Hijacked by Morris

Kent's blog while inactive has been temporarily hijacked by our Grandfather.

Grandpa Dannelly (Morris) was in a car accident yesterday. He was coming back from the well when they rolled the pickup. Grandpa had a cut on his head and fractured a couple of vertebrae. The radiologists said it looked like it was the C1, C2 and T2 vertebra but his brain and spine look good.

They flew him up to Salt Lake from Cedar and my mom and I were able to meet him at the hospital. I was able to sit in his room in the ER with him for about 40 minutes while they waited for a room to be ready for him up in shock trauma. Other than the "damn board" they had him on, he said he wasn't in too much pain. They have him on some pretty good painkillers so he seems to be pretty comfortable for an 80 yr old man with a broken neck. We sat and visited about the farm, the garden and the grandkids. He made my mom rub his sore butt and then made me scratch his head. I told him he owed me a dollar since that was my rate for combing his hair when I was 8.

All in all he is acting like himself.

The plan was for him to meet with the neurosurgeon this morning to determine the best course of treatment. My dad (Paul) talked to the medical staff this morning and it sounded like he was not going to need surgery. They will probably put him in a brace to stabilize the neck while it heals. They are hoping to have him sitting up later today. Grandma (LaRue) is on her way up right now. We should have more information later on today. We'll keep you posted!

2 Years

Kent went camping last weekend and we all told him to be careful as it was the two year anniversary of his accident. Then I went to work and one of his buddies told me that over the weekend he climbed a 90ft tower on top of a mountain (or something).

Some things never change.

At least he's still handsome.

Oh, Kent . . .

I thought I would treat you all to an updated picture of Kent. He's back to normal . . . ok, normal for Kent. Everything seems to be functioning correctly and he is back to his old self. There are little if any signs of the accident. He has however learned that outdoor adventures and holiday weekends don't go so well. Because of this Ben and I were a little surprised when he called and asked us to give him and his friend Lindsay a ride up to the top of Millcreek Canyon on 4th of July weekend. They rode their bikes down pipeline. Luckily Kent was wearing a helmet but Lindsay forgot hers. We tried to remind her what happens when you ride with Kent but she was not deterred. We did however encourage her to stay at least 50 ft back so she could stop when he crashed.

Bustin' Out

This is the last post that we are going to write on the blog, I'm turning it over to Kent so it'll be up to him whether or not he keeps it going. We are so grateful for all of your love and support. The prayers that came from all religions were key in his recovery. At last count he was on 9 Temple Prayer Roles, multiple times on some of them.

Kent has come so far in the last three weeks. His rate of recovery has been amazing. The level of care that he has received has been exceptional and we are so grateful to all of the medical professionals that help him through his injuries.

Kent is home! They let him out on Friday afternoon and he's home. Now he is working on being bored there. He still has therapy a couple of times a week. He also has an appointment with the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist next week and he will look at his the nerves in his face. Depending on how his jaw heals he may need to have it wired shut an additional week.

He was so desperate to leave he tried to hitch hike home.

For those of you who won't get to see Kent in the next few days we have a couple of Kent quotes. His short term memory causes him to repeat things over and over and over and over. Here is a list of things that he says repetitively.

• "________, you don't even know."


• "I have to pee so much, you don't even know. I'm like a 100 year old man."
  
• "I'm going to go crazy."
  
• "I look retarded."
  
• "This sucks so bad, you have no idea."


• "I'm such a retard, I ran into my friend on my dirt bike."
  
• "This is ridiculous."


• "I want soup."
  
• Did I mention "You don't even know"?


• "If somebody asks me about my eye I'm going to kill them . . . I swear."


• "I shouldn't ride my dirt bike but I probably will."

The support has been overwhelming and it is really touching how many people have been pulling for him. Ben and I were at the store the other night and while we were in line I heard someone say, "So is Kent still coming home on Friday?" It was his friend Riley and his wife Kendra. Then this morning I got a text message from my boss saying, "I'm sitting with someone you were with last night. She was visiting your brother." We knew he had a lot of friend but this is ridiculous! We put the counter on the blog on the September 9th and in 13 days we has had 4128 hits on his blog, 1504 different IP addresses. That's not even counting how many of you logged on in the first week.

We are so happy to have him home even if we do hear the same thing over and over. The next couple of weeks will be a challenge for him because he is "so freakin' bored, you don't even know." We are so lucky to have him here with us and we are so grateful that his injuries aren't any more serious. It's been an emotional ride for all of us and we look forward to helping Kent continue on his road to recovery.

Thanks again for all of your support!

The Dannellys

Paul, LeAnn, Adam, Kent and Bethany

The Hansons

Ben and Tracey

The Staples

Karen, Ryan and Kate

Mostly Back to Normal

Kent talking is sooooo much better! His trach is out and he can talk a lot better. Bethany was there with Ben and I and he gave her a good razzing. We knew he was himself when he started showing Beth his boogers. He made some additional threats that are typical to their interaction.

He is sooooo bored and takes every opportunity to tell anyone who comes into his room. We've come up with multiple plans to bust him out. The good news is they are letting him go home on Saturday! We just need to keep him entertained until then. (Please come visit him!!! We can only entertain him so much before he is ready to kick us out!)

His therapy is going really well. The doctor came in and tested the left side of his face and there is definitely some nerve damage. We don't know how long it will take to regenerate or to what extent it will heal. I asked him if he felt any different and he said that his brain feels slow. He also tells us that any fluid/goo that comes out of his mouth, nose or ears is his brain oozing out. Gross.

One Tube Down, Two To Go

Somehow Kent's trach came out last night and they have decided to leave it out. YEA!!! This means that he is talking even more. The only downfall is not he can vocalize how much he hates being in the hospital. Now they just have to get his feeding tube out, (hopefully tonight or tomorrow) and his IV patch.

They are having a meeting with all of the doctors today to help determine when he will be able to come home. They will set goals for him to accomplish so he can be released. One of the therapists said a few days but we will have to see what happens.

His therapy is going well. He's obviously really motivated to get out of there. Today he walked around the hospital as well as up and down the stairs. They had him walk on the balance beam and through the ladders to test his balance. He also did some exercises testing his ability to get up from the floor.

The audiologist is going to come in today to check on his eardrum. If everything checks out he should be able to go home but he'll have to have someone at home with him most of the time. His recovery has been so amazing! I think we all want him home as much as he wants to be home.

Talking

So Kent amazed us with a new skill tonight . . . talking out of the side of his mouth. It's really raspy but you can make out what he's telling you. I'm sure he's getting annoyed at his family guessing what he wants and has decided its almost easier to try to talk. They'll start putting the attachment on his trach tomorrow to help him speak a little more clearly. (As clearly as you can with a wired jaw)

He had on jeans and a t-shirt today so he is looking more like himself. He told me that he's bored and wants to get out. If you can think of a way to entertain him, go for it! His left eye is looking sooo much better and his walking is improving everyday.

He was reading the blog and all of your comments when we left the hospital tonight. We'll see if I'm in trouble for something that I've written tomorrow.

Thanks for the pictures, we added them to his frame. We still have tons of room so keep 'em coming.



Hey Kent . . . Ben's working on that entertainment we talked about tonight! :)

_____ Days Since the Last Accident

So our dad reminded me that people may not understand the title of the blog. Our family, especially Kent, likes to go down to the sand dunes by Delta. As you drive into the park there is a sign with a flip chart that says "____ Days Since the Last Accident" (or something to that effect). For those of you who don't know, Kent has a run of accidents in the last year. Last Spring he busted up his knee and had to have surgery on it. Then in March be busted his wrist and his thumb and got to double cast it. About a month before the most recent accident he was tubing and his buddy toothed him in the back of the head leaving wound that required stitches. Ben and I joked about a month ago that we were going to put the same sign on his bedroom door. I guess having a blog on the web counts.

14 Days Since the Last Accident.

Hopefully being in the hospital will extend it a little longer.

Rehab

Music Videos - Rehab

Oh wait . . . not that kind of rehab!

I talked to my mom this morning and she said Kent's rehab is going really well. They had him walk on the treadmill, as well as play catch and tug of war with a dog that they bring in. He did some worksheets that involved matching as well as strengthening his left eye. Everyone says that he is doing great.

He has also rediscovered text messaging as some of you may already know. Last night during dinner he sent Bethany a text message that said something along the lines of "I'm starving and stranded! Bring me some food and I will buy you some." At least some things are back to normal. We have found that blending soup works really well for him as we continue to try to stuff the calories in him. There are some weight gaining shakes that we found that will give him 1850 of his 2000 calories in one serving. Hopefully we won't have to resort to that.

They have also started giving him stuff to help him sleep so he can get back on a normal schedule. Last night he was tired and kicked us out of his room. I think he might just be sick of looking at us and ALWAYS having someone in his room. I offered to bust him out tonight and he text-ed back endorsing the idea. However, I don't think Ben and I are THAT sneaky.

A call for photos

So I know Tracey has made a call for videos and such for Kent to watch, I would like to reiterate this and also ask for more photos. Kent has a digital photo frame and we have a ton of room on it for more pictures. If you have any pictures of you with Kent or just pictures he might like send them to:

kentdannelly@gmail.com

Again remember Kent's mom and sisters are going to see these pictures so keep them clean. (I am looking at you BreAnn, just kidding)

Walking around

As requested here are some pictures of Kent walking. He is strong and his muscles are working. It's amazing that he can walk with his legs being so freaking skinny. (Think of his normal size and subtract 10 lbs. STICK legs!) He still has a hard time with his balance but we're sure this will take care of itself in no time. The doctor told us today that he has some nerve damage on the left side of his face. Consequently that side is currently paralyzed. They will have a specialist come in and take a look at to determine the extent of the damage.
Today they took him for a walk outside around the hospital. He is very determined and doesn't want to have to be helped. It has to be really frustrating for someone as independent as Kent to need extra help to get things done.
It sounds as if they are going to work on getting him a trach that he can talk with early next week. It will be nice for him to be able to use verbal communications. Some things are harder than others to get across with hand gestures.
We are starting to see more and more of Kent's personality. Tonight Jordan and Glen came up and saw him. My mom said he perked up when they got there. We think that it is good for him to start having visitors. I'm sure he's getting sick of seeing just our faces. After discussing it with his nurse my parents decided that the best thing to do is to have you call my mom and coordinate a time to come up. This way we can control the number of people (4 or so at a time) that are at the hospital. The other reason we want to do it this way is because Kent has a rehab schedule throughout the day and we don't want visits to interfere with the treatment. Mom (LeAnn) will let you know if it's a good time or not. The other thing that everyone needs to be aware of is that they medical staff may need to ask you to leave and you need to not take it personally! Again, we are still focusing on what is best for Kent. If you don't have our mom's number please email her at pauldannelly@comcast.net and she will get back to you as soon as she can.
It has been such a crazy two weeks and Kent has come so far. (This is where I become the sappy big sister) I think that we have all been on auto pilot trying to get him well and now that everyone is back in Utah we are starting to realize that he still has a hard road ahead of him and it hard to not get a little emotional. Sometimes it is difficult to see his skinny little body laying in his bed. He can't talk and his facial expressions are limited by his jaw and facial paralysis. It's hard to tell if his is sad, happy, depressed etc. This makes it really difficult because we want to make sure he is okay physically and emotionally. Kent is so good at making the people around him happy that it feels like it is our turn to make him happy.

There are so many of you who have a place in your heart for Kent and our family is so grateful for all of your prayers. We love Kent so much and he is such a unique part of our family (unless you are considering that he is a carbon copy of our dad in a lot of ways). Even when you trip over his shoes or he makes some smart comment, he is always loving and cheerful. MANY years ago our mom had separate necklace pendents with pictures of each of us kids. Even though there were 4 of us, she always wore the same one . . . Kent. We now tease her that it's because Kent was her favorite. While we know that this isn't true, each of his siblings and in-laws will tell that Kent is special. I'm not quite sure how we would have functioned if we had lost him and I'm really glad we didn't have to find out.

Hangin in the hospital room.

Well, Kent is back in Salt Lake. They have him at LDS hospital in the Neuro Rehab. He had a really big day. They brought him in a small plane, Mom thinks it would hold about 10 people in normal seats. Once he got here they took out a bunch of tubes and he's getting a little bit more comfortable. The nurses and doctors go right to work on his rehab. He walked about 50 ft in the rehab room. He is also able to around his room and to his restroom with some assistance. They are giving him some Boost nutrition shakes to help him get enough calories that he can go off the feeding tube. The staff here is great and they are very helpful. Ben is staying the night with Kent tonight. This way he'll have a little extra help if he needs stuff. It'll also be good for him to have a familiar face when he wakes up in the night,

We're working on getting him settled in this weekend and then when he's ready they'll start letting him have visitors. Talking to my mom tonight it sounds like they will limit how many people can be in his room at a time (probably 3 or so) Because of this limitation we'll set up times when people can cycle in and out to keep him from being overwhelmed. It'll probably involve calling or emailing one of the family members to check before you come up. Give us a day or two and we'll let you know who to contact to set up a time to come up.

We are so happy to have him back in Salt Lake. Thank you so much for all of your love and concern. Kent seems to like it when we read him everyone's comments. Hopefully you can tell him yourself soon!

Coming home tomorrow . . . kinda.

Kent is coming back to Salt Lake tomorrow! He'll fly down with my mom and the trauma team tomorrow morning. I know all of you are excited to see him and we hope to let that happen soon. We'll let you know as soon as we have information from his facility on when, where, and how many people can visit. We don't want to overwhelm him just yet so gives us a few days to get him settled and then we'll work out a visiting schedule. I'm sure Paul will have some sort of plan! (Please don't think we're being stingy. . . we're just trying to do the best thing for Kent.)

He is still making some great progress. Dad spent the night with him so he didn't have to be tied down. I'm sure he was super happy about that. Today he walked from his bed to the door and then after a rest, he walked to the other side of the room and sat in the chair and had lunch. After that he walked back to his bed. My mom said that his head didn't hurt as much but he is still really wobbly.

They cleaned out his stitches on his arm. Dad calls this his "loser" wound because it is shaped like an "L". They said that it was looking good. The opthamologist also came and looked at his right eye. He has damage to the 3rd and 6th nerve. The 3rd nerve controls the eyelid going up and down as well as moving the eye in towards his nose. The 6th nerve moves the eye out towards his ear. The damage on the 3rd nerve is more severe. His eyelid wouldn't close so it got really dry. They are putting ointment in in are taping it shut for 3 days. The doctor said he may want to keep it covered until the nerves heal because the double vision may bother him. Try to keep the pirate jokes to a minimum. I'm sure he'll get enough from his siblings.

Anyway, we are sooooo excited to have him back in UT. We'll let you know as soon as we have more info!

News from LeAnn (Mom)

Here's an email that my mom sent about Kent's progress. I thought you might like to hear from her instead of me for once.

Here are some more pictures of Kent. They got him to stand up this morning. Annette says he is strong enough we just need to work on his balance and then he should be able to start walking a bit. He is eating better this morning and seems to be doing good. They had him tied down when we came in. He does not like that. They said he was asking about his truck and wanted them to call us. We may take turns at night and stay with him so he can stay untied. It seems to really affect his morale when they tie him. We haven't heard anything yet this morning about the transfer. We'll let you know.
That's it for now.

Kent and Mom

Only Kent can look this good in the hospital. We're trying to find him a rehab with hot nurses! (Sorry BreAn!)

Apparently he "thumbs up" now as well as other finger gestures. I'm sure he's not giving a thumbs up to his tubes.

Here's a picture of Kent with some cards from out cousins Michael (black card) and Kirsten (pink card). Notice the black one on the left has a picture of Kent with an actual bandaid on his head. I'm thinking about putting the video message that they sent Kent on the blog because it is so funny. However, I'm not quite sure my aunt and uncle would be okay with me exploiting their children. :)

Quick Update

They are going to bring someone in tomorrow to help Kent stand up. He doesn't really like sitting up so we'll have to see how that goes. He ate some tomato soup, milk and water today. Unfortunately he isn't eating enough to take him off the feeding tube. He REALLY doesn't like that. They are going to bring an opthamologist tonight or tomorrow to look at his eye.

He talked tractors and machinery with Dad today and spent some time screwing and unscrewing bolts from a board. That kept him busy for a little while.

His case worker is working on his transfer so we'll have to see what happens!

Tricky little punk!

So Kent pulled his feeding tube out last night . . . again. They strapped him back down. When my parents got there they let him loose. Then he tried to do it again. He rolled on to his side and started pulling stuff off again. My mom had to hold his hands down. They strapped him down. . . again. He then wrote them a note and told them that he wanted to take of his band aids. I think this battle will continue until he has all of his fun tubes out.

The physical therapist came in today and had him sit on the edge of his bed with help. He said that it made his head hurt so after 5 minutes they let him lie back down. He sat up again a little bit later.

Today he drank some blue water and when they suctioned his lungs he didn't have any fluid in his lungs so that is good news. He also drank 1/2 of his broth for breakfast.

He is getting REALLY frustrated that he can't have the tubes out (obviously) and that he can't talk. He wants to do everything for himself and while we want that too, realistically he just isn't up to it yet. It sounds like they won't put the voice box on his trach until next week. They are trying to get him to type on the computer but he hasn't wanted to yet.

It doesn't sound as if they will be moving him out of the ICU just yet so we really don't know when he will be back in Salt Lake. The doctors haven't concurred on anything. My dad's feelings are that he would rather have everybody save the gas and visit him when he is here and is functioning a little bit more. He is having a hard time remembering who has visited so far and he tires out really easily. His short term memory is getting a little bit better. At least now he knows where his truck is!

Video Messages

We were thinking that it might be nice for Kent to have some video messages from anyone who wants to send one. The doctors say that it is good for Kent to see familiar faces and voices. If you want to record a quick something and email it over, you can email it to: kentdannelly@gmail.com Keep in mind that our mom will be seeing these so nothing inappropriate for moms! Please continue commenting on the blog. It's been great for Kent and all of our family to read your comments and we don't want to deny them that opportunity! :)

Pants

I talked to Dad just now and got an update. Apparently Kent was really agitated all day and was tugging at his smock. They couldn't figure out what he wanted but when they got back from dinner Kent had managed to communicate his needs . . . pants. I told Dad that this is more than we can get him to wear at home sometimes! He's settled down a little now that he has some drawers on.

He is having some issues with his short term memory and has been asking some of the same questions a couple of times. One is "Where's my truck?" Dad is going to make him a poster with information about where he is, where my parents are, what day it is etc. He doesn't remember being at the Sand Dunes but he does remember working down in Price.

They bought him a little hand word processor and he spelled his name on it. His handwriting is a little rough but they are making it work. When he was holding up his fingers he had a cute little hand gesture for Bethany.

He gets really tired after about 10-15 minutes of interaction. They are going to start bringing in the physical therapists to work with his muscles and an occupational therapist to help him start working on day to day tasks. They are also going to bring in a speech therapist although we aren't quite sure what they are going to do.

The hardest part now is that he gets really frustrated with his inability to do stuff. We're not quite sure when he'll be home but we are fairly certain that he will be transferred to another hospital. He's hanging in there are we are excited to see what he has in store for us tomorrow.

Writing

Kent has found a new way to communicate . . . writing. He writes "yes" and "no" as well as other messages when my parents can't figure out what he wants. He can hold up 1 finger, 2 fingers, 3 fingers, etc. He is also starting to drink through a straw. Today they gave him some Cranberry Grape juice and he really liked that. They need to make sure he is swallowing properly and that the fluid isn't going into his lungs. Because the juice is colored it is easier to monitor. My mom said that he is also getting really good at using the washcloth on his eyes, mouth and nose. He's getting frustrated because there are a lot of things that he wants to do for himself that he can't. His nurse Dave had a chat with him today and told him the he could not pull his tubes out! He warned him that it could do damage and really hurt. Dave also told him that he was doing wonderful.

It is so amazing how far he has come in the last week. It sounds as if they will be transferring him to LDS hospital. All of his doctors need to concur that he is ready to move and then the process will begin. We are so ready to have him home in Utah!

We are all so pleased at his progress! My dad wanted me to mention again that all of your prayers have been key in his recovery and that Kent's clean life has also been a major contributing factor to his progress.

The tubes

Kent apparently doesn't like having tubes in him. When my parents returned to his last night he had managed to pull his feeding tube out of his nose. The nurse told us earlier yesterday that pulling it out would be close to impossible and very painful. There was no blood so we aren't quite sure how he got it out. In order to keep him from pulling ALL of his tubes out they strapped his arms back down. He didn't like that either. He then proceeded to try to wrap his legs around the tubes and pull them out that way. Dad said that he isn't sure how much of it is voluntary but we think it's kind of funny.

Kent is still leaking cerebral fluid. The doctors said that it may take up to 12 days for that to heal and he's a 7 days. He also still can't open his right eye. The neurosurgeon told us that he has nerve damage in that eye that is likely causing double vision and may have to wear a patch over it. Ben thinks that his may not be such a bad thing. He says it will make him look dangerous.

My parents wanted me to thank you for all of your prayers and fasts. We firmly believe that they have been key in Kent's recovery. Please keep it up!

Bittersweet Moments

You will all be glad to hear that Kent is still making some progress. Little baby steps that don't seem like much but mean the world to us.

After we left today he tried to get people in the room to take off all of his medical gear. It started with the oxygen meter on his finger. Typical Kent, once he got someone to take that off he tried to get them to take some of his other tubes out. Sorry Bud, not gonna happen.

Mom was cleaning some goop out of his eyes he pushed Mom's out of the way. He then proceeded to pick up the washrag and wipe his own eyes. He got really frustrated that he couldn't talk. Later, when he was tired of sitting in his chair/bed thingy, he started to move the pillows and tried to move over to his bed by himself. He's had a big day and was exhausted. He went straight to sleep.

I'm sure for those of you who haven't seen or been with Kent it is really hard to understand exactly what stage he is in. Even for the people that have spent time with him we only have an inkling of what is to come. I don't want to dash anyones hopes or trivialize the progress that he has made but you need to know that he isn't back just yet. The hardest part is that we can see Kent and aspects of his personality in his eyes and in his actions. It seems as if he knows who people are and he knows that he isn't well. The most frustrating part for him, and even us, is that his body isn't cooperating with his mind. This will be hard for him in the coming weeks. Anyone who has spent any time with Kent knows that he can do anything that he puts his mind to. While we don't think that this will be any different it is going to be a long hard haul and he is going to need everyone's love and encouragement. With all of the good news we don't want to lead you to the conclusion that he'll be up walking around and cracking jokes tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that. However, we do want you to know that there is hope and lots of it. He's a tough kid.

Kent we love you and know you can do this!

Some pictures of Kent awake!!!

Kent giving stink eye to Adam. We're not sure if this is his recovery working or if it's just how they normally look at each other. We'd test it on Bethany but the look is the same look he always gives her. Mom is the person that we can truly use to test the look.

Kent and his nurses Dave and Kristy.

Today has been the best day yet! Ben and I just went and told him that we were leaving and he looked at me and nodded his head. He also nodded when we told him that we would see him next week.

Hopefully Kent will be ready to have more visitors later this week. We will let you know as soon as that time comes. Until then please keep leaving him comments with him awake I'm sure he'l be happy to hear them.

Turn on the fan . . .

Today is the frst day that Kent has been awake for an extended period of time. Earlier this morning he opened his a eye and looked at Dad. When Dad asked Kent to point to Mom he pointed right to her. He is starting to communicate with us by lifting his hand in a nodding motion. We pointed at the fan in his room and when we asked him if he wanted it turned on he nodded his hand. He gives us indication on some things but not everything. He kept pointing to his mouth and when Dad asked him if he needed a drink he nodded again. Sometimes he kind of points to his face and when we ask if he needs something scratched he'll nod again. It helps us know that there is a little bit of Kent in there.

I asked the nurse this morning where he is on the Glasgow scaled and she said a T10 due to the fact that he can't talk. Dan, his nurse, says that he should be moved into a rehabilitation soon. There they we will work on making him more mobile as well as re-teaching him day to day skills like brushing his teeth, combing his hair and tying his shoes.

Adam put together a digital picture from with picture of his friends and family. He seems to be watching it. The boy also put some music on the frame. We tries to put happy music on it so he'll probably be listening to a lot of Jack Johnson over the next few days.

Stink Eye

Kent has made some amazing improvements in the last 24 hours. Since we arrived last night he has been taken off the ventilator and the sedatives. They have also decreased his paing medication again and he is down to a 12. He is starting to make faces in his sleep that are typical Kent expressions. Bethany says that he is even starting to sleep more like Kent . . . with his limbs going everywhere.

When he arrived at the ICU he was at a level one. They moved him to a level two yesterday and a level three tonight. His nurse said that in big cities they will move you from the ICU at a level 2. He is doing pretty well responding to commands. The doctor had him open his eye and wiggle his left thumb. The funny part was that the doctor was holding his right hand and looking at this right thumb and Kent wiggled his left thumb. Kent showed him! He also told Kent to stick out his tongue. He must have forgotten that his jaw is wired shut.

Later tonight he opened his eye and started to focus on our dad when he said Kent's name. Ben calls this look the "stink eye" becuase he only opens one eye and gives you a look. When he's better I'm sure we'll all start giving Kent the stink eye. Dad told him to squeeze his hand and he did. He asked him to squeeze it again and he did it again. Tomorrow when they test him with commands they will tell him to squeeze and release. This will indicate even further his brain functions. They use what is called the Glasgow Scale to qualify the level of consciousness following a brain trauma. Here are a couple of links explaining how the scale works:

http://www.ssgfx.com/CP2020/medtech/glossary/glasgow.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Coma_Score

I'm not sure what his score is due to the fact that he can't talk. He did try to open his mouth when he looked at Dad. Again, we are super anxious for him to wake up so we can figure out exactly where he is out. Hopefully we will have even more good news to report in the morning.

Another Milestone Passed

While Kent hasn't woken up yet, he has passed yet another milestone. Up until now Kent has been on a sedative called Propofol.



"Propofol is a short-acting intravenous anesthetic agent used for the induction of general anesthesia in adult patients and pediatric patients older than 3 years of age; maintenance of general anesthesia in adult patients and pediatric patients older than 2 months of age; and sedation in medical contexts, such as intensive care unit (ICU) sedation for intubated, mechanically ventilated adults, and in procedures such as colonoscopy. It provides no analgesia."



The machine that administers it to Kent works on a scale. The high point of Kent's dosage was a 20. Early this morning he was down to 5 and when we came back from lunch they had him completely off of the medication. Dad says if he doesn't wake up soon he's going to give him a kick in the butt. While we know that he is speaking figuratively we told him that the hospital probably wouldn't condone that kind of behavior.

The other drug that they have Kent on is called Fentanyl. Like the sedative they have decreased the dosage on this as well. The maximum dosage was set at 20 and they have decreased it to 12.

Fentanyls are extensively used for anesthesia and analgesia, most often in the operating room and intensive care unit. Fentanyl transdermal patch is used in chronic pain management. Fentanyl patches work by releasing fentanyl into body fats, which then slowly release the drug into the blood stream over 72 hours, allowing for long lasting relief from pain.

In the beginning he was on many more drugs but they have taken him off eveything else. We consider each of these events a little milestone. As we pass each we will have a better idea of how and when Kent will recover. The hardest part now is waiting to see what he will be like when he wakes up. It will be at that point that we can set a new set of goals in helping him on his way to recovery.

Now it's Kent's turn

Here are the latest pictures of Kent. His haircut is looking much better but he is starting grow quite the mustache.

You can see the trach in his throat. They took him off the ventilator last night and he breathed on his own all night. That's 12 hours!!! The goal is to keep him breathing on his own so they can move him up to the 6th floor out of ICU.

Here are some pictures of Kent's physical therapist. Even when he's asleep he's got the ladies all over him. She's even blonde.

He's starting to look more and more like Kent everyday.

They will continue to wean him off of the sedatives. If he gets agitated they will put him back on to get a break.

Talking to our Dad this morning he wanted us to express to you that now is the time that we really need all of your "prayers, chants, meditations, or rock kicking" (Paul's word). The doctors have "screwed him up, stitched him up, bolted him, and plated him." (Again Paul's word) At this point it's all up to Kent. We are moving into the recovery period. It's time for him to start waking up and giving us an idea of what lies ahead.

Surgery update

Tracey talked to LeAnn and Kent came through the surgery just fine. He is all wired shut and is the owner of a brand new trach. They are lowering his sedative and hoping to try to bring him to tomorrow. We are headed up there and will update then.

Kent's Hospital

Here is the link for the hospital Kent is in.

http://www.eirmc.org/

Surgery

Kent just went into surgery for his. It'll take about an hour and a half and his jaw will be wired shut. It should slow down the sarcastic Kent comments for a few days.

Mom made the nurses give him a haircut. The nurse thought it would only take one blade but my mom knew better. She said it took 6 blades to shave is crazy hair off. Apparently they still have more to shave after the surgery.

He had a good night last night other than some coughing. They had to suction his lungs. We'll let you know more as soon as he is out of surgery and we have an update.