of you help make our days brighter because of your continued love and support! Thank you!
Kelsi's evening improved greatly from the rougher than usual morning. With her arm holding her Dad's, they were able to go for several walks around the hospital. On the longest of the walks, Kelsi used her Dad's arm for stability and walked from her room, to the stair case near the elevators. With only the help of the hand rails on the stairs, Kelsi climbed from the 2nd to the 3rd floor. Dad and Kelsi walked together and sat on a couch near the 3 computers that her parents have often used to enter data to this blog. After a short rest, she made the return trip and decended the stairs with only the help of the hand rails. When she got closer to her room she was breathing harder and exhaused. Not long after that they were able to take yet another short stroll. Kelsi's Dad feels that the moments they are spending together during her recovery are some of the most cherished moments a parent could ever spend with a child. He thanks the Lord for the blessings he is receiving during Kelsi's recovery. Her Mom shares those sentiments as well.
She had to change rooms today also because they are closing the hall she was in to do some construction. She was moved to "B" pod. This was confusing to her because it wasn't "her" hospital room. Within a day or two she should be used to the new room.
We took her over to the University Hospital hoping to catch some of the doctors and nurses from Neuro Critical Care. We were in luck. When we walked in the door the head neurosurgeon spotted us and came running out of the room she was in. She was so excited to see Kelsi. She hadn't seen her since she left ICU. Kelsi couldn't even lift her head off the pillow then. Kelsi stood up out of her wheelchair and took some steps toward the doctor. She also spoke to her. Some of the other doctors and nurses who helped Kelsi through her most critical time were also there. They were so excited to see the progress she is making. They were so appreciative that we brought her over there. They said they don't get to see that very often. Kelsi was able to verbally tell them thank you and it made their day.
Each of you help make our days brighter because of your continued love and support! Thank you!
Kelsi's evening improved greatly from the rougher than usual morning. With her arm holding her Dad's, they were able to go for several walks around the hospital. On the longest of the walks, Kelsi used her Dad's arm for stability and walked from her room, to the stair case near the elevators. With only the help of the hand rails on the stairs, Kelsi climbed from the 2nd to the 3rd floor. Dad and Kelsi walked together and sat on a couch near the 3 computers that her parents have often used to enter data to this blog. After a short rest, she made the return trip and decended the stairs with only the help of the hand rails. When she got closer to her room she was breathing harder and exhaused. Not long after that they were able to take yet another short stroll. Kelsi's Dad feels that the moments they are spending together during her recovery are some of the most cherished moments a parent could ever spend with a child. He thanks the Lord for the blessings he is receiving during Kelsi's recovery. Her Mom shares those sentiments as well.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
September 13, 2007
Kelsi had another good day! Her highlight was visits from some good friends! That always makes her day. My highlight was to get her laughing so hard she finally said, "stop, mom!" She is looking forward to the weekend. She decided she wants to go see the new Harry Potter movie on Saturday. She wanted to see this movie when it first came out but we didn't make it before her accident. We will then spend some time at our house. Sunday she wants to try to attend Young Women and Sacrament meeting. We will spend time at our house after church too. Kelsi feels that she is up to having more visitors than last weekend. So, if you would like to visit her at our home this weekend, feel welcome. It would be easier for you than coming clear up to the hospital. Call first to be sure we are there! We love all of you and appreciate each and every one!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
September 12, 2007
Kelsi has remembered to use her voice all day today. I haven't heard one whisper. A couple weeks ago 2 of her therapists asked her where her favorite place to eat was. She said it was Cafe Rio. They made a deal with her that when she could talk loud enough for them to hear her order, they would take her there for lunch. Today they said that it looks like that lunch date is getting close.
she's doing awesome.
Tonight the charge nurse told Randy that they think Kelsi may be able to go home next week. We are hoping that will happen!!
Kelsi was taking a nap this afternoon when all of the sudden, she sat up and said, "I think it's so dumb." I asked her what was dumb. She said, "I think it's so dumb that they won't let me go to Young Women tonight." I thought that was pretty funny because I didn't know she even realized Young Women was tonight. She then went on to talk about how long it had been since she had attended young women. I told her that if the doctors approved, I would take her to her young women class on Sunday and also Sacrament meeting. She was excited about that.
Several people have asked us if there is something in particular, or specific they could pray for at this point. We are praying that her eyes will continue to heal. They need to become stronger and start working together better. Thank you so much for asking and wanting to continue praying for her!
she's doing awesome.
Tonight the charge nurse told Randy that they think Kelsi may be able to go home next week. We are hoping that will happen!!
Kelsi was taking a nap this afternoon when all of the sudden, she sat up and said, "I think it's so dumb." I asked her what was dumb. She said, "I think it's so dumb that they won't let me go to Young Women tonight." I thought that was pretty funny because I didn't know she even realized Young Women was tonight. She then went on to talk about how long it had been since she had attended young women. I told her that if the doctors approved, I would take her to her young women class on Sunday and also Sacrament meeting. She was excited about that.
Several people have asked us if there is something in particular, or specific they could pray for at this point. We are praying that her eyes will continue to heal. They need to become stronger and start working together better. Thank you so much for asking and wanting to continue praying for her!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
September 11, 2007
When we looked over Kelsi's MRI results we said, "It's all Greek to me." We were told it's actually Latin. When we asked for it in English we were shown all of the pictures and the different areas of the brain which are damaged. There are small bleeds and tears throughout. There is one larger area in the right front lobe. The medical team was very positive and pleased with the results. They said that none of the damage is large enough to cause big problems. They expect a full recovery in time. The larger area in the front right lobe is where the personality is stored. They said even though it is larger than the other damaged areas it is not large enough to change her personality. It was very good news.
She walked all the way across the rehab gym and back today by herself with no assistance. She also did the treadmill without the harness. She was totally on her own and at a faster rate than before.
One of the greatest things today is that Kelsi finally turned her voice on. She is not whispering any more. It was kind of funny. She told her sister that she whispers because she's lazy and because her therapists let her get away with it. She told her coach it was because her voice was scratchy. Well, today I told on her so her therapists and I decided we would tickle her everytime she whispered. (she hates being tickled more than anything) It worked!!
She now has a poster hanging on her wall with all the goals she has to meet before she can come home. They think it will take appoximately 2 weeks for her to meet these goals.
We are so thrilled with her progress! Thanks to her determination and strong will and to each of you for your faith and prayers.
She walked all the way across the rehab gym and back today by herself with no assistance. She also did the treadmill without the harness. She was totally on her own and at a faster rate than before.
One of the greatest things today is that Kelsi finally turned her voice on. She is not whispering any more. It was kind of funny. She told her sister that she whispers because she's lazy and because her therapists let her get away with it. She told her coach it was because her voice was scratchy. Well, today I told on her so her therapists and I decided we would tickle her everytime she whispered. (she hates being tickled more than anything) It worked!!
She now has a poster hanging on her wall with all the goals she has to meet before she can come home. They think it will take appoximately 2 weeks for her to meet these goals.
We are so thrilled with her progress! Thanks to her determination and strong will and to each of you for your faith and prayers.
Monday, September 10, 2007
September 10, 2007
Today Kelsi had an MRI. We will get the results tomorrow morning. Because of this procedure she only had 2 hours of therapy in the morning. After the MRI she was pretty much wiped out for the rest of the day. Because you have to hold totally still for 45 minutes they used general anesthesia. There is no way she could hold perfectly still that long.
She is doing well and is getting hooked on cheesecake. I told her to enjoy it because she won't be getting that every day when she gets home.
One of her cross country coaches came to see her today and Kelsi told her the reason she doesn't like to talk is because she doesn't like the way her voice sounds. She said it sounds scratchy. So, now we know why she keeps whispering. She had been telling us she whispers because she likes to be lazy. Yeah, right! Kelsi lazy? She definitely can turn on her voice when she wants to though. Many of you have seen that. She is still seeing double and we are praying for that to soon go away. Today she told me that it is so slow to get better. I'm sure she doesn't realize or understand how slow this type of injury is to heal and she is actually healing very quickly.
Thank you for all of your love and prayers!
She is doing well and is getting hooked on cheesecake. I told her to enjoy it because she won't be getting that every day when she gets home.
One of her cross country coaches came to see her today and Kelsi told her the reason she doesn't like to talk is because she doesn't like the way her voice sounds. She said it sounds scratchy. So, now we know why she keeps whispering. She had been telling us she whispers because she likes to be lazy. Yeah, right! Kelsi lazy? She definitely can turn on her voice when she wants to though. Many of you have seen that. She is still seeing double and we are praying for that to soon go away. Today she told me that it is so slow to get better. I'm sure she doesn't realize or understand how slow this type of injury is to heal and she is actually healing very quickly.
Thank you for all of your love and prayers!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
September 9, 2007
As many of you know, Kelsi was able to attend Sacrament meeting in our ward today. She was very excited about it. I was afraid she would only make it half way through. She made it the entire 70 minutes. I apologize to those of you who wanted to talk to Kelsi afterwards. We needed to slip out during the closing song because too much stimulation makes her agitated right now. She told me later that too many people at once makes her nervous. That's the way she described it to me. It won't be long before it will not bother her and you can all visit with her. It just takes more healing before she will reach that stage.
She had a great time at home after church. We kept her a few more hours and then took her back.
While she was home she stood up from the couch where she was sitting, walked 4 steps, turned around and walked back to the couch, turned back around and sat down all on her own without anyone touching her. This is a HUGE milestone. Those were her first steps alone since her fall.
She now remembers going on the hike at camp. I asked her if she remembers the big beautiful tree Sister Mason showed us on our way up the hike. She did. She told me it was really big. I told her that was the tree she fell from. She was really surprised. She doesn't remember climbing it or falling. In fact, she told me she doesn't want to remember falling because it would be scary. I don't want her to either.
It was fun for us to bring Kelsi to church so you can see the power of fasting and prayer! Thank you so much and please continue to pray for her continued progess.
She had a great time at home after church. We kept her a few more hours and then took her back.
While she was home she stood up from the couch where she was sitting, walked 4 steps, turned around and walked back to the couch, turned back around and sat down all on her own without anyone touching her. This is a HUGE milestone. Those were her first steps alone since her fall.
She now remembers going on the hike at camp. I asked her if she remembers the big beautiful tree Sister Mason showed us on our way up the hike. She did. She told me it was really big. I told her that was the tree she fell from. She was really surprised. She doesn't remember climbing it or falling. In fact, she told me she doesn't want to remember falling because it would be scary. I don't want her to either.
It was fun for us to bring Kelsi to church so you can see the power of fasting and prayer! Thank you so much and please continue to pray for her continued progess.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
September 8, 2007
Wow, where to begin? The day started out with the doctor saying that Kelsi's feeding tube can be removed! They didn't have to tell her twice! She grabbed a hold and pulled it out as fast as she could. She was so excited to finally be totally tube free. She is eating and drinking well enough on her own now.
She was able to have a "ride pass" today. We felt like we were checking a book out of the library. Kelsi chose to go to Temple Square. It was a beautiful day. She said the sun was very bright. The thought hadn't even crossed our minds that she had been in for over 5 weeks. We should have brought her some sunglasses. She wanted to touch the temple and to see the Christus. We also walked around to see the gardens. She enjoyed it very much and said it was nice to get out. She tired quite easily so we didn't stay too long.
She had many visitors this evening. She enjoyed it so much and was so excited. She used her voice more tonight than she has yet. By the end of the evening she was back to whispering because she was so tired. She wanted to sleep but she told me it is rude to sleep when there are visitors and also that it would be embarrassing because she is a loud sleeper. I told her I didn't think she was a loud sleeper anymore because I haven't heard a peep out of her and I am there a lot when she is sleeping.
She had fun trying to figure out her cell phone again. She could pull up the contact she wanted to text and then she would ask us to text what she said. She's anxious to get her fingers working well enough so she can do it on her own. It will come. She's getting mover coordinated and stronger every day.
She is really excited for tomorrow. She gets another ride pass and she chose to attend her own sacrament meeting. I don't know if she will make it through the entire meeting. We will see! Thank you for your continued support!
She was able to have a "ride pass" today. We felt like we were checking a book out of the library. Kelsi chose to go to Temple Square. It was a beautiful day. She said the sun was very bright. The thought hadn't even crossed our minds that she had been in for over 5 weeks. We should have brought her some sunglasses. She wanted to touch the temple and to see the Christus. We also walked around to see the gardens. She enjoyed it very much and said it was nice to get out. She tired quite easily so we didn't stay too long.
She had many visitors this evening. She enjoyed it so much and was so excited. She used her voice more tonight than she has yet. By the end of the evening she was back to whispering because she was so tired. She wanted to sleep but she told me it is rude to sleep when there are visitors and also that it would be embarrassing because she is a loud sleeper. I told her I didn't think she was a loud sleeper anymore because I haven't heard a peep out of her and I am there a lot when she is sleeping.
She had fun trying to figure out her cell phone again. She could pull up the contact she wanted to text and then she would ask us to text what she said. She's anxious to get her fingers working well enough so she can do it on her own. It will come. She's getting mover coordinated and stronger every day.
She is really excited for tomorrow. She gets another ride pass and she chose to attend her own sacrament meeting. I don't know if she will make it through the entire meeting. We will see! Thank you for your continued support!
Friday, September 7, 2007
September 7, 2007
Another great day! Kelsi is still becoming stronger each day! She is standing quite well now all by herself. She tried climbing out of her bed by herself today and I asked where she was going. She said, "to grandpa's". I told her I didn't think so because it was too far away to walk. She told me that is the first thing she is going to do when she gets home. Kristi and some friends came to visit this evening. Kristi sat in Kelsi's wheelchair and said, "I like your chair Kelsi, it's really comfortable." Kelsi said, "You can keep it. Just pick it up and take it with you because I'm walking out of here." Knowing her, she probably will be walking out when it's time to go home. She is so determined. It was so much fun to see the way Kristi and Kelsi were with each other tonight. It was just like old times to listen to them talk to each other, sarcasm and all. Kelsi was totally herself with Kristi. Her personality is coming through stronger each day.
She loves visiting with each of you who have come up. Thank you for your support and love for her. Keep the prayers coming her way!! Thanks!
She loves visiting with each of you who have come up. Thank you for your support and love for her. Keep the prayers coming her way!! Thanks!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
September 6, 2007
Kelsi had a good day today. We were told that she is between a 6 and 7 on the rancho scale now. That is exciting! The highlight for today was when the nurse and I were helping Kelsi get ready for bed the nurse turned to me and said, "She is incredible, it just doesn't happen this fast. When someone has a brain injury as severe as Kelsi's they just don't heal this quick!" I then had the opportunity to share with her how amazing fasting and prayer is. I told her that Kelsi's brother is serving a mission and his mission president had all the missionaries hold a mission wide fast for her, again. And there are so many other people around the world who are fasting and praying for her recovery. Is she a member of the church? I had no idea but felt I should share that with her. Later I found out from Randy that she is not a member. He happened to have an experience with her a couple nights ago when Kelsi had asked for a priesthood blessing. It's amazing what our Heavenly Father can do when we ask and have faith! Thank you for all of your continued prayers! We all love all of you!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
September 5, 2007
Kelsi's getting stronger every day! She didn't have a lot to say today. In fact, she was pretty sober. She did excellent in therapy and was able to eat enough calories and liquid to fill the required amount for the day. Tomorrow the doctors will decide how many days in a row she must do this to have her feeding tube removed. Her favorite thing was a milkshake.
Mom came home a little early today to attend a court of honor and young women. When she got home she was talking to Kelsi on the phone and Kelsi sang, "I am a child of God" to her. Every last word! She was so excited to actually hear every word.
We as a family want to testify to each of you that our Heavenly Father hears and answers your prayers! Thank you for remembering Kelsi in your prayers!
Mom came home a little early today to attend a court of honor and young women. When she got home she was talking to Kelsi on the phone and Kelsi sang, "I am a child of God" to her. Every last word! She was so excited to actually hear every word.
We as a family want to testify to each of you that our Heavenly Father hears and answers your prayers! Thank you for remembering Kelsi in your prayers!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
September 4, 2007
Today Kelsi passed her hearing test with flying colors. She also passed her swallow test for liquids. That means she can start drinking liquids orally. As soon as she can drink enough each day, she will be able to get rid of her last tube! Yep, her feeding tube. Right now they are pretty much only giving her water in her feeding tube because she is eating her meals now.
We were told that she is now a level 6 on the rancho scale. That was good news. We thought she was but it was good to hear it from the medical staff.
She is asking lots of questions which shows she is thinking. The most interesting question today was when she asked, "What does Kristi think?" I asked her ,"What does Kristi think about what?" She then said, "about the tree." I asked her if she meant the tree she fell out of, and she shook her head yes. We then had a nice little talk about the tree and Kristi's feelings. One other thing that was interesting was she had a nightmare last night about bears. The bed she is in is called a posey bed. The nurses call it a tent bed. Last night she was asleep when it was zipped close. She must have heard the zippers and thought she was at camp. There were many girls who were worried about bears at camp. It was surprising to us that Kelsi was afraid of bears last night. She asked her dad for a blessing. This morning when she woke up she said, "the bears lost." One last thing I got a kick out of today, she told me that she had a monkey bed. I asked her why it was a monkey bed. She said that it was like the one on Tarzan with the netting on the sides to keep the bugs out. I hadn't even thought of that one. She is doing amazing! We are so excited about the progress she is making! Thank you to everyone! And, thank you to whoever you are who came over and picked and canned peaches for me today!
We were told that she is now a level 6 on the rancho scale. That was good news. We thought she was but it was good to hear it from the medical staff.
She is asking lots of questions which shows she is thinking. The most interesting question today was when she asked, "What does Kristi think?" I asked her ,"What does Kristi think about what?" She then said, "about the tree." I asked her if she meant the tree she fell out of, and she shook her head yes. We then had a nice little talk about the tree and Kristi's feelings. One other thing that was interesting was she had a nightmare last night about bears. The bed she is in is called a posey bed. The nurses call it a tent bed. Last night she was asleep when it was zipped close. She must have heard the zippers and thought she was at camp. There were many girls who were worried about bears at camp. It was surprising to us that Kelsi was afraid of bears last night. She asked her dad for a blessing. This morning when she woke up she said, "the bears lost." One last thing I got a kick out of today, she told me that she had a monkey bed. I asked her why it was a monkey bed. She said that it was like the one on Tarzan with the netting on the sides to keep the bugs out. I hadn't even thought of that one. She is doing amazing! We are so excited about the progress she is making! Thank you to everyone! And, thank you to whoever you are who came over and picked and canned peaches for me today!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Monday September 3, 2007
Kelsi's day began well before the crack of dawn at roughly 5:00 a.m. She was awakened by a crying child in an adjacent room. My first impulse was to calm her back to sleep, but she had something on her mind and was determined to tell me. She asked where Top was. I told her he went back to Taiwan a few weeks ago. She asked if he had come to visit her. I told her he had, but that he could not come in because she was in critical care and only immediate family was allowed in there. She asked what he did. I told her that he stayed in the waiting room. She said, "I'm sorry he had to wait there." She is so concerned about everyone else.
She was hungry. I asked the nurse what time the food service opened. She told us that it opened at 7:00 a.m. Kelsi said, "That's a long time." I asked if she would like chocolate pudding to hold her over. She replied, "Yes" with her great big beautiful smile. She inhaled two servings of pudding followed by two servings of applesauce to hold her over.
There was still an hour to go before breakfast, so I asked if she wanted to go for a walk. She did. We went back to her old stomping (not much stomping really happens there) grounds at the UofU Med Center - NCC (neuro critical care). The doctors were on rounds and she got to meet the neuro surgeons that treated her brain injury. It was a treat for them to be able to see the product of their efforts and gave her the chance to thank them personally. We went next door to 3N. There was one person there that had cared for her. She told him thanks too. These are people that she never saw, but who had critical parts in caring for her at her most critical moments.
Throughout the day she has had many visitors. She wanted to sit up and talk to them. When we told her she was getting very tired and needed to lay down she said, "Mom, there's people here!" Our social butterfly has come out of her cocoon. Nothing changed in that department. She has said so many humorous things that we can't possibly remember them all.
The most amazing thing is that she not only has her long term memory, but she has her short term memory. She remembers what happened this last week and she remembers the faith walk the night before her fall. She remembers EFY the week before and all the names of the people she met there. The medical people are baffled. To make this rapid of a comeback after such a long time in a coma is a real miracle.
She told us today that she sees 2 of everything. This is because her eyes are not quite aligned. This should correct itself over time. Right now she compensates by closing one eye when needed.
All of your prayers and faith have been heard by the Lord. At this time we would like to ask all of you to pray also for another child who had an accident yesterday and who is in about the same condition Kelsi was when she fell. This child has a lot in common with Kelsi and needs your faith and prayers more than ever. Due to her need for privacy, details about her cannot be given here, but Heavenly Father will know who you mean if you pray for the child that had a brain injury yesterday.
She was hungry. I asked the nurse what time the food service opened. She told us that it opened at 7:00 a.m. Kelsi said, "That's a long time." I asked if she would like chocolate pudding to hold her over. She replied, "Yes" with her great big beautiful smile. She inhaled two servings of pudding followed by two servings of applesauce to hold her over.
There was still an hour to go before breakfast, so I asked if she wanted to go for a walk. She did. We went back to her old stomping (not much stomping really happens there) grounds at the UofU Med Center - NCC (neuro critical care). The doctors were on rounds and she got to meet the neuro surgeons that treated her brain injury. It was a treat for them to be able to see the product of their efforts and gave her the chance to thank them personally. We went next door to 3N. There was one person there that had cared for her. She told him thanks too. These are people that she never saw, but who had critical parts in caring for her at her most critical moments.
Throughout the day she has had many visitors. She wanted to sit up and talk to them. When we told her she was getting very tired and needed to lay down she said, "Mom, there's people here!" Our social butterfly has come out of her cocoon. Nothing changed in that department. She has said so many humorous things that we can't possibly remember them all.
The most amazing thing is that she not only has her long term memory, but she has her short term memory. She remembers what happened this last week and she remembers the faith walk the night before her fall. She remembers EFY the week before and all the names of the people she met there. The medical people are baffled. To make this rapid of a comeback after such a long time in a coma is a real miracle.
She told us today that she sees 2 of everything. This is because her eyes are not quite aligned. This should correct itself over time. Right now she compensates by closing one eye when needed.
All of your prayers and faith have been heard by the Lord. At this time we would like to ask all of you to pray also for another child who had an accident yesterday and who is in about the same condition Kelsi was when she fell. This child has a lot in common with Kelsi and needs your faith and prayers more than ever. Due to her need for privacy, details about her cannot be given here, but Heavenly Father will know who you mean if you pray for the child that had a brain injury yesterday.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Sunday September 2, 2007
Today is fast Sunday. Many fasted and prayed specifically for Kelsi. How quick was the answer to this prayer of faith? Is immediate quick enough? While the fasting was still going on, the healing accelerated in leaps and bounds. Kelsi's family went to Orem to attend the blessing of her newest nephew. A family friend volunteered to be with her while her parents were away. Kelsi tried and tried to talk. Between the friend and a nurse they were able to determine that she was asking, "Where is Mom?" They told her where Mom was and she said, "I should be there." She also managed to tell them she wanted to go home. She was outside, so they asked if she meant to her room. She said, "No, HOME HOME".
After the baby blessing, some of her family returned to be with her. She told her mother, "I missed you SOOO MUCH!". At that point everything she said was mouthed. No voice, only a little whispering at times.
Her Mom told her that the white bear in her room was given to her by [CL] (initials only for his privacy). She said, "Tell [CL] thank you". Kelsi's manners are totally intact. When asked if [CL] should come to visit her, she very excitedly answered, "Tell [CL] to come and visit me 'FAST'!" So, [CL], if you read this blog, she wants to see you very soon and she most definitely has not forgotten you!
Her oldest nephew was there with her oldest brother. He is a little over a year and a half old and is very busy. They tried to let her hold him, but he refused. This made her feel bad. Her older brother tried to explain that he was that way with everyone except his Dad right now. Kelsi put her hand over her mouth and to her sister's ear and whispered "Whatever". This same nephew's noise prompted her to say, "[child] interrupts me every time I try to say anything." The literature on brain injuries warns that she would not be able to filter out the background noise at this point of her recovery, and that it would frustrate her.
Dad found that by pressing on her abdomen as she attempted to speak helped to increase the volume and made it easier to hear. After a short time she was able to mimic the pressure without Dad pressing. This made her words much clearer.
She asked if she could go home with Mom when Mom went home. Mom explained that she needed to get better first. She said, "I feel much better." We explained that she needed to be able to do many things better than she is currently able to do. She wanted to know exactly what she had to do and was determined to do all of them right now so she could go home. For a long time her focus was on doing what is needed to get to go home.
Her Dad pointed at each person in the room and asked if she knew who they were. She named each one as they were pointed out. Her oldest brother said, "She remembers my name!" Kelsi replied, "How could I forget you? You are my family!"
Dad handed her a cell phone and she immediately began to try text messaging. She knew exactly what she was doing, but could not hold the phone very well or hit the right keys when someone held it for her. This frustrated her, but she got over it real quick because she knew that talking was working pretty good. Later she told us that she wanted to text but her hands are too shaky. Clearly there are some things that a teenager will not forget!
During all the conversations it seems she is thinking on the same cognitive level as she was before the accident and that as she gains more control over the physical part of her speech, the conversations will be much more involved. Right now, speech totally exhaust her.
The nurse came in to see her. They looked at each other face-to-face and Kelsi whispered quietly to her, "I feel so much like The Little Mermaid." The nurse looked at Dad with the most puzzled look. What did she mean by that? Dad explained that The Little Mermaid lost her voice. Later in conversation she told Dad, "The Little Mermaid got her voice back. So does Kelsi."
Mom began to discuss dinner plans. She didn't like the selections on the menu and said "I want a salad." Puree salad isn't on the menu for obvious reasons. She then told her Mom, "Spinach is gross." Where did that comment come from? Spinach wasn't mentioned and isn't on the menu. Her old likes and dislikes seem to be intact! She said, "I want a Popsicle." Her Mom told her that she can't eat a Popsicle yet because her body isn't ready for it. She indicated that her 3 year old brother gets to have them, why can't she?
She held her hands to her forehead and said, "My head feels weird."
As her day was winding down, she found that by laying on her front she could speak normally. At that point she had a lot to say and everyone could hear what she was saying. Too bad it took until she was very tired to discover this. She was so worn out that she laid her head down on the pillow and fell asleep until dinner came. When dinner came she was so hungry that her total focus was on eating.
For all who are still fasting and praying for Kelsi, thanks. Your faith is making her whole again.
After the baby blessing, some of her family returned to be with her. She told her mother, "I missed you SOOO MUCH!". At that point everything she said was mouthed. No voice, only a little whispering at times.
Her Mom told her that the white bear in her room was given to her by [CL] (initials only for his privacy). She said, "Tell [CL] thank you". Kelsi's manners are totally intact. When asked if [CL] should come to visit her, she very excitedly answered, "Tell [CL] to come and visit me 'FAST'!" So, [CL], if you read this blog, she wants to see you very soon and she most definitely has not forgotten you!
Her oldest nephew was there with her oldest brother. He is a little over a year and a half old and is very busy. They tried to let her hold him, but he refused. This made her feel bad. Her older brother tried to explain that he was that way with everyone except his Dad right now. Kelsi put her hand over her mouth and to her sister's ear and whispered "Whatever". This same nephew's noise prompted her to say, "[child] interrupts me every time I try to say anything." The literature on brain injuries warns that she would not be able to filter out the background noise at this point of her recovery, and that it would frustrate her.
Dad found that by pressing on her abdomen as she attempted to speak helped to increase the volume and made it easier to hear. After a short time she was able to mimic the pressure without Dad pressing. This made her words much clearer.
She asked if she could go home with Mom when Mom went home. Mom explained that she needed to get better first. She said, "I feel much better." We explained that she needed to be able to do many things better than she is currently able to do. She wanted to know exactly what she had to do and was determined to do all of them right now so she could go home. For a long time her focus was on doing what is needed to get to go home.
Her Dad pointed at each person in the room and asked if she knew who they were. She named each one as they were pointed out. Her oldest brother said, "She remembers my name!" Kelsi replied, "How could I forget you? You are my family!"
Dad handed her a cell phone and she immediately began to try text messaging. She knew exactly what she was doing, but could not hold the phone very well or hit the right keys when someone held it for her. This frustrated her, but she got over it real quick because she knew that talking was working pretty good. Later she told us that she wanted to text but her hands are too shaky. Clearly there are some things that a teenager will not forget!
During all the conversations it seems she is thinking on the same cognitive level as she was before the accident and that as she gains more control over the physical part of her speech, the conversations will be much more involved. Right now, speech totally exhaust her.
The nurse came in to see her. They looked at each other face-to-face and Kelsi whispered quietly to her, "I feel so much like The Little Mermaid." The nurse looked at Dad with the most puzzled look. What did she mean by that? Dad explained that The Little Mermaid lost her voice. Later in conversation she told Dad, "The Little Mermaid got her voice back. So does Kelsi."
Mom began to discuss dinner plans. She didn't like the selections on the menu and said "I want a salad." Puree salad isn't on the menu for obvious reasons. She then told her Mom, "Spinach is gross." Where did that comment come from? Spinach wasn't mentioned and isn't on the menu. Her old likes and dislikes seem to be intact! She said, "I want a Popsicle." Her Mom told her that she can't eat a Popsicle yet because her body isn't ready for it. She indicated that her 3 year old brother gets to have them, why can't she?
She held her hands to her forehead and said, "My head feels weird."
As her day was winding down, she found that by laying on her front she could speak normally. At that point she had a lot to say and everyone could hear what she was saying. Too bad it took until she was very tired to discover this. She was so worn out that she laid her head down on the pillow and fell asleep until dinner came. When dinner came she was so hungry that her total focus was on eating.
For all who are still fasting and praying for Kelsi, thanks. Your faith is making her whole again.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Saturday September 1, 2007
Kelsi woke up all smiles today. This is the happiest she has been since she fell. She was so excited to talk to her Mom and Dad and tell them something really important. She kept mouthing full sentences, but when she discovered that her voice can't be heard and that she can't write yet either, she became very sad.
When she was wheeled through the hospital, there was a full sized spider man figure in a hall. Shortly after seeing it, she put both hands in the spiderman sign.
In therapy she managed to make a little noise with her vocal cords, but got too tired to apply it to speech. She did say "Mom" with vocal sound. She was trying so hard, but still no go. The words are right on the tip of her tongue.
Her sister came to see her. With school starting, it was hard for her to get up there. The last time she saw her was Sunday. She was very impressed with the improvement Kelsi had made through out the week. Kelsi was so excited to see her that she couldn't quit hugging her. She got real tired, but would only lay down if her sister held her close.
Later in the day 2 friends visited and started to play catch with her. One of the friends said they should play volleyball. When Kelsi heard the word "volleyball" she put her hands together in the position to bump the ball.
Thanks again for your faith, prayers, visits and service.
When she was wheeled through the hospital, there was a full sized spider man figure in a hall. Shortly after seeing it, she put both hands in the spiderman sign.
In therapy she managed to make a little noise with her vocal cords, but got too tired to apply it to speech. She did say "Mom" with vocal sound. She was trying so hard, but still no go. The words are right on the tip of her tongue.
Her sister came to see her. With school starting, it was hard for her to get up there. The last time she saw her was Sunday. She was very impressed with the improvement Kelsi had made through out the week. Kelsi was so excited to see her that she couldn't quit hugging her. She got real tired, but would only lay down if her sister held her close.
Later in the day 2 friends visited and started to play catch with her. One of the friends said they should play volleyball. When Kelsi heard the word "volleyball" she put her hands together in the position to bump the ball.
Thanks again for your faith, prayers, visits and service.
Saturday Septemper 1st
Kelsi was real excited to see her sister today! She was smiling quite a bit today, and giving hugs to everyone in the room! It was really exciting for everyone!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Friday August 31, 2007
What a wonderful day! Kelsi started in speech therapy by showing that she can still read, do arithmatic and solve logical problems. Even though she can only mouth the words, it was clear that she was reading what the therapist wrote on the white board. The therapist would write two different words on the white board and ask Kelsi to point to a particular word. Kelsi would look at the two words and point to the correct one. Then she wrote 2 sentences and asked Kelsi to point to the sentence that said, "I like to shop". Kelsi did it. She gave her answers to the simple addition problems by holding up fingers. She showed improvements in physical therapy and did well in the occupational therapy session.
"I'm Back!!!" That is what Kelsi's personality said today. First thing to show up - her sense of humor. The therapist was having her grab bean bags from her hands and put them in a barrel. When she had just two bags left for the therapy session, the assistant therapist, sitting next to Kelsi, jokingly said, "Kelsi, you should put the bean bag on Daddy's head." She took the next bean bag and put it in the barrel. Then she took the final bean bag, and to everyone's surprise she put it right on top of Daddy's head. No-one thought she even heard the assistant say it. She proved she is listening to everything by following through on the suggestions. She was so proud of herself and it showed in the smile on her face.
Her face is showing expression and the far-away sad look is gone much of the time. It gets better. After Dad fed her 1-1/2 cups of pureed spaghetti (yum yum) and some apple sauce, dad asked Kelsi to say, "I love Mom". She mouthed the words and broke out in a big smile. Everyone was excited with the response. The therapist, wanting to be sure Dad wasn't left out said, "Kelsi, Do you love your Daddy too?" Kelsi sat, pondered the question for a moment, looked straight at Dad with wide open eyes and then responded with this expression (photo on the right):
Was this expression an accident? No! She repeated it just to be sure we knew. Later during the afternoon as we described the incident to the nurses she decided to demo the look a few more times. Her Mom managed to catch it on her cell phone. The look was strangely familiar. Among the photos she took of herself prior to the accident, we found the photo shown on the left. She's practiced that look a number of times. Those of you who know Kelsi well have seen this face many times. Now that part of her personality is blooming forth.
Kelsi also had a visit from a group of friends (next photo). When they first saw Kelsi, most of them shed some tears, but that didn't last. Kelsi hugged away the tears from each of them. After just a few minutes, Kelsi seemed to recognize them and had to stand up with them and 'hang out'. They told stories of things that they had done togther. One funny story brought a silent laugh from Kelsi. All the motions of laughing, but no sound.
At the end of the visit, Kelsi was too tired to stand or sit. She had the greatest day since she fell and now it was time to rest. Once settled in bed she fell soundly asleep.
For all of you who are praying for Kelsi, remember that the blessings of this day are profound and that the Lord has heard your prayers in abundance. We thank you for your faith and prayers.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Thursday August 30, 2007
Today Kelsi was in heaven when they hooked her up to a tread mill. There is a cool harness that suspends her in the air so she cannot fall. She knew just what to do and her feet did a great job keeping up!
After 2 1/2 hours of therapy she was ready to call it a day. She really struggled that last half hour. She was so exhausted. She is getting pretty good at shaking her head yes or no to questions. She is continuing in taking those baby steps toward healing and relearning. As usual we really appreciate all of you! Thank you so much for everything, especially your faith and prayers for Kelsi!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
August 29, 2007
Today Kelsi worked really hard in therapy. She did a lot of walking with a walker and some help from her therapist. It's really hard to see her struggle with such simple tasks, but she is getting stronger and her attention span is getting better each day. When we were in with the speech therapist she smiled a big cheesy smile. We were both so excited and we kept asking Kelsi to give us another cheesy smile. It was so fun to see those pretty white teeth. She is also attempting to form words now. It is still a whisper but she has said several different words now. Many people have asked us how long she will be in rehab. Of course there is no exact time frame, but today the head doctor told me they expect her to be there 4 - 6 weeks. Then she will come home. It may be shorter and it even could be longer. The doctor feels that she will be ready at that time. We will see!! We love all of you! Thank you for everything.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
August 28, 2007
Kelsi sure surprised her mom today. She made it through all 3 hours of therapy. It was hard. She worked so hard. They worked with crawling, sitting, standing, doing simple puzzles, catching and throwing a beach ball, eating, and washing her hands. She has a long way to go to master these tasks that we each take for granted but she is definitely relearning them. When the therapist asked her if she wanted to try to walk a few steps tomorrow she shook her head, "NO". It was the first time to shake her head no. I think she was so exhausted at the time that the thought of walking was very overwhelming. We will see what tomorrow brings.
I want to send each of you a thank you card for all the wonderful meals, clothes washing, house cleaning, yard work, prayers, prayers and prayers!! There is no way I can do this personally to each of you because I don't even know who has done what. There are so many who have reached out to our family. Thank you so much! There are not words in the English language to express our gratitude. Thank you!
I want to send each of you a thank you card for all the wonderful meals, clothes washing, house cleaning, yard work, prayers, prayers and prayers!! There is no way I can do this personally to each of you because I don't even know who has done what. There are so many who have reached out to our family. Thank you so much! There are not words in the English language to express our gratitude. Thank you!
Monday, August 27, 2007
August 27, 2007
It's been kind of sad for me to think of Kelsi missing her first day of high school today. But, she is slowly progressing and will be in school before we know it. I believe we will all look back at these days with awe and great humility. It is amazing to me to see the power of the priesthood in action. We have witnessed so many miracles.
Today Kelsi had 3 half hour sessions of therapy. One was with the speech therapist, the other 2 were with the physical therapist. She did great but was so tired by the 3rd one. We rewarded her with a nice soothing soak in the tub. She really enjoys that. She especially loves her hair to be washed.
About an hour after she had completed therapy I was very surprised when the nurse came in with some new forms for me to sign. She said that the therapists believe she is ready for regular rehab. That means 3 hours a day. This will begin tomorrow. I am anxious to see how she does. It seems a bit much to me, but Kelsi has always been very strong and strong willed. She should do well.
They removed her last I.V. today. It is always nice to see one more thing go away. All she has left is her feeding tube.
We as a family are still amazed and so greatful for the wonderful family, friends, neighbors and ward members we have. Thank you so much for all of your love, concern, support, faith and prayers. We love you all!
Today Kelsi had 3 half hour sessions of therapy. One was with the speech therapist, the other 2 were with the physical therapist. She did great but was so tired by the 3rd one. We rewarded her with a nice soothing soak in the tub. She really enjoys that. She especially loves her hair to be washed.
About an hour after she had completed therapy I was very surprised when the nurse came in with some new forms for me to sign. She said that the therapists believe she is ready for regular rehab. That means 3 hours a day. This will begin tomorrow. I am anxious to see how she does. It seems a bit much to me, but Kelsi has always been very strong and strong willed. She should do well.
They removed her last I.V. today. It is always nice to see one more thing go away. All she has left is her feeding tube.
We as a family are still amazed and so greatful for the wonderful family, friends, neighbors and ward members we have. Thank you so much for all of your love, concern, support, faith and prayers. We love you all!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Sunday August 26, 2007
Many people visited kelsi today. Visitors included her siblings (except Andrew who is away at school and Jordan who is serving a mission), all of her grandparents, one great grand mother, an aunt and uncle, several cousins, several friends and ward members. The crowd was so large when her siblings arrived that it was awkward to visit in her room, so the group took Kelsi out in front of the medical center. She spent her first hour outdoors since she was moved from life flight into the hospital. She gave hugs to as many as she could. She seemed to really enjoy the visits, but at the same time all the work of trying to interact and be alert made her exhausted. She fell asleep at about 6:30 p.m. She has advanced slightly on the Rancho scale so that she does all the things listed for level 4 and has started to do some of the things listed on level 5. This is really good progress and we hope to see her advance to level 5 very soon. Please keep her in your prayers. Your faith is making a difference in her recovery.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Saturday August 25, 2007
Today was Kelsi's first day in the rehab gym. She worked with therapists for about 20 to 30 minutes working to follow simple commands. She improved her performance on a number of physical skills and seemed to follow commands a little better than yesterday. She has reached level IV on the Rancho Los Amigos Cognitive Scale. To better understand what this means see web site: http://www.birf.info/home/library/coma/coma_ransca.html. Please continue to pray for her progress.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Every day Kelsi shows improvement. Some improvements are hard to measure or descibe. Today she did something new. She has been leading up to it for 2 days now, but she finally succeeded in putting voice to a word. Her first word since August 1 was "no". Spoken very softly - in a whisper, but totally unmistakable and in answer to the question "Would you like more pudding?" What she really meant was "yes", but the way the question was worded confused her into answering the opposite. She opened her mouth for more pudding to show what she meant. Although she looks like she is awake as she looks around, it is clear she is very confused and often agitated. One really positive thing she now does is gives her parents very affectionate hugs. She likes to be held very closely in a gentle hug. For parents who are suffering along side of her, this is very good healing medicine. She was fitted for a wheel chair today. This serves to allow her to sit up and also to see some of the area around her. Those who know Kelsi must understand that when she finally comes home, she will need a great deal of help and understanding. Her current recovery is very consistent with a person who has been injured the way she has.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
August 23, 2007
Today Kelsi was transferred to Primary Children's Medical Center. It has been a good day so far. When they came in and told her she was moving to a new room, she was ready to go. It was hilarious! She wanted to sit up so we helped her, then she straightened her legs and pulled herself to a standing position. It scared us to death but was also very exciting. We helped hold her and she did really well. It was hard to keep her contained while they were finishing up everything for the transfer. I think she was a little dissapointed when she realized that her new room was not her room at home. But this is a very good move and we are thrilled about it. Thanks to all of you for your prayers! Keep them coming!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
August 22, 2007
Wow! What an amazing day it has been. This morning we didn't think we would have anything to say but things have quickly been changing this afternoon. First I will let you know about Kelsi's night. She was very busy. She kept rolling in bed and ended up pulling her feeding tube out. This afternoon she has finally started to respond to every command we have given her. This is a huge step! She will hold up two fingers, she will give hugs, straighten or bend limbs. It has been very exciting. She wants to sit now. So when we tell her to lift up her head if she wants to sit she lifts her head and pulls with her arms. She loves to be upright. Mom braided her hair and she gave her a hug! They were going to reinsert her feeding tube but decided to see how she does with eating. She seems to be doing pretty good. They are holding off on the tube for now. She had a little milk in a spoon, a couple bites of applesauce and then they put her medication in some chocolate pudding to see if she would eat it. She did. It was a wonderful! When her brother Andrew came to visit she didn't seem to recognize him at first. After he talked to her for a few minutes she seemed to recognize him and she gave him a hug. It made his day! It has definitely been a good day! Thank you so much for all of your love and concern! We appreciate all of you so much! Especially your faith and prayers in Kelsi's behalf!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
PLEASE SEE THE PRIVACY STATEMENT POSTED AUG. 20, 2007 BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO USE INFORMATION LISTED IN THIS BLOG .
Kelsi's progress is now sufficiently healed that she is being moved to a different facility to prepare for the start of the process of rehabilitation. She may not quite be ready for the rigorous therapy in the rehab center, but she is close enough to prepare for it. Due to the need for privacy, this location of the facility is not being listed on this blog.
Currently Kelsi seems to be able to respond to new simple commands each day and her body has enough strength to sit up when assisted with balance and to stand with a great deal of assistance (she has strong legs). She had a visit from a dear friend yesterday and her body motions and facial expressions seemed to indicate that she may have recognized her voice and possibly her face. We are not yet certain how clear her vision may be due to some swelling around her optic nerves. Each day she seems to gain greater awareness of her surroundings and is also slightly more interactive. She seems to have a great deal of control over each of her limbs. Currently she struggles with moving her right arm. She has given small indications that she at least knows a little about what is happening in her surroundings. Call it semi-concious or whatever, it all seems like a great answer to all the prayers and faith being exerted by many people on her behalf.
Kelsi's progress is now sufficiently healed that she is being moved to a different facility to prepare for the start of the process of rehabilitation. She may not quite be ready for the rigorous therapy in the rehab center, but she is close enough to prepare for it. Due to the need for privacy, this location of the facility is not being listed on this blog.
Currently Kelsi seems to be able to respond to new simple commands each day and her body has enough strength to sit up when assisted with balance and to stand with a great deal of assistance (she has strong legs). She had a visit from a dear friend yesterday and her body motions and facial expressions seemed to indicate that she may have recognized her voice and possibly her face. We are not yet certain how clear her vision may be due to some swelling around her optic nerves. Each day she seems to gain greater awareness of her surroundings and is also slightly more interactive. She seems to have a great deal of control over each of her limbs. Currently she struggles with moving her right arm. She has given small indications that she at least knows a little about what is happening in her surroundings. Call it semi-concious or whatever, it all seems like a great answer to all the prayers and faith being exerted by many people on her behalf.
PRIVACY NOTICE August 20, 2007
PRIVACY NOTICE: Due to a recent local radio broadcast of the information listed on this blog, the following privacy statement is being issued. If futher privacy violations occur, this blog will be removed and the violation will be dealt with as deemed appropriate.
For those accessing this blog, please have the sensitivity to realize that the information listed on this blog is intended for private use only for the purposes of helping those affected in the healing process. Publicity of any sort regarding this matter is not desired. Any copying, transmitting, publishing, broadcasting or other use of this information without written permission from Kelsi's parents is strictly prohibited and protected by law. Athough the internet is a public forum, this blog is not. Please respect the rights and privacy of those who are working through the healing process.
Thanks,
Kelsi's Dad
For those accessing this blog, please have the sensitivity to realize that the information listed on this blog is intended for private use only for the purposes of helping those affected in the healing process. Publicity of any sort regarding this matter is not desired. Any copying, transmitting, publishing, broadcasting or other use of this information without written permission from Kelsi's parents is strictly prohibited and protected by law. Athough the internet is a public forum, this blog is not. Please respect the rights and privacy of those who are working through the healing process.
Thanks,
Kelsi's Dad
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Wow, what a busy girl Kelsi was today! She was trying so hard to climb out of her bed. I went to the cafeteria for a bite to eat, when I came back there were 3 nurses in her room totally exhausted. They told me they had just finished a wrestling match with her. They were still trying to decide who won. She rolled to her tummy 3 times today. The last time while she was on her belly she lifted her head about a foot off the bed and held it for about a minute. It was a huge milestone. She really likes to sleep on her tummy and that makes it hard now that she has discovered she can roll over because she gets tangled in her feeding tube.
She is still not recognizing anyone. We just keep hearing the same thing (it takes time for the swelling and bruising to go down, and when it does she will start recognizing us and wondering where she is). It is going to be a long road ahead, line upon line. Thank you so much for all of your love and support, faith and prayers. Please continue to pray for Kelsi! She needs all of us continuously!
She is still not recognizing anyone. We just keep hearing the same thing (it takes time for the swelling and bruising to go down, and when it does she will start recognizing us and wondering where she is). It is going to be a long road ahead, line upon line. Thank you so much for all of your love and support, faith and prayers. Please continue to pray for Kelsi! She needs all of us continuously!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Friday, August 17,2007
Today has pretty much been a repeat of yesterday. Kelsi is still not responding. The doctors told us she has a lot of swelling and bruising that needs to heal. Once that has happened things will start clicking again. We need to just be patient and keep her in our constant prayers. She was moved from I.C.U. today over the unit next door. That was a good thing! Thank you for all of your support! We have enjoyed reading your comments!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Thursday August 16, 2007
Kelsi in the tree just before the fall
When the neuro surgeon turns and gives you an excited hug, you know that something great is happening. All the fasting and prayers that you are doing showed great strides this morning. The doctors had hoped to avoid cutting into Kelsi's neck to install the breathing tube (tracheotomy). They had scheduled that to be done a couple of days ago but decided to hold off until Friday to see what progress she would make. Her progress was so great that they pulled the breathing tubes and shut down the respirator. She took off breathing on her own and has been breathing good all day. Kelsi's mouth is now empty and her beautiful pearly white teeth are shining through. Kelsi is moving her head around and had her eyes open much of the day. Generally she stares blankly ahead, but once in a while she looks around searchingly. At times she stares at her hand as she touches her knee in an attempt to get reaquainted.
Kelsi's mental state is considered by the doctors to be "alert" meaning that she can react to stimulus, but is not concious of much of what is happening. When observing her actions throughout the day, it appears she has very short burst of awareness. Consider them as possible short moments of conciousness. These moments are begining to be more frequent and are a positive indicator that she will become more and more aware very soon.
Just for clarification (some have not understood previous reports when referring to her being asleep versus awake): Kelsi has not been fully concious since the fall. The difference between her being asleep and awake has to do with the amount of activity she has with her body. When she is asleep she is laying very still, not moving arms, legs, fingers or toes. When she is awake, her arms, legs, fingers and toes are moving around and very busy, but she gives little or no indication that she is aware of the presence of others in the room. The closest she comes to being concious is when she will follow a simple command such as "hold up 2 fingers" or "move your toes". Following these commands are indications of a low level of conciousness, but she has only followed these commands a few times for very short periods. Full conciousness will be the next exciting step in her progress. We don't have a good idea of how long that will take.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Kelsi's body is well on its way to complete recovery. The swelling decreased substantially during the night last night. The doctors explained that the body holds onto water very aggressively after a substantial trama has occurred. Once the body realizes that it has a steady supply of food and water, it will release the excess stored water. Most of the observable swelling is gone, with just a few places that need a couple more days to normalize.
She spent about half of the day in a deep sleep. It was a much needed, since she slept only one hour during the night and spent the remaining hours moving arms and legs in an unconcious effort to keep them going. During her waking hours she opened her eyes many minutes at a time and continued to work her arms and legs. She still only moves the right arm very little and the right leg moves much less than the left.
She still needs 2 forms of life support - breathing and feeding. Over the past 48 hours they have started to wean her off the respirator. Her presure setting was at 12 just 2 days ago. It was decreased to 10 yesterday and 8 today and she is still looking good. The hope is that she will be breathing totally on her own by Friday and the respirator will no longer be needed. The feeding tube will take longer because, once concious, she will not be able to eat enough to give her the nutrition she needs. As she is able to eat more, the feeding tube will become less important. The feeding tube is not a great concern because with a simple surgery it can be moved out of her sinuses and into her abdomen. This will clear her throat of obsturctions. She still has mucus left in her lungs, but it is decreasing and expected to completely go away in the hear future.
The biggest difficulty facing Kelsi is the progress toward conciousness. She seems to increase in awareness each day, but conciousness is difficult to measure. Yesterday she seemed to follow commands better than today, but there is some thought that she has grown tired of the "Move your fingers and toes" and "Squeeze my hand" types of commands, but isn't able to do much else until the life support tubes are cleared from her throat. It seems that more time is needed fixing the things that are damaged on the inside before she will be able to work on communication.
The faith and prayers of all have been the biggest asset to helping Kelsi's recovery. We are absolutely convinced, that though slow, her progress from day to day has been greatly enhanced by the faith, prayers and service that all have rendered by all.
She spent about half of the day in a deep sleep. It was a much needed, since she slept only one hour during the night and spent the remaining hours moving arms and legs in an unconcious effort to keep them going. During her waking hours she opened her eyes many minutes at a time and continued to work her arms and legs. She still only moves the right arm very little and the right leg moves much less than the left.
She still needs 2 forms of life support - breathing and feeding. Over the past 48 hours they have started to wean her off the respirator. Her presure setting was at 12 just 2 days ago. It was decreased to 10 yesterday and 8 today and she is still looking good. The hope is that she will be breathing totally on her own by Friday and the respirator will no longer be needed. The feeding tube will take longer because, once concious, she will not be able to eat enough to give her the nutrition she needs. As she is able to eat more, the feeding tube will become less important. The feeding tube is not a great concern because with a simple surgery it can be moved out of her sinuses and into her abdomen. This will clear her throat of obsturctions. She still has mucus left in her lungs, but it is decreasing and expected to completely go away in the hear future.
The biggest difficulty facing Kelsi is the progress toward conciousness. She seems to increase in awareness each day, but conciousness is difficult to measure. Yesterday she seemed to follow commands better than today, but there is some thought that she has grown tired of the "Move your fingers and toes" and "Squeeze my hand" types of commands, but isn't able to do much else until the life support tubes are cleared from her throat. It seems that more time is needed fixing the things that are damaged on the inside before she will be able to work on communication.
The faith and prayers of all have been the biggest asset to helping Kelsi's recovery. We are absolutely convinced, that though slow, her progress from day to day has been greatly enhanced by the faith, prayers and service that all have rendered by all.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Today's highlight - Kelsi opened her eyes, sometimes for minutes at a time. When she looked at her mother, it seemed as though she smiled. It is impossible to tell what, if anything, she is thinking about, but her whole face seemed to be smiling. She hasn't been concious at any time, but she sure seems close. We hope it will happen in the next couple days. The physical therapist sat Kelsi up and tried to get her to wake up, but she wasn't with it. They tried to get her to hold her head up. It seemed like some effort was made by her, but it was too hard to really tell. She is moving all of her body parts including her head. She has started to sweat when she moves around. They say that is a sign of coming too. The medical staff are all optimistic, but no time frame can be established for each step of progress. Any progress each day is a thrill to her family.
For all who are praying for her, we greatly appreciate your faith. We know that all of the faith that is being exerted on her behalf is speeding up her recovery.
For all who are praying for her, we greatly appreciate your faith. We know that all of the faith that is being exerted on her behalf is speeding up her recovery.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007 P.S.
P.S. Thanks again for all your prayers of faith. They are much needed and helping Kelsi and her family very much. Keep in mind that all blessing are predicated on faith, so please continue to combine your faith with ours is pleading with the Lord for a complete recovery.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Today was another day of progress for Kelsi. The progress, from her parents point of view, was that she is a little more active, aware and for short periods of time she is able to follow simple voice commands. For the doctors, this day was considered extremely significant. At the start of the day they indicated that all chemically induced anesthesia should have already worn off and that she should have woken up at least enough to follow simple commands. They did not believe this had happened. After forming a plan as to the next steps to take: MRI, Tracheotomy and
percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), they went into the room to work directly with Kesli. This is the first time any of the medical staff were able to observe and actually believe that she is close enough to consiousness to follow simple commands. When parents told them she has been able to follow commands for very short periods of time for the last 2 days, they always indicated that is was reflex action and over optimistic parents. Now they know. They completely abandoned the plans set up in the morning and began a more agressive plan to remove all unneeded life support (ICP Pressure BOLT, Pick line, etc.). The remaining life support items are: assisted breathing (only needed at her deepest levels of sleep - very mild assistance that they hope to wean her of), feeding tube (she needs to be concious and able to eat full meals before this is removed) and blood pressure assistance (not sure how much longer this is needed).
At the end of the day, Kelsi was agressively moving her left arm and leg. The right side has some movement, but the doctors indicated that their testing indicates that the part of the brain that controls these movements is damaged and that the neural networks that control the left side will need to re-map themselves before she will be able to use this side in a normal fashion.
percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), they went into the room to work directly with Kesli. This is the first time any of the medical staff were able to observe and actually believe that she is close enough to consiousness to follow simple commands. When parents told them she has been able to follow commands for very short periods of time for the last 2 days, they always indicated that is was reflex action and over optimistic parents. Now they know. They completely abandoned the plans set up in the morning and began a more agressive plan to remove all unneeded life support (ICP Pressure BOLT, Pick line, etc.). The remaining life support items are: assisted breathing (only needed at her deepest levels of sleep - very mild assistance that they hope to wean her of), feeding tube (she needs to be concious and able to eat full meals before this is removed) and blood pressure assistance (not sure how much longer this is needed).
At the end of the day, Kelsi was agressively moving her left arm and leg. The right side has some movement, but the doctors indicated that their testing indicates that the part of the brain that controls these movements is damaged and that the neural networks that control the left side will need to re-map themselves before she will be able to use this side in a normal fashion.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Most of the life support has been removed to allow Kelsi to take control. Having been on life support for quite some time, she has found taking back control to be a challenge. Today was full of ups and downs, but she has generally been stable. For her to progress in recovery her brain has to take back all life support functions. When she is sleeping (most of the time), she needs some assitance with breathing. Her pneumonia is subsiding, but the doctors estimate that it will impede her progress for at least 6 more days.
She is moving more and more. Her left side is very active. She has used her right leg more today than any other day. Her right arm remains a concern because she moves it so little.
When it relates to movement, her status has changed from "random" movements to "purposeful" movements. This means that she is now moving her limbs with an objective. Her primary objective is to tear the breathing apparatus away from her mouth. She has worked very hard at meeting this objective. Anyone who knows Kelsi knows that you don't tell her "NO". She has now clearly shown that her determination is deeply ingrained into her phychie. She fought so hard to get to her breathing tube that the nurse decided to tighten her constaints all the way down to the corner of the bed. It wasn't a comfortable sight to see her so constained. She fought and fought to regain some freedom. She finally found that she could pull her entire body to the side of the bed and get her arm down the side of the bed, reach under the bed and find the distant end of the constaint. She managed to untie the distant end and release her arm. As soon as her arm was free, her hand shot straight for her face to rip out the ventilator tube. Dad happened to be watching and intercepted the hand - she was noticable agitated at having been stopped. She did all this while still unconscious.
Once again we would like to thank all of you for your continued faith and prayers. Kelsi needs all of us to help pull her through this trial. We feel our Heavenly Fathers love continuosly and are so grateful for the knowledge we have that he truely knows and loves each one of us individually.
She is moving more and more. Her left side is very active. She has used her right leg more today than any other day. Her right arm remains a concern because she moves it so little.
When it relates to movement, her status has changed from "random" movements to "purposeful" movements. This means that she is now moving her limbs with an objective. Her primary objective is to tear the breathing apparatus away from her mouth. She has worked very hard at meeting this objective. Anyone who knows Kelsi knows that you don't tell her "NO". She has now clearly shown that her determination is deeply ingrained into her phychie. She fought so hard to get to her breathing tube that the nurse decided to tighten her constaints all the way down to the corner of the bed. It wasn't a comfortable sight to see her so constained. She fought and fought to regain some freedom. She finally found that she could pull her entire body to the side of the bed and get her arm down the side of the bed, reach under the bed and find the distant end of the constaint. She managed to untie the distant end and release her arm. As soon as her arm was free, her hand shot straight for her face to rip out the ventilator tube. Dad happened to be watching and intercepted the hand - she was noticable agitated at having been stopped. She did all this while still unconscious.
Once again we would like to thank all of you for your continued faith and prayers. Kelsi needs all of us to help pull her through this trial. We feel our Heavenly Fathers love continuosly and are so grateful for the knowledge we have that he truely knows and loves each one of us individually.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Kelsi has certainly had her ups and downs today. She has come down with another fever. It made her heart rate, blood pressure and brain pressure sky rocket. It was under control again by 4:00 pm. She is totally off all I.V. pain sedation. She is only on oral pain medications now and seems to be holding her own. She had her first visit with a physical therapist today. He came in and worked all of her limbs. She is now starting to move her left arm which she hadn't moved yet. She has been moving all 4 limbs today. It was a wonderful sight! She is still unconscious but we are hopeful that she will be awake soon. We are so grateful for the wonderful team of doctors working with Kelsi and for all of the faith and prayers of each of you! Most of all we are thankful for a wonderful Heavenly Father who is aware of each of us and is there to help us through our trials. Thank heavens we have been blessed to have the power of His priesthood here on the earth!! We love all of you!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Lecia and Randy were talking to each other in Kelsi's room today, when Randy said: "She's opening her eyes!" Lecia then said, "Kelsi, I see your eyes!" Kels had been able to peek open her eye, and when Lecia spoke, she looked at her mother. Also, periodically, Kelsi would respond to commands by squeezing her hand. While this is definately progress, the doctors are still watching her pressures and are saying that it could still be a roller-coaster ride before she's actually considered concious.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Kelsi is still being sedated, but we have witnessed some very tender moments that let us know that she can hear us. Lecia was singing A Child's Prayer to her. As she was watching and singing, she noticed a a twitch in Kelsi's eye, as well as two tears falling. Although we have the knowledge that she is there, and fighting to wake up, the doctors are saying that it will probably be a few more days before her body is well enough to wake up. We appreciate all of the many prayers and acts of service that have been given to support us. We hope that this experience has lifted us all and made us aware of Heaveny Father's love for us.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The sedation was reduced way down to 2 and Kelsi reacted well for a while. But then the pressure started to climb quickly and the sedation had to be put on high again (18). Since then it has gradually been backed off again to an 8. This is a pretty good sign and the up and down was not totally unexpected. This process will probably be repeated a few more times over the next few days. (Could be weeks but we're hoping for just days.)
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007 Status
Kelsi is still asleep. There are signs that she may be starting to wake up. While that is a positive sign it still could be several days (or even weeks) of reducing the sedation before she actually wakes up.
Keep the prayers coming!
Keep the prayers coming!
First Post. Accident and status as of 8/4/07
On Wednesday August 1st at approximately 2pm Kelsi fell approximately 20 feet onto some rocks. She sustained a severe head injury and at the time appeared to also have broken ankles and a broken arm. From the moment of the accident she received appropriate first aid. Her father was on the trail as a Priesthood leader at the time and within a few minutes was by her side and was soon able to give her a Priesthood blessing. The girls and leaders on the scene responded well and immediately went for emergency personnel while continuing to keep her immobile and treating for shock.
Kelsi arrived at University hospital approximately 4:15pm via Life Flight. Her ankles and arm are not broken. She remains in critical condition in the Nuero-Critical Care unit at University Hospital. There has been bleeding and swelling in her brain. She is receiving excellent care and is expected to survive. She is currently under heavy sedation, which could also be called an induced coma. Whether there will be permanent damage and to what extent will not be know until she does wake up. Until then the doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to help her heal.
The family feels certain that Kelsi's greatest concern is for how this might affect the other girls and leaders. Their hope is that this will strengthen faith and testimony. Their wish is that we do not let the "why" or "what if's" get in the way of the spiritual strengthening that this can be. There have already been several small miracles. There is still a long road to go toward recovery and hopefully there will yet be other miracles along the way.
The family greatly appreciates the outpouring of prayers and the numerous expressions of concern and support in behalf of Kelsi. They are also very appreciative of the many things that have been done to help the other members of the family. Thank you for all that has been and will be done.
Kelsi arrived at University hospital approximately 4:15pm via Life Flight. Her ankles and arm are not broken. She remains in critical condition in the Nuero-Critical Care unit at University Hospital. There has been bleeding and swelling in her brain. She is receiving excellent care and is expected to survive. She is currently under heavy sedation, which could also be called an induced coma. Whether there will be permanent damage and to what extent will not be know until she does wake up. Until then the doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to help her heal.
The family feels certain that Kelsi's greatest concern is for how this might affect the other girls and leaders. Their hope is that this will strengthen faith and testimony. Their wish is that we do not let the "why" or "what if's" get in the way of the spiritual strengthening that this can be. There have already been several small miracles. There is still a long road to go toward recovery and hopefully there will yet be other miracles along the way.
The family greatly appreciates the outpouring of prayers and the numerous expressions of concern and support in behalf of Kelsi. They are also very appreciative of the many things that have been done to help the other members of the family. Thank you for all that has been and will be done.
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