Luke's Birthday Party: His Best Birthday Gift!

Luke's Birthday Party
November 30, 2005 9:00 PM

We just returned from Luke's surprise 16th birthday party. And it WAS a surprise!

We all gathered at a local pizza place where the Pippenger's and Bill Jones had decorated with bright-colored balloons. When Luke walked in he was greeted by many of his friends and the party got cranking.

We ate pizza and ice cream cake and Luke opened gifts and cards. He got an I-Pod, also some pretty cool headphones and some gift certificates. After the party he had his buddies went off to Best Buy to redeeem the certificates for tunes.

In the meantime the older crowd went for coffee and relaxed at the end of a long day.
At the coffee shop, as we were leaving, we noticed a group of women circled up in a Bible study and as Steve walked by he greeted them. As it turns out these women and their church had been praying for Shea! So the circle widens and the love grows.

Then we said good-bye to David and Joy Pippenger and their son, Jonathan. They return to Colorado tomorrow. They've been here for 11 days! Many thanks to them for all their support.

The Best Gift Ever

I was just about to post this to the blog and Susan just called. She said she and Steve, Luke and Jesse had gone over to the hospital to see Shea. (Luke hadn't seen her today). When they actually pulled up to the hospital, Luke decided to stay in the car. He said, "You guys go in; I may come in if Shea is at all alert. I'm not sure." So they went in and came back and told Luke that Shea was restless and somewhat "awake."

Susan said Luke came in and went to the bedside. When he called her name, Shea opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him and Susan said they looked at one another in a real recognition, a real encounter that went on for some time. Then Luke took Shea's hand. Susan said, "Shea, squeeze Luke's hand and say Happy Birthday." And she did. She very obviously squeezed his hand.

Luke said, "Wow, this was the best birthday present I have ever had!"

What a way to end a beautiful day! We give thanks for all the blessings of the day, for the many people who continue to surround Shea with their love and prayers.

--Michael Anderson

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Susan and Steve took the early morning to be together at the House. David Pippenger came by first thing in the morning and then Jeanne and I arrived around 9:30.

We were standing, holding Shea’s hands and stroking her forehead, and Jeanne said, “Shea, open your eyes for us, OK?” And the left eye opened just a little bit. It was so good to see that response to specific request. Shea was able to do that to multiple requests by Jeanne.

Dr. Julie Wynne, head of the surgical team that did the trach and feeding tube procedures yesterday came by to check in. She said all was well.

No Knee Surgery Now
At 10:30 Dr. Gregory Lee, the orthopedic surgeon came by to examine Shea’s right knee. There are four collateral ligaments in the knee area, the lateral, medial, anterior and posterior. So the designations are LCL, MCL, ACL and PCL.

He examined the kneed by removing it from the immobilizer and flexing it. He was also guided by his review of the MRI. Here’s Dr Lee’s analysis.

The LCL and ACL have no damage. The MCL is completely torn and the PCL sustained a partial injury. We already knew this and have reported it before but this just confirms the prior assessment.

The good news is that the two ligaments which are damaged, the MCL and PCL, will probably heal in time without surgery. He said the if the ACL and MCL had been damaged, it would have been necessary to do the repair immediately. But they are fine.

All of which is very good news. There had been talk of doing some reconstructive surgery on Friday, immediately after the facial surgery, but Dr. Lee said emphatically that it is not required at this time. When I asked him how much time it would have taken to repair the knee, he said 3-4 hours. So the good news is that Shea will be spared that on Friday.

He said that, in the accident, the right leg was splayed out to the right and the joint where the femur and tibia meet was severely stressed resulting in micro fractures. He said that joint took a tremendous blow (and the MRI confirmed that).

The mid-term prognosis: the right knee will remain in the immobilizer for two weeks; then they will use a hinged knee brace for about 6-8 weeks in conjunction with physical therapy.

The long-term prognosis: there is a small chance that if the PCL doesn’t heal completely or if there is a lengthening of this ligament (which creates an excessive laxity in the knee) corrective surgery may be needed. Dr. Lee said that her range of motion should be as good as normal or very nearly so. The only long-lasting challenge might be some slight increased tendency to develop arthritis at the site.

Feeding Tube

We talked to Amy Scott, the RN who, by the way, was on duty when Shea came to the pediatric ICU last Saturday. Amy was giving Shea her first feeding through the feeding tube they put in yesterday. Shea got about one ounce the first hour and they’ll increase that through the day, so that by tomorrow morning, all her nutrition will be via the feeding tube and nothing through IV. This reduces the risk of infection, keeps the bowels and stomach functioning.

Amy said that in a trauma situation they want to make the transition from IV to feeding tube as soon as possible so this is one more progress point to celebrate.

--Michael Anderson

A Picture Share!

Luke's 16th Birthday Party

As Seen From Fresh Eyes

It was such a privilege to see Shea today, finally, after waiting for a week. I arrived around 5:30 this afternoon. I found Jeanne Burch and Pam Anderson in the waiting room.

Pam reported that when she saw Shea earlier this morning, she was moving a great deal, lifting her legs and moving them vigorously. This is a good sign. Pam also said that when Susan caressed and kissed Shea, she noted a strong spike in Shea’s heart rate! She said it was beautiful to see the power of mother-love on the monitor.

We said hello and then admired the jig-saw puzzle Jesse had just completed. It was a map of San Diego complete with the zoo and the convention center. Quite a feat.

It was wonderful to see her face! It’s Shea! I was amazed and so relieved to see that except for a small stitch mark between the chin and the lower lip, there’s not a mark on her face. There’s also a small stitch under the chin but it’s not visible because of the tracheostomy apparatus.

While I was in the room, Dr. Christie came by and briefed us on the two procedures he and the surgical team had performed just a few hours earlier.

The tracheostomy begins by creating an opening through the neck into the trachea (windpipe). Then a small tube is inserted to provide an airway and also to remove secretions from the lungs. The purpose of the procedure? Until now Shea has been breathing (with ventilator assistance) through a tube which goes in through her mouth. In order to do the facial surgery this Friday they needed to free that area. Dr. Christie said it took about 10 minutes to complete the procedure and all went well. (They spent much more time setting up the room, installing the equipment and creating a sterile environment.)

The second procedure was the insertion of a feeding tube. The tube enters the abdomen and then is routed through the stomach into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. They prefer this location, rather than the stomach itself, because this prevents food being vomited up which would then have the potential of being aspirated. The procedure took about 30 minutes.

Susan told us later in the evening that, in addition to the facial surgery on Friday, doctors might, at the same time, repair her damaged right knee.

Speaking of Friday’s surgery, Susan asked special prayers for Shea’s face that she be spared any paralysis. She said so much of who Shea is is her expressiveness, the love she shows to everyone in her beautiful face.

Susan, Steve and Jesse had supper at Ronald McDonald House. We joined them after that and had coffee together. David and Joy Pippenger and their son, Jonathan joined us. and then just as we were leaving, Luke and some friends appeared. Luke had spent the day in Atlanta—Susan felt that was a good thing. We all gave him early birthday wishes—the big day is tomorrow. By the way, please check out the special posting at the top of this blog and add your birthday wishes and prayers.

In the conference call tonight, we were also giving thanks for the many, many people who are joining us in praying for Shea and holding her up for healing. Friends of friends are telling their friends and it seems every day we hear of someone who approaches one of us at church saying, How’s Shea? We’re praying for her.

The news continues to be good. The increments of progress are small but they’re all in the right direction, the direction of healing! We so grateful for that. It’s a privilege to be here and to feel the power of faith, hope and family!

--Michael Anderson

Happy 16th Birthday Luke!

Help Luke celebrate his 16th birthday on Wednesday by posting your happy birthday wishes here.

Tuesday Night Conference Call

There will be a conference call this evening at 8 pm.

One more success

We just saw Shea... And for the first time we can see her face without all of the tubes and tape.

The doctors say she went through the procedure well, and there were no complications.

Surgery Schedule

It appears that the first 12 hour facial surgery will take place on Friday afternoon. The doctor says he covers up the clock in the operating room because he doesn't want time to be a factor. They will work for as long as they are making progress and as long as Shea is tolerating the anesthetic. The doctor that started the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (and the doctor that oversees all of Shea's medical care) told Steve that if his son needed facial surgery, he would choose the doctor that is performing the surgery on Shea. This gave Steve and Susan an extra boost of confidence.

In preperation for the surgery, Shea will have the tracheoscopy performed today. The procedure is done in her room, so they don't have an actual time scheduled, since it will be determined by when all of the day to day procedures are completed. Two nurses brought up Tommy Tracheosaurus (a stuffed dinosaur with a trach vent attached to it) and explained to Jess that the procedure would help Shea. They said smaller kids are sometimes shocked to see the drainage and ventilator tubes coming out of the vent. Jess seemed fine with it all.

Shea's appearance continues to improve, with the bruises around her eyes receding a bit. Last night when we went up to give her a good night kiss, she was moving quite a bit. It will be good to get the feeding and ventalator tubes out of her mouth so she won't resist them.

Yesterday Luke had a friend drop by from Atlanta and decided to go back to Atlanta and spend the night there. Joy did the family's laundry and cleaned up the crowded room at the Ronald McDonald house. When Susan saw it she said "I can make this home for a while." With so much focused on Shea, the family needs help with some of the less dramatic and more mundane tasks too.

Once again David Anderson was right. It was a good day in Macon.

Actually, it was a great day.

MRI RESULTS

When the doctor looked at the MRI results, he looked at Steve and Susan and said... "This is incredible!"

After the crying stopped, he asked "Do you realize how amazing this is, considering what she's been through?"

Basically, the doctor says that the MRI shows only that small amont of fluid that the CAT scan showed on Shea's brain... And no other damage.

Now we can say that 2005 had TWO Thanksgiving days!

We won't know for sure until Shea is actually up and around, but for now... this is a very good sign.

Quiet Update

Yesterday was a quiet day, with one exception... Shea gave a slight reaction to the doctor's request to squeeze his hand.

It was a little step, but one that was greeted with much enthusiasm by those at the hospital.

Sarah and CJ are going back to Boston today, and Michael (Susan's brother) comes in tomorrow.

We will update this blog throughout the day on the progress of the MRI and tracheoscopy.

Another Track

Steve just received word that the producers of Shea's CD are donating the profits from the first 1000 CDs to help with the family's medical bills.

They are rushing the first pressing into production and expect to have the CD available for sale soon.

Keep watching this blog for info on how to buy the CD.

Shea's Soon-To-Be-Released CD

Click on the link above to hear a track from Shea's CD that will be released soon. (Your computer will need to be configured to play MP3 music to hear it.)

Saturday Update / Facial Surgery Report

The ventilator was dialed down a few more clicks, signifying continued improvement in Shea’s lungs. Jesse spent the night with friends in Atlanta and Luke wrote a beautiful song on his guitar.

As Dave Anderson would say, “It’s been a good day in Macon.”

Shea was very active during the 8:00 AM bed change on Saturday morning. While we all agree with Steve when he says, “I just want to see her eyes and hear her say something”, the doctors do not want her to fight the life support systems, so they increased her sedatives to quiet her down.

At this time the doctor is recommending that an MRI be performed on Monday to be sure that everything is OK in respiratory function. If the MRI shows no problems, the plan is to proceed with a tracheostomy on Monday afternoon.

The big event for the day was a two hour meeting with the doctor that will do the first surgeries for Shea’s facial reconstruction.

The diagram shows the seven areas that need procedures, with some procedures being done on both sides of the face. Each procedure will take from 1.5 to 2 hours to complete, although the hinges of the jaw are the most complicated and could require more time to repair.

The numbered sequences on the diagram show the order of the reconstruction. There may not be seven surgery sessions since multiple procedures can be done during each surgery. The length of each surgery will be determined by the anesthesiologist. The goal is to get as much done as possible, but only within Shea’s tolerance. At this time the doctor is planning on doing most of the procedures through her mouth. This will minimize scaring on her face from incisions and minimize nerve damage.

The order of the procedures are planned to be:

1. Wire the teeth together. This is the foundation for the reconstruction.
2. Repair the lower jaw area.
3. Stabilize the hinges of the jaw. This is the most complicated step. If he cannot do it through the mouth he will create incisions next to the ears. This is not desirable due to the nerves of the face that are in that area.
4. The outside left area of Shea’s eye globe will need a titanium plate attached to repair the bone. This will be done by a small slit on the eyebrow.
5. The area under the eyes is paper thin. In Shea, this area has been crushed. The doctor will replace this bone under both eyes with a titanium mesh to support the eyes. This procedure is particularly complicated due to the fact that both eyes have to be aligned exactly. Any misalignment can result in blurred or double vision.
6. Repair the roof of her mouth and buttresses of the checks.
7. Repair a deviated septum. The sinus area is shattered, but the hope now is that this area will repair on its own. At some later date if sinus infections become a chronic problem it can be addressed then.

As you can imagine, there are significant risks to all of these procedures. Continue to pray for wisdom and guidance for the doctors as well as strength for Shea and her family.

We’ve only just begun.

Friday Update

This may be Black Friday in the shopping world, but it’s bright Friday in Macon. (And btw, Macon, Georgia, is a pretty great town. It’s a place with great civic, educational, and medical resources. When Shea wound up here, a lot of us wondered—nervously—what kind of treatment she would receive. Well, they wouldn’t move Shea anywhere else in the world. That’s a good story.)

Shea is on a new ventilator and doing exceedingly well. Every 4-6 hours they reduce the output of the vent just a tick and Shea is picking up the slack. They have Shea on a new kind of vent—one that makes it easier to wean a patient. The respiratory therapist said that of all the people who’ve been on this new model, Shea is doing the best. “The manufacturer’s rep would love her,” he said, “she’s doing exactly what the patient is supposed to do, working perfectly with the machine—and they don’t always do that!”

Nothing new, really, on the air pocket in her abdomen. One of the Docs said that sometimes when the lungs get good and squished, as Shea’s did, some air just escapes into the cavity between the two lungs. Then it just has to dissipate on its own. There could still be a hole somewhere in her lungs—but the Dr said that if that is the case he is almost certain that it will heal itself with time. They don’t feel they need to be doing anything now but watching it. And that, of course, is a good sign.

A closer look at the CT scan of Shea’s brain shows a small area of cerebral spinal fluid near the front of her head—roughly the top of her forehead. This is not blood, and not a great cause for concern at this time. This is something they typically see in any kind of trauma case like this. There could be some edema—or swelling—at that point and that produces a small fluid build-up. There is always fluid—it’s just that this is a small pooling of it that they’re watching. The trauma surgeons we talked to said that this was not a cause for alarm and was “almost an incidental finding.” Nevertheless, any brain injury is cause for alarm when it’s your loved one! The neurosurgeons who came a bit later to see Shea concurred: the brain is stable and looks very good, and in that larger positive context this is something to watch. They said another scan in five days will tell more.

We asked how soon they could do an MRI, and their answer (tellingly) was that they didn’t think they needed one right now. It wouldn’t change the course of treatment. It did not pose any big problem at the moment, and they weren’t pressing for that right now. Their response suggests clearly that this is not something to worry about. But it is something to pray about, and Susan and Steve said today that they’d really like people to pray for healing of Shea’s brain.

Shea may have to have a tracheostomy (a breathing tube inserted through her throat).
She will likely have to have a tracheostomy before she has surgery on her face and jaw—so they can be free of the tubes that are now going through her mouth. And, the Dr said that extended intubation (through the mouth) increases the risk of pneumonia, and that if you’re going to have to do it eventually, you might as well do it sooner rather than later.

Otherwise, Shea is showing the same strong signs of recovery that we recounted yesterday. One of the nurses was telling us that they’ve had to up her sedation meds because she’s a bit too active—moving about, almost trying to sit up—and they want her to rest. Heal. So even though we all like to see the moments when they bring down the sedation and see how she responds, they want to keep dear Shea quiet—so the blessed healing that has begun in her may continue.

We met with two great social workers today, who helped us strategize about how best to deal with the boys’ school—and also how to deal with this situation for the whole family. Susan, Steve, Jeanne, Joy and I all met with them, and that was a good start. We’ll need to do more of that as this becomes more of a long-term case to manage (but that’s a good thing, considering where we were just a few days ago!). Jesse was picked up this morning by friends from their church who have a boy Jesse’s age—and they took him for the day. Jeanne and Susan took a trip to Target—this is great. Doctor’s orders are to get out of the hospital regularly: take walks, get exercise, essentially get a life! J This of course is the best gift you can give the patient.

I must leave tomorrow morning, though I would love to stay right now. Once you get here and get on this girl’s team, you don’t want to leave and miss the emerging story. But things have settled down here, and all shall be well.

David Anderson

Thursday Update

November 24, 2005
Thanksgiving Day Indeed

Another very good day in Macon.

First thing this morning Shea came off the “oscillating” ventilator and went onto a conventional ventilator. That enabled them to take her for a CT scan (more on that in a moment). They have taken her off the paralysis medication. When she was on the “oscillating” unit, they didn’t want her to fight the vent, so they gave her the paralysis meds. Now they want her to breathe with the unit.

The Dr. showed us the morning’s chest x-ray and said the lung image was “awesome.”

She is off all blood pressure meds. This happened faster than we imagined.

The left drain in her chest is out. The Dr said that all lines and tubes into the body are potential infections spots, so they remove any lines and tubes as soon as they can be jettisoned. She still has two drains on her right side.

The feeding tube that was put in on Tuesday has moved into place perfectly. They snaked it as far as they could and then let the body take over—the parastaltic motion of the stomach and intestines eventually pull the tube through the sphincter valve at the bottom of the stomach and into the small intestine—right where they want it. Now that it’s in place, they are upping the nutrition flow 10 cc’s an hour. She is handling the intake of food well. As I type this, Susan tells me that she moved her bowels tonight. This is really quite good. The body systems—which can sometimes take a long time to resume normalcy after trauma—are just coming nicely on line.

At the end of the day, her temp was up slightly. They have done numerous cultures at all the sites where infection is likely. Have started her on antibiotics. If the cultures come back negative, they’ll discontinue the antibiotics.

The big news of the day came around 5:00. The CT scan showed that the brain looked normal and showed no sign of damage from loss of oxygen. As we reported yesterday, this is a very good sign, but there may yet be small areas that do not show on the scan (and the MRI will be a better picture, when that is possible). Nevertheless, this is a great sign. We breathed a great sigh of joy and relief.

Other positive neurological signs: Shea partially opened her eyes on command—and following a command is the best sign of brain function. She also was able to “localize pain.” When they stuck her with a needle in trying to put in an IV she tried to push it away. This is a sign that, more than just a general response to pain, she is able to “localize pain”—able, that is, to sense that someone is sticking her in the right wrist and to withdraw from that specific pain. This, combined with the good brain scan gives us ample reason to hope. We need still to remember that Shea has sustained head trauma and that even in the best scenario there will be a road back to full recovery. She is not out of the woods.

The CT scan, however, also showed a problem. There is an air pocket in her abdomen.
This indicates that the air system has a leak, and it’s collecting in her abdomen. Since she has the two drains in her chest cavity, this is not a serious problem at the moment—the pressure is being bled off. They thought it might be a tear in the esophogas of the bronchial tubes, but (and this was after the conference call at 8:00 pm tonight) they scoped her trachea and upper lungs—the bronchial tubes—and found nothing. They couldn’t see the bottom of the lungs and there could be a hole there. But they think that perhaps there is a small hole, and the pressure of the ventilator (to say nothing of all Shea’s lung have endured) may be putting an unusually high pressure in the system, and that when she begins to breathe on her own it may just heal of itself. So—the plan now is just to watch this.

We had Thanksgiving Dinner at the Ronald McDonald House. It was a lovely spread, with turkey and a groaning board of side dishes. I sat next to Lauren Nicole and we talked weddingweddingwedding. Fun. CJ and Sarah joined us and it was great to meet them. Luke and Jesse were in good shape today. There is grace here. I will always remember this Thanksgiving as the most memorable in my life.

David Anderson

Surgery Not Necessary

When the doctors looked for the source of the air in Shea's abdomen, they determined that surgery was not necessary and that the air will probably dissipate when she gets off the respirator.

CAT scan

First the good news. The cat scan showed NO damage to the brain.

It did show a pocket of air in the abdomen. A surgeon is looking at the problem to determain if surgery is required.

Good Reaction

Today the doctor gave Shea a shot in her wrist and she pulled her arm back when the needle went in. This signifies localized pain and is considered a very good sign.

We are still waiting for the CAT scan.

Eyes...

Susan just came out from seeing Shea. They reduced her meds to check her responses and the doctor almost yelled "Shea, open your eyes!" With that, Shea opened her eyes slightly!

Another little step!

They are doing a CAT scan at 3 pm

THANKSGIVING!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we're changing shifts at the hospital.

This was another good day. More solid progress, with no setbacks.

Significant lung improvement. Shea has been on a special “oscillator” ventilator that has effectively filled her lungs with one continuous stream of oxygen—so that the lungs do not fill and then collapse, fill and collapse, as when we normally breathe. This has helped her lungs heal, and it has gotten her to 100% oxygenation.

But this ventilator is a big machine—and while she’s on it they cannot move her to get a CT scan or MRI. So tomorrow or Friday they should be moving her onto a conventional ventilator. Then she can be moved. Also, she can start breathing with the ventilator so that she can be slowly weaned off of it. Shea should be off all breathing support in a week or ten days.

Shea has been seen by a maxilofacial surgeon, assessing her needs for reconstructive surgery on her face and jaw. This does not need to be done for 2-3 weeks, so we have time. For now, we are looking to find the best surgeon for this critical task.

Shea is on lasix—to remove fluid from her body. So a lot of the swelling in her arms and legs—and her whole body—will reduce.

Shea now has three thoracic drains—draining fluid out of her lungs and thoracic cavity. One will probably come out tomorrow and the other two in a few more days. More good signs of progress.

Her blood pressure is steady. She was on three meds and high doses—but now she’s down to two and one of the two is very low dosage. Again, Shea is getting stronger on her own.

They have started a feeding tube to deliver nutrition to her small intestine. This tube still needs to move a bit into just the right place, but that should happen naturally in the next day or so.

We met with a neurologist about the possibility of damage to her brain. At issue is—we know that the oxygen saturation was low for a period of time. We don’t know how low or how long. But the Dr said, “Her exam has been more positive than we would expect.” Every day they reduce her sedation slightly to guage her more normal neuro responses. If you pinch her, does she respond—etc. So far the response has been good. She has tried to open her eyes on command, etc. But it’s very hard to know anything conclusively since she is still quite sedated when they’re doing this test. It won’t be until she is off the vent and able to come out of sedation fully that they’ll be able to tell.

The Dr said that in the next day or so they’ll get a CT scan, and that can tell them some things. If they see major, obvious areas of damage, that would give us a portent. But even if the scan is clear, he cautioned us, there may still be areas of damage too small to be picked up. So, again, the only true test is a patient waking up.

But waking up is not an instantaneous thing. It will take most of a week to get Shea fully awake from her long sedation—even if there is no damage at all. And, if there is damage, Shea may still make a complete recovery. It would just take months and months of rehab.

We have many good reasons to hope—including the fact that the kidneys did not suffer (which they would have if there had been a general oxygen deprivation), so it is less likely that the brain was seriously deprived. But that is only an indicator, he cautioned; the brain may still have been affected. Nevertheless, as I say, we have many reasons to hope. We are just sharing with you all the news we’re getting to try and manage our expectations.

We spoke to an orthopedic surgeon. The clavical fracture will heal itself. The knee is more of an issue. There is clear damage to the medial collateral ligaments (on the sides). He suspects, as well, that the front and rear cruciate ligaments—the ACL and the PCL—may also be damaged. (Only an MRI will tell, and that cannot happen for a while.) But we have time. That doesn’t need attention for 2-3 weeks. In the meantime they will apply ice and immobilize the knee.

Luke and Jesse have talked with counselors at the hospital just to see how they’re doing, and they are managing well. The emotional trauma is heavy, of course, but we believe they have the resources to deal with the issue.

Susan and Steve are also doing well. Wednesday was a hard day at the hospital—The Jones family (of Michael, Shea’s boyfriend, who died) came to the hospital to see Shea. Their children were with them, and the rest of the kids who were in the accident were also there, so it was very emotional. But Susan and Steve got through it. They are taking care of themselves, getting away at night to sleep. (They got a double room at the Ronald McDonald House, which is great—they were on a wait list.) Susan and Steve have enormous

Overnight Report

Shea had a good night and no issues arose. They are giving Shea a diuretic that will reduce some of the puffiness caused by excess water in her system.

The next family conference call will be at 8 pm eastern Wednesday night.

Thank You

There has been world-wide support for our Shea. Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers and messages.

"The world is round and the palce which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning." Ivy Baker Priest

Tuesday Night Report

"It's been a good day" was the way Susan described today.

Shea's temperature is normal and they have eliminated one blood pressure drug and reduced another.

The X-Ray of her lung that they took today is better than the one they took yesterday.

She has a new bed that is specifically designed to eliminate alot of the problems associated with long hospital stays.

Her stomach is less distended, and she seems to be tolerating the food being inserted directly into her intestine through the Gabriel Method (as mentioned in a previous post, Dr. Gabriel himself administered the procedure).

Luke was presented with Mike's guitar at the memorial service. Please continue to pray for Mike's family.

Steve, Shea and Luke's First Music Video (Removed)

We needed some extra room on the server to place Shea's songs up on the blog so we have removed the videos.

Food... sort of

Shea is being fed through a feeding tube for the first time. Granted, mashed up food may not be her favorite meal, but it's a step in the right direction!

The procedure uses a new technique that bypasses the stomach, which should minimize the risks associated with the standard feeding tube. The doctor that invented the procedure was the one who performed it on Shea.

We have not received any of the lab results yet.

Keep those thoughts and prayers coming.

Quick Update

Shea's temperature has dropped to just above normal, and the nurses have been able to clean up alot of the wounds.

The doctors are going to reduce her meds again this morning in an effort to observe movement. We will update you on this and other test results throughout the day.

Prayer for Luke

Luke is a pallbearer in Mike's funeral today, so please remember him in prayer.

Detailed Status Report - 11/22

Susan and Steve sat down with Shea's attending physician late Monday night for a lengthy, comprehensive review of Shea's condition. .

1. The punch line first: The doctors are more optimistic given her improvement. One doctor called Shea's case the biggest miracle he's seen in lung recovery. But she is far from out of the woods and her recovery will be long and painful and probably require multiple surgeries (more about that later). The doctor advised them to keep these thoughts in mind and prepare themselves emotionally for a series of ups and downs. At some point, still unclear, she will move to a less aggressive ventilator. However, it is possible that Shea will remain on a ventilator for another three weeks or so.

2. Shea has a number of serious facial fractures: above the bridge of the nose, below both eyes, below the nose, and three vertical fractures in the lower jaw (one in the middle and one on each side). She has a number of eggshell fractures over a wide area of the lower half of her face. Shea's two upper front teeth and possibly one or two lower teeth are broken. There is a gap between the two front lower teeth as a result of the lower mid-jaw vertical fracture. These. Fractures will not be easy to repair and surgery is probably 2 weeks away given her condition. That's not ideal but she needs to be stabilized and be able to breathe with a different ventilator that can accommodate a move to a surgery room. Prayer is needed to locate the right team of osteopathic, oral/dental and cosmetic surgeons to perform these surgeries. It is assumed these initial surgeries will occur here in Macon, but there will need to be multiple procedures and follow-up.

3. The fracture below the right eye came within a millimeter of damaging the optic nerve of that eye. It was not clear if the inability to immediately repair that fracture posed continuing risk of damage to the nerve.

4. The doctor emphasized that the price of protecting the brain was paid by the large bones and jaw of that beautiful face.

5. As of midnight the DPL lab tests results were not back. So all we know is that the fluid extracted from the abdomen was clear. We should have test results by the 11:00 call.

6. On the issue of neurological response and oxygen supply to the brain: Shea was screaming in the emergency room so her lung function was not seriously impaired for several hours following the accident. At some point the lungs took on blood apparently both from the trauma to the lungs as well as from blood aspirated from the facial and sinus fractures. In addition, the lung tissue swelled and combined with the lung fluid to compromise lung capacity. The doctor likened the lungs to a balloon in a box and in Shea's case the box became very small. He noted that the ICU team had done an amazing job of reopening and clearing the lungs. He also noted that Shea appeared to have maintained reasonably good blood pressure through the early hours and good blood pressure can help compensate for reduced oxygen flow. As between good blood pressure and good oxygen flow he would take good blood pressure.

7. On the issue of neurological motor response: brain-damaged patients sometimes move their arms in stiff, mechanical movements with their forearms turned in. Shea's movements did not exhibit these characteristics.

8. There is a concern of infection stemming from the facial fractures and the potential for the onset of pneumonia. She is on antibiotics to combat these risks.

9. Shea has damage to the tendons and ligaments of the right knee and there appears to be a gap between the knee cap and the knee joint. There was no indication that this would be overly difficult to repair.

10. As previously reported, Shea has a broken collar bone. Otherwise, her arms, legs, feet, pelvis and spine all appear to be fine.


We know this is a lot of information, but we hope this will help you as you continue to support Shea in prayer.

Please remember to give your names on comments

We have made this blog so that anyone can comment without having to log in, so it is important that you include your name so Shea will know who the message is from.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and love.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." -- Plato

Comments are being read to Shea

Please continue to encourage everyone to post comments.  We are constantly talking to Shea and it is very nice to be able to read comments from friends and family alike.

Preliminary Test Results

The actual test results will have to come from the lab, but the doctors reported that the fluid was clear, which was a good sign.

One more little step...

Diagnostic Test

Due to her distended stomach, there is some concern that Shea may have some intestinal or bowel damage. The doctor has requested a dpl (if have a strong stomach for medical pictures and want to know more about the procedure go to http://www.emedicine.com/radio/topic89.htm).

The results of this test will determine the need for abdominal surgery.

We will let you know when the results are in.

Prayers are appreciated.

Some Movement

When the doctor squeezed Shea's thigh she reacted by raising her hands and pulling her knees up slightly. The doctors were extremely pleased with this reaction.

Once again, we are encouraged.

November 21, AM

Shea had a "good night" as her temperature came down to 103 and they were able to remove the cold blankets that were placed on her when her temp reached 105.

Her lungs have continued to improve and she is now only using 40% of the supplemental oxygen instead of the 100% she was on Saturday.

The doctors are going to decrease her meds today in an effort to observe some movement.

Lauren Shea Hickok

On Saturday, November 19th a car full of teenage kids crashed just outside Macon, Georgia. Among the passengers in the car were Lauren Shea Hickok and her brother Luke Hickok, the two eldest children of Steve and Susan Hickok.

The vehicle had cartwheeled four times before coming to a stop. When Luke Hickok unfastened his seatbelt and got the door nearest to him open, he went to find his sister and found her under the trailer they were pulling. Luke was able to pull his sister from under the trailer and get her breathing.

Shea's boyfriend died at the scene.

When Lauren arrived at the hospital the doctor in charge said that he had never seen the amount of lung damage in an accident victim and prepared the family for the worst.

At first the situation appeared little more than hopeless as Shea was getting 100% of her oxygen through artificial means. Many of the bones in her face are broken as are her clavicle and two vertebraes abover her ribs. Although her lungs were not punctured, they were not functioning.

Shea was the most critical patient in the hospital, and was placed in a medically induced coma.

As word went out around the country, a host of people began a vigil of thoughts and prayers for the family. A group of 30 people traveled two hours to be with the family from Atlanta. Susan's brother and sister arrived to be with them at the hospital and have been there constantly since.

What has happened since... is a tribute to the grace of the creator, the care of the doctors and the thoughts, prayers and energy of hundreds of people in behalf of one of God's most amazing creations.

Just one day after preparing the family for the worst, the doctor brought two more doctors so "they could see a miracle." She is still in very critical condition, but the improvements we have seen to date are encouraging.

For those who know and love the Hickok family, we would like to provide this blog as a means of communicating daily updates.

This is the beginning of a very long journey for the family, and your postings will be read to Shea even while she is in the coma, and for as long as she is walking this most difficult path.

Thank you.