Addendum to August 31 News from Denver

I wasn't able to get the picture of Linda, Rachel and Katie to publish properly, so here it is. Look at all those beautiful smiles.

John

News from the Denver Outpost August 31, 2007

Dear Friends,

Rachel started the day with the promise of a relaxing shower. The promise was for early afternoon, with a dressing change to occur just prior to it. But, early on the day promised even more excitement and work. The night nurse arrived at 6:25 am and quietly shut off the oxygen to Rachel’s nose supply. She didn’t wake Rachel, but told me they were going to try to establish her blood oxygen level after 20 minutes or so of deprivation. When she came back, the initial reading was in the low 90 percent. So the nurse decided to turn the oxygen amount to .5 ml and leave the nose supply in. Twenty minutes later the Respiratory Therapist arrived and ran Rachel through the nebulizer gauntlet. She then got a reading of 88 percent and said she needed to remain on oxygen.

Breakfast arrived and we started preparations for her to get through with the meal in time for therapists to show up and put her to work. As usual, something small was missing from the tray, and I had to go get milk for her cereal. Nothing starts the morning like Raisin Bran without milk. Fortuitously, we finished up the breakfast just as Dr D. arrived for morning rounds. She discussed Rachel’s big day yesterday with her and then, glancing at the foot bandages, said she had asked the orthopedic and plastic surgeons to revise their orders on the foot to allow a greater range of motion, and for the physical therapists to start a more drastic stretching program. She also left specific instructions to get outside this weekend as often as possible. She even suggested we go to the final showing at the local drive-in theater. Unfortunately, the theater may not have accepted a wheelchair as our vehicle.

Katie, our Occupational Therapist arrived as Dr. D left and began instructing Rachel to get into her street clothes. First, however, they both admired Rachel’s new walking boot, and then Katie showed her how to use a garbage bag to cover the boot and ease her shorts over the boot to get them on. A slick trick indeed. Then the ladies headed for the OT gym for a little game of pitch, while I headed for the ice machine to get Rachel a cold glass of water. As they passed Dr. D’s station, Dr. D. told Katie that Rachel could put more weight and potentially walk if both surgeons signed off on the order. Dr. Davis the orthopedic surgeon had already done so, and that the plastic surgeon still had to sign off. Katie was ecstatic. When I arrived in the room, we discovered I had forgotten the “fan” we inherited from Leah when she went home. I set off for the room, and ran into the plastic surgeon and his head nurse entering Rachel’s room. I grabbed the “fan” and led them back to the OT gym, where he looked at the wounds, discussed his orders with Katie and said “Sure she can start walking”.

And so, Linda, our physical therapist, got to start her afternoon session by showing Rachel how to begin using her walking boot to actually walk. They started in the Physical Therapy gym using parallel bars to help her regain confidence in the foot and her gait. Luckily, Katie was working there with another client and so they are the lead picture of the evening. Linda, Rachel and Katie grinning from ear to ear as Rachel demonstrates her walking skills on the parallel bars.

After PT, Rachel and I headed out of doors for a little wheelchairing adventure to Central Park fountains in Englewood, Co. It is about a 8 block one way trip out and an 8 block trip back. Most of the out trip seemed downhill, and most of the trip back was definitely uphill. So I also got a little workout in today pushing the wheelchair all around. Picture two shows Rachel sitting in front of the pond and fountains.

When we got back to the hospital, Katie wanted to make a splint for Rachel’s hand, so Rachel’s shower slid farther down the priority list, and even ended up after dinner. But, before she could take her shower, she had to have staples removed from her hand and ankle wounds. Thus the final picture of Rachel and her day nurse Dorothy pulling staples.

Finally, the shower (no pics), perfect water temps, lots of scrubbing bubbles, and a trip back to brand new dressings for all her wounds. Now she is trying not to fall asleep before evening meds, but I suspect that is a futile effort and that once meds are delivered, she will be out like a light until the next meds round or more. We go into a slow three day weekend with a much smaller therapy schedule, but with a great big day leading into the rest time. She worked hard all day, in fact all week, and I couldn’t be any prouder of her.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zack and Leah’s Dad

News from the Denver Outpost August 30 2007

Dear Friends,

We will keep it short and sweet today. Rachel had another big day in PT and OT. The techs and nurses also kept things moving. The biggest event was getting a walking boot fitted and in place for her to use in transfers and pivots only. This means she can not use it to walk on, but only to maintain balance while transferring between seats. She can transfer from bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to car or airline seat etc, etc. It is a big black boot that should mix well into her ensemble of clothing.

We also made our second trip to the pond/fountain, except this time Rachel did most of the locomotion herself. She pulls with the heel of her left foot/shoe and pushes with her left arm and hand. To reverse, she does the opposite with both appendages. We were able to go through the connecting tunnel from the elevators to the fountain without going outside and around the hospital like last time.

For Jay, Leah, Britanie, Jerry, Julia, and Aunt K.: Our black diamond method of getting around the hospital is changing daily. Monday, the tiles had colors written beside them at different intersections. Tuesday the tiles were changed to include 6 different colored lines that drift off in different directions at those intersections. So to go to the emergency room entry doors you have to follow the black line from the visitor’s elevators to the doors, and visa versa the other way. Now when the night guard needs to send someone somewhere, they will just send them there by having them follow a different colored line.

I am attaching a few pictures this evening. One shows Rachel and Physical Therapist Janet as fashion models for the new walking boot. The other is Rachel sitting in front of the fountain/pond, wearing the most fashionable outfit the hospital provides. The bright, sunshiny yellow frock over the aquamarine gown offsets the austere black walking boot, demonstrating the highest regard for patient security and safety while preserving the trend-setting homogenous hegemony currently in vogue at Swedish Medical Center. The final photo shows Rachel’s sports model wheelchair with therapists Maria and Liz.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Leah and Zach’s Dad

Update from Omaha - 8-30-07

Just wanted to put up a quick update here as it has been a few days since we last posted. As you probably have read in Dad's post below, Britanie has departed Omaha for Harvard, which lead to quite the emotional day for all of us here in Omaha. We really felt like we had just got Brit back home, and here she was taking off again. We are very excited for her, and are very proud and happy that she decided to take the challenge of heading off to Harvard Law head on. We miss her already, but can't wait to hear all the adventures that Boston and HLS have to offer. She did ask me to put up her address so that people can write to her if they so desire:

Britanie Hall
5107 HLS Holmes Mail Center
Cambridge, MA 02138-5107

Leah had another good PT session, and we managed to get the arm all the way up to 120 degrees. Basically this is making the elbow go above the shoulder! She was also told that for around the house, she should not wear the sling, as she needed to start stretching the shoulder and elbow out, and letting the shoulder take a bit of weight, so it gets stronger as well. This is a pretty painful experience, but Leah is being tough, and manages to keep a brave face on.

We also had a visit with the neurovascular surgeon consultant here in Omaha to review the carotid injury. He felt that she could begin to move of of the coumadin and switch to baby aspirin. This is a good step, as now some of the bruises will begin to heal more quickly, and she can also stop having to go to the doctor a few times a week to get her blood checked. This does however mean that she will no longer be sporting sweet Snoopy or Sesame Street band aids on her fingers...

I did also start doing a little silversmith work again. Many of you are new readers to the blog, but I have been working with my Grandma and Grandpa Kunc to learn how to do some silversmithing from them. This was a way for me to spend some time with them, and also a way for me to express my creative side. Our weekly lessons grew to be something I loved to do, and was a wonderful treat for my grandparents. In an attempt to begin to establish a bit of normalcy, and also a good way to cheer up Grandma, I begin trying to keep my appointments with them, and last week restarted doing some silver work. I wanted to take the time to give a little thanks to Dee out there in Denver, so I decided to make a little project for her, that I hope she will enjoy as a small token of my gratitude for taking care of all of us while we have been out Denver. I made a simple pin of Chinese Turquoise set in sterling silver. I scribed a quick thank you from the Hall family, along with the year that we gave it to her. I will be sending this out to her with Leah's sister and brother in law when we see them tomorrow.

Chinese Turquoise in Sterling Silver Pin

Thanks again Dee, I hope you will enjoy this.

Be sure to check out Dad's update below, lots of good news about Rachel. We would like to once again thank everyone for their continued prayers, thoughts, and generous acts of love towards us and those out in Denver, Boston and Stillwater. All of your support makes it possible for us to be strong, and to continue down the long road to recovery. Thank you very much.

J
halljw@gmail.com

News from the Denver Outpost August 29, 2007

Dear Friends,

The last two days have been exciting on a couple of fronts. Britanie left Omaha for Boston on a 5:40 am flight from Eppley Airfield. Prior to arriving at Eppley, she received a phone call from dear ole Dad asking if she and her driver (Aunt M) were enjoying the full lunar eclipse. She reported that both were indeed and that she had also called Grandma and told her to go look at the moon. Thus, as Rachel says, we all had a cosmic connection. Rachel and I noticed the moon shining directly in to our “luxury suite” here at Swedish Medical Center on Sunday night. We could watch as it moved from east to west across the night sky from our respective beds. Therefore, we were anticipating the same luxury as we prepared for Monday nights sleep. Unfortunately, the moon was about 20 degrees higher in the night sky than the night before, so I had to get up and go to the window to observe the moon every half hour or so from about 3:00 am until 5:30 when our wakeup call came into the room for a blood draught. Thanks to my niece Lizzie for the heads-up on the eclipse, and for all the lost sleep too.

On the Denver front, Rachel has had her wound vac bandages removed today and says she is about 30 pounds lighter. Since there have been many queries as to these wound vac bandages and the pump, let me explain. Wound vac bandages are plastic, shaped to cover the wound, with a tube attached to vacuum the effluent away from the wound. The effluent is collected in a tank at the end of a hose, sort of like a shop vac would collect water and deposit the water in the tank. Rachel had one on a deep abrasion on her right wrist that went down to the tendons but did not tear or damage any. She also had one on her right ankle that lacerated her ligaments, but did not cut any tendons. The tubes were connected at a y-joint and then the effluent went to one vacuum weighing about 25 pounds that sat a roared all day and night as it picked up or lost suction on the wounds. She also had her fancy air bed exchanged for a regular bed. The air bed was slowing her down because she could not push to move herself up or to the side of the bed. It was a little like trying to push on a balloon. It just gave way. So without the air bed and the vacuum, our environment suddenly is much quieter. Guess she will have to reacclimatize to my snoring.

Rachel also was encouraged to keep working hard as the therapist set up a practice course for her to imitate on her wheelchair how she will negotiate the bathroom in our home from the hallway outside the bathroom. The door to the bathroom is 29 inches wide, and the bathroom itself is about 37 inches wide with all its various obstacles. The hallway outside is also 37 inches wide. The wheelchair is 27 inches wide from outside tire to outside tire. So she had to practice wheeling down the hallway, and making a tight 90 degree turn into the bathroom, and then practice backing out of the bathroom and making a very tight 90 degree turn to head back to the living room. She will get good at doing all of this fairly rapidly. There is nothing like the incentive of a full bladder to get her moving and practicing. She is also becoming quite adept at being ambidextrous. Her spoon and fork skills almost rival those of her right hand. Unfortunately, she has not spent as much time writing with her left as she has eating with her fork and spoon.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach, and Leah’s Dad

News from the Denver Outpost August 27, 2007

News from Denver

Dear Friends,

I have been remiss in my duties of updating everyone on Rachel’s developments. She continues to improve, and has thus started taking up more of my time during the day. Yesterday, we took a field trip to see the goldfish pond and fountain contained in a courtyard here between buildings. On weekends, the hospital closes down most of the available egress doors to ensure security, so we were not able to take the shortest way to the pond. I took her out the emergency room doors (they tend to be unlocked almost always) and took her up to Girard St. for about four blocks and then down an incline to the pond about a city block. When she tuckered out, I had to push her uphill for a block. Fortunately, Girard slopes down to go back to the emergency room doors. So I got quite a workout too!

Today, they started removing some of the tubes. At 6:00 this morning, Rachel was unhooked from her catheter and is now back on her own for all bodily waste operations. They told us today they will also remove the vacuum system by Wednesday, which means a lot more freedom for us. They also are pushing her to use her Voldyne breathing tool at least once per hour. They want to get her lungs redeveloped to the point she can sustain 90% blood oxygen on her own without the oxygen tube assist.

Today, the Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists outfitted her with a sleeker, lighter weight variety of wheelchair and sent her off into the hallways to practice locomoting on her own. She quickly discovered the disadvantages of carpeted rooms, and the distinct advantage of flat, smooth surfaces. She also got her first real bath in 23 days, so she has already had a big day and we are still planning at least one trip back to the pond.

Thank you all for continuing to support us with thoughts and prayers. We have a great deal of healing, both physical and mental, ahead of us. We really can’t put into words how much we miss Renee. Please keep Zack and his family in your thoughts and prayers too! I know their pain is equally overwhelming.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zack and Leah’s Dad

Jwhall2@gmail.com

402.680.8371

Omaha Update - August 25, 2007

Quick little update, mostly as a chance to send out some quick thanks out to some folks. We had another good day today, as Leah has decided to completely stop taking the Percocet and transition over to taking ibuprofen. This is a positive step, as that means Leah's overall pain level has dropped, and she has decided that she is tired of the side effects of the Percocet. She seemed very upbeat today, and slept very well last night.

We had a big night Friday night, as Britanie got back into town, so we had Grandma and Grandpa Kunc, my aunts Marsha and Karen, and Britanie over for dinner. We had a good dinner provided by Grandma, and lots of good conversations between everyone. We were all thrilled to see Britanie, and she was very happy to see us. It was a good chance for her to unpressurize a bit, and start thinking about going to Harvard. Karen brought a really good Bundt cake for dessert and it was enjoyed by all. Marsha brought us some fresh sweet corn from Columbus, and some more home grown potatoes. Jay and Lori and their boys stopped by later in the evening to deliver some fresh drawings that Thomas and JJ had drawn for Leah. The drawings helped her feel even better, as did watching the boys tear about the yard. Thanks to all of them!

We did load Karen up with some stuff to take out to Mom and Dad in Denver, as she was heading out that way for a workshop. She planned on stopping by to visit with Mom late today, and promised to give them all a hug or a squeeze for us. I did get a call from Dad this evening saying Karen had safely made it to Denver, and she and Mom were happily chatting away. He even sent us a picture to prove it!

Karen and Rachel chatting away...

Here in Omaha, we had a very busy day with lots of visitors from my work EDM. Jayne stopped by early in the afternoon to give us a few more meals for us, which we sampled gladly at dinner this evening, and I am sure we will enjoy the coffee cake tomorrow morning. She also spoiled us by baking some of her famous cookies, which prompted Leah to remark that "Jayne sure did know how to bake!" after sampling one of the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Just as Jayne was taking off, Barb stopped by to visit, and she was carrying a wonderful ice cream cake for us. We had a very nice talk with her, and are very glad she could stop by. We are looking forward to that Ice cream cake tomorrow as well. I figure I might gain some of the weight back that I lost while not eating at the hospital! So once again, thanks to those two wonderful ladies for taking care of us, and bringing a bit of cheer into our day.

Right after Barb left, Mary stopped by with her massage table. We managed to get Leah up on the table and relaxing comfortably while Mary prepared to give Leah a nice relaxing massage. Nearly an hour and 15 minutes later, Leah was having to be helped up off the table, a relaxed look on her face, and a big smile lighting up the room. She said that this was the best she had felt since before the accident, and her shoulder was completely pain free! It really is amazing what some gentle touch in the right spots can do for eliminating discomfort. Right after Leah was finished, Mary told a semi-trepidatious Britanie to jump up on the table, and worked some of the tension and knots that come from sleeping in a hospital room right out. Brit got up with a pretty happy look on her face, and said that she was going to have to look into this massage stuff more often! Mary receives a big thanks from all of us, especially from the girls for helping relax them!

I promised pictures of the famous "bearometer" so I am following thru :

The whole Bearometer...

The grumpiest Teddy bear I have ever seen...

This guy doesn't get used much!

I hope this bear get used a lot more!!

Thanks again to everyone for the continued emails, calls and cards. We can't thank all of you enough. Please continue to keep Zack and his family in your thoughts and prayers, and keep praying that the girls will be able to continue to improve. Thanks again for your generosity, your love, and your support. To use the words from a card that was sent to us by Bill and Judith's good friend Jan that pretty much sums up the way we feel, "We have a circle of friends surrounding us, constantly lifting us back up, never letting us fall. Their support is a pillar of strength that keeps us strong, even when we are feeling weak." This phrase pretty much sums up what Leah and I feel about the love that we are constantly receiving. Your help and love allows us to have our weak moments; the moments where we need to cry, to be overwhelmed, to question, and to mourn, so we can heal our spirits. your love and support has provided us a safety net that will not let us fall.

Jay

News from the Denver Outpost August 24, 2007

Dear Friends,

The numbers of family are reduced again in Denver. Britanie returned to Omaha this morning to pack and move on to Boston on Tuesday. She has a solid week of orientation before beginning school in earnest on September 4^th. While we were a little emotional over her leaving, it was time for her to move forward. We will miss her, but she is still only a phone call away.

Rachel had her skin graft on her arm yesterday and is pretty sore where they harvested the donor skin. But, she progress a little farther today, even asking this evening to get out of bed and into her wheelchair to eat sitting up at a table. This is her first out of bed sitting dinner in 20 days. She studied the physics of her little walker tool and has since been improving on her pirouetting skills daily. She can now move much easier between focal points as she shifts her weight from her foot to her hand and walker.

She also was scolded for not using her lung improvement tool enough. The docs wanted to start weaning her off her oxygen today, but found out inadvertently that she wasn’t quite ready. Her Physical Therapist had hooked her to a portable oxygen tank and then saw her blood oxygen percentage dropping like a rock. She left to get a nurse and when they came back I asked if the tank was properly hooked up and on. She adjusted the hookup and the oxygen level started up immediately. So the docs didn’t get to do any weaning today.

We enter another weekend tomorrow with a lighter PT and OT schedule, but at least I know Rachel will get up and try the chair and potty on her own initiative. She can wash her hair (using camping procedures), brush her teeth, and put in earrings all on her own. So she must be getting set to go home.

Britanie and I went east yesterday and found a really nice Italian ristorante with pizza and pastas and all things Italian about a mile from the hospital. It was great food, and just a good walking distance with a nice break at the halfway point. So I will have to go that way more often and bring back some takeout for Rachel at some point. Today I went North by myself and found a little park I was told was close. (about 13 blocks) Unfortunately, I didn’t see any birds except pigeons, so the park is not my type of place. It would be great for soccer or baseball, but not birding.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah’s Dad

Update from a Rainy Omaha - August 23, 2007

Omaha has been rainy the last few days, but despite all the gloomy weather, the mood around the Hall house is pretty sunny. Leah is doing quite well, making good strides in her recovery. We have been busy with lots of PT, keeping Bill and Judith busy, and me making a return to work.

Leah and I went to the orthopedic consultant on Monday, and he took a good look at her forearm and shoulder. We had a bit of a surprise when he told her that they were going to take off her forearm cast so they could take some X rays, but Leah was brave, and managed to get the arm looked at with out even screaming. The doctor also took a look at the shoulder, and thought that everything looked very good, and we were seeing good healing. We did however find that Leah's fractured clavicle had become more displaced, and was now causing a bit of a bump on her shoulder. The doctor said we will be having to make some choices about whether she will go back under the knife to get some more metal put in to repair the clavicle. We do however had a few months to try to let it heal naturally, so this decision doesn't have to be made today.

Leah did also get a new cast for her forearm and wrist, this one only a half length cast, which not only is far more comfortable for her, but also significantly lighter. This helped her shoulder to feel a bit better, as she wasn't lugging around a 5-6 pound cast, but rather only a 3-4 pound cast. She also enjoys this cast more, as she can now scratch her elbow, which is something she has wanted to do since the first cast got put on. Her new cast is also a much more exciting bright Orange (I know, surprise surprise) so she can not only exhibit her bold personality, but also support her alma matter in style!

We also did get Leah a new set of glasses. Her glasses were lost in the accident, and she has been managing to live in a very blurry world. Thankfully her eyes are not horrible like mine, so she was able to function fairly well! We had ordered the glasses last week when we got back, but unfortunately her prescription was complicated, and required a special lens, so the process took longer then usual. She was very excited to be able to see clearly again, and is looking forward to reading some of her library books with more ease.

I did return to work late last week for a little bit, just to start getting my feet wet, but returned mostly full time this week. Leah's folks are here during on the weekdays, and are helping out around the house with Leah, and doing all the little things that probably would have fallen by the wayside had they not been here. We have been very fortunate to have Bill and Judith here, and they help they have provided is absolutely fantastic. I am able to go to work and start getting some sense of normalcy back, which is a positive step in the healing process. I also feel that getting back to work helps, as it gets my mind thinking about other issues, and the outpouring of support from my coworkers is wonderful.

Britanie comes home from Denver tomorrow, and Leah and I are both looking forward to seeing her. We are going to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Kunc, and hopefully them getting to see each other will be good for both parties.

Well Leah is having a bit of a rough night tonight, so I am going to cut this short and go be with her. Thanks again for everyone's love and support, generous offers, and kind smiles. Please continue to keep sending the love our way, and especially to those out in Denver, who really are going to need a lot of it the next few weeks until we can get them home. Keep sending the swede mail ( http://www.swedishhospital.com room 6135) and let them know you are thinking about them. Please also give a thought to Zack and his family, who need all the love and support they can get as well.

We love all of you, thanks again so much,
J

Carrying her with me

Renee and I have done a lot of packing and unpacking in our lives, some of it together but too much apart. As I prepare to head home to Omaha to unpack from our “vacation” that was meant to be spent with her and my wonderful family and repack for a new life path in Boston, my thoughts never drift far from Renee.

My first packing memory comes from 1989, as our family prepared to move from Plymouth, Minnesota, to Amarillo, Texas. I think that everything in my room had been packed but my little red bed with Sesame Street sheets and my Winnie the Pooh nightlight, and everything but her bed had been packed in Renee’s fuschia-carpeted room next door. In the middle of the night, I woke up and my room looked scary and different, with all the familiar things down off the walls. But I don’t know if I ever cried, because the next thing I can remember is Renee peeking open the door and tiptoeing into my room to hug me and lay with me for a little bit. That probably wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last time she would comfort me in the middle of the night…

Next, Amarillo, Texas: As much as I hate to admit it, my mother is right when she says Renee was the sweet child (and the smart one). At age 6, I had packed my little animal-alphabet carpet bag and began to try to run away on a regular basis, though my reasoning escapes my mind. Poor Renee was always stuck with the job of helping me unpack that silly bag. After I made it to two blocks away one last foiled attempt, Renee grumbled to me as we unpacked that if I was going to run away, then I had better at least pack some food and clothes and leave out at least a few of the toys.

Packing for camping trips, music camps, a move to Nebraska, college… She always had a lighter suitcase and still had all she needed.

July 17^th, 2004, 9 something am: I am madly rushing to finish curling Renee’s hair in my upstairs yellow bathroom, but she keeps bouncing around, her ears coming threateningly close to the hot iron. Yet as I hurry to finish her hair and pack her shoes, her makeup, some hairspray into a tote, I want so badly to just stop and stay in this moment. We have laughed so much this beautiful summer morning, and it is the last day that we will ever call the same house home. My sister looks so beautiful and happy as we smile at each other in the mirror. We aren’t little girls any longer.

Now I will never pack alone.

News from the Denver Outpost August 22, 2007

Dear Friends

Life in Swedish Hospital has taken a slight new twist. Rachel is responding to Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy with vigor. Although she is usually tired, she tries hard to do all the exercises with a good attitude.

In spite of our hopes, her bladder infection has turned into a case of MRSA. Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus is becoming a common place infection in hospitals and in some community activities. Some athletes are getting infected in common showers, or wrestling events etc. This is typically a contact infection caused by spores attached to objects or clothes and very common on human skin. However, when it enters through a wound or opening, it can become and infection. Consequently, to enter the room now we need to put on a yellow gown and gloves. When we leave we have to take off the gown and gloves and turn them inside out. We then must wash our hands thoroughly in hopes of not infecting members of the public. Rachel does the reverse. She puts on the gown and gloves to leave the room.

So life has become a little more complicated in room 6-135. As we understand it, we are going to get to sleep in our lovely yellow gowns and gloves. Britanie has absolutely refused to even consider that probability. And, typing with little tight plastic gloves is equally fun.

We also had a long discussion with a neuro-psychologist about Britanie going to Harvard Law School this fall. After talking with her, he recommended that she defer as she was showing classic symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress. It will take 6 weeks to tell if this could develop into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We talked with the Dean of Students office and they told us Britanie can withdraw at any point in her schooling at Harvard by taking a medical leave without losing their position at Harvard. So, I think she will be going on Tuesday as planned. She will be leaving Denver on Friday to go to Omaha and pack.

Surgery again tomorrow to check out the recalcitrant ankle wound, and potentially begin skin grafting. She may have to go three more days with her evacs unit pulling effluent from both of her wounds. The doc wants to harvest donor skin all at one time rather than have to do it twice. That would limit the amount of extra surgery.

St. Stanislaus will be having a special Mass for Rachel, Leah and Renee at 8 a.m. Friday at St. Stanislaus Church. There will be a rosary for Renee as well.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah’s Dad

Jwhall2@gmail.com

News from the Denver Outpost August 21, 2007

Dear Friends

We missed our nightly update last evening since Britanie and I were out gallivanting around. We went out and prepared a dinner for 8 with our friends Jim and Dee Fehr. They had two guest couples from their bridge club join us for dinner and the entertainment was watching Britanie and I cook. I think they were wondering what happened and when did the hurricane move through the kitchen as the dirty preparation dishes began to pile up. But, everyone at least acted as though they enjoyed the meal.

Rachel went down for surgery about 10:15 Monday, but then didn’t show up again until about 5 pm. She was bumped from the lineup and waited an extra 2.5 hours. The docs replaced the evac bandages on the arm, and expect to do the graft on Thursday of this week. The ankle wound was debrided again and hopefully will be able to be graft in another surgery some time next week.

The good news today was that the team of doctors, nurses, therapists and administrators got together and set a tentative date for getting her out of here and on her way home. Tentatively, we could be out of the hospital on September 11. Then we may be able to travel either by passenger car or commercial air to Omaha. This all depends on how PT and OT progress, and if lady luck keeps other factors from interfering. The bad news today is that she has contracted a bladder infection.

I talked with Zack today, and he is back at work. With OSU football season only weeks away, the team needs his help in preparing the players to win out the season. Hopefully, he can get invigorated with his job and find some joy in every day functions again. He misses Renee and still wants to believe that he is just keeping their apartment ready for her to walk back in. Bosko provides comfort and that necessary ingredient: unconditional love for Zack.

Zack also said he is receiving cards and letters from folks he hasn’t seen for years and from people who only knew Renee from reputation or from other friends. Memorial donations are being set aside to establish a violin scholarship in Renee’s name for out-of-state violin students. Such a scholarship brought Renee into Zack’s world, and he wants to have her memorialized in that way.

Another tough day for Dad and Zack. I miss Zack’s “Silly Girl” so so much. I wish I could hear another silly joke that she and Jane, her mother-in-law, so liked to share. One of her favorites was: “Do you know why you can’t hear a pterodactyl go to the bathroom?” “Because the ‘P” is silent!”

Dad
jwhall2@gmail.com

Update from Omaha - 8-19-07

Its been a fairly quiet weekend here in Omaha when compared to the folks in Denver. Leah and I entertained a few guests, Jerry and two of his kids, Adam and Courtney stopped by to deliver my truck back to me, and to also to stop by and see Leah. We also had my cousin Christina and her new husband Cody stop by after their trip to the Henry Doorley Zoo. They were quickly entertained by my coworker Rod, his wife Lori and their very cute daughter Rori, who quickly became the star of the show!

Lori brought over a wonderful casserole for dinner, and Rod had found a nice loaf of garlic bread to finish it off. Lori was a bit annoyed that Rod didn't get them a loaf too, as the bread smelled quite delicious. A special thanks goes out to Rod and Lori for feeding us this weekend! It was delicious!

Mary (another coworker) stopped by for a bit later in the evening, and brought a little cheer with her. She came "BEAR"-ing gifts for us in the form of a basketful of teddy bears appropriately labeled "Leah's Bearometer." There were four different bears, each with a special tag around it's neck which stated a mood. The bears are for Leah to set out and let us all know how she is doing. There was the "I'm feeling beautiful, Smooch Me" bear, the "I'm feeling grumpy so don't mess with me" bear, the "I need a hug" bear, and finally the "I'm ready for PT" bear. Leah said I can probably hide the "I'm ready for PT" bear, as she isn't sure she ever is ready for PT. The bear's were a real hit, and I will have to get some pictures taken, as the bear really fit their personalities!

Mary also brought a little medicine for me, in the form of a six pack of Empyrian Brewing Co's Dark Vanilla Porter beer. She said I looked like I could use a few. She also said that Leah couldn't be left out of the drink department, but since she is on blood thinners and pain meds, she brought over a package of Key Lime Creme Soda, which Leah had never had, but now loves. Mary also spoiled Leah by giving her a bit of a left shoulder massage, and helping release and relax some of the knots in her upper back. Leah said that she felt like a limp noodle, and as soon as Mary left, she went and took a nice deep nap.

A special thanks goes out to our good friends Lori and Jay for bringing by dinner and a quick visit on Friday night. Once again, delicious food, and bountiful enough quantities that we were able to get two meals out of it. All the wonderful food that people are making for us, means that I don't have to cook, which really is one less task on my plate. I can't thank all of you guys for your help enough.

Leah loves having visitors, as it makes her day go by that much faster. She likes seeing people, and getting to see her and how she is doing can also help pick some people's spirits up a bit. I also think she likes people to come over, as it stops her from having to just stare at me all the time, which I say is probably quite boring.

Tomorrow we head over to an orthopedic surgeon to have Leah's shoulder looked at. Hopefully we will get a good prognosis, and get to start doing more advance PT so we can get her back to a more normal life. Leah is very anxious to be able to get back to doing stuff for herself, as those of you who know her know, she is very independent.

I actually did finally get a good nights sleep last night, had one of those Mary prescribed medications with dinner, and Leah and I sat back and watched a nice movie and just relaxed. I had a pretty good night, and slept fairly soundly thru most of the night. This is a big improvement over the last few nights, where I have pretty much been sleepless either to me dreaming about unpleasant things, or me being awake at the slightest little noise from Leah. I call it my Ninja nurse, as she makes a noise, and I jump up out of bed ready to help with whatever. Leah says that it is a bit freaky, as she even moves the sheets, and I pop up and am like what do you need, how can I help etc... I guess that is good, as I am trying to help out.

Well I have to get her ready for bed, early morning tomorrow, and a very busy rest of the day. I hope to see some more folks stop by and see us. I know we will be home in the evenings, and people are welcome to stop by and say hi. (Leah just read this, and told me to tell you guys that you are welcome to stop by during the day as well, you just might not see me...) Just be sure to give us a call so I can have a chance to powder my nose...

Thanks again for all the generous sharing of love and prayers...
J

News from the Denver Outpost August 19, 2007

Dear Friends,

Sundays are a snap. We only had two half hour sessions of therapy, one of Physical Therapy and one of Occupational Therapy. Even then, we didn’t do much except get Rachel out of bed and into a wheelchair. She also got dressed again.

Yesterday’s loss of PT and OT time didn’t seem to affect her too badly. She did a great job of getting to the side of the bed. She winced a little getting up on her one got foot and when trying to put a good foot forward. The ultrasound from last night was negative. (YEAH!) The doctors thought it was just soreness and swelling from new muscle use and development. Unfortunately, it probably cost her one day and a half of productive gains.

We also experienced a little angst as Rachel woke up again in never-never land. We finally had a nurse pay enough attention to our concerns to call the doctor and report what we felt was a little strange. Rachel had some double vision, hallucinations, slurred speech, catatonic reactions, and a vast array of interesting answers to our queries. For example, she spotted two planes out the window and when they came together, thought they had crashed. She also asked if we had mailed a baseball helmet to Karl and how my business meeting went with an associate of Karen’s who runs an art shop in Estes Park.

The doctor decided to lower the amount of medications Rachel is receiving. As the milligrams went up, Rachel’s mental capacity deteriorated. So we are back near the start of her regime and will attempt to get a better handle on her true needs. As you can guess by now, we had some interesting conversations with the patient. We can only hope for a little less excitement tomorrow.

Britanie and I found a really nice little Mexican restaurant only 5 blocks from the hospital that had very good food. They also have a takeout menu that I will be able to utilize when Rachel is asking for more variety than the hospital menu affords. One El Burrito like I had for dinner today would be just right for both of us here in her room. They also had a green chili sauce that lit the back of your throat rather than your whole mouth. I will enjoy that walk more often. We also found the local Safeway store to be somewhat limited in selection, so will try a Kings Super tomorrow.

We received some wonderful conversational emails today. Folks were telling about their past week or day or filling us in on something exciting going on. And, since there was no Swede mail delivery Saturday or Sunday, we can’t wait to see what gets delivered from there tomorrow.

Rachel gets her wounds cleaned again tomorrow at 11 MDT and will be under general anesthesia. She may be back in time for some therapy in the afternoon, but I can almost guarantee a couple hours of work before she gets whisked down to the operating center. So check here same time, same channel for more news on our day tomorrow.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah’s Dad

Correction from Denver

Britanie tells me I gave a wrong phone number last night for the cell phone. Please use this number instead of the one posted: (402) 680-8371

I think Swede-mail does not get delivery over the weekends too, so if you want to get a message to Rachel and almost a guaranteed reply, send the weekend emails to jwhall2@gmail.com

Thank You everyone.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach, and Leah's Dad

News from the Denver Outpost August 18, 2007

Dear Friends,

Work, work, work. All work and no play. Today was more of a play day than a work day. Rachel complained of a sore left calf this morning and on closer observation actually had swelling in the ankle and the calf of her good leg. At rounds, the doctor gave orders for an ultrasound venous test to check for clots and said no getting out of bed until the results were in. Of course the doc was positive, and said we would have Rachel up and standing by noon or so. Unfortunately, it is almost 10 in the evening and we still have not gone for the test. Lots of trauma cases came in today, and the scan teams have been tied up all day. Far be it for us to be upset at the radiology team. Two weeks ago, we were the family desperately needing their talents and skills. We can afford to wait now. Happily, gladly, we will wait until they can take the time for us. We pray for those waiting for results, our souls call out to them knowing the pain.

Our new phones received a bigger workout today than did Rachel. Rachel enjoyed phone conversations with her sister Ilene, her parents, my sister Cheryl and with Jay and Leah. One of the questions asked dealt with the reason for the blood transfusion. Rachel does not have any internal bleeding that we know of at this time. The edema and weeping of her arm and leg wounds have included blood cells, and with the evac unit on, she is accumulating about 3 cups of fluids daily in that system. She needed the transfusion for oxygen carrying capacity, and to overcome some anemia effects from loss of red blood cells. We offer a big Thank you to the person who supplied that blood for the transfusion. If you, dear readers, are giving blood, we want to give you a big Thank you too.

Television made reappearance in our lives for the first time in two weeks. While we had occasionally turned a set on, we never seemed to settle to watch. Today though we were winding down from the previous big days, and needed something to fill the less demanding moments. We have been reading “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson out loud. Today even that did not seem to offer the intrapersonal moments we were each needing to meet our personal emotional and mental requirements. So, today we found that neither of the TV’s in our room played the same series of channels and some channels on one were not working on the other. Three “new” TV’s later we had two TVs that were acceptable, albeit both of these are only three human generations old, while their predecessors were at least four human generations old. One has decent color, while the other is a little too green. The rejected “new” set would probably have pleased the Smurfs.

Rachel also had a little time to grieve for Renee today, and that opened fresh wounds on Britanie’s and my hearts and soul. We shared some tears, huddled together as best you can huddle with a person with 18 broken ribs. We shared some stories and memories of little things that remind us of Renee. We love her, we miss her, and I am not sure the huge chasm in my heart will ever mend. So the tears at the bottom of this page are mine, and with that thought, I need to end this essay for now.

Renee, Zach, Jay, Leah, and Britanie’s Dad,

Denver Outpost News Friday, August 17, 2007

Hi Friends,

We spent most of today trying to keep up with the never ending supply of nurses, techs, therapists and doctors coming in and out of the room. It really started at 12:09 am, when Rachel requested another dose of pain medicine. Then from 3:10 until 7:10 am we were visited by different personnel all taking 10 to 15 minutes of sleep out of every hour. At 6:10 am, a respiratory technologist was vying with a phlebotomist for their respective 15 minutes of time. Then at 7:35 the doctors arrived for rounds. From that point on, we had Grand Central Station type crowds in here at times. Our day was full of therapy, with wheelchair trips to the gym, wheelchair trips to the big windows looking east from the hospital, wheelchair trips to see Rachel’s digital x-ray, CAT scan and MRI shots, and finally a sponge bath in bed. (For Rachel, not Brit or me.)

4 pm: So the days work is over, Right? Wrong. More nurses and techs show up. We missed two respiratory treatments because someone else was using up the computer and the patient during that time. At 4:30, a nutritionist showed up to talk about Rachel’s diet, and offered to get us a good meal rather than the pre-selected meal chosen by some staff member because Rachel was going to surgery and on a colorless liquid diet all day the day before. So, while she was helping decide the menu for the evening, the plastic surgeon catapults into the room, introducing himself as he came and begins discussing his patients prognosis. As he is talking and the nutritionist is standing beside him awestruck, Rachel’s Occupational therapist walked in, clapped the doctor heartily on the back and began telling him how she wanted Rachel treated to reduce the swelling in her arm and hand. This little side show continued for nearly 15 minutes, but we finally got back to the nutritionist, discussed that she attended UNMC and loved Omaha and that she would get Rachel her special meal tonight.

Forty five minutes later the meal arrived, and we set up Rachel to eat her special order.

Almost immediately, a nurse arrived with blood for the transfusion, the specialist (picc nurse) arrived to clean out the ports so blood could be entered and then later tonight re-extracted. She announced she would be back in and hour and a half when the little pac-mans finished eating the plug from the ports. The nurse and a helping nurse began setting up the port to drip blood, and then moved to the computer to record that work plus enter the new meds they were providing.

Our favorite family in Denver, Jim and Dee Fehr, arrived with our evening meal minutes later. Dee is an Aunt of Leah’s brother-in-law, Robert. She and her husband had never met us, but had heard of our tragedy from Leah’s sister Julie. She offered us a place to stay and absolutely insisted on providing home-cooked meals in the evening. When my brother Jerry and Leah’s parents, Bill and Judith, were here, they stayed at Dee and Jim’s fabulous home. We adore them.

Rachel will need an additional trip under general anesthesia Monday morning at 11:00 am to continue to clean out the sloughing tissue. If all goes well, later in the week she will go in a third time to get a skin graft, and then 7 days later get the dressings off healthy pink skin. As long as the right leg is virtually incapacitated, the surgeon will inflict another bit of pain on her right thigh and remove the grafting skin from there.

Today was also a landmark day for Rachel and I as we capitulated and entered the cell phone world. We joined a family plan with Britanie for a couple reasons. Firstly, we need a means of keeping in touch with all you who wish to hear our sonorous tones, and secondly, we wanted to be able to easily keep in touch with Britanie during the next few arduous months. So for the former, our number here in Denver is (402) 860-8371. Feel free to call anytime after 7:00 am. I am sure we will be up and into our day.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah’s Dad

Jwhall2@gmail.com

(402) 860-8371

Denver Outpost News

Dear Friends,

It is interesting to note that by 9:30 each evening, the rehabilitation floor is very quiet. Even with most of the doors standing wide open, the only sounds one hears is techs and nurses scurrying down the halls to give meds to patients, their keys jingling like license tags on a trotting dog. Quiet that is except for room 6-135. There, the door is closed, but the raucous noise of “So You Think You Can Dance” is barely contained. When staff enters here, there is no tippy toeing around.

Most folks up here get three full hours of therapy a day. The whole goal is to get them up, get them dressed, and get them home. Physical therapy works on the joints and muscles to improve strength and mobility. Occupational therapy starts immediately teaching one to dress themselves around their injuries, teaching one to navigate stairs, and other obstacles in their own home and how to bathe, groom and medicate themselves.

Rounds started this morning at 7:30, followed by breakfast, and then at 9:00 the first hour of PT began. Rachel got a half hour break, where she took a nap in the wheelchair and then began an hour of Occupational Therapy. They helped her dress in street clothes and set her in her wheelchair for an hour. At the end of that hour, she was allowed to lie down in bed in her clothes. She then received an hour and a half to take a nap. Her nap was deep, deep, deep sleep. At 1:00 pm. She was back to OT and a session of dressing and shoes. Then she had 45 minutes to rest before the PT nemesis arrived.

Finally, at 3:00 the gurney arrived to whisk her to wonderland down in surgical prep. Four hours later she was back in her room dozing off the remnants of anesthesia and asking for water and food. She ate 2 full popsicles, a single serving of tomato soup, two saltines with peanut butter, a cup of milk and a final full Popsicle. Despite her obvious exhaustion, Rachel refused to go to sleep early. She really wanted to stay up and begged us to play a card or dice game with her. After two hands of card Golf, in which we played her hands for her, she told us it was probably time to stop as her eyelids were being ornery and refused to stop drooping on her.

So here it is ten minutes to 10:00 pm and room 6-135 is slowly winding down. Teeth are brushed, side tables are being set up so some can see the digital clock, reach their tissues and water, and prayers for the night are being said. This bunch has passed initiation to Rehabilitation floor and now know why lights are out and it is real quiet on the rest of the floor.

Rachel will need two more surgeries on her right arm and foot. Both will be done under general anesthesia, with the first being to clean the wounds again, and the final one to do a skin graft. She will also get a walking boot on her right foot, but only to negotiate getting in and out of bed and various chairs. She can not walk or put any load on that appendage until further notice.

For those of you experiencing problems with Swede-mail, the operator didn’t show up, the box overflowed and some participants received error messages. They are up and running again, so keep those cards and letters coming. Rachel, Britanie and I really enjoy the conversations with you all.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah’s Dad (with small contributions from Britanie Anne)

Jwhall2@gmail.com

Update from Omaha - 8-15-07

Real quick update, as I have to get Leah ready for bed so we can do the doctor circuit early tomorrow. Bill and Judith came up to help out, and will be staying at Mom and Dad's place. We had a fairly quiet day in regards to Leah, mostly a lot of resting and talking. We had visitors trickling in, Kenny and Karen this morning, Dr. Joe, Vinny, and Grandpa and Grandma (who brought dinner!)

Dr. Joe brought over the prayer shawl that St. James made Leah, and she loved it. She put it to good use not to long afterwards, and had herself wrapped up in it. He also had a chance to meet my grandparents, which was nice, as they all got an opportunity to hear the latest from Denver and from here in Omaha.

I was quite busy, had lots of little errands to attend to, dealing with insurance, and working on getting Mom and Dad's mail taken care of. I did stop by work today, and said hi, and plan on using the fact that Bill and Judith are here to sneak in for a bit tomorrow to hopefully take care of some stuff, and start getting my feet wet again. I figure it is going to be hectic the next few weeks, as we will be spending a lot of time working on doctors, PT and various insurance issues. Thankfully Pat and the folks at EDM have been very understanding, and have let me know that they will be flexible with me. This means a lot to Leah and I, as we will be able to continue to get Leah the best care possible.

Since we are in the picture sharing mood, I figure I will share one or two with you folks...

Brit and Dad in their lovely living quarters

Brit and Leah in her room. That is the high tech fan
used to keep Leah cool in Brit's hand.

Mom and Leah in Mom's room.

Please keep Mom in your prayers tomorrow as she will be having some surgery done in the afternoon to clean up some of the large wounds.

We love all of you guys, thanks so much for all of your help, words of encouragement, thoughts and prayers.

J and L.

News from the Denver Outpost

Hi Friends,

The first day of rehabilitation is complete, and Rachel seems to have passed with flying colors. The speech therapist interviewed her twice today to make sure that there were no lasting effects from the concussion. Rachel remembered her three word sequence of rose, sweater, and hamburger without any problem, even after 15 minutes of talking about other subjects. However, my favorite question was when the therapist asked her if she has always been a “big” talker. Another query just to make sure that all her talking wasn’t a method of covering for some confusion. We all confirmed she was a big talker.

The occupational therapist will be teaching her how to dress again, and was querying about how our house is set up so they can teach her how to deal with steps and obstacles there.

The physical therapist checked her joints and range of motion, and got her up into a wheel chair. They are really preparing her to be able to go home as quickly as possible. There is still no practical prognosis on when that date may be, but overall, it really ended up being a good day.

I am attaching a picture of Rachel’s mountain view taken from the vantage point of her pillow. I also have posted a picture of Rachel talking to her sister Kathy early this afternoon.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah’s Dad

Jwhall2@gmail.com

New from the Denver Outpost

Dear Friends,

We have our third address here in Swedish Hospital. We have moved to sixth floor to the Rehab center and are now occupying room 6-135. Our newest phone number direct to the room is 303.788.7043. The nurses tell us we will have a full schedule 24/7 beginning each day with doctor’s rounds between 7:00 and 7:15. Then three vigorous hours of work for Rachel and much like instrument practice, probably a few hours of daily practice on each skill.

Rachel had a good beginning to the day. She surprised us with controlled movement up and down with her right leg. It helps to get a reluctant patient out of bed if they move their legs to the side of the bed on their own. That is my newest knowledge as a nurse’s volunteer Assistant. She also developed a finer set of motor skills and began actively blowing her nose. That is a big accomplishment for a right hander who effectively has her right hand immobilized.

The list of accomplishments improved greatly when she moved to her wheelchair and left the room to take her first shower in over a week. She came back all shined and polished to the news she was moving on up to rehab. So her servants here loaded her precious flowers, cards and Swede-mails onto a cart and shuttled them up to her new digs. Digs which have a wondrous view of the mountains. We, the servants, abdicated to the queen the area closest to the view and elected to put our beds over in the darkened antechambers.

Life in the newest digs must have gotten off to a “Rocky” start as Britanie and I had to go get her second in a series of Hepatitis B shots, so she could leave for Harvard in two weeks time. Without the shot, she would have to start reporting to Blue Sushi permanently. We then hitchhiked down to the nearest Walmart and bought Rachel a new hot pink clock radio, some playing cards and 5 dice. Then we walked home, trying to stay in front of an advancing mountain thunderstorm. Having successfully accomplished that, we walked right into a moldering storm. Life on this floor is like moving to a new state and having to start all over again in elementary school, because the state you moved from just didn’t have as good of system as the one you moved to, according to the one you moved to. Anyway, pain relief and processes have been moved back to the elementary base that the doctor in charge is the best person to say how much pain relief is necessary. A decision left up to the patient on the previous two floors with the philosophy that a pain free patient is a patient moving more quickly towards recovery. It looks to me as though hospital sectors are as autonomous as government agencies. The communication system breaks down at the door.

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day. We still hear from great old friends, are meeting new friends, and receive offers of help and assistance daily. It is hard to be negative too long when you have that many people offering love.

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach, and Leah’s Dad

Jwhall2@gmail.com

8/14/07 Update from Omaha

Real quick update as I have an early day tomorrow with various appointments. We had another good day here in Omaha, Leah continues to be in good spirits and is showing signs of improvement on her PT. Some of the exercises continue to be difficult, especially as her back will get tight, and moving some of those muscles can be difficult once she is tensed up. We met with a family doctor and got a blood check to verify her cumidin levels (2.2, which was good), and set up some appointments for the next stage of the recovery. Leaving the hospital was a big accomplishment, but only a small step in a very long road.

We have had a number of visitors stop by and say hi. We really enjoy the visits, as they bring lots of cheer and a new face of someone who cares for us. We thank all fo those who have stopped by, and look forward to more visitors.

I would like to thank all of the people who have sent cards, flowers, and emails to us. All of these help keep our spirits upbeat. We can not express our gratitude enough to all of those who have pitched in and helped, talked to us, or in someway kept us in your thoughts and prayers.

We did have a bit of a down moment, as Leah felt very frustrated at her inability to do much. She realized that she is not going to be able to work much in the next few weeks, and is frustrated that she can't help me more. She felt that she was a bit of a "burden and a broken person." I attempted to allay these concerns, and have kind of expected some of these thoughts to arise, as Leah is a very independent and driven woman, who hates to not be involved in the action. I know that these next few weeks are going to be trying for her, and I hope that we will be able to deal with these concerns as the time comes.

Oh, please note my father's update from Denver below. There is new room information and contact info. Please continue to send Rachel emails, as they very much help keep the spirits upbeat there in Denver.

Thanks once again to all of you out there.

J

Today from the Denver Outpost

Dear Friends,

Another great day in multiple trauma. Rachel awoke in a positive mood today, stronger, more talkative, and ready to meet the world. Early in the morning, the nurses started telling her that her chest tube and epidural would come out today. When Dr. Bart came around for rounds this morning, he told her to get set, and pulled out the chest tube. Two anesthesiologists came in and said we needed to prepare to go cold turkey from the epidural that has been providing pain relief from the rib injuries. So they made arrangements to do one last trip from the bed to the wheelchair and from there to the port-a-potty and back to bed, prior to epidural withdrawal.

Just after lunch, the nurse and technician came in and removed the epidural and she was flying free, expect for her oxygen tether and a catheter. But by dinner time she was pretty tired from the big day and a little wishy-washy about sitting up in the chair. However, upon further reflection and some friendly reminders from Mother Nature, she decided to repeat her morning performance and added a new trick of eating dinner in the wheelchair. Then she moved to the port-a-potty and on back to bed.

Rachel is eating better, her appetite probably stimulated by some of the work. She ate about a third more today than any previous day here at Swedish, including two desserts. Rachel has a special dessert stomach and can always find a way to get a little more of the sweets in to that stomach.

We also spent more time today reading and re-reading the cards and Swede-mail coming in for Rachel. She had some very interesting messages from students and former students, and some great daily conversations through the Swede-mail with old friends telling about their respective days in their home locations. Each message brightened her day, and for that, my family says “Thank You, Thank You. Thank You!”

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zach and Leah’s Dad

p.s. To send a Swede-mail to Rachel, navigate to:

www.swedishhospital.com

Then click on the Contact Us tab. In the middle of the page is a link to patient e-mail. Just click on that and follow the forms.

Update 8-13-07 1215 AM - Half Way there

Just a quick note to update all of you. Today we managed to get half way to our initial goal of getting the girls safely home. There is still a long road ahead for the other half of this goal, but I fully believe that it is only a matter of time. Leah and I arrived safely into Omaha at 5 PM, just beating a large and powerful thunderstorm that dumped 2-3 inches of rain onto Omaha. This storm probably chased us all the way from Ogallala, NE, as the drive home was filled with lots of torrential downpours which made the rule of letting Leah walk around the car for 10 minutes every hour quite interesting. We managed to stay slightly ahead of the worst of it, and still got Leah the exercise she needed.

Our home is a huge relief as we are surrounded by familiar smells, our own comfortable bed, and our own non hospital white walls. Leah said that just being home made her feel better, and having that kind of attitude will go a long way towards healing all of us. It brightens my day to see her smile, and hear the determination in her voice while she does PT, as her desire to heal and live is very apparent. I know that both of us will have a significant amount of healing yet to accomplish, but being at this point feels like a major accomplishment.

I am sitting here with Leah writing this today, and she wanted me to pass on a few words to all of you.

"Thank you all so very much for all of your thoughts, prayers, and your concern for all of us this week. I can not express to all of you how thankful I am for your generosity and outpouring of love, and it is difficult to even try. I am on the way to recovery, but my heart is still with Rachel in Denver, and I hope that she will be able to join me in this first step to recovery. My heart is still very heavy, as I mourn the loss of my dear sister Renee, who was not only my best friend, but someone who brought joy to my every day life. I struggle with this part of my healing everyday, but know that I have to trust in God's plan for me, and hope that He will help me heal in everyway, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I mourn for the pain that Zack is suffering, and want him to know that I love him, love him very deeply. I wish that I could help him make this pass, and will pray for God to help Zack through this trying time. Mom Dad and Britanie, Jay and I love you very much, and wish we could still be there in Denver to help you heal.

Thank you and I love you all very much. My gratitude can't be expressed enough,
Leah. "

Obviously I typed that for Leah as she dictated that to me. Her typing hand is a little out of commission, and having to try to type, operate the mouse and wipe away some tears is a bit difficult, especially when you are right handed, but the only one that works is your left. I know that many of you will want to stop by and see her, and we would welcome that, but only ask that you call ahead, and check with us to see whats going on, as to much excitement can be a bit hard to handle. We also need to try to figure out some semblance of a routine, so that we can figure out what we may need from all of our friends who keep offering to help us.

We can be contacted at:

402.321.4167 - Jay's cell, always on.
402.598.0612 - Leah's cell, but probably not going to be heard unless it is next to her
402.991.8577 - Home phone.

We did have some visitors today, our friends the Schubert's stopped by, and my Grandpa and Grandma Kunc and Aunt Wendy and Uncle Karl and their kids. It was nice to see all of them, and was good to hear laughter in the house from all the kids. I could tell that Grandma and Grandpa were hurting a lot, but hopefully seeing Leah and her smile will help their hearts to feel a little lighter.

I did talk to Mom today, and she sounded like she was making some improvements. As you probably read in the article by my father, John, she sat up a lot today, talked a lot more, and meet with the doctors to start working on pain. She sounded better, but I know her heart is still very heavy.

I want to thank Bill and Judith for driving us home, and getting us here safely. They did travel back to Missouri earlier tonight to take care of some stuff at home, but will be back soon. Their help over the last week has been instrumental in getting the girls back to where they are. It was amazing to see that they not only cared for the two of us, but also took care of Mom, Dad and Britanie. They also had enough compassion and love to talk to some of the other families, and helped to care for them as well. I don't think I could have asked for any better in laws.

I would also want to thank Julia for coming up to help us. I don't think I have given her enough credit for just jumping on a plane and coming to our rescue. She helped us all by smiling, sitting with us, hugging us, and running little errands. She might have felt like she didn't do much, but her just being there for us helped us more then I can even say.

I would also like to thank my uncle Jerry. He just jumped on a plane, and wished he could have gotten there sooner to be there for us. He was a rock for my dad, Brit and I. He just quietly took care of us, making sure we ate, making us talk about our feelings, and just sitting there with us. He took care of the girls for us, letting us go take care of Zack and Renee. His unquestioning help, quiet calm talks, and strong hugs helped us all to begin to heal.

Thanks again, I must now go dose some meds out to Leah.

We love all of you, and look forward to seeing you.

J and L

Thank you to everyone

Dear Friends,

Thank you all for your messages, prayers, thoughts, offers of help, tears, and especially the outpouring of love. Our family has suffered a great tragedy, which only time and encouragement from family and friends will be able to overcome. Renee was super special to us, and we are going to miss her more than menial words can ever describe. Her joyous demeanor, beautiful smile, and optimistic outlook on life meant that she lit up a room upon entry. Her leadership style was totally unassuming. You never could fully explain when she took command of any group, but one day you noticed that she definitely had full control. You always wanted to please someone who worked that hard to please you. Our family has lost a significant cog in our life wheel that will forever make that wheel skip a beat.

As Jay wrote, Leah is on the way home with Jay and her parents, Bill and Judith Voelker. We are extremely happy to have her gone from Swedish Hospital. However, we will certainly miss Jay, his strength and his support. We definitely will also miss Judith and Bill. They provided meaningful support to all of us, not just Leah and Jay. As a pastoral couple they professionally retired three weeks ago, but were counseling and praying with us and many other unfortunate families here at Swedish Hospital.

Rachel is improving by the hour. We started here at Swedish with one word answers, many unintelligible, and have progressed to lengthy conversations. Now for those of you that don’t know Rachel, you must know that Rachel has never experienced a quiet moment in any conversation, since she won’t allow it to happen. So Jay, Britanie and I have been expecting a flood of words once the dam broke. We’re slowly getting to the breaking point of the dam. We see longer conversations, longer attention spans, and more perceptive answers to our queries.

Rachel sat up twice, out of bed, yesterday for about 30 minutes each time, and once today for about 22 minutes. She is definitely also beginning to manage her care. The docs and nurses are about to experience the Rachel we know and love. I wish them luck.

We also have experienced a few minor setbacks. The affects of her concussion are receding and memories of Renee and the accident are surfacing more regularly. Last night Britanie and I took shifts consoling her through her nightmares. Britanie put her on music therapy with Britanie’s Ipod and tried to catch some sleep. Shortly, she was in the throes of another dream and it was my four hours of guard duty from there. As a step forward though, she began questioning her doctors and seems to understand each one’s role in pain control rather than making each responsible for her complete pain control. With 18 broken ribs, pain control is our priority, and every day on the epidural pump is a great day.

Thank you everyone for all your support of my immediate family and your continued prayers and blessings you send our way. We are truly blessed in every way with your love and compassion. I will continue to attempt to keep you informed of our progress in Denver, please continue to pray for us, especially Renee and Zack.

Our sincerest love for all of you,

Jay, Renee, Britanie, Zack and Leah’s Dad

Update 8/11/07 - Leah goes home, Mom makes improvements

Hey everyone, quick update before I crash. We got Leah all checked out of the hospital today around 1, and started the long process of taking her home. It was an exciting time, but also one that was very bittersweet. Once again I am leaving a loved one behind, which tears my heart apart, but at the same time I am elated as I get to take my wife home. Its very difficult to know that I am separating the three of us who have had to work thru all of this difficult situation. I have been struggling to deal with the fact that there will be one less person there to be strong for the other two. I will still be able to talk on the phone, but there is something to be said for being there, and feeling the sting of the tears.

We made it to Ogallala, NE this evening, about 6 total hours in the car. We took our time, taking a break at least every hour so Leah could get out and walk and stretch. I know that in my mind this makes good sense, but my heart just wants to rush home, so I can fell the comforting welcome of our own home. We had a great dinner, Leah ate a big meal, which made us all feel good about the situation. We did a pt regimen, and set her up in bed, surrounded by pillows. She is currently comfotable sleeping, and will hopefully have a good night's rest.

Mom had a good day as well. She had a busy day with OT's and docs stopping by to chat. Brit said she ate a bunch, and was talking the whole time. Leah and she had an emotional goodbye, but one filled with smiles, as mom was delighted that we were finally getting home and that Leah was doing well. Hopefully Dad or Britanie will get on here and update us more. I asked them to join me on this to keep us better updated, as phones can only do so much. I know Dad tried earlier, but lost a big page in a crash, so hopefully some of you will encourage him to try it again.

I figure we will be back home sometime late Sunday, and will need a bit of time to get our bearings. I know Monday will be a hectic day, as I will be dealing with trying to get Leah a family doctor, getting work issues figured out, and trying to start getting back to normal. Bill and Judith will be heading home for a short while to repack some clothes, and take care of some stuff at home, but will be back in Omaha soon to help us all. I know we will be welcomed back in a warm embrace of love and generosity from all of you folks back home, and I am looking forward to it.

Need to sleep now.

Love all of you,
J