Here are the posts that Lindsey posted and many were not able to see. It is pretty long, but it a great record of what we have been going through! October 9 Just wanted to update everyone. Today on hwy 34 Garrett Heinrich & Alexis were in a bad car accident. Garrett was airlifted to Marshfield & Alexis was transported by ambulance. Alexis was released after being checked out & getting staples in the back of her head. They also think she may have a slight concussion. She has no memory of the accident. Garrett is currently in the ICU & is sedated. Hes cut up pretty good due to glass & such. He also has a broken collar bone, a fracture at the bottom of his skull, & had to have stitches in his left arm. They just hooked him up to an EEG machine because he is having seizures. Hopefully we will know more soon... Thank you very much everyone for your thoughts and prayers! They mean so much to us! October 10 AM Update on Garrett Heinrich, last night went ok. We havent seen from the neurologist yet regarding his seizures, but he didnt have any visible ones last night. This morning they turned off his sedation. They didnt get him to respond, though, until they turned off his pain meds too. That was a little scary at first. They turned the ventilator down so he is breathing mostly on his own now. They also turned his pain meds back on, but will leave the sedation off as long as he doesnt get combative. Hes still really out of it, but hes got his iron grip back & will hold your hand. He also moves his legs around every one & a while. Thank you again to everyone for all your prays, thoughts, & support! October 10 PM Update- Garrett Heinrich did pretty good today. The neurologist said he didnt have any seizers during the night, which is good. He opened his eyes a few times if provoked. He started squeezing our hands on occasion too. At one point he opened his eyes & tried to sit himself up. If we talk to him when he gets up set he usually will calm down. He was suppose to have a MRI done, but due to some complications he didnt make his apt. He will have it tomorrow. Although, they told us that while they were working with him he gave them a thumbs up, & when asked if he wore contacts he shook his head no. We are very excited about that. They also started tube feeding him & he seems to be taking to it well. We asked if they could give him pizza & dt coke flavored, lol. October 11 AM Last night was bitter sweet Id have to stay. It started out great. The nurse told us that when she was doing her assessment he opened his eyes & looked at her & kept them open. Usually he closes them right away. She was able to talk to him & tell him what happened. She said he gave her thumbs up when asked right away & when she asked if he was in pain he shook his head yes. They sedated him a little so he could rest for the night. Unfortunately later in the night/early morning he sat himself up & got very physical. He didnt respond to people talking to him & they couldnt get him to lay down so they had to sedate him again. When they got him laid back down he was shaking still so they think it was possibly another seizure. They cant say for sure because he didnt have the EEG machine on anymore. He is scheduled for his MRI today so hopefully we will know more later. October 11 Alexis wanted to try school today so she could see her friends. She lasted until about 11:30 when I got a call she wanted to come home. She had a headache. Im so proud of her for trying. She came home & took a long nap. Then her & Rett went to a friends house to play. I think that really helped. They are very confused on what is happening & Alexis is so concerned about Garrett. We got good news on Garrett Heinrich. What we thought was a seizure last night was determined not to be, so thats good. They do have him on anti-seizure meds though. He responded well this morning to his tests. He opened his eyes, gave them thumbs up, & put up one finger when they asked for two, which is something. His left side is a weaker then the right, but when the doc said to squeeze his left hand he made the doc say oh! So that was good too. When I asked the doc if I could hold his hand Gar lifted it up by himself. When I took his hand he opened his eyes & looked at me for a few seconds. I cant describe the joy I had when he did that! Hes a fighter! He had his MRI today & they said that his blood vessels arent damaged, which is great, & he has some shredding, but they said they already knew that from the CT scan. We will know more tomorrow when we talk to the neurologist. Hopefully tonight he rests better. Thank you so much everyone for the continuous prayers, thoughts, kind words. We really appreciate it! October 12 Rett & Alexis came up to the hospital today. I didnt let them see Garrett Heinrich yet. Maybe next week. Alexis was doing very well though. She definitely was keeping her aunties busy. She is still getting headaches though. Garretts CT scan came back good. They said it was probably just him fluctuating. He did very well with following commands later in the day. He squeezed my hand, let it go, & wiggled his toes. Later he gave a thumbs up & did 3 fingers up. All was pretty much on his right side. The left side is still weak. We got his MRI results & they said he has three spots on his brain that had some sheering. One is on the part of the brain that has to do with waking up which is why he has a hard time getting up or why he just shoots awake for a little bit. The doc said he was very optimistic on his prognosis. All three spots typically heal well, but it will be a long road & know one knows for sure. He said it could possibly be a month before hes able to wake up on his own. One a good note, when we were aloud to come back in after the shift change we noticed Garretts ventilating was out! He had on an air mask. The nurse then told us that he pulled the tube out himself... I guess he wanted to speed up the process. But, he is doing very well. His numbers are staying high so they said they are going to try & leave the tube out. Since hes off the ventilator he cant be sedated either, but so far hes staying calm. Just moving around a bit. Hes doing well. Thank you to everyone whos sent/brought cards & flowers & also to everyone for offering to help whether it be with the kids or meals or the house. It means so much to have so much support from family & friends. Thank you everyone! October 13 Sorry for no update this morning. Garrett Heinrich had a very busy day! His breathing is doing great! They had him on oxygen, but he kept taking it off so they left it off & hes doing awesome. He started moving his left leg deliberately & squeezing better with his left hand. They took the EEG probes off today & while they were doing it he lifted his head up & held it so they could get the ones from the back off. He also got all his IVs removed. He is getting all his pain meds threw his feeding tube. He responded well to his directions like wiggle your toes & show me two fingers. When I was siting by him he kept putting his leg off the bed & almost every time I asked him to put it back in bed he did. While the nurse was moving him around she asked him if he was in pain & he made a noise. She asked again & he said yeah. So exciting! Then later he was trying to pull off his leg sleeves(to prevent blood clots) so the nurse removed them. He started to scratch his leg so I asked if his leg itched. He took my hand & pushed it on his leg so Id scratch them for him. When I stopped he picked up his leg & put it in my face, lol. Later he kept trying to sit up so I asked him if he was in pain & he said yeah again! The nurse said he couldnt have any pain meds yet but he could try & sit on the edge of the bed. After they got him to the edge of the bed he pointed at a chair. When the nurse asked if he wanted to sit in the chair he shook his head yes. So he sat in a chair today!! His nurse said he was her star patient & that hes the fastest progressing patient that shes had. She also said that if he keeps doing so well he may be moved out of the ICU on Tuesday! He still isnt opening his eyes much, & has a long road ahead of him, but he is doing so well & I am so proud of him! October 14 AM Update- It was a busy night for Garrett Heinrich. He showed is his strength & ingenuity last night. He always said I have monkey toes, but he was the one pulling stuff off with his toes since his hands has gloves on them. He also can get his gloves off with his toes too, mind you his hands are strapped down so he has to bring his feet up. Last night was a struggle to get him not to pull out all his tubes. At one point he had his mom pined to the end of the bed by her jacket. She had to take it off to move, but wed rather have him putting his toes to his head & moving all over then just laying there... He said a few more word last night & opened his eyes a little twice too. The doc said they might move him to the 5th floor today. It all depends. October 14 PM Another big day for Garrett Heinrich today! Lots of updates! He tried to talk more today. Later the OT came to see him & when she asked him if he could raise his left hand he grab it with his right & picked it up. He got to sit in the chair again. While he was in it they had a stool under his feet. He pushed the stool away & the when he wanted it back he pulled it back with his foot. We asked him to do it again for the nurse & he did. The nurse was so exited! While unrestrained we thought he was trying to pull out his feeding tube but soon realized he just wanted to scratch his nose & rub his eyes. When Grandma said something about putting off his hair cut he ran his fingers threw his hair, & while I was holding his hand & rubbing it with my thumb he rubbed my hand back! That just made my day! Since he had to get out of the chair for another MRI on his neck the nurse asked him to put up 1 finger if he wanted to go in a wheel chair & 2 fingers if he wanted to go in the bed. He put up 1 finger so he went in a wheel chair. The doc seems very impressed with his progress. He did great with listening & staying still in the MRI so the nurse told him if he would listen & stay calm he could have the restrains off. Hes doing awesome with it! While his mom was on the phone with his brother his brother asked if he was behaving & he waved his hand making the so-so sign. I laughed so hard! He then proceeded to grab his moms arm, take her phone from her, & put it by his ear to talk to his brother. When he talked to his friend & his friend stopped talking he hung up the phone! Hes doing so good! Hes not opening his eyes yet or taking much, but he definitely lets is know what he wants. They moved him to the 5th floor today & hes got his own room. He also is now answering yes or no questions by putting 1 finger up for no & 2 for yes! Im just so proud of him! The nurses told us we needed to go home tonight & get some sleep. Also it will let him try & get on a normal sleeping schedule so tonight we will be at a motel near by. Tonight this will be the first time we are not with him, but they gave us a number to call & someone will be with him 24/7. Please pray for a good night!
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 12:48:57 +0000
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