Week 7 ~ Mike's Visit

My brother Mike was with my dad this last weekend and called me with an update.

Dad is making slow and steady progress. He is able to wheel himself around in his wheelchair all over the hospital. He can also stand up for a bit and move around. He still gets tired easy and only does a little walking everyday. Dad officially does not have a one on one anymore, which means his impulsivity is lessening. He is out of the posey bed and is gaining more independence in his daily routine. 

For the most part dad's attitude is positive. As you can imagine being stuck in a hospital is not an ideal situation. He wants to come home and sometimes he has a hard time understanding why he needs to stay at Craig. Dad being who he is did take apart his seat belt on his wheelchair. The staff had to be a little more creative after that and had to explain that the belt was only there for his safety. The last thing we need is dad falling again. 

Dad doesn't care a whole lot for his speech therapist but even he admits that is because she pushes him and makes him work. The ST has asked us to put together a timeline for dad and his work. While dad knows who everybody is he sometimes has a hard time putting dates together for where he works. The good news is he making progress and seems to becoming more aware everyday. His speech has improved greatly and he is able to have longer conversations than before.

Dad is being able to participate in more activities through the hospital. He was able to go to the Camp Hobie BBQ with my mom and sister, Liz, during their visit last week. He also has been enjoying movie nights. One of his favorite things to do during the weekend is play games and read his books. He loves cribbage and he was very happy to get his kindle from Mike. His OT said card games are a great way for him to work his mind over the weekends. I keep reminding him of that one time I beat him at words with friends but he says he conveniently forgot about that ;)

Mike was able to get his off campus pass and was able to take mom and dad to dinner while in Denver. This was a big deal. I have to admit I am really looking forward to returning to Denver just to be able to take dad out on the town. Mike also accompanied dad on the fishing day trip the hospital organized. It was catch and release and both dad and Mike each caught 2 fish.

I will be returning to Denver at the end of August over Labor Day weekend. The care team has schedule another care meeting for the end of the month. This meeting will mark the halfway point at Craig Hospital. It is really important to remember that dad's injury is very serious and he is still healing from his fall. It is difficult to have him so far away but with an injury as serious as his it will take a lot of time to get him back to where he was.

A big thank you to my Grandma Rolfe for taking the time to come visit and help out with my dad. I know it meant so much to him and us kids are so grateful to her for her continued love and support. We know it isn't easy being away from home for a whole week. Also thank you to those who have sent cards, letters and packages. It makes his day to hear from family and friends ♥

My sister, Liz, my dad in his favorite shirt and my brother, Mike, with his daughter Samiya
~ Aug 16, 2013

Dad fishing with my brother Mike. He was able to catch 2 fish :)
~ Aug 17, 2013

Out to dinner for the 1st time since the accident.
With my brother, Mike, my mom, Liz and Dad.

My Aunt Stephanie (my dad's sister) sent dad a package that made his day.
This shirt was one of the things she sent ♥

Letters

Dad is in for a long recovery and will be at the hospital for awhile. We are looking at a discharge date of October 4th. Dad loves getting mail! It would be great if he could get a continuos flow of mail while he is at the hospital :) I have provided the mailing address for the hospital if you would like to send him a letter, card or pictures to keep dad in touch. Thank You

Craig Hospital TBI unit

c/o Tim Rolfe 

3425 south Clarkson Street

Englewood, CO 80113

Week 6 ~ Routine, Routine, ROUTINE!

We flew into Denver to meet with dad's care team earlier this week. Below is a break down of the report from each area of dad's care team including nursing, PT, OT, ST, psychology as well as a report from his dr and the social worker.

Dr Weintraub
Dr Weintraub is dad's neurologist and primary dr. He spoke to us about dad's injury and what that means for dad. The dr commented that dad's injury damaged the frontal and temporal lobes. An injury in this area affects several things for dad such as his problem solving, judgement, self-monitoring, emotions, attention/memory, speaking as well as hearing and organization of his thoughts. The dr kept stressing that this is a very serious brain injury but with time dad can make a great recovery.
The dr and his team have been great about dad's care from the moment he rolled thru the door. When dad got to Craig he was a mess. McKay Dee was keeping him sedated and heavily medicated, they had placed the wrong sized g tube and he had major infection. In the last 10 days since he arrived at Craig the dr has changed his meds which have lead to a less agitated and much clearer dad :) They have also been able to clear up the nasty infection around his g tube and have gotten him moving towards independence.
The dr stressed how important a 24/7 routine is for dad. It will become a re-occurring theme throughout dad's recovery.

Nursing
The goal is to keep dad on a 24/7 routine. When he is done with his care he should be able to care for his own needs. The nurse also reported that his G tube will be coming out in 30 days.

Physical Therapy
The therapist will work with dad to regain his independence and mobility. She will work on building strength thru daily PT, walking/standing and other activities. At this time the PT feels like he won't have his wheelchair for much longer however he will still need it for long distances.

Speech Therapy
Dad has 5 goals for speech therapy.

1. Swallowing - Dad has been cleared to eat solid foods however he is not allowed to have liquids just yet for fear of aspiration. Unfortunately this means no coke :( The therapist believes he will meet this goal soon.
2. Speech - Dad's voice was affected by the ventilator when he was in the ICU so the therapist has written a goal for dad to Speak Loudly and Slow Down in speech.
3. Verbal Initiation - Anybody who knows dad knows he is not a big talker. With that being said the therapist has written a goal for him to initiate conversation. At this point he has only been answering questions and not starting conversation. Her hope is that he will be better about initiating conversation. 
4. Cognition/Memory - This is a big one and will be a slow and steady process thru continued therapy.
5. Intention - This is a goal for being able to focus for longer times. Again this one will take time.

Occupational Therapy
The overall goal here will be to work on dad's daily living skills. The therapist has 2 working goals:

1. To take of his own needs - Dad is making good progress but he still needs a lot of verbal cues. The goal is to eliminate these so he can take care of himself.
2. Create a day to day routine - This is vital to dad's recovery. It is important to create a routine to be able to gain the skills to complete daily tasks. The therapist will incorporate his interests and will focus on making a plan before he starts a task.

Dr Barry- Psychologist
Dr Barry is dad's psychologist. He will be working with dad to deal with the frustrations of recovery. He will do this by helping dad build strategies to recognize how he is feeling and how to handle it. The dr will also be working on emotions and how to organize dad's thinking for himself.
The dr is also available to family members. This is not an easy process and there will be changes in dad along with differences in how things will go after therapy. Dr Barry will help us thru this process.

Social Worker
The social worker has been working with the family throughout this whole process. She will be helping teach the family on what needs to happen for dad to go home. Some of the goals will be:

1. Dad will need extreme structure. He is learning this thru therapy at the hospital but it is vital that this is continued at home.
2. Dad will need to master his own independent living. 

Right now dad has a discharge date set for October 4th. However the care team is talking about a post acute program that would help with all of his goals. It was explained to us that a post acute hospital would allow dad to gain his independence better that a home program. The post acute setting is more structured and will help him with rehabilitation and get him back to work. If this does happen dad will not be home until Christmas :( This took us by surprise. The dr commented that our family situation is being taken into consideration. We have a unique situation in the fact that mom has her own disability with her brain aneurism. Dad was mom's caregiver now that he has been severely injured at work it changes things dramatically. The dr also mentioned that a post acute program is important to get dad back to where he was physically/cognitively and back to work.
There will be another care meeting next month to discuss dad's progress and confirm what the next step in recovery will be.

Isaac left for Denver yesterday and will be there until Sunday.  I have not gotten an update but I plan on updating the blog when I do. My grandma Rolfe (dad's mom) along with my mom and lil sis will be staying the week in Denver with dad. My brother Mike will then go to Denver on Friday and spend the next weekend visiting with dad. Mike is hoping to have an off campus pass for dad by this time so he can take dad to a football game. Dad loves his football. He is a HUGE Minnesota Vikings fan and commented that he would like to go see the Denver Broncos lose :p

Thank You for your continued support and love. This is not an easy process. It will take time for dad to recover but with the strong support from our family and friends dad can and will make a great recovery <3

Week 5 ~ Emily's visit

Update from my sister who is with my dad this week. Tomorrow Mike and I fly into Denver for dad's meeting with his care team.

Day 34 ~ August 1st

Dad had a great day today. He likes his new bed and slept peacefully through the night. He was able to eat his first real food since the accident. The speech therapist brought in fried chicken and mashed potatoes. He was so excited he kept trying to tear into that poor chicken like a starved animal. The ST kept having to remind him to go slow and only take small bites. They would ask him to talk in between bites which he found annoying. He just wanted to eat that chicken. He said it was very good and tomorrow he wants Olive Garden. The ST passed him for soft foods and thicken liquids for meals and expects by the end of the week he will be able to eat even more. Mom and I helped him fill out his menu request for the rest of the weeks. He will be eating lots of oatmeal and eggs for breakfast and ground meat with gravy for lunch and dinner. This is food he can eat unsupervised by the ST. Non-thickened liquids like regular water and juice are the hardest to swallow and will be some of the last foods he will be cleared for. 

Dad had an eye exam today and did really well. Great vision far away but he needs stronger reading glasses. Dad out walked mom in PT today :) He walked out of the hall, over the bridge, around the halls of the other wing of the hospital and back. He was so exhausted by the time he made it back that they had to finish PT 20minutes early. 

We signed dad up  for activities while he is here at Craig. He will be able to go to movie night in the entertainment room, Root beer floats in the rec room and a fishing activity later in the month.

Day 35 ~ August 2nd 

ST

Dad's first therapy of the day was speech where he did amazing! He scored a 29 vs 20 on his orientation quiz. ST told me that anything over 25 is considered amazing. The only question he missed was what city he was in. He knew he was in Colorado but couldn't remember the city. He then was asked to play solitaire on the computer to test his ability to attend to task. The first session he was given quiet and left alone to play. The second game, mom and I were talking to him and asking him questions to try and get him to do minimal multitasking. He struggled with that. He started complaining about his eyes after awhile. He has also been complaining about his ears. He will be seeing audiologist some time early next week. When the ST asked him about his eyes and ears he showed good insight when he told us "I feel like my brain is only half connected... its hard for me to concentrate on one thing." Which shows how he can easily become overstimulated and has a hard time multitasking. Over all the ST says he is progressing much faster then they expected. Concentration is improving fast. Speech and memory are also improving. The ST gave him three rules to speaking she calls them SOS. 1. SLOW DOWN 2. OPEN MOUTH 3. SPEAK UP (talk louder). We still have a ways to go but we are moving at a nice steady pace. That being said tomorrow he may not do as well as today. It is not uncommon for them to go up and down slightly day to day.

PT

Dad started PT with a long walk. He walked across the bridge to the other side and went down the elevator to take his first walk outside. He crossed the street where they let him rest for a few minutes. Then he took his first crack at the stairs first down then up. Then he walked back to his room. He did so well we didn't even bring his wheelchair with him. After a ten minute rest he was able to keep going. The PT repeated some balance testing with him. Tuesday they did the same tests and he did really bad during the balance tests. Today was the complete opposite. He did AMAZING! He started to sway a little during the last little bit but was able to pull himself together and finish really strong. 

OT

This was probably the most fun therapy for dad. The OT filling in asked dad what he did for a living and decided that they could do some work more up his ally. First they had him re-creating pictures with pipes. Then following simple directions to build completed circuits that turned things on like lights, fans and speakers. He loved that. Finally they gave him some tools and a metal structure and his only task was to take it apart. They got him to do it with minimal distraction. The OT and mom were telling him jokes to offer some outside distraction ;) and he had a good time with it. 

By the time this was all done he was pooped but he was scheduled for his end of week appointment with the Nero psychologist. He was asked at the start what he thought of the hospital so far and he said he liked it but if he could change one thing it would be "that you would bring more of his family in" He is remembering so much more about his past. Still a little confused about his work he knows he works for Loft House but he still thinks he works for Salt Creek at the same time. The things he remembers the clearest has to do with Mom or his kids and grand kids. He is remembering more and more what is happening. Recalling most of what happened today yesterday and earlier today in  his own words (aka no one is giving him prompts to help) Also able to express more of the way he is feeling. Today he told the psychologist that he feels like "its silly the more he does the more people want to see him do" He joked he would be better off acting like he couldn't do much.

He does get headaches towards the end of the day that make it hurt when he tries to think to hard. (for this reason we left early today and let his brain have a rest) He also starts to get less coherent and "with it" as he tires out both mentally and physically.

REAL FOOD! :)

Rocking the eye patch

Eye Test

Working hard in ST

1st walk outside :)

Walking the stairs

Mom & Dad <3

Balance Test in PT

Dad in OT ~ working mechanics

Dad has always loved fixing things :)

Week 5 ~ Slow and Steady

They sure do keep dad busy here! Everyday dad has physical therapy and occupational therapy along with speech therapy twice a day. The 1st day of therapy dad was only able to take a few steps. By the time I left Wednesday he was not only walking up and down the PT room but also around the unit and to his own room. Dad also is able to spin on the stationary bike during therapy. I told him before he knew it he would be riding a 100 miles with me, he smiled and commented, "Yea . . . all downhill!" I laughed my butt off, feels good to see his sense of humor coming back :)
Dad does a swallowing test everyday. He has had problems aspirating when he eats. He is making progress, when I left on Wednesday he was allowed to have ice chips. His therapist believes he will be on solid foods by next week which we are all excited about. They have a soda machine in the therapy room and every time we pass it dad wants his coke!
We are working towards getting dad an off campus pass. This requires the family to be trained in several areas including how to use the wheelchair, seizure and emergency training. As soon as the dr clears him we will be able to take dad to the outdoor patios, garden and rec room without a one on one assistant. The rec room here is fun. They have ping pong, a pool and a garden. Dad is able to participate in several rec classes including fishing. Anybody who knows dad knows how much he loves his fishing ;)
Dad is making progress everyday, I see him become more clear and aware of his surroundings. With that being said he still shows some delays in his cognition and thinking. It takes him a minute to answer questions and remember things. His memory is slowly coming back, the last time I spoke to him he wanted to call his work at Salt Creek to let them know where he was. He hasn't worked there for 10+ years. The dr says this is normal for a brain injury and things will return slowly but surely. He will probably never remember falling or being at McKay Dee Hospital. The 1st day of speech therapy dad scored a 7 on his cognitive test the very next day he scored a 23. His therapist said she has never seen improvement like this in her career. This is an encouraging sign towards his recovery. The first 10 days at the hospital are used for assessment. There has been a Care Team meeting scheduled for Monday, Aug 5th to discuss his care plan, progress as well as a discharge date. Mike and I will be flying into Denver for this meeting. 
My sister, Emily, arrived in Denver on Wednesday to be with my dad. Victoria, Brayden and Landen came with Emily and they were able to visit with papa for the 1st time since the accident. This was a beautiful moment for the family, dad's face lit up when he saw his grandchildren. After giving Emily the tour and updating her on dad's progress I returned to Utah to be with my family. The plan is to alternate weeks to enable us to return to work and be with our own families. She will be taking pictures and communicating dad's progress with me and I will give an update on the blog every few days.

July 30th ~ 1st day of PT

Performing a strength test

Speech Therapy

July 30th ~ 2nd day of PT ~ he walked the length of the therapy room twice this day!

July 30th ~ Becky, Eva and Dad. He is looking better everyday :)

Dad on the bike ~ July 30th

Brayden and Dad ~ July 31st
 This was the 1st time dad had seen Brayden since the accident. It was a short visit but one we will always remember.

Tori and Papa ~ July 31st

Dad's new set of wheels ~ July 31st

Bed Upgrade ~ July 31st

Brayden and Becky visiting Papa ~ July 31st

Day 31 ~ July 29th Dad's 1st PT assessment

This was the 1st time dad has walked since the accident. This video was taken on Monday, by the time I left Wednesday he was not only walking up and down the PT room but also around the unit and to his own room. He is making great improvement everyday :)

Dad received his 1st haircut since the surgery today and lost the mullet. Wahoo!

Dad lost the mullet and got a haircut today ;)

July 28th ~ Day 30

Weekends are quiet here at Craig. Dad doesn't have scheduled therapies on Saturday and Sunday and we use the time to catch up with each other and visit. We have spent the day doing puzzles, playing catch, skyping with family and talking a stroll in the garden. As time progresses and dad's health improves he will be able to go on family outings. This will be a good way to spend our weekends while we are here in Denver.
We know he is starting to get better because dad is asking for his e-cig! Mom is a softy and wants to give it to him while I am trying to convince him that he quit weeks ago and doesn't need it ;)
Dad is more alert than I have seen him since the accident and he is improving each day. His thought process is slowly becoming more clear. He is still sleepy and confused but for the most part he seems happy. He loves seeing us here. We walked into his room after last night and he asked us, "where have you been?" He asked about work and if they knew he was at the hospital. He also keeps asking for his phone which my sister has and will be bringing with her this week.
We are 1 month post injury. So much has happened yet we have such a long way to go. I have learned that that the bond that ties families can never be broken. Too often we become distracted by life's busy tasks that we forget to acknowledge the ones that mean the most. Through this process I have become closer to my brothers and sisters in a way that I never thought would happen. We have laughed, cried and even fought with each other through this struggle. There is a quote that says what defines us is how we rise after we fall. My family has chosen to rise and rise tall against our struggles. I love that about my family. We may argue, we may even stop talking to each other but in the end, family is family and love will prevail <3

Mom and Dad 

Eva and Becky hanging out with grandpa

Lunch Time. The girl in yellow is dad's one on one tech. Her name is Rachel and she is AMAZING. She has been with dad since we got here and she is so kind and caring with him.

Nap Time

Master of the puzzles :)

Day 28 ~ Hope Renewed

July 26th - Day 28

Busy, Busy day! We met with Dr.'s, speech therapist, PT, OT, the social worker and many others today. There is a lot of training to go through but we are really impressed with the excellent care dad is receiving. He went from laying in bed 23 hours a day to being mobile. They encourage dad to be active and participate in his recovery. We were able to put him in a specialized chair and take him to every meeting. We have meals with him and mom even got in bed with him for awhile. The hospital is used more like a campus than a hospital. While they have top of the art equipment it is a very friendly laid back environment. They offer several classes for patients such as biking, pool/pingpong, driving, gardening and even fishing. They also offer passes for off campus. When dad is ready and we have completed caregiving training we will be able to take him out to see the sights  Dad was very tired and not too responsive today. We were told that is to be expected with the transport yesterday and all the testing they had to do today. They did find out he has a blood clot in his left arm and upper left leg. Also the G tube is infected and they are treating him with an antibiotic. They anticipate that both will clear up in the next week. He is very congested and is coughing up a lot of mucus. They sent in a respiratory team and are giving him breathing treatments to help clear that up. I love the energy here. It is so warm and caring and the staff treat dad like family. They involve us in all of his care and have been so helpful in answering our questions.
We love you all and thank you for your continued support it means so much to us 

Dad - Day 28. 1st day at Craig Hospital

The staff here are very caring and attentive to dad's needs.
 

Moving dad from his bed to wheelchair

Dad in his king sized bed :)

A well deserved rest after a long day of therapy 

Day 28 ~ 1st day at Craig Hospital

July 26 - Day 28 ~ 1st day at Craig Hospital

Journal ~ Day 1 of accident to Day 27 transport to Denver

June 29th - Day 1

My dad, Tim, had a serious accident at work today. He fell and hit his head. He is currently in the ICU at McKay Dee Hospital and stable. He has fractured the back of his head and has a small amount of bleeding in the brain. He is unconscious and on a ventilator. We should know more in the next 24 hours on whether he will need surgery or not. Please keep him as well as my mother in your thoughts and prayers ~ 

We just talked to the dr - ct looks the same. They will do another in the morning. They will keep him sedated overnight and the respirator in. For now he is stable and doing good. Thank you for your love and prayers.

June 30th - Day 2

We meet with the ICU dr and dad is holding stable. He has a few broken bones on the left side of his face and back of his head. He is bleeding on the left side of his brain. They will place a feeding tube today and continue to watch him. We are waiting to talk to the neurologist and get an update on the last CT. With it being a Sunday news will be slower today.

Good news. . . My sister Emily was with dad and she said that Dad squeezed her hand and raised his eyebrows to the sound of her voice 

Extremely long day, with it being a Sunday news was slow. Dad is holding stable. They placed a feeding tube today and continue to watch him. 1st thing tomorrow they will do another CT and we will meet with the drs. Thank you to all for your love and support. Having a large family does come in handy ever now and then 

July 1st - Day 3

Spoke to the dr this morning after dads CT. The swelling is slowly subsiding, its going to take some time before that gets better. They tried to pull him off the sedation a bit this morning to see how he would respond and he was extremely agitated, tried to sit up and pull his tubes out. He did respond to the dr a few times and squeezed his hand when asked to. He didn't open his eyes though. The dr says this is a good sign that he is reacting. The dr said it will probably take longer to pull him off sedation and the respirator because he gets so agitated. He did say that where he got hit will cause more of a agitated reaction and its nothing to really worry about. We are hoping he will be awake by this weekend.

July 2 - Day 4

Things are about the same with my dad. We continue to wait while the swelling subsides. He remains in the ICU, they are keeping him sedated and on the respirator to prevent any further damage and give his brain time to heal. Tomorrow morning there will be another CT to check on his progress. It looks like it will be Friday before the dr will try to move him out of sedation. Even then it will be very slowly. At this point we won't know what the damage is until he wakes up. My dad is a very tough guy and I remain optimistic that he will recover. I look at him lying in bed and he looks like he is sleeping the day away and could sit up at any moment and start talking to you. We are working hard to get everything worked out so that dad can focus on getting better and coming home. So far his work has been accommodating and are working quickly to get his workers comp claim processed. Unfortunately we have been down this road with my mom and we do know how to navigate the system. We truly appreciate the visits, cards, love and support we have received. Mom enjoys the visits and phone calls. I think it helps make her days go by a little more quickly and helps her heart heal  Thank You 

Day 4 Post Injury in the ICU

July 2, 2013 ~ McKay Dee ICU

July 4th - Day 6

Talked to the dr this morning, CT looks about the same. They have begun to pull my dad slowly off the sedation. He opened his eyes a few times when his name was called  He was also able to follow simple commands such as squeezing the dr's hand and opening his eyes. The dr remains optimistic and told us that any progress is good progress. We are in for the long haul and will be in the ICU for awhile but today was a good day.

July 7th - Day 9

They have taken dad off sedation - Dad is responding about half of the time today. He opens his eyes wide and raises his eyebrows when you speak to him and it appears as though he recognizes us. It is good to see dad responding, hard part is seeing him in pain. He still needs some assistance with breathing so he is still intubated - His left hand has become really swollen so they are going to do an ultrasound sometime today. They worry about blood clots. They did the MRI last night and were able to take the C collar off his neck this morning. Dad also started occupational and physical therapy. It's been a week since the accident and its time to get him moving to prevent any further problems.

July 8th - Day 10 

Good news - my dad had physical therapy and did really well today. He sat up on the side of the bed with assistance and followed most of the commands. He also responded really well to my mom and sister who were both there. The goal is to get him off sedation and his blood pressure down before they can take the breathing tube out. Right now they are taking him off sedation twice a day once in the morning for the drs to do their examination and again to do physical therapy. Each time they watch him and see how long he can go without his blood pressure or respiratory rate getting too high. Dad does have a fever and they are treating him with antibiotics. the ultrasound yesterday did show some blood clots in his arms and they are treating those as well. Overall today was a good day 

July 9th - Day 11

Talked to the dr this morning, dad is making improvement but the dr thinks it will be 48 to 72 hours before we can take the intubation tube out. They don't want to cause more damage and have to put the tube back in so they are taking things slow. Dad is officially off the sedation medication and has been awake for most of the day. He is recognizing us and will nod yes or no when we are asking him questions. He is a bit agitated and keeps trying to get out of bed. He also has tried to pull at his tubes a few times so they have to keep him restrained. The dr ordered some medication to take the edge off but not sedate him. Dad had physical therapy today and was able to get out of bed with assistance and sit up in a chair. He was up for about 10 minutes. It was a busy morning for dad, it was encouraging to see him up and mom was really happy to see that he was responding so well to her. We are doing our best to let him rest so he can recover. He is slowly making progress which is all we can ask for at this point.

July 10th - Day 12

The breathing tube is gone! The took it out this morning and he is doing great. He is still a bit confused and extremely tired, he can talk to us but his vocal cords are swollen and he speaks in a whisper. Makes it a bit hard to understand him but the dr says that will get better over the next couple of days. First thing he asked for was my mom  He is still a bit confused and kept asking why he was at the hospital, he also will ask what day it is and how long he has been there. He doesn't remember the accident but he seems to understand that he fell now. The drs are have asked that we gown up when entering his ICU room. They are worried about infection. We are so encouraged by dad's progress and are very grateful for all the love and support you have given. I will continue to posts updates as he continues to get better 

July 11th - Day 13

Dad has a contagious infection and we have been asked to completely gown up before entering his ICU room. At this time we are asking for no visitors. As soon as the things have cleared up and we can move him to a different room he will be able to take visitors again. Thank you for your consideration.

July 12th - Day 14

Dad is being moved out of the ICU and into the surgical unit today. They are continuing to treat him for the MRSA and should be able to have visitors this weekend. 

The insurance called our family earlier this week and presented dad with the opportunity to go to a rehabilitation center in Denver, CO that deals specifically with traumatic brain injuries. It is an excellence center called The Craig Hospital.www.craighospital.org We have sat down as a family and have come to the decision that sending dad to Colorado gives him the absolute best chance for a full recovery. The average stay is 30 days but can be as long as 90 days. The hospital will provide free housing for the 1st 30 days, after that they can subsidize the rent if we need to stay longer. We are looking at a transport day of July 22. I will take my mom in my car and stay with her for the first week. After that the 4 oldest (Myself, Mike, Emily and Isaac) will alternate weeks until my dad can return home. We truly believe in our hearts that this is a blessed opportunity. After seeing what my mom went through with her recovery we want to give dad every possibility to recover to the best of his ability. We believe this hospital will provide him with the one on one care he needs to succeed. At this time we are asking for donations to help cover the costs for my mom's transportation, meals and her care. While worker's comp is in effect my parents now only receive a portion of their previous income, all of which goes to maintain their home and bills. We thank you for all of your love and support during this very difficult time. Your visits, cards and encouragement mean so very much to us and lift our spirits everyday ~ Thank you 

July 14th - Day 16

Dad has been moved to room 2205 on the 2nd floor. He has tested positive for MRSA in his lungs and the dr has prescribed breathing treatments. He is not very responsive right now, I believe this is because of the infection/fever. He seems to be worn out and I am hopeful that after he beats the infection he will respond better to us. If you would like to visit you will need to gown up to prevent the spreading of the infection. We are still working towards a transport day of July 22 to Denver. I will find out more this week as we meet with dr's and the caseworker. Thank you for your continued love and support 

Just another normal day at the hospital ;)

July 15th - Day 17

• Dad is still not responding to us and hasn't woken up since moving him from the ICU. The dr has ordered another CT and they are going to change some of his medications to see if they can wake him. We will meet with the dr to discuss the CT results later today. Not going to lie, today has been pretty rough 

After a very long wait for the dr this evening we have news on dad. The CT shows that dad has a subdural hematoma, I have attached the link for more info. The dr says this is not new bleeding but rather the old blood which had coagulated and is now liquifying creating moisture in the brain. He will be having surgery sometime tomorrow to relieve the pressure and drain the blood. This does mean he will be returning to the ICU. The dr said this may delay his transport to Denver by a few days but we will not know until he begins to wake and the dr can see where he is at. The good news is the MRSA is clearing up, the antibiotics are working and his lungs are sounding better each day. Tomorrow will be a very long day with the surgery but I will do my best to keep you guys updated.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdural_hematoma

July 16 - Day 18

They taking dad back to surgery right now. The procedure is called burr hole. It will take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours depending on how many he needs. They are going to work on both sides of the brain so I am thinking at least 4 hours. I will update as soon as he is out of surgery.http://www.neurosurgerypa.com/procedures/Burrhole.html

Surgery went well. It took approximately 3 hours and the dr placed 2 burr holes, 1 on each side of the brain. The dr said he did not see any new blood but rather only the old blood from the original incident. He can still see bruising in the frontal lobes when looking at the CT. They did have to intubate dad again, not sure how long it will be in this time but the dr doesn't feel like it will be more than a day or two. They have moved dad back to the ICU. Now we wait. The dr can't give us more of an outcome until dad wakes up and they can see how he is doing. It gets frustrating that we don't know anymore than this. It honestly feels like we have taken a huge step backwards and we are starting all over again  The surgery will more than likely postpone his transport to Denver by a few days, however, Denver is still our goal and we continue to work together to get him there.

July 18 - Day 20

Dad asked me for a coke... We are calling that a sign of progress. I told the nurse to give him a Pepsi just to mess with him  he almost passes his swallow test so maybe soon they will let him have a darn coke.

July 20 - Day 22

Sorry I have been away and haven't been able to update for the last few days. They have moved dad to the 3rd floor, 3223. I don't like the unit, it's locked down and sometimes it take along time to get buzzed in. They also have weird visiting hours. Dad is awake but very confused, he usually recognizes my mom but it takes him longer to identify us kids. At this point not much has changed. I am meeting the nurse from Denver on Monday and they should be transporting him Thursday, July 25. Sooner if a bed opens up. I hope it is soon, the nurses on this floor seem to be more edgy and not willing to work with him and get him out of bed.

July 22 - Day 24

BUSY day so lots to read about . . . First of all dad is making improvement. The nurses were able to remove all the tubes (ng, catheter) and the restraints yesterday. He is less agitated and is sleeping better. Dad has a small amount of PT everyday and was able to sit in a chair for approximately 20 minutes today. He has begun to eat solid foods but he aspirated while eating so the dr is considering putting a G tube in. It is a small surgery so we are requesting that this be done after his transfer to Denver. It is possible the dr will place a ng tube again in the morning if the problem does not resolve itself. Dad is still confused and is only speaking in short sentences, most of which are incoherent. He is extremely tired and sleeps whenever he can. He did however tell mom he loved her yesterday afternoon. We met with the representative from Craig Hospital today. She talked with us for quite some time and went over the procedure for transfer and what to except when dad arrives in Denver. Dad will begin OT (occupational therapy) , PT (physical therapy) and ST (speech therapy) a day or two after he arrives at Craig Hospital. The family is encouraged to be part of each step of the process. The hospital offers education and caregiver training for the family as well as counseling if needed. She was very helpful in answering our questions and we feel that we are making the right choice for dad. As of now the transfer date is set for Thursday, July 25. At this time we are looking at 6 to 8 weeks of treatment at Craig Hospital however that may change considering on his progress or lack thereof. Mike and I also meet with Lofthouse today. This is the company that my dad works for and they wanted to meet to see what help they could offer to the family. At this time the company has agreed to pay for a rental car and the gas needed every week to travel back and forth from Salt Lake to Denver. This is a huge weight off of our shoulders financially and we are so grateful that the company was able to step up and help the family out. The plan is that I will take my mom to Denver to meet dad at the hospital this Thursday. I will stay the first 9-10 days with my mom while dad gets settled into treatment. After that the 4 oldest (myself, Mike, Isaac and Emily) will alternate driving to Denver each week (Thursday thru Sunday) to be with my dad. While this has been a very stressful and hard process to go through I am so grateful for the love and support of my family. We have pulled together during this difficult period and I feel we have done a good job of caring for both of my parents needs. What I have forgotten others have remembered and we are all taking care of each other emotionally. Thank you all for your donations, words of encouragement and continuing love

July 23 - Day 25

Dad was feisty today! The nurse had to place a temporary ng tube today and dad was not going to have any part of it. Funny part is when dad is angry he speaks very clearly, no mistaking those cuss words with anything else  In the best interest of dad's comfort we have decided to go ahead and place the g tube button tonight. The nurses have reassured me that this is a simple procedure and should not delay his transport in any way. He was taken back approximately 30 minutes ago and should be out within the hour. Dad has lost 30 lbs since his accident and while he is looking trim placing the g tube will allow dad to receive the nutrition his needs to continue treatment. They will continue to monitor him and he will be allowed to eat solid foods as he continues to make progress. Even though dad was extremely stubborn and quite grumpy about having the tube placed, I see this as progress. He really wanted it out and shared a few choice words with us but his determination and strong will is what will help him be successful in his recovery.

July 24 - Day 26

Dads tube is in, everything went well and he is now resting.

July 25 - Day 27

We are officially on the road to Denver. We checked in on dad before we left and they should be taking him to the airport by ambulance at 10am. They have him slightly sedated for the trip so he wasn't too awake when we saw him. I will update when we arrive at the hospital and get dad settled in.

Funny story about a pigeon, a cat and our trip to Denver . . . . 

This damn pigeon would not get off the car this morning! We would shoo it away and it would come right back. Finally decided to drive away so my cats wouldn't eat him, he finally flew off the car about a mile down the road. I guess he was tired of flying and wanted a lift to Denver 

We have arrived in Denver. It took us longer than expected because it was raining pretty hard here and there was flash flood warnings. We also got into the Denver area around rush hour and it took us 40 minutes to travel 10 miles  FYI when driving from Salt Lake avoid the freeway between 4-6 at ALL COSTS!! It was brutal! 1st stop was the hospital. The staff is extremely kind and helpful. We can already tell his care has improved GREATLY. He is receiving one on one care which means that he has a staff member with him at all times. They have put what looks like catcher glove/mittens on his hands to prevent him from pulling at his tubes, it allows him to move around comfortable without restraints. The nurse on duty says the do not believe in using restraints here. (YEA!) He has already seen a dr gotten some scans and seen a respiratory therapist in the 2-3 hours he has been here. They ordered cultures because they are worried about the congestion in his chest. He has xrays in the morning to check for blood clots. Dad is sharing a room with another patient but the rooms are very large with plenty of room for family. I also feel that they are on top of things here.They have dad in a king size bed and he has so much room to be comfortable without fear of him rolling out of bed. I will send some pics later tonight or tomorrow. He looked so comfortable. It made me tear up to see he was being taken care of in such a caring and considerate way. After seeing the hospital and talking to the staff I KNOW we made the right decision in sending dad here. I know it isn't easy to be so far away but from what I have seen the care he is receiving here is far superior to that at McKay Dee.