We are so thrilled to be back to normal at our house. Except for a bad haircut and still taking IV's, Payton is back to normal both mentally and physically. He is caught up in school and is able to do pretty much anything he wants at this point. He had the staples removed from his head this past week and still continues to have weekly check ups with the Infectious Disease doctor and will see the brain surgeon this next week. All in all, we cannot believe how well this has gone, we really have witnessed a miracle. Payton is pursuing his mission papers, he was planning on going in January but this will probably set him back 3-4 months. Based on that he will put submit his papers in December, and look to leave after the next semester of college.
As this will be our final blog. we want to extend our love and appreciation one more time for all of the thoughts, prayers and combined faith as we went through this traumatic experience in our lives. It really did make a difference, we have seen a miracle with the combined faith and prayers and the grace and help from our Heavenly Father. We also have appreciated all of the time and thoughts expressed to us, we feel blessed to have such great family, friends and neighbors. We will be forever grateful. We couldn't have imagined that it would all work out so well, so quickly, but we will never forget the experience and all that it has taught us.
From the bottom of our hearts THANKS
Bruce, Angie, Payton and Mallory
Monday, September 24, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Update September 10
What an incredible difference a week makes! This week started with getting Payton home and having a relaxing day on Labor Day. With Payton's improvement and overall stability I have decided to go ahead and compete in the LOTOJA bike race I have been training for all summer, I just don't know if I will have the time to prep for it again. This decision was made a lot easier by Payton's improvement. In fact he hope to be able to go in the car with Angie and attend the race. It starts in Logan and ends in Jackson Hole-Teton Village, 206 miles. It would be a really long day for him in the car, we will have to see. Each day sees a little more of the Payton we know come out, we are really excited. We had a very scary experience for all of us Monday as we helped Payton take a shower. We was doing really good and I was just getting ready to wash his hair and he blacked out and collapsed int he shower. His knee went through the marble on the shower wall but he didn't hit his head on anything. That really scared all of us, and so I have put a stool in his shower for his to sit on for a week or two until he gets his strength back.
Tuesday, I wen with Payton to school to see what we could work out on his 16 credit schedule. We walked around and met with several of the professors, all were very accommodating to letting him make stuff up so we have decided to go full steam ahead with this semester. It will take a great effort by Paton to get caught up, but he is a 4.0 student and can do it. We have decided to do work at home until next Tuesday when he will start to attend like a normal student. Mallory was so helpful at UVSC, she really knows her way around and knows many of the teachers. Payton was pretty tired when we called it a day about noon. He still gets that lost look in his eyes once in a while, not sure what is going on in his head, hope it heals soon.
Payton has had a lot of visitors this week, so many of our friends and ward members have stopped in to wish him well. He has mentioned several times how much he appreciates the support and love, and it has been good for him to interact with people. His head is looking better as we have been able to wash his hair and get some of the blood and junk out of it, it is amazing how much continues to come out. We are getting pretty good at his IV medicines, 3 times a day and he is great to not complain.
Angie and Payton have decided to attend the LOTOJA with us this weekend, not only as spectators but to be the Support team for Dan and I. this will be a little intense, but together they can pull it off. Payton is getting much stronger and is awake for much longer periods of time. Some school work is getting done but football, golf and US open tennis on TV are making it tougher.
Friday Payton had a complete evaluation by a Physical Therapist. This will test his balance, strength and overall condition. After about 60 minutes of testing the Physical Therapist has released his with a clean bill of health, he will just need to continue to gain strength. Another miracle, we can't believe it but we are so grateful. Less than two weeks ago we were not sure if he would ever walk again, his recovery is amazing. Later Friday Payton rode with Dan and I to Logan to do our final registration for the race, he seems to be feeling better and better.
Saturday, we woke up at 5 to get going for the race, Payton and Angie drove Dan and I to Logan, we had stayed in Layton. We went over the last preparations for them as the support crew and off Dan and I went to the starting line. This is a long day, we hope to make it to Teton Village in less than 13.5 hours. After the stress I have been under with this situation and missing some training I hope my body will come to the party.
Payton and Angie were at every stop with all of the support all day long. As I started to ache I kept thinking of Payton and how hard he has fought these past couple weeks. Somehow that makes me stronger in tough parts of the race. We finish in under 12 hours, and are thrilled. Dan finished 6 minutes in front of me so as I came into the line I could see Payton and Angie cheering along side of the finish. There are tears in my eyes, not sure if it is the pain or how grateful I am to have things turning out so well for us. FOR SURE BOTH!!! Payton comes over quickly and we hug....I am so grateful to have the real and complete Payton on the mend and to have him & Angie here at this special moment in my life. I am truly blessed and grateful for my family and our great bonds and love.
The week ended with us staying in Jackson Hole until Monday to recover from the race. Payton will return to school tomorrow, I think he is at about 90%. We should get the staples removed this week and we might try a haircut. Payton is hoping to swing a golf club later in the week and see how that goes as well.
Tuesday, I wen with Payton to school to see what we could work out on his 16 credit schedule. We walked around and met with several of the professors, all were very accommodating to letting him make stuff up so we have decided to go full steam ahead with this semester. It will take a great effort by Paton to get caught up, but he is a 4.0 student and can do it. We have decided to do work at home until next Tuesday when he will start to attend like a normal student. Mallory was so helpful at UVSC, she really knows her way around and knows many of the teachers. Payton was pretty tired when we called it a day about noon. He still gets that lost look in his eyes once in a while, not sure what is going on in his head, hope it heals soon.
Payton has had a lot of visitors this week, so many of our friends and ward members have stopped in to wish him well. He has mentioned several times how much he appreciates the support and love, and it has been good for him to interact with people. His head is looking better as we have been able to wash his hair and get some of the blood and junk out of it, it is amazing how much continues to come out. We are getting pretty good at his IV medicines, 3 times a day and he is great to not complain.
Angie and Payton have decided to attend the LOTOJA with us this weekend, not only as spectators but to be the Support team for Dan and I. this will be a little intense, but together they can pull it off. Payton is getting much stronger and is awake for much longer periods of time. Some school work is getting done but football, golf and US open tennis on TV are making it tougher.
Friday Payton had a complete evaluation by a Physical Therapist. This will test his balance, strength and overall condition. After about 60 minutes of testing the Physical Therapist has released his with a clean bill of health, he will just need to continue to gain strength. Another miracle, we can't believe it but we are so grateful. Less than two weeks ago we were not sure if he would ever walk again, his recovery is amazing. Later Friday Payton rode with Dan and I to Logan to do our final registration for the race, he seems to be feeling better and better.
Saturday, we woke up at 5 to get going for the race, Payton and Angie drove Dan and I to Logan, we had stayed in Layton. We went over the last preparations for them as the support crew and off Dan and I went to the starting line. This is a long day, we hope to make it to Teton Village in less than 13.5 hours. After the stress I have been under with this situation and missing some training I hope my body will come to the party.
Payton and Angie were at every stop with all of the support all day long. As I started to ache I kept thinking of Payton and how hard he has fought these past couple weeks. Somehow that makes me stronger in tough parts of the race. We finish in under 12 hours, and are thrilled. Dan finished 6 minutes in front of me so as I came into the line I could see Payton and Angie cheering along side of the finish. There are tears in my eyes, not sure if it is the pain or how grateful I am to have things turning out so well for us. FOR SURE BOTH!!! Payton comes over quickly and we hug....I am so grateful to have the real and complete Payton on the mend and to have him & Angie here at this special moment in my life. I am truly blessed and grateful for my family and our great bonds and love.
The week ended with us staying in Jackson Hole until Monday to recover from the race. Payton will return to school tomorrow, I think he is at about 90%. We should get the staples removed this week and we might try a haircut. Payton is hoping to swing a golf club later in the week and see how that goes as well.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
September 2nd - HOME!
Today was a great day, Payton was able to go home and he looks and feels so much more comfortable in his own bed and sitting in the Love Sac. It is a real relief to finally be to this point. The swelling stayed about the same today, and it should continue to slowly go down. His strength continues to improve he can now walk around pretty good.
It was pretty emotional for us when we left Primary Children's Hospital. We feel so fortunate to be going home and hope we never have to visit there under those conditions again. Yet we also find our emotions high because we are so grateful for all of those who have cared for Payton this past week. I doubt we will ever forget the smells and sites of this place, and as we leave our hearts are full of gratitude for the miracle we have experienced. We have had some feelings of guilt as we see others who have terrible situations and are praying just as hard as we have and yet they are not getting the same results. We have a special place in our hearts for all of them and I a sure they will be in our prayers forever. Besides the great faith building experience we realize that God does have his own plan and that fortunate at this time Payton was spared. Payton is well aware of this and I am sure it will motivate him to live a life that expresses the gratitude for this blessing.
We have been sent home with home IV, and we are comfortable with all of the process you have to go through to do this. It seems like bags of syringes, medicine "Spaceballs" and other paraphernalia. However, this is what allowed us to go home, so we are thrilled that we can easily do all of it here.
As Angie was at the hospital today getting Payton ready to come home, I attended our Ward's sacrament meeting. I found my emotions were very tender as I looked out over all of our friends who have been so concerned and supportive these past few days. Many times my feeling of gratitude had tears flowing, a bit unusual for me as I usually am pretty controlled emotionally. It was truly a day of thanks for us and we hope that if the situation rises for someone else we can be half the strength and help to them that everyone has been to us. I can't imagine going through something like this on your own, there is a great deal of comfort & power in numbers and we have felt it many times.
Now that Payton is home we will probably update his progress each Sunday on this blog, it is the easiest way for many to know what is going on for him. This technology has been great that it has allowed us to express our feeling and keep so many informed. It also will serve as a journal for the events fro Payton, his memory of it is very limited. We look forward to a continued speedy recovery. If you have a desire to visit Payton he is happy to have you stop by.
Again we express our deepest thanks and want all of you to know we have seen a modern day miracle in this experience. W may not get the chance to thank each of you personally but know that each of you hold a very special place in our heart and we feel indebted forever.
It was pretty emotional for us when we left Primary Children's Hospital. We feel so fortunate to be going home and hope we never have to visit there under those conditions again. Yet we also find our emotions high because we are so grateful for all of those who have cared for Payton this past week. I doubt we will ever forget the smells and sites of this place, and as we leave our hearts are full of gratitude for the miracle we have experienced. We have had some feelings of guilt as we see others who have terrible situations and are praying just as hard as we have and yet they are not getting the same results. We have a special place in our hearts for all of them and I a sure they will be in our prayers forever. Besides the great faith building experience we realize that God does have his own plan and that fortunate at this time Payton was spared. Payton is well aware of this and I am sure it will motivate him to live a life that expresses the gratitude for this blessing.
We have been sent home with home IV, and we are comfortable with all of the process you have to go through to do this. It seems like bags of syringes, medicine "Spaceballs" and other paraphernalia. However, this is what allowed us to go home, so we are thrilled that we can easily do all of it here.
As Angie was at the hospital today getting Payton ready to come home, I attended our Ward's sacrament meeting. I found my emotions were very tender as I looked out over all of our friends who have been so concerned and supportive these past few days. Many times my feeling of gratitude had tears flowing, a bit unusual for me as I usually am pretty controlled emotionally. It was truly a day of thanks for us and we hope that if the situation rises for someone else we can be half the strength and help to them that everyone has been to us. I can't imagine going through something like this on your own, there is a great deal of comfort & power in numbers and we have felt it many times.
Now that Payton is home we will probably update his progress each Sunday on this blog, it is the easiest way for many to know what is going on for him. This technology has been great that it has allowed us to express our feeling and keep so many informed. It also will serve as a journal for the events fro Payton, his memory of it is very limited. We look forward to a continued speedy recovery. If you have a desire to visit Payton he is happy to have you stop by.
Again we express our deepest thanks and want all of you to know we have seen a modern day miracle in this experience. W may not get the chance to thank each of you personally but know that each of you hold a very special place in our heart and we feel indebted forever.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Payton has continued to struggle a bit since his surgery. Anesthesia is really tough on him, and one again he is sleeping most of the time and having trouble with nausea. Lines continue to get taken out of him and monitors off. Now unless he is receiving an antibiotic he is pretty free of lines and wires. He also had he catheter removed while in surgery, that is a surgeon with a really kind heart! Payton still thinks that catheter "pinch" when they inserted it has been the worst part of the ordeal. So now every couple of hours Payton gets up and goes to the bathroom, pretty much on his own.
Great news this morning, Payton has made enough progress that he is scheduled to be able to go home Sunday afternoon. We are so excited and grateful, Payton really wants to get home. We will still be on IV antibiotics for at least 6 weeks and he has a PICC line in his arm for all of the stuff he will need. They are getting him over to oral pain medicine, which lasts longer and will be easier to use at home. He is on Loritab, and off of Morphine. I think that this is upsetting his stomach some and he has had a couple of nice eruptions in the past few hours. Hopefully this will settle down. For Payton not to want to eat is a very rare moment and we hope it passes quickly.
Payton and I were able to take a long walk this morning, he did very well, and the PT took him to the stairs which he did as well. He continues to gain strength and now the tingling sensation is only in his toes of his left foot. The PT is amazed at his progress, it is one of the most amazing recoveries she has seen in several years of working there. After the PT Payton had a shower, it was the first since he started getting sic 10 days ago and he said it felt great. He has so much tape residue on him that it will take a while to get it off, and we were able to carefully wash his hair and get the dried blood and stuff out of his hair. He looked better and felt better after letting the hot water run over his body for almost 30 minutes. Showering is going to be a little complicated the next few weeks as he has to protect the PICC line and his incision.
From yesterdays surgery Payton has swollen quite a bit the past 24 hours, his head has taken on the shape of a light bulb. The swelling is normal and will probably get worse before it starts to come down. This is putting a little pressure on his head and he keeps touching the area where the frontal bone plate was replaced. I think it is a little sore and it must feel a bit strange as he traces along the lines where the plate was previously cut out. I think Payton is tired of all of the questions the hospital staff and Angie and I ask him. We chatted a bit today about patience and feeling positive for so many great blessings rather that frustrated and feeling sorry for yourself. Hopefully he will be able to always be able to recall the positive and feel like each day is truly a gift. As he feels better and can get home I think this will improve. They say with the trauma and the high amount of meds his body has been on it can cause slight depression. We will watch that closely and do all we can to offset it as a family.
Angie is going to stay with Payton tonight, I will go to Church and try and catch up there. The Bishop and Spencer have been so accommodating and supportive during this crisis. It will good to get back into a somewhat normal flow over the next few days as we try to move on. Thanks again to all for the love, support and help the past few days. We look forward to being home closer to family and friends and in more comfortable surrounding.
Great news this morning, Payton has made enough progress that he is scheduled to be able to go home Sunday afternoon. We are so excited and grateful, Payton really wants to get home. We will still be on IV antibiotics for at least 6 weeks and he has a PICC line in his arm for all of the stuff he will need. They are getting him over to oral pain medicine, which lasts longer and will be easier to use at home. He is on Loritab, and off of Morphine. I think that this is upsetting his stomach some and he has had a couple of nice eruptions in the past few hours. Hopefully this will settle down. For Payton not to want to eat is a very rare moment and we hope it passes quickly.
Payton and I were able to take a long walk this morning, he did very well, and the PT took him to the stairs which he did as well. He continues to gain strength and now the tingling sensation is only in his toes of his left foot. The PT is amazed at his progress, it is one of the most amazing recoveries she has seen in several years of working there. After the PT Payton had a shower, it was the first since he started getting sic 10 days ago and he said it felt great. He has so much tape residue on him that it will take a while to get it off, and we were able to carefully wash his hair and get the dried blood and stuff out of his hair. He looked better and felt better after letting the hot water run over his body for almost 30 minutes. Showering is going to be a little complicated the next few weeks as he has to protect the PICC line and his incision.
From yesterdays surgery Payton has swollen quite a bit the past 24 hours, his head has taken on the shape of a light bulb. The swelling is normal and will probably get worse before it starts to come down. This is putting a little pressure on his head and he keeps touching the area where the frontal bone plate was replaced. I think it is a little sore and it must feel a bit strange as he traces along the lines where the plate was previously cut out. I think Payton is tired of all of the questions the hospital staff and Angie and I ask him. We chatted a bit today about patience and feeling positive for so many great blessings rather that frustrated and feeling sorry for yourself. Hopefully he will be able to always be able to recall the positive and feel like each day is truly a gift. As he feels better and can get home I think this will improve. They say with the trauma and the high amount of meds his body has been on it can cause slight depression. We will watch that closely and do all we can to offset it as a family.
Angie is going to stay with Payton tonight, I will go to Church and try and catch up there. The Bishop and Spencer have been so accommodating and supportive during this crisis. It will good to get back into a somewhat normal flow over the next few days as we try to move on. Thanks again to all for the love, support and help the past few days. We look forward to being home closer to family and friends and in more comfortable surrounding.
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