Still waiting on PT

Somewhere the communication broke down between PT and neurology. Neurology was waiting on PT to get Elaine up and take an x-ray of her spine to release her for Physical Therapy. Well, PT wouldn't get her up until Neurology released her. And so it went back and forth. But at 7:30 last night and once again this morning, neurology got the x-rays they needed and Elaine is now ready for PT. PT came by and did the evaluation this evening. They think that Elaine will be ready to move to their Sticht center in a few days. The Sticht center is an inpatient PT recovery center. Patients there undergo at least 3 hours of PT a day.

Elaine is now rolling over by herself, sitting up by herself, and feeding herself!!!!!!!!!
More prayers have been answered!!!

Weekend News

Elaine is progressing well. They have completely removed the traction and were able to take out her IV. She is now able to sit at a 45 degree angle. Tomorrow will be a big day for her. The physical therapist will come by and evaluate her and work on teaching her how to sit up and move from the bed to a chair. She can not put any weight on her right leg, so she has to move carefully. She also has to learn to move with the halo on. The halo limits her mobility and it also adds a lot of weight that she is not used to.
Overall we are very excited about her progress. We have had a great week of healing. Just a few days ago, we were still looking at an invasive surgery and an extremely long rehabilitation period. The power of prayer has gotten her this far and I know it will continue to heal her quickly.
I look forward to letting you know how her first day of therapy goes.

Prayers Answered!

NO SURGERY!!!
Elaine received the best possible news today! Surgery is not needed since the current solution is working! Elaine will have a brace from her pelvis to her knee. They will remove the traction and the pin and she will start physical therapy soon. They added an external (electrical) bone growth stimulator for bone fusion in her neck to support her progress.

Your thoughts and prayers are working-- we are so happy with her progress and this wonderful news!

Thursday Update

Elaine had another good day. She really appreciates all of her visitors. The Doctors took another weight of her traction and everything still looks good.

It is so nice for all of us to hear from everyone. It means so much to get the support that we have. I originally put this blog up to help everyone learn about Elaine's status. Funny how it works both ways though. Hearing from everyone, knowing how many people are keeping Elaine and us in their prayers, helps Elaine and helps us too. Thanks again to everyone for all the support you continue to give. I also want to thank Kathy Stuart for publishing the information in the A-T News.

Tomorrow is the when we will find out about the surgery. I'll let everyone know as soon as I do.

Wednesday Night

Elaine has had a good day. The surgeon that we have been waiting to return to perform the surgery flew in today to do another pelvic trauma surgery and also examined Elaine's condition. What we learned is that her pelvic bone did not shatter and separate. There are no displaced bones in her pelvic area. This is really great news!!! There is a fracture completely through the pelvis with some small fractures (spider webs). The key is that everything is still aligned. Over the next couple of days, they will remove 5kg from the traction and watch the results. On Friday they will remove the last weight and take more x-rays. They are watching to see if the femur pushes back in on the pelvic bone and also if the pelvic bone stays in line with the pressure from the femur. So, what this means is Elaine, in the best case scenario, will still have a recovery period where she can not put any weight on her pelvis, but will NOT need a surgery to correct the bones. They will mend on their own. They will determine all of this on Friday afternoon after they examine the last x-ray. If surgery is needed, it will still be performed on Monday.

So... Keep the prayers coming. We are all so happy that Elaine may not need an invasive surgery, but we have to wait and see.

Wednesday

Elaine remains very uncomfortable. She has a few small tears at her lower back that feel like glass; however, she must lay in the same position for her other injuries. Her spirit is high despite her pain.

Dr. Webb flew in today to perform another trauma surgery and will fly back out this evening. He only performs surgeries on Mondays and Wednesdays. He will fly back in on Monday for Elaine's surgery. The staff will meet with Elaine and family today to review the details of her upcoming surgery so we should know more by tomorrow.

Good news for Elaine's vitals--she was taken off of oxygen and the electrodes were removed today. Her heart rate remains stable--more prayers answered!

Tuesday

Great news!!! Elaine is now in a private room. She is in room 1112 in the Reynolds tower. Visitation is from 8am to 8 pm. I am sure she would love to have some visitors.

The oral tablets helped regulate her heart beat and they have removed the chest tube. Unfortunately she is extremely nauseous today.

I'll give another update this evening when I get by to see her after work.